CHAPTER XVII
THE NET TIGHTENS
Allen learned much about Peter Levine and his associates and about GoldRun itself in the following conversation, and when he and the girlsfinally said good-by to the old man and his daughter and started offdown the trail again, he was more than satisfied.
As for the girls, they could hardly wait to get out of earshot of themine before letting loose a flood of excited comment.
"Well, I don't see anything to get so excited about," said Allen, afterthey had rattled on for several minutes. "Dan Higgins didn't tell usanything we didn't already know--or suspect, anyway. He simply confirmedour suspicions, that's all."
"Seems to me that's enough," retorted Mollie. "It's one thing to think athing yourself and an entirely different thing to find out somebody elsethinks it too."
"Don't be an old granddaddy, Allen," Betty said, adding threateningly:"If you don't look out we won't let you have any of that wonderful goldwe are going to find--not one little tiny nugget."
"That's gratitude for you," said Allen reproachfully. "Not one littlenugget for a fellow who finds her a fortune."
"You haven't found it yet," Amy reminded him.
"No," said Allen suddenly animated, "I haven't found it--not yet--butI'm pretty sure I'm on the right track. Look here," he appealed to them:"It seems reasonable to me to suppose that if Peter Levine and thepeople above him are so anxious to get the property they know prettywell where they stand. They don't want the ranch simply because they_think_ there is gold on it."
"Then you think----" Betty was beginning breathlessly, when Alleninterrupted her with a rush of words.
"Yes, that's just what I think," he said. "I've been pretty well overthe whole of this ranch since I came, and I've noticed that this extremenorthwest portion of it, the only part where there would be anypossibility of finding gold, is pretty well deserted most of thetime--absolutely so at night----"
"Then you think," Betty burst forth, "that these people, whoever theyare, may have made actual tests? That they are sure there is gold here?"
Allen nodded.
"That is my theory," he said gravely. "But of course the only way toprove the truth of it is to keep my eyes open and catch them, if that ispossible, in the act."
"But how could one conceal such a thing?" Grace objected. "A big thinglike a mine can't be hidden away in the daytime like a rag doll. Theremust be some signs about the place to show that people have beenhere----"
"Exactly," said Allen. "There probably are signs--only nobody has hadthe incentive--or the interest, maybe--to hunt for those signs up tothis time. Although," he added thoughtfully, "there are many ways ofcamouflaging the entrance to a mine so that a casual observer, even aninterested one, possibly, would be fooled--branches, leaves, a rock ortwo."
"But wouldn't there be noise?" It was Amy who put the objection thistime. "I should think they would make enough disturbance to rousesuspicion at least."
"They might not," Allen contended. "Remember, they are right in themining territory, so that if any of the miners heard an unusual noisethey would think it was one of their neighbors working late. Anyway,"he finished, "their operations would necessarily have to be small, andthey might be so small as not even to arouse suspicion. Sometimes," headded, and the girls hung on his words as though they were prophetic,"there need be no actual digging to ascertain that there is gold in acertain region. Sometimes the bed of a spring if sifted to get rid ofpebbles and other debris will reveal gold enough to make the findercertain that there is a rich gold vein close by."
"Goodness, let's go and hunt up some springs!" cried Mollieirrepressibly. "What's the use of leaving all this gold finding to Mr.Peter Levine?"
"I remember seeing an old broken sieve around the ranch housesomewhere," Grace suggested helpfully. "Don't you suppose we can go backand get it?"
"But, Allen," Betty asked anxiously, "how do you expect to find outabout these men? I suppose you intend to show them up?"
"I most certainly do," responded Allen cheerfully. "It would give me thegreatest delight to land Mr. Peter Levine and his associates in jail."
"Well, you'd better look out you don't get landed yourself," said Molliesagely. "I imagine these particular gentlemen are pretty handy withtheir guns--like most of the other people around here--and I reckon theywouldn't be very backward about using them."
"It would be fifty-fifty, at that," said Allen, adding grimly: "I'm notso very unhandy with a gun myself. But the war's over and I haven't anyidea of staging a tragedy," he added lightly, anxious to banish thecloud that had come over Betty's bright face. "I shall keep out of sighttill I have them just where I want them, and when they find themselvescaught I don't think they'll do much fighting. All crooks are more orless cowards, you know."
