As he was led away, the commander watched the other men. There was
approval in their eyes, but there was something else there, too--a
wariness, a concealed fear.
The condemned man turned suddenly and began shouting at the commander,
but before he could utter more than three syllables, a fist smashed him
down. The guards dragged him off.
"All right, men," said the commander carefully, "let's search the
village. There might be more gold about; I have a hunch that this isn't
all he hid. Let's see if we can find the rest of it." He sensed the
relief of tension as he spoke.
The commander was right. It was amazing how much gold one man had been
able to stash away.