Down the Slope Part 51

"That will do," Mr. Wright cried, sternly. "I shall have no such language used here. Leave this moment, Brace, and when you are more calm we'll discuss the matter."

Joe looked in silence first at the cas.h.i.+er, and then at the superintendent, after which he said to Fred and Skip:

"Come, lads, this is no place for us. We've saved the company's money, an' now are likely to be treated as we were for standin' by 'em at the time of the riot."

With this reminder he walked out of the building followed by both the boys.

CHAPTER XXVIII

OPINIONS

The three who had entered the store in such high spirits left it in a maze of bewilderment and anger.

That Gus could concoct so plausible a story was none the less astonis.h.i.+ng than that Mr. Wright should give it credence, so far as to refrain from ordering the boy's immediate arrest.

Joe was so enraged that during the walk to Fred's home he did nothing but inveigh in the strongest terms against the company, and more especially these two of its servants who had insulted both himself and Fred by refusing to believe their united statements.

"I'll pound that cas.h.i.+er 'till he can't say beans," he cried, shaking his fist in impotent rage.

"What good will that do? People won't believe our story any quicker because of it."

"I'll be satisfied, an' that's enough."

"Don't make such threats," Fred said, imploringly. "If he hears of them it 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 much more talk to coax me into servin' Wright the same way."

Several of the miner's acquaintances hailed him as he pa.s.sed; but his heart was so full of anger that he paid not the slightest attention, and Fred felt a sense of most profound relief when they were inside the house, where the wild threats could not be heard by those who might report them at the store.

After the greetings with Mrs. Byram the travelers went to the chamber where Bill lay helpless, his fractured limb bound in splints and bandages.

Here the different stories were told again, and the invalid's astonishment was not less than that of his companions.

"It don't hardly seem reasonable," he muttered, after a long pause. "I reckon the best thing would be for you an' Fred to see the lawyer right away. There's no knowin' what kind of a sc.r.a.pe may grow out of this."

"It'll do jest as well if we go in the mornin' on the first train," Joe replied. "After the tramp we've had it comes kinder natural to hanker for 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. They won't be able to take the land from us, an' in another year we'll be among 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 about right."

Bill closed his eyes as if in thought; Fred went down stairs to talk with his mother, and Skip took his departure, Joe saying as he accompanied him to the door:

"We won't forget what you've done, lad, an' before long us four--that's countin' 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 to forget what's been done."

"Then you can rest easy, for the matter was settled yesterday when you brought the grub."

After Skip left Joe went out to see his friends, and an hour later he returned in a perfect rage.

"That villain of a cas.h.i.+er has taken good care to tell his side of the story," he exclaimed, bursting into the invalid's room, "an' more'n half the men I've seen believe we got the money from Sam to stick the robbery on 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 to him. Why, even Donovan says old man Dobson oughter prosecute us for the outrage, as he calls it."

"I can't believe it!" Bill cried, trying in vain to rise to a sitting posture.

"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', spite of what he's done."

"Don't the folks know what kind of a boy that Dobson feller is?"

"I reckon they do; but the cas.h.i.+er keeps talkin' about destroyin' one feller's character to help another, an' the blind fools here swallow all he says."

"What makes him so down on our crowd?"

"'Cause he had no business to make the arrests, an' if it was proved Gus an' 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 any difference how tired you an' Fred are, you must go to Blacktown this very 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 agin us."

Joe realized that this was good advice, and went at once to confer with Mrs. Byram and Fred.

The result of this last interview was that an hour after midnight the miner and the boy left the house quietly, and walked at a rapid pace directly across the mountain.

"This is pretty tough, lad," Joe said, when they were some distance from the town. "It seems as if I'd done nothin' but tramp for the last month."

"I won't grumble if this matter is straightened out finally, but just now it looks as though all hands would have been better off to let things go as they might."

"Don't get downhearted. When our mine is open you can afford to laugh at this little fracas."

Although Joe spoke so cheerily he was far from feeling comfortable in mind, as was apparent when they visited the lawyer's house at a very early hour next morning.

The mental anxiety could be plainly read on his face as he waited to receive the legal opinion after telling his story.

"I don't think you need fear any serious trouble, although matters may be very disagreeable for a while," that gentleman said. "It will be well for us to make complaint against the Dobson boy, and by causing his arrest be certain of having him here when he is wanted. I will attend to it at once."

"How much money do you want?"

"We won't speak of that now. When I do business for a firm as rich as yours, I am not afraid of losing my fees."

"It would be hard to find any poorer concern."