"But what are you going to do in the meantime--while you are waiting fora chance to show them up?" Betty persisted. She did not half like theway things were going--even if there was a chance of finding a fortuneon the ranch. It seemed to her that Allen was putting himself into toogreat danger. And if anything happened to him, what would all the goldin the world be worth?
"'In the meantime?'" Allen was answering her question lightly. "Why, inthe meantime I intend to keep my eyes and ears wide open and do a littlescouting around Gold Run until I get a line on the doings of PeterLevine and his crowd--if he has a crowd. He may just be in partnershipwith one other rascal like himself, for all I know. That's one of thefirst things I want to find out. After the information of our friend,back there at the mine," he added, "there is no longer any doubt in mymind that this Levine is a crook."
"Humph," said Betty, "I was sure of that the first time I laid eyes onhim."
"And yet you said you could almost love him for making your motherdecide to come out here," Allen reminded her quizzically.
"And you said you were on your way to kill him," said Betty, adding witha chuckle: "What made you change your mind?"
"I didn't change my mind," retorted Allen, with a grin. "I just didn'thappen to meet him, that's all."
They had nearly reached the ranch house before Betty thought to askAllen if he had talked his plans over with her mother.
"No, I haven't," he admitted. "As a matter of fact, I hadn't made anydefinite plans until I had this confab with Dan Higgins. He made me seethe whole thing straight, so to speak. I'll have a talk with your motherand father to-night," he promised.
He kept his promise and had the satisfaction of knowing that both hisclients were backing him heartily.
"Go to it, Allen," Mr. Nelson said at the end of the conference. "Seemsto me that you have gotten the correct angle on this thing, and if youneed any help from me just call on me. Only," he warned, "don't runyourself into unnecessary trouble."
"I've found, sir," said Allen, with that straight-forward look that madeevery one like and admire him, "that it's usually the fellow who runsaway from trouble who gets the most of it. I'm not worrying about thatend of the business."
But if he did not worry, Betty certainly did in the days that followed.She had dreams at night in which she saw Allen riding about in theshadows. There would be a report, two reports, and he would topple overbackwards to lie crumpled up and motionless. No wonder that she becamepale and lost her appetite and made her mother worry even in the midstof the excitement over this double hunt--the hunt for men and gold.
One night after dinner Allen asked her to ride with him a little way,said it would do him a lot of good just to talk to her. Betty agreed,and they cantered off in the twilight, their bodies swaying to therhythm of the beautiful animals under them.
For a long time they were silent, just enjoying the rapid motion, thesweet scented air that fanned their faces, the beauty of the hazymountains in the distance. Then, suddenly Allen spoke.
"Betty," he said, swinging round toward her, "you aren't letting thisthing get on your nerves, are you?"
"Wh-what do you mean?" she asked faintly. "What thing?"
"This gold busine
ss--the excitement of it all," he said, waving his handlargely as though to take in the whole landscape. "I've noticed youlooked tired lately," he went on gently, "and I've worried about it,little Betty. I--I have almost dared to hope," he leaned toward her, butBetty was looking the other way, "that you were a little anxious aboutme. Were you?"
"Why--I--yes--no--why--I don't know," cried Betty wildly, then, meetinghis eye, she laughed, a twinkling little laugh. "You shouldn't askquestions like that, not so suddenly, anyway," she said primly. "Itisn't fair."
"Never mind, I got my answer," said Allen jubilantly, and again Bettyfound it a little hard to look at him. "You mustn't worry though,little girl," he went on gently. "There isn't any danger--really. I'mjust playing a delightful little game--and I'm going to win. Went to seeLevine to-day, representing your mother," he added, and his tonesuddenly became grim. "He made me feel, or at least he tried to make mefeel, that he had as much respect for my ability as he would for alittle speck of dirt."
"The very idea!" cried Betty indignantly. "I'd just like to tell himwhat I think of--your ability----" she faltered on these last words, forAllen was gazing at her with a most disconcerting light in his eyes.
Suddenly she whirled Nigger's head about and urged him to a gallop.
"Race you home, Allen!" she challenged. "Winner gets the other fellow'spiece of cake."
"Who cares for cake!" cried Allen, but it might have been noticed thathe followed her just the same.