"Now then, Mark, down you come," said Tom Ellison, as he shook the lad,
who had lowered the upper sleeping-berth in the train and gone to sleep.
"What time is it? Where are we?" Mark asked drowsily.
"Near midnight, and we are at Gunjyal," answered Tom.
"What a beastly hour to turn out!" grumbled Mark as he scrambled down.
In half an hour the servants and a camel--which had been waiting--had
started for the Doctor's destination, a place on the Salt Range some
twelve miles away.
At daybreak three horses arrived, and the Doctor and his two companions
started for their camp.
After breakfast the Doctor took his son and Tom Ellison, accompanied by
a servant, to a small valley about a quarter of a mile from the camp.
"Here you are," said the Doctor; "this is the exact spot where I found
the pieces of slab."
"Then I should say the rest can't be far away," remarked Tom, and they
commenced poking around with the ends of iron-shod sticks. They had been
twenty minutes at their task when a boy in charge of some goats planted
himself on a rock not far away and keenly watched the Sahibs at work.
"Don't you think it would be a good plan, Doctor, if we got a few
coolies to loosen the subsoil and turn over some of these loose stones
about here?--it would be easier for us to search," suggested Tom.
"Yes, we may as well make a thorough search now we are at it," replied
the Doctor, who at once sent the servant to the village near the camp
for some coolies and tools.
The boy had disappeared before the coolies arrived, for he had received
a signal from a man who was secretly watching the search-party from the
top of a cliff some seventy yards away.
The natives had not been long at work when one of them slipped, and his
puggari pitched off exactly on to the spot where the next coolie had
turned over a stone. The man picked up his puggari and moved a few yards
off to wind it round his head again, and almost immediately the goat-boy
appeared and asked him if he had seen a stray goat.
Tom Ellison happened to be standing up examining a strange fossil he had
found, and as he casually glanced at the boy he saw the coolie hand him
something, which he promptly hid in the folds of a kind of scarf hanging
over his shoulder.
In a moment a suspicion flashed into Tom's mind, and he rushed forward
and seized the boy before he could make off, and no sooner had he felt
the lad's kupra (cloth) than he discovered that the youngster had hidden
a newly found piece of the slab which had been picked up by the coolie.
The Doctor and Mark were at once by Tom's side examining the fragment
and listening to Tom's explanation. In their excitement they forgot
about the boy, and when they looked round became aware that both he and
the coolie had disappeared.
The sides of the hills all about were covered with low shrubs, large
stones, and nullahs, or ravines, and, although a quick search was made,
neither man nor boy could be seen.
When the day was over they had met with no further success as regards
finding parts of the slab, but they took away several other stones which
they thought might possibly prove to be of some interest, and most of
the evening after dinner was spent in discussing the reason which
prompted the theft from the Museum, and the attempt to steal the stone
found during the day.
"There can be no doubt I was seen examining the fragments I found," said
the Doctor. "I remember now that three or four natives were watching me
trying to place the several pieces together in my attempts to get an
idea of the whole. Strange that these natives should take so keen an
interest in an old, broken slab, for the pieces must have been lying
there for years."
"I expect we shall have to keep a sharp eye on this piece, for they are
sure to have a try for it, judging by what they have already done," said
Tom.
"They seem to have a sharp eye on us. I shouldn't be surprised if they
thought we came here purposely to hunt for the stones," said Mark.
"Well, I will take a copy of the letters on it at once, in case anything
happens to the stone," said the Doctor.
Next day an official letter arrived which necessitated either the Doctor
or Tom returning to Lahore for a few hours, and it was decided the
letter should go.
"Now listen," said the Doctor as Tom was about to start on his journey.
"Take the stone to the Museum and tell them to place it where they can
watch any one who takes any peculiar interest in it. Further, get a
description of those men who were fighting there on the day the stones
were stolen; and don't forget to post my letter to the Professor, for it
contains a rubbing from the last piece."
With these parting instructions Tom started on his ride to Gunjyal
station so as to arrive there before dark, there being practically no
road from the foot of the Salt Range across the miles of dismal tract of
sandy plain to the station, although his train did not leave until
midnight; but it was the only train in the twenty-four hours.
Tom was half-asleep when he got into the train; he had the compartment
to himself, and he thought it likely he would remain alone until he
arrived at Lala Musa, about eight o'clock, where he would have to change
to get on to the main line, so he quickly spread his bedding, and,
drawing the green-baize shade over the lamp, he was soon asleep.
