by James Otis
CHAPTER XXVIII
OPINIONS
The three who had entered the store in such high spirits left it in amaze of bewilderment and anger.
That Gus could concoct so plausible a story was none the lessastonishing than that Mr. Wright should give it credence, so far as torefrain from ordering the boy's immediate arrest.
Joe was so enraged that during the walk to Fred's home he did nothingbut inveigh in the strongest terms against the company, and moreespecially these two of its servants who had insulted both himself andFred by refusing to believe their united statements.
"I'll pound that cashier 'till he can't say beans," he cried, shakinghis fist in impotent rage.
"What good will that do? People won't believe our story any quickerbecause of it."
"I'll be satisfied, an' that's enough."
"Don't make such threats," Fred said, imploringly. "If he hears of themit will only give him a chance to make trouble for you."
"I'll not only make 'em; but carry out every one. It won't take muchmore talk to coax me into servin' Wright the same way."
Several of the miner's acquaintances hailed him as he passed; but hisheart was so full of anger that he paid not the slightest attention, andFred felt a sense of most profound relief when they were inside thehouse, where the wild threats could not be heard by those who mightreport them at the store.
After the greetings with Mrs. Byram the travelers went to the chamberwhere Bill lay helpless, his fractured limb bound in splints andbandages.
Here the different stories were told again, and the invalid'sastonishment was not less than that of his companions.
"It don't hardly seem reasonable," he muttered, after a long pause. "Ireckon the best thing would be for you an' Fred to see the lawyer rightaway. There's no knowin' what kind of a scrape may grow out of this."
"It'll do jest as well if we go in the mornin' on the first train," Joereplied. "After the tramp we've had it comes kinder natural to hankerfor a bed."
"I s'pose it would be tough; but don't waste any time to-morrow."
"Wright can't do much between now an' then, so rest easy, mate. Theywon't be able to take the land from us, an' in another year we'll beamong the big-bugs ourselves."
"Are you sure the trade can't be backed out of?"
"I've left everything with the lawyer, and he'll fix matters aboutright."
Bill closed his eyes as if in thought; Fred went down stairs to talkwith his mother, and Skip took his departure, Joe saying as heaccompanied him to the door:
"We won't forget what you've done, lad, an' before long us four--that'scountin' Sam--will be in condition to pay off our scores."
"I'll have all I want when the fellers I buried in the mine promise toforget what's been done."
"Then you can rest easy, for the matter was settled yesterday when youbrought the grub."
After Skip left Joe went out to see his friends, and an hour later hereturned in a perfect rage.
"That villain of a cashier has taken good care to tell his side of thestory," he exclaimed, bursting into the invalid's room, "an' more'n halfthe men I've seen believe we got the money from Sam to stick the robberyon that thievin' Gus. Mr. Wright has taken the boy up to his house, an'is pettin' him like a prince, I s'pose, to square off for what we did tohim. Why, even Donovan says old man Dobson oughter prosecute us for theoutrage, as he calls it."
"I can't believe it!" Bill cried, trying in vain to rise to a sittingposture.
"I'm tellin' the truth, all the same. There's a big excitement in town,an' I wouldn't be surprised if Fred was arrested in the mornin', spiteof what he's done."
"Don't the folks know what kind of a boy that Dobson feller is?"
"I reckon they do; but the cashier keeps talkin' about destroyin' onefeller's character to help another, an' the blind fools here swallow allhe says."
"What makes him so down on our crowd?"
"'Cause he had no business to make the arrests, an' if it was proved Gusan' Tim stole it, he'd be in a bad mess with all hands."
"Look here, Joe"--and Bill spoke very earnestly--"it don't make anydifference how tired you an' Fred are, you must go to Blacktown thisvery night. That lawyer will tell us jest what oughter be done, an'we've got to fight this thing tooth an' nail, now all hands are aginus."
Joe realized that this was good advice, and went at once to confer withMrs. Byram and Fred.
