"Hullo, here's another surprise," whispered Dick, as they came closer to the opening. "Look at that!"
He pointed to one side of the cave and there the others saw an automobile runabout standing and on the seat two men dressed for a tour. They were talking to a third man, who was lounging against a front wheel, smoking a brier-root pipe.
"Maybe they are the freight thieves," whispered Tom. "Let us get out of sight and listen to what they have to say."
It was an easy matter to keep out of sight, for the walls of the cave were very uneven at this point. They got behind a projection, and by crawling up a rocky ledge managed to reach a point above and to one side of the runabout and not over a dozen feet from it.
"Then you weren't going to stop here, Merrick?" asked the man leaning against the wheel.
"Not now, Dangler," was the reply of the man with the pipe. "The storm drove us in here."
"When do you expect to meet this Randolph Rover?"
"He ought to be easy--he is so simple minded."
"Oh, I think we can work him right enough," put in the third man, who was tall and thin-cheeked.
"Well, if you do, don't forget that I get my share, Pike," said the man called Dangler.
"Haven't you always gotten your share?" demanded Pike.
"And haven't we given you the information whenever any valuable freight was coming this way?" put in the man called Merrick.
"Yes, and got your full share of the proceeds, while I ran the risk," growled Dangler. "It's getting dangerous--I'm going to quit--after the next big haul," went on the man with the pipe.
"All right--as you wish," answered Merrick. "I wish this storm would let up. The road will be something fierce for our runabout."
"And bad for my wagon," growled Dangler in return.
The boys listened to the conversation with deep interest. The reference to their uncle amazed them, and they wondered what the two men in the runabout had in mind to do. By their talk it was evident they meant to accomplish something unlawful.
"They are going to play Uncle Randolph some trick," whispered Sam. "We must get home and warn him."
"What we ought to do is to have the whole crowd arrested," answered Tom. "They are all implicated in the theft of freight."
"That's the talk," said Dick. "The question is, How can we do it? We are no match for those three men, and more than likely they are armed."