And during the quiet hours they explored the place in
which they were.
First they considered the odd hole in the big boulder, seeking to find
some logical reason for its being, asking themselves if it could have
any connection whatever with the ancient hidden treasure. Clearly it
was the result of human labor. Therefore it appeared to have its
relation to an older order of civilization since it was not conceivable
that a modern man had taken such a task upon himself. But its meaning
baffled.
"It could be a sign, like a blazed tree or a cross scratched on a block
of stone," said Kendric. "But it could mean anything. Or nothing," he
was forced to admit.
It was only in the late afternoon, after a long period of inactivity
and silence, that an inspiration came to Kendric. Meantime they had
poked into every crack and cranny, they had scraped at any loose dirt
on the ground, they had gone back and forth and up and down over every
square inch of the place repeatedly. And Kendric thought that he had
given up when the last idea came to him. He went quickly back to the
boulder. Betty watched him interestedly.
"I thought we'd given that up," she said.
He had both hands on the boulder, his fingers gripping the edge of the
baffling hole, and was seeking to shake the big block of rock. Betty
came to his side.
"You think that it was made as a hand-hole? That you can turn the rock
over?"
"It does move--just a little," he said.
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