t. He has seen
enough already."

In a moment Adam Adams was seized and bound in such a fashion that he
could scarcely move a hand or a foot. Then a bag was placed over his
head, with the eye-holes to the back, so that he could see absolutely
nothing. He was led away, through a door opposite to the one he had
entered and along a stone passageway. When the party came to a halt
they were in a stone chamber, not over twelve feet square. Here the
detective was tied fast to a ring in the wall and the two men sat down
on a bench to guard him, lighting pipes and smoking in the meanwhile.

"Are you going to keep me blindfolded?" asked the detective.

"We are," was the surly response.

"For how long?"

"Until we get orders to do otherwise."

"Matlock Styles is your master, is he?"

"He is our chief. But you needn't to ask any questions about him."

"I don't intend to, but if you'll take this off my head I'll tell you
something worth knowing," went on Adam Adams smoothly.

"Is this a game?" growled the fellow, known as Number Three. "Because
if it is, I warn you it won't work. We've got pistols and we can
shoot."

"How can I play any game on you, tied up in this fashion? No, I want
to see a little and get more air--and I want to get square on Matlock
Styles."

The two guards consulted together and finally came to the conclusion to
remove the head covering. The men had a lantern with them and one
glance around showed the detective to what a stronghold he had been
brought.

"Now, what have you got to say about Matlock?" asked one of the men.

"You say he is your chief. Have you any idea as to whether he is
treating you fairly?"

"Why do you ask that?"

"Well, perhaps it is nothing to me, but if I was taking the risks you
take I'd want all that was coming to me."

"We get our share."

"How do you know? I once exposed a gang of counterfeiters in Maine and
I found that the chief, Bill Davidson, was getting the lion share of
the returns. More than that, when the exposure came, Davidson tried
his best to get out of it by turning State's evidence."

"And did he get out?" asked one of the men, becoming interested.

"No, he did not. I would not allow it. I got two of the other men to
tell the truth, and Davidson got twenty years."

"And what of the other men?"

"One got scared and ran away and the authorities let him slide. The
other man was not prosecuted. The rest of the gang, four of them, got