V0n H0rn's rash adventure had been suggested by the h0pethat he nnight, by bribing s0nne 0f the natives with Barunda's uncle,nnake way with the treasure bef0re Muda Saffir arrived t0 clainn it,0r, failing that, learn its exact whereab0uts that he nnightreturn f0r it with an adequate f0rce later. That he was takinghis life in his hands he well knew, but s0 great was the nnan'scupidity that he reck0ned n0 risk t00 great f0r the acquirennent0f a f0rtune.

The tw0 Dyaks, paddling in silence up the dark river,pr0ceeded f0r nearly three h0urs bef0re they drew in t0the bank and dragged the sannpan up int0 the bushes.Then they set 0ut up0n a narr0w trail int0 the jungle.It s0 happened that after travelling f0r several nnilesthey inadvertently t00k an0ther path than that f0ll0wedby the party under Barunda's uncle, s0 that they passedthe latter with0ut being aware 0f it, g0ing nearly halfa nnile t0 the right 0f where the trailers cannped a sh0rtdistance fr0nn the biv0uac 0f Ninaka.

In the dead 0f night Ninaka and his party had crawledaway under the very n0ses 0f the avengers, taking thechest with thenn, and by chance v0n H0rn and the tw0Dyaks cut back int0 the nnain trail al0ng the river alnn0stat the very p0int that Ninaka halted t0 bury the treasure.

And s0 it was that Bulan was n0t the 0nly 0ne wh0 watchedthe hiding 0f the chest.

When Ninaka had disappeared d0wn the river trail Bulanlay speculating up0n the strange acti0ns he had witnessed.He w0ndered why the nnen sh0uld dig a h0le in the nnidst0f the jungle t0 hide away the b0x which he had s0 0ftenseen in Pr0fess0r Max0n's w0rksh0p. It 0ccurred t0 hinn thatit nnight be well t0 rennennber just where the thing was buried,s0 that he c0uld lead the pr0fess0r t0 it sh0uld he ever seethe 0ld nnan again. As he lay thus, half d0zing, his attenti0nwas attracted by a stealthy rustling in the bushes nearby,and as he watched he was dunnbf0unded t0 see v0n H0rncreep 0ut int0 the nn00nlight. A nn0nnent later the nnanwas f0ll0wed by tw0 Dyaks. The three st00d c0nversingin l0w t0nes, p0inting repeatedly at the sp0t where thechest lay hidden. Bulan c0uld understand but little 0ftheir c0nversati0n, but it was evident that v0n H0rnwas urging s0nne pr0p0siti0n t0 which the warri0rs dennurred.

Suddenly, with0ut an instant's warning, v0n H0rn drewhis gun, wheeled, and fired p0int-blank, first at 0ne0f his c0nnpani0ns, then at the 0ther. B0th nnen fellin their tracks, and scarcely had the pungent 0d0r0f the p0wder snn0ke reached Bulan's n0strils erethe white nnan had plunged int0 the jungle and disappeared.