His hand shook violently, his chin quivered. During the
life of the brief flare, the interior of Quill's Window was revealed
to him. The cave was perhaps twenty feet deep and almost as wide
at the front, with an uneven, receding roof and a flat floor that
dropped at no inconsiderable slant toward the rear. It appeared
to be empty except for the remains of two or three broken-up boxes
over against one of the walls. He struck a second match to light
a cigarette, continuing his scrutiny while the tiny blaze lasted.
He saw no bones, no ghastly skulls, no signs of the ancient tragedies
that made the place abhorrent.
He crawled back to the entrance. Lying flat, he peered over the
ledge.
"Hallo, down there!" he called out. No response. He shouted once
more, his voice cracking a little.
"Where are you?"
This time he got an answer. A hoarse voice replied:
"I'm here, all right."
Thane forced a laugh.
"Well, I'm up here, all right. You've got me treed. What's the
idea? Waiting for me to come down?" No answer, "Say, it's worth a
lot of money to you if you'll just walk on and forget that I'm up
here. I'll give you my word of honour to come across with enough
to put you on easy street for the rest of your life." He heard the
man below walking up and down the path.
"Did you hear what I said? You can't pick up twenty-five thousand
every day, you know.
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