Max dumped the bag on the ground and wiped the sweat off his face with a brawny forearm. “Hello! I sure am glad you came along, Junior. You’re just the guy I wanted to see! Here, take this stuff, will you?” He hoisted the bag into the rear seat of the jeep.
“What is it?”
“My treasures,” the ex-wrestler replied. “You keep ‘em. Or give ‘em to a museum or something’.”
“How come?” Tom asked.
” ‘Cause they’re just too much to worry about, that’s how come.” Max slumped down wearily beside the jeep. “It’s got so I can’t sleep any more at night.
All I do is stew and worry about someone swiping these things.”
“Has someone tried?” Tom asked quickly. “I mean, since that first theft you told us about.”
“No, but I have a hunch they’re just waiting for the right chance,” Max replied.
“At night I hear noises outside the cave, like someone walking. It’s not animals, either, ‘cause I can’t ever see any eyes glowing in the dark!”
“Any idea who the prowler might be?”
“That skinny guy, most likely,” Max said. “The same sneak you fellows chased-who else?”
SABOTAGE 165
Turning to Tom, the giant added, “And that ain’t all. You know what happened last night?”
The young inventor shook his head. “What?”
“Well, I couldn’t sleep, so I figured I’d go get you and talk things over, see?
You seem like a pretty smart cookie, so I thought between us, we could figure out some way to trap that dirty rat. Well, when I got near your plane, I saw a light inside!”
“A light 1” Tom stared at the speaker with a worried frown. “What happened?”