The means suggested themselves after supper, and he went alone over to Argentine to spend a half-hour in the bar of the dance-hall listening to the gossip of the place. When he had learned what he wanted to know, he forthfared to meet Winton at the incoming train.
“We are in for it now,” he said, when they had crossed the creek to the dinkey and the Chinaman was bringing Winton's belated supper. “The Rajah has imported a carload of armed mercenaries, and he is going to clean us all out to-morrow: arrest everybody from the gang foremen up.”
Winton's eyebrows lifted. “So? that is a pretty large contract. Has he men enough to do it?”
“Not so many men. But they are sworn-in deputies, with the sheriff of Ute County in command--a posse, in fact. So he has the law on his side.”
“Which is more than he had when he set a thug on me this afternoon at Carbonate,” said Winton sourly; and he told Adams about the misunderstanding in the lobby of the Buckingham. His friend whistled under his breath. “By Jove! that's pretty rough. Do you suppose the Rajah dictated any such Lucretia Borgia thing as that?”
Winton took time to think about it and admitted a doubt, as he had not before. Believing Mr. Somerville Darrah fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils in his official capacity of vice-president of a fighting corporation, he was none the less disposed to find excuses for Miss Virginia Carteret's uncle.
“I did think so at first, but I guess it was only the misguided zeal of some understrapper. Of course, word has gone out all along the C. G. R. line that we are to be delayed by every possible expedient.”
“Mr. Darrah dictated that move in his own proper person.”
“You had a message from me this afternoon?”
“I thought you might have left out the first part of it; also that you might have made the latter half a good bit more explicit.”
A slow smile spread itself over Adams' impassive face.
“Every man has his limitations,” he said. “I did the best I could. But the Rajah knew very well what he was about--otherwise there would have been no telegram.”
Winton sent the Chinaman out for another cup of tea before he said, “Did Miss Carteret come here alone?”
“What makes any woman do precisely the most unexpected thing?”