merriwell and burke looked at each other so long and so significantly that ballard became curious.
“what’s biting you two, anyhow?” he asked.
in the fewest possible words, frank told ballard and blunt about the robbery in the cañon.
“thunder!” exclaimed ballard. “why, the stage went past us with both horses on the run while we were tangled up with that pig. i wondered then why the mischief the driver was in such a tearing hurry.”
“that must have been right after the robbery,” said the excited cowboy, “and the driver was in a rush to get to town and spread the news. gee, but this is a stunner!”
“those two fellows we saw on horseback were the robbers,” went on ballard. “the things they had in front of them were the mail bags!”
“great head, pink!” approved clancy.
“but, of course,” observed blunt, “the juniper we thought was lenning couldn’t have been lenning at all. looked a heap like him, though.”
“um!” grunted burke; “i don’t know about that. lenning left the mine yesterday and hadn’t returned up to something like an hour ago. he took my horse when he went—and my horse is a sorrel, with a white stocking foot.”
frank was sorry the superintendent had thought it necessary to throw in any comments about lenning. the only result would be to crowd suspicion upon the absent watchman, when, in all likelihood, he was as blameless of the robbery as burke himself.
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the superintendent, however, was never backward about airing his views. ballard stared as he listened to burke, and then turned and looked at barzy blunt.
blunt’s face was a study. up to the time of that ball game with gold hill, the cowboy had had no sort of use for jode lenning. in fact, right to lenning’s face, blunt had declared that no respectable fellow would take part in a game in which a crook like lenning was booked to play.
but the game itself had changed all that. blunt, and all the players, had been won over by lenning’s clever work, and by his meeting in masterly fashion that thrilling moment when victory or defeat for ophir hung on his efforts alone.
had the enthusiasm inspired by lenning’s splendid work in a crisis developed a friendship that could not last? frank watched blunt critically.
“i reckon you haven’t got it right, burke,” said the cowboy finally. “it wasn’t so mighty long ago when i’d have believed lenning equal to any sort of skullduggery. it used to make me sore to see chip, there, standing up for the fellow, getting him a job, and all that; but, on the day of that ball game, i made up my mind that chip merriwell’s judgment was warranted not to come out in the wash. ‘what’s good enough for chip,’ i said to myself, ‘is good enough for me, and right here’s where i quit handing it to lenning every time a chance comes my way.’ i’d be a pretty measly sort of a coyote if i shook hands with lenning on saturday and then turned against him monday. sorrel horse or no, that couldn’t have been lenning we saw in the cañon.”
“bully for you, barzy!” exclaimed merriwell, deeply gratified by the stand the cowboy had taken.
burke shook his head, by way of dissent.
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“the circumstantial evidence is pretty strong,” said he.
“the same kind of circumstantial evidence, burke,” returned merry, “that led you to think lenning had made off with that bullion. remember that? lenning was missing, and the bullion was missing, so you thought——”
“this isn’t the same, chip, not by a whole row of ’dobies,” broke in the superintendent. “lenning’s record is all against him.”
“so it was the night the bullion was taken,” said frank warmly, “and lenning has been making a mighty fine record since then.”
“well, this sort of talk won’t get us anywhere. it doesn’t make any difference, just now, whether lenning was one of the thieves or whether he wasn’t. the main point is, ballard and blunt saw the thieves galloping off after the stage was held up. hawkins ought to be put in possession of what they know without loss of a moment’s time. i’m going to hustle for town and tell some one who can get the news to the deputy sheriff in short order.”
his spurs rattled, and he kicked up the dust on the road to ophir.
“it gets my goat,” muttered ballard, “the way lenning drops into trouble. just as he gets started on the right road, something like this has to happen and put him all to the bad again. i’ll be hanged if i can understand how he manages it.”
“somebody else manages it for him,” said clancy. “that’s an easy guess. it was shoup that engineered the bullion plot.”
“who engineered this one?” queried ballard.
“maybe it was shoup again.”
“did the fellow you saw with the one who looked like lenning resemble billy shoup?” asked frank.
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“no more than i do,” said blunt. “he was a square, chunk of a man. of course, you understand we weren’t near enough to see either of ’em very clearly.”
“i understand that. well, let’s get to town, fellows. i’m all worked up about this thing. the professor’s check was in that batch of stolen mail, and if he doesn’t get it back we’ll have to hang out here until another check can come on from new york.”
“how many more will that mule carry?” inquired ballard, looking at uncle sam wistfully.
