“Then find the man that put that gold-brick in your saddle-bag.”
“We’ll do it, McGowan,” spoke up the scout. “Give us a little time.”
“Will you go out to supper with me, Buffalo Bill?” queried the mine-owner.
“I have other business on hand, just now, McGowan.”
“Anyhow, you’ll ride with me back to the Three-ply this evening?”
“I’m afraid I’ll have to pass that up, too.”
“But if you’re going to hook-up with me----”
“You’ll hear from me and my pards, all right, and probably when you least expect it. Go back to your diggings, McGowan, and be comfortable in your mind. Take things easy, and let things drift as usual.”
“All right, Buffalo Bill, if you want matters that way. But I’m depending on you.”
“Then show that you have confidence in me, McGowan, by heeding instructions.”
McGowan, with a wave of the hand to those in the sheriff’s office, left the room, and the court-house. A few moments later, Buffalo Bill and the baron also left.
“You’ve made a fool of yourself, baron,” said the scout, as soon as he and the Dutchman were out of the court-house.
“A pair of blue eyes have got you locoed. They held you in that Three-ply camp until the real thieves got you implicated in the bullion robberies.”
“Vell, I like dot Frieda pedder as any girl vat I efer saw. Dot’s right.”
“We’ll have supper, and then we’ll ride out and camp in the vicinity of the Three-ply Mine. We can learn more by playing this game on the strict q. t. than by going about it openly.”
“I’ll bed you dot feller, Pernridder, und dot odder feller, Chacops, knows more as dey vants to----”
“Stow it, baron! You don’t want to throw any suspicions on men who are possibly innocent. Developments will prove who are guilty, and who are not. We’ll let events speak for themselves.”
In the hotel office the clerk halted Buffalo Bill and handed him a letter.
The letter was addressed in an unfamiliar hand, and the postmark showed it had passed through the Phœnix post-office at 4 P. M. It was then only half-past 5. The enclosed sheet bore the following:
“BUFFALO BILL: If you know when you’re well off, you’ll leave this bullion business at the Three-ply strictly alone. Attend to your own affairs. This is the sheriff’s business, anyway. A word to the wise is sufficient. Talk is cheap, and writing is fully as cheap as talk, but don’t pass up this warning if you value your scalp.