k listened. Suddenly there came the sound of a
scramble, then of a terrific struggle.

The detective was all right! It had been only a ruse! Uttering a
suppressed hurrah Jack began hurriedly undoing the fastenings of his
door, to get out to the detective's assistance. Before he had opened it,
however, there was the sound of a heavy fall, and a triumphant shout from
Watts. Promptly Jack paused, debated a moment, and restored the
fastenings. He would wait. Perhaps they would bind Boyle and leave him in
the barn.

A moment later Jack regretted his decision. Through the knot-hole he saw
the detective led by, his arms bound behind him, and one of the
freight-robbers on either side.

The voices and footsteps died away in the direction of the house, and
Jack fell to wondering what he should do. Before he had decided he heard
the voices of the men returning. Apprehensively he waited. Had they any
suspicion of his presence in the second packing-case?

While he held his breath and grimly clutched his revolver, they slid his
box to the rear of the wagon, lifted it out, and deposited it on the barn
floor.

"Going to have a look at it? Make sure it hasn't some live stock in it
too?" inquired the second man.

Jack's heart stood still.

"No; it's all right," declared Watts confidently. "We'll have supper
first." And to Jack's unspeakable relief they passed out and closed the
barn door. Listening until from the house had come the slamming of a
door, Jack once more freed the fastenings within the box, slipped the
board aside, again listened a moment, and crawled forth.

As he stood stretching his cramped limbs, he glanced about. A tier of
what looked like bolts of cloth in the moonlight beneath one of the barn
windows caught his eye. He stepped over.

It was silk--silk such as he had seen in the warehouse at Claxton!

Instantly there came to Jack a startling suggestion. As quickly he
decided to act upon it. "They may never 'catch on,'" he told himself
delightedly, "and in any case it will give me a good start back for the
railroad, for help."

Glancing from the barn window, to make sure all was quiet in the
direction of the house, he drew his box into the moonlight, took out the
parcel containing the telegraph instruments, and proceeded to remove the
hooks and buttons, and all other signs of the "door." Then quickly he
filled the box with bolts of silk from the pile beneath the window.

That done, he found a hammer and na