He could not say where it happened, but when he roused up the train was
in motion and he was just conscious he was not alone; but the instant he
attempted to move, a rug was thrown over his face, and he knew he was
being held down by at least two powerful assailants. In a very short
time, notwithstanding his fierce struggles, he was bound hand and foot,
a gag in his mouth, and blindfolded, without having the slightest idea
of the appearance of those who had attacked him.
Whilst Tom was in this condition the train stopped several times, but no
one entered the compartment, and, as the Venetian shutters were down, it
was impossible for any one to peer through the window and so become
aware of his position.
He tried to knock his feet against the side of the carriage at the first
station, but he was bound too securely to the seat which formed his bed
to allow of the slightest movement, so wearily and painfully the hours
dragged on until the guard discovered him and set him free at Lala Musa
station.
The moment he was released he found that the only thing missing was the
fragment of slab he was to have taken to the Museum.
"They followed me to Gunjyal and then slipped into my carriage at some
station whilst I was asleep, and quietly slipped out at the next station
when they had got what they wanted," mused Tom.
By the time he had given an account of what had happened to him he had
only a few minutes in which to rush over to the refreshment-room and get
some breakfast before his train was due.
When Tom arrived in Lahore he went straight to his office, and in a
couple of hours he had completed the special work which had necessitated
his journey; then he went over to the Museum.
"The thief has been caught, Sahib," said one of the attendants as Tom
entered the building.
"When? Who is he?" asked Tom, in considerable surprise, for he had
concluded that his late assailants were the men who had robbed the
Museum.
"They caught him during last night, but I don't know much about it yet,"
replied the man.
Tom at once hurried off to the police-station to learn full particulars.
"Yes, we found a piece of stone with some strange device on it," said
the Superintendent of Police. "This is it. Do you recognise it?" he
added, as he handed Tom the stone.
"No, this is not the one the Doctor found," said Tom, after a moment's
examination.
"Well, it is the only bit we got, and we are told it was stolen from
the Museum with some others, during a fight," said the officer.
"How did you get this?" asked Tom.
"Well, in rather a strange way. The night after the stones had
disappeared three clever burglaries took place in Lahore, and the
thieves made valuable hauls in each case, but we could get no clue. Last
night an anonymous letter came to us, and we decided to act upon it, so
we searched a house in the bazaar and recovered this stone together with
some gold and silver ornaments which had been stolen; we found them in
the exact spot where we were told to look for them. The man says he is
innocent, and that they were placed where we found them unknown to him.
Now you know the whole case," said the police-officer.
"And the man you have arrested, do you think he is connected with the
men who were fighting in the Museum?" asked Tom.
"He says not. He certainly is not one of the fighters. He does not bear
the best of characters, however," was the reply.
Tom related what had happened to him in the train; several theories were
advanced to account for the keen interest taken in the stones, and the
police began exerting themselves to fathom the mystery.
The morning after Tom Ellison had left the camp a shikari went to Mark
with the information that some oorial (wild sheep) were feeding about
half a mile away, and Mark, who was a keen sportsman, promptly got his
rifle and went with the shikari.
Mark was able to get a long shot, but missed, so sat down while the
shikari climbed the peaks around to try and find the oorial again. In
about ten minutes Mark heard a slight rustling in the bushes some twenty
yards away, and he got a glimpse of a porcupine. He did not wish to fire
at it lest he should startle the oorial if they had halted anywhere
near, so he picked up a stone and threw it at the animal when next he
saw it.
"I have hit it," he muttered, as he heard a peculiar cry, and he hurried
forward, but he could find no sign of the porcupine, and he concluded it
had entered a small cave he discovered.
Mark struck a match and went in a few feet, but it appeared to be very
low, and when his match went out he decided to go no farther, for he had
no desire to stumble on the top of a porcupine.
In a short time the shikari returned, and Mark thought no more about the
animal until he had been back at the camp some time.
While Mark had been away on his shooting expedition, Harry Burton, the
Superintendent of Police, had called, and during the afternoon Mark
casually mentioned the incident of the porcupine.
"I think you are mistaken about it being a porcupine, my boy," said
Burton.
"I don't think so. I saw it twice and hit it with the stone, for I
distinctly heard it make a peculiar noise as though hurt," persisted
Mark.
"That is exactly what makes me certain it was not a porcupine, for it
is one of the animals without vocal cords, therefore cannot make a vocal
sound. It was more likely a wild pig, for there are a number about
here," said Burton, who was a great sportsman.
Mark, however, felt certain he had distinctly seen the animal's quills,
so a little later he quietly left the camp without saying a word to any
one as to where he was going.
At nine o'clock that night Mark had not returned to camp, and Burton,
who had remained to dinner, suggested that he might have got lost, or
met with an accident; so a search was at once commenced.