“he’s loaded to the guards now, pink,” answered clancy. “if you got on with chip and me, we’d swamp him. besides,” and here the red-headed chap’s voice grew rather lofty, “you don’t know how to ride a mule, anyway. there’s a knack about it that only comes of long practice.”
“oh, splash!” grunted ballard. “you’re sitting up there like a frog on a toadstool. let’s see what sort of a mule rider you are.”
he was standing within arm’s length of uncle sam, and he reached out suddenly and touched the mule’s flank with one end of the ear of corn. thereupon uncle sam tried to stand on his head, blunt had to dodge his flying heels, and ballard, in trying to get out of the way, stumbled over the pig and fell flat. as for clancy, in spite of his implied prowess as a mule rider, he was jolted off, and merriwell had all he could do to stick in the saddle.
“there, pink, cut that out!” cried merry. “we want to get back to town, and we don’t want any more foolishness. this business of lenning’s needs attention.”
“i’m anxious to get back to town, too,” said ballard, picking himself up, “but we can’t leave woo sing. suppose we rope the pig and let it ride in clancy’s place,
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chip? i don’t believe the mule will know the difference.”
“good idea,” approved merry. “tie the pig and boost it up here.”
“velly fine!” cried the chinaman, his slant eyes sparkling.
blunt, ballard, and woo sing fell upon the small porker, and, while the air was torn with squeals, they bound his feet together and then hoisted him to uncle sam’s back. there was a good deal of wriggling and squirming on the pig’s part, but uncle sam took it good-naturedly, and ambled off.
clancy, ballard, blunt, and woo sing kept pace with the mule, and they all arrived in town together. the pig was unloaded in the waiting pen, out back of the hotel, and uncle sam was turned into the small corral where he passed most of his time. the chinaman was so happy over the safe ending of his work with the pig that he almost shed tears.
“melliwell,” he snuffled, “you do a heap plenty fo’ woo sing. china boy nev’ fo’gettee.”
“not a word for us,” said ballard disgustedly, as he walked away with frank and the rest, “and blunt and i helped capture the porker in the cañon. i always said that chink had a wooden head. next time he goes pig catching, by george! he can take clancy and chip.”
there was a buzz of excitement in ophir’s main street. everywhere the stage robbery was being discussed. riders were leaving town by twos and threes, all heading for the cañon, and fired with a desire to do something to help run the robbers to earth.
the boys saw burke just as they turned to mount the steps leading to the hotel veranda. burke was sitting on his horse by the hitching pole in front. he had just
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mounted, it appeared, preparatory to returning to the mine.
“hawkins was gone long before i got here,” said he, “but i sent word to him by two or three of those who just pulled out for the cañon. maybe they’ll see the deputy sheriff, and maybe they won’t. i’ve done the best i could, though.”
“telephone in, will you, burke,” requested merry, “in case lenning is at the mine when you get there?”
“glad to,” was the answer, “but,” and a grim look crossed the superintendent’s face as he spoke, “don’t waste any time waiting for the message, chip. lenning’s in this up to his eyes.”
it was dinner time at the ophir house, and the gong which called guests to meals had long since sounded. frank and his friends, as soon as they could get some of the dust off their faces and hands, went into the dining room and took their places at the table.
as the robbery had been the one exciting topic in the street, so was it now the principal event discussed by those at the tables. lawlessness is always a theme that draws universal attention, and this was particularly the case in a town like ophir.
although a western town with a past that was pretty turbulent, in later years it had settled down into a peaceful and orderly little burg. the robbery, therefore, had caused a ripple of excitement, since crime of any sort was in such decided contrast to the ordinary mood of the place.
frank was no more than half through his meal when, somewhat to his surprise, pophagan called to him from the dinning-room door: “ye’re wanted at the phone, merriwell!”
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“there it is!” exclaimed blunt, with much satisfaction. “burke’s calling to tell you that lenning’s at the mine.”
“that must be the case!” exclaimed frank, hurrying from the room to answer the call.
the rest of the boys finished their meal hurriedly, and, by the time they were done and out in the office, frank came out of the little booth where he had been receiving his message. there had been a change in his face. it no longer wore a pleased expression, but was heavy and troubled.
“what’s to pay, pard?” demanded blunt.
“the message wasn’t from burke,” said merry, “and that’s about all i can tell you now. will you take a ride with me, barzy?”
“a ride? where?”
“tell you later. this is a rush order, and we’ve got to be on the move.”
“sure, i’ll ride with you, chip—anywhere.”
“come on, then,” said merriwell, and hurriedly led the way out of the office.
