Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Sammi said something to Mr. Baz, and the man nodded. He walked back into the bank, with Fin and the kids at his heels. Mr. Baz took them to the vault. The door was wide open. Inside they could see a hole in the vault floor. Chunks of stone and concrete lay next to the opening. Mr. Baz spoke excitedly to Sammi, then hurried away. The kids peered down inside the hole. "There's a tunnel down there!" Ruth Rose said. "The crooks dug their way in from outside somewhere." Dink looked around the empty vault. The only thing he saw was a wide wooden platform.

"Where was the gold kept?" he asked. Sammi pointed to the pallet. "It was stacked there," he said glumly. "Fifty-two bars." Dink knew that much gold would be very heavy. He wondered how anyone could carry it away. Just then Sammi's father rushed into the bank vault, followed by a man and a woman wearing police uniforms. Mr. Baz stood beside them. It was cool in the vault, but Dink noticed that Mr. Baz was sweating. The king got on his knees to examine the hole, then stood up. "The tunnel was dug from the aquarium pit," he said. "Please check it, officers!" The king turned to Mr. Baz. "Let's go into your office, Lees," he said. "Fin, will you come, too, please? I'd like a witness to our conversation."

After the three men left, Sammi leaned close to Dink. "Let's follow the cops!" he whispered. The four kids scooted out of the bank and walked to the edge of the construction site. Down

in the pit, the officers were already talking to Riko and two other workers. The kids moved closer so they could hear what was going on. They saw the policeman checking out the boulders lined up near the edge of the pit. He gave one of the boulders a tug. "Hey, these things are fake!" he shouted in English. "They hardly weigh anything!" To prove it, the man rolled the boulder out of line. It was as tall as him, but he moved it easily. "They're all artificial," Riko said. "They'll be used inside the aquarium when it's finished. Real boulders would be too heavy." "Let's move them," the policewoman said. Riko and his workers helped roll the boulders aside. It took only a few minutes to find the tunnel opening. The policeman crawled into the tunnel while everyone else watched. He backed out two minutes later. "There's food wrappers in the dirt," the officer reported. "I have a feeling someone spent a lot of time digging the tunnel." The other officer looked at Riko. "Can you explain how anyone could have dug that tunnel

without your knowledge?" she asked. Riko shook his head. "The tunnel was hidden behind the boulders. How was I supposed to know?" he asked. "But you're in charge here, right, sir?" the policewoman asked. "That's right," Riko said. "I'm the site foreman." The officer beckoned to her partner to join her. "We need you gentlemen to come with us while we sort this out," she said. One of the workmen started to pull away, but Riko stopped him. "Sure, we'll go with you," Riko said. He led them to a sloping part of the pit, where the heavy machinery was driven in and out. "Do you think Riko did it?" Ruth Rose asked Sammi when the officers and crew were gone. "I hope not," Sammi said. "He seems like such a nice guy." Josh peered inside the tunnel entrance. "It must have taken the crooks a while to dig this thing," he said. "Let's check it out," Dink said.

The kids dropped to their knees and crawled into the tunnel. Dink went first, followed by Josh, then Ruth Rose. Sammi came last. The tunnel was about the length of two school buses, but too low to allow standing up. The dirt under their knees was mostly sand and pebbles. The kids could see with the help of dim light coming from both ends of the tunnel. They stopped in a spot that was wider than the rest of the passageway. Ten feet ahead, the tunnel sloped upward to the bank vault. "Look at all this junk," Josh said. He pointed to a pile of burger wrappers and soda cans. Dink kicked at the food debris. "I'd say he was in here a few days, at least." "Wait, what's that?" Josh said. He scooted forward and grabbed a paper that Dink's sneaker had revealed. "It's some kind of note," Dink said, looking over Josh's shoulder. "But it's written in Costran, Sammi." The kids hunched together while Sammi quickly read the note. "This is impossible," Sammi said after a minute.