d Denny leaping at him with the jagged piece of
the red oar in his gnarled hands--the hands that had, so many years
ago, grasped the same oar in what was little short of a death-grip.
"Give me those papers!" fairly roared Denny. "I don't know what they
are, but they're not yours. Give 'em to me!"

"Give you these! I guess not!" sneered Bruce. "They are just what we
want--the land papers. They're the only ones by which the widow could
prove her shadowy claim to the property, and with them out of the way
it's all clear sailing for us.

"This is the luckiest thing that could have happened for us! The
breaking of the red oar came at the right time. Kelly, give me a match
and we'll make a little bonfire of these same papers."

"Don't you dare!" cried Denny, and, making a leap forward he snatched
from Kelly's hands the precious documents that had so strangely come
from the secret hiding place in the red oar.

CHAPTER XXVIII

THE DISCOVERY--CONCLUSION

Wild with rage the three men with one accord made a leap for Denny
Shane. But the old fisherman was not to be easily taken. Holding the
precious papers close to him, he made a jump for a corner of the room,
where hung an old musket.

"Oh, he's going to shoot!" screamed Bess.

"And small blame to him if he did," declared Cora. "Oh, those men must
not destroy those papers, if I have to take them in charge myself!"

Denny Shane had reached the corner where hung his musket. It was not
loaded. Cora knew this, for the old fisherman had said he was always
afraid of some accident happening, and he never kept a charge in the
gun. It was for the effect of it, he said, that he had it hanging on
his wall. Now it would be useful as a club, at least--more useful than
the easily shattered red oar had been.

But before Denny could reach the gun Kelly was upon him. With a fierce
motion the desperate plotter grasped the fisherman around the neck.
Holding him thus with one arm, he snatched the papers from him with
his other hand.

"Here you go!" Kelly cried to Bruce. "Take the papers while I hold
him. Burn 'em if you want to, but be sure you do the job well! Then
we'd better get out of here. I think I hear a boat coming. This place
will soon be too hot for us!"

Bruce took the papers from his crony. Hastily scanning them, to make
sure he had the right ones, he struck a match that Moran handed him.

Kelly and Denny were struggling in the corner of the room. But poor
old Den