It developed that after the diamond theft, and when the gang still
had possession of Mr. Hastings' boat, Boreck, sometimes called
Murdock by his cronies, unknown to them, had secreted the jewel in
one of the braces under the gasoline tank. He expected to get it
out secretly, but the capture of the gang and the sale of the boat
prevented this. Then he tried to buy the craft to take out the
diamond, but Tom overbid him. It was Boreck who found Andy's
bunch of keys and used one to open the compartment lock when Tom
surprised him. The man did manage to remove some of the blocks,
thinking he had the one with the diamond in it, but the fact of
Tom changing them, and painting the compartment deceived him. The
gang hoped to get some valuables from Mr. Swift's shops, and, to a
certain extent, succeeded after hanging around for several nights
and following him to Sandport, but Tom eventually proved too much
for them. Even stealing the Arrow, which was taken to aid the
gang in robbing Mr. Swift, did not succeed, and Boreck's plan then
to get possession of the diamond fell through.
It was thought that the gang would get long terms in prison, but
one night, during a violent storm, they escaped from the local
jail and that was the last seen of them for some time.
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