The sight was too much for Dan Speedwell. He let out a yell, picked up a heavy stick of wood and charged the men. One he brought down at his first blow.
They dropped the dummy, who fell partly in the fire, screaming and struggling. He overturned the forge as he fell. The two other men sprang at Dan.
Billy had found a shovel. He used this with good effect upon one of the men; but the other got Dan down and was choking him on the floor of the smoke-filled cavern.
“Come on, Dummy! Help us!” shouted Billy, whanging away with his shovel.
But either the scorched boy was too hurt, or too frightened, to assist those who had come to his rescue. Dan and Billy had all the fighting to do themselves.
And they had a very poor chance when the three men recovered from their surprise. The one first knocked down rose, kicked the weeping dummy out of the way, and dived for Billy with a roar of rage.
He tore the shovel out of the boy’s hands and hit poor Billy just once across the shoulders. It nearly knocked the wind out of the lad and he staggered across the cave and fell against the wall.
Dan was by this time overpowered. The fight was over almost as soon as it had begun.
“What d’ye know about these kids buttin’ in this way?” demanded one of the roughs. “Ought to give ’em both a taste of the fire, too.”
“No! go easy!” advised the man who seemed to be the leader, in a cautious tone. “There must be somebody else near.”
“These kids wouldn’t have been ’way out here alone. Maybe we’re in bad, boys——”
But a cry from the third man stopped the other’s mouth. The excited individual was hauling away the broken forge.
“Here we were trying to find out from Dummy where the box was hid, an’ here she be! Look a’ here, boys! What d’ye know about this?”
The others left Dan and Billy where they lay and rushed to the fireplace. Under the legs of the forge had been a loose stone in the hearth. One of the fellows pried it up. A cavity was revealed.
“We’ve got it! we’ve got it!” yelled one of the men.
“Shut up, I tell you!” exclaimed the leader of the three. “I tell you there must be somebody on this island besides these kids.”
“Aw, don’t be so scared, Tom. The kids just butted in. Friends of Dummy, proberly. Didn’t know no better.”