CHAPTER III
California John was discursive and interested and disinclined to behurried. He crossed one leg over the other and lit his pipe.
"I was driftin' down the road busy with my own idees--which ain't many,"he began, "when I was woke up all to once by someone givin' me advice. Itook the advice. Wasn't nothin' else to do. All I could see was a rockand a gun barrel. That was enough. So I histed my hands as per commandsand waited for the next move." He chuckled. "I wasn't worryin'. Had tosqueeze my dust bag to pay my hotel bill when I left the city."
"'Drop yore gun in the road,' says the agent.
"I done so.
"'Now dismount.'
"I climbed down. And then Jimmy Gaynes rose up from behind that rock andlaughed at me.
"'The joke's on me!' said I, and reached down for my gun.
"'Better leave that!' said Jimmy pretty sharp. I know that tone ofvoice, so I straightened up again.
"'Well, Jimmy,' said I, 'she lays if you say so. But where'd you comefrom: and what for do you turn road agent and hold up your old friends?'
"'I'm holdin' you up,' Jimmy answered, 'because I want to talk to youfor ten minutes. As for where I come from, that's neither here northere.'
"'Of course,' said I, 'I'm one of these exclusive guys that needs a gunthrowed on him before he'll talk with the plain people like you.'
"'Now don't get mad,' says Jimmy. 'But light yore pipe, and set down onthat rock, and you'll see in a minute why I _pre_ferred to corner thegatling market.'
"Well, I set down and lit up, and Jimmy done likewise, about ten feetaway.
"'I've come back a long ways to talk to one of you boys, and I've shorehung around this road some few hours waitin' for some of you terrapinsto come along. Ever found out who done those two hold-ups?'
"'Nope,' said I, 'and don't expect to.'
"'Well, I done it,' says he.
"I looked him in the eye mighty severe.
"'You're one of the funniest little jokers ever hit this trail,' I toldhim. 'If that's your general line of talkee-talkee I don't wonder youdon't want me to have no gun.'
"'Never_the_less,' he insists, 'I done it. And I'll tell you just how itwas done. Here's yore old express crawlin' up the road. Here I am behindthis little old rock. You know what happened next I reckon--fromexperience.'
"'I reckon I know that,' says I, 'but how did you get behind that rockwithout leavin' no tracks?'
"I climbed up the cliff out of the canon, and I just walked up the canonfrom the Lost Dog through the brush.'
"'Yes,' says I, 'that might be: a man could make out to shinny up. Buthow----'
"'One thing to a time. Then I ordered them dust sacks throwed out, andthe driver to 'bout-face and retreat.'
"'Sure,' says I, 'simple as a wart on a kid's nose. There was you with ahalf ton of gold to fly off with! Come again.'
"'I then dropped them sacks off the edge of the cliff where they rolledinto the brush. After a while I climbed down after them, and was on handwhen your posse started out. Then I carried them home at leisure.'
"'What did you do with your hoss?' I asked him, mighty sarcastic. 'Seemsto me you overlook a few bets.'
"'I didn't have no hoss,' says he.
"'But the real hold-up----
"'You mean them tracks. Well, just to amuse you fellows, I walked in thedust up to that flat rock. Then I clamped a big pair of horseshoes onhind-side before and walked back again.'"
California John's audience had been listening intently. Now it could nolonger contain itself, but broke forth into exclamations indicative ofvarious emotions.
"That's why them front and back tracks was the same size!" someonecried.
"Gee, you're bright!" said California John. "That's what I told him. Ialso told him he was a wonder, but how did he manage to slip out near aton of dust up that road without our knowing it?
"'You did know it,' says he. 'Did you fellows really think there was anygold-bearing ore in the Lost Dog? We just run that dust through the millalong with a lot of worthless rock, and shipped it out open and aboveboard as our own mill run. There never was an ounce of dust come out ofthe Lost Dog, and there never will.' Then he give me back mygun--emptied--we shook hands, and here I be."
After the next burst of astonishment had ebbed, and had been succeededby a rather general feeling of admiration, somebody asked CaliforniaJohn if Jimmy had come back solely for the purpose of clearing up themystery. California John had evidently been waiting for this question.He arose and knocked the ashes from his pipe.
"Bring a candle," he requested the storekeeper, and led the way to theabandoned Lost Dog. Into the tunnel he led them, to the very end. Therehe paused, holding aloft his light. At his feet was a canvas which,being removed, was found to cover neatly a number of heavy sacks.
"Here's our dust," said California John, "every ounce of it, he said. Hekept about six hundred thousand or so that belonged to Bright: but hedidn't take none of ours. He come back to tell me so."
The men crowded around for closer inspection.
"I wonder why he done that?" Tibbetts marvelled.
"I asked him that," replied California John, grimly, "He said hisconscience never would rest easy if he robbed us babes."
Tibbetts broke the ensuing silence.
"Was 'babes' the word he used?" he asked, softly.
"'Babes' was the word," said California John.