The result of this last interview was that an hour after midnight theminer and the boy left the house quietly, and walked at a rapid pacedirectly across the mountain.
"This is pretty tough, lad," Joe said, when they were some distance fromthe town. "It seems as if I'd done nothin' but tramp for the lastmonth."
"I won't grumble if this matter is straightened out finally, but justnow it looks as though all hands would have been better off to letthings go as they might."
"Don't get downhearted. When our mine is open you can afford to laugh atthis little fracas."
Although Joe spoke so cheerily he was far from feeling comfortable inmind, as was apparent when they visited the lawyer's house at a veryearly hour next morning.
The mental anxiety could be plainly read on his face as he waited toreceive the legal opinion after telling his story.
"I don't think you need fear any serious trouble, although matters maybe very disagreeable for a while," that gentleman said. "It will be wellfor us to make complaint against the Dobson boy, and by causing hisarrest be certain of having him here when he is wanted. I will attend toit at once."
"How much money do you want?"
"We won't speak of that now. When I do business for a firm as rich asyours, I am not afraid of losing my fees."
"It would be hard to find any poorer concern."
"There's where you make a mistake, Mr. Brace. Your title is clear; anexpert, whom I sent, reports that there can be no question as to thepresence of coal in large quantities, and I shall be only too glad topurchase stock when the company is formed."
"Do you mean the whole of that?" Joe asked, his eyes glistening withdelight.
"To prove it I will advance on your joint note any reasonable amount ofmoney which may be needed. In fact, I think it would be a good idea togive Mr. Wright a hint of your discovery, when I'm quite sure he'd viewthis whole affair in a different light."
"We'll keep the secret a while longer. I'd rather get out of the scrapebefore folks know what we've found, an' then settle old scores. Now,Fred, s'pose we go to see Sam?"
"I'll walk to the jail with you, and you can wait until I havedespatched an officer to Farley's for the Dobson boy."
The fact that Lawyer Hunter had come with the visitors insured themevery facility for seeing their friend, and the three met in theturnkey's room with the knowledge that they might be together the entireday.
Poor Sam looked forlorn, indeed, when he entered the apartment. It hadbeen so long since his friend's last visit that he fancied they weredeserting him.
His appearance changed decidedly when they explained the reason fortheir absence, and two hours were spent in giving a detailed account ofall that had happened since his departure from Farley's.
Then, forgetting the present troubles, the three talked of the day whenthey would be mine owners instead of laborers, and built so many aircastles that neither heeded the passage of time until Mr. Hunterreturned with the information that an officer had visited Farley's onlyto find the superintendent looking anxiously for Gus.
"It seems that Mr. Wright took the boy home last night, and, believingin his protestations of innocence despite your testimony, left himunguarded. As might have been expected, he took advantage of thiscredulity to make his escape, and now I fancy it will be many daysbefore he re-visits this part of the country."
"Then all we have done goes for nothing," Fred said, mournfully.
"In that you are very greatly mistaken. Thorpe will be acquitted beyonda doubt, and it is not likely Mr. Wright dare press any charge againstyou at present. I shall g
o with you to Farley's, after Sam is releasedon bail, and guarantee matters will be set right."
"Am I to go out?" Sam asked in surprise.
"As soon as it can be arranged. Your friends are to accompany me, andthe matter can be accomplished very quickly."
Fred was amazed at the ease with which all this was done. He and Joewent before a magistrate, and repeated under oath the story they hadtold so often; two friends of Mr. Hunter's signed a paper to which theother's names had already been affixed, and, ten minutes later, Sam waswith them, looking radiantly happy at being in the open air once more.
It was too late to return home, unless Joe and Fred were willing to takeanother tramp across the mountain, and all three went to the hotel,where they formed a very jolly party.
On the first train next morning the partners, accompanied by Mr. Hunter,arrived at Farley's, and found public sentiment greatly changed. Theflight of Gus had caused very many to believe he really was the guiltyparty, although no one could guess how he gained possession of themoney, and the walk to Mrs. Byram's was something like an ovation.