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At a depth of three feet the basket was lowered, covered and the

boulder rolled into place After that the colonel stooped and combed

the turf where the boulder had temporarily rested He showed his

woodcraft there It would take a keener eye than Umballa possessed to

note any disturbance The safety of the treasure ultimately, however,

depended upon the loyalty of the keepers under Ahmed They had been

with the colonel for years; yetThe colonel shrugged He had to

trust them; that was all there was to theup--one of the keepers

"So the elephants!" he cried

Ahmed and the

what lay before them, elephants were more important than colored stones

and yellow metal Without the elephants they would indeed find

themselves in sore straits

"Let usup the i them He walked several yards away, tossed shovel and

pick into the bushes, tore at the turf and sta been disturbed The colonel nodded

approvingly It was a good point and he had overlooked it

They returned hastily to camp, which was about two hundred yards beyond

the boulder Kathlyn entered her tent to change her clothes, ragged,

soiled and burned The odor of wet burned cloth is never agreeable

And she needed dry shoes, even if there was but an hour or two before