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"We spoke about a mine, and he may imagine that we carry several thousands of dollars with us." "If he's a sharper why did he try to find Wumble for us?" asked Sam. This was a poser and Dick did not pretend to answer it. The dinner finished, they walked forth once more and down into the heart of the city.
But I don't want any of Anderson Rover's pile not me. Why, your father nursed me through the worst case o' fever a miner ever had an' I ain't forgittin' it, lads. I'll stick to ye to the end." And the old miner put out his hand and gave another squeeze that made Dick wince. The Palace of the West reached, Wumble pushed his way into the smoke-laden office and to the desk.
"Poor fellow!" murmured Tom, as he gazed at the remains. "It was a dreadful death to die!" "Yes, and he probably wasn't prepared for it," said Dick soberly. "I wonder if the Baxters were caught, too?" "More'n likely," put in Wumble. "Look, here is a man's hat." "Arnold Baxter's hat," cried Tom. "I noted it particularly when I was their prisoner. Where can the man be?"
"Unless the landslide paid 'em off," said Jack Wumble. "Do you think they were caught in it?" asked Dick. "No tellin', lad, until we locate the slide." To locate the landslide was not difficult, since it had passed to their right. They soon made out its trail, which moved down to the creek in a zigzag fashion.
It was not until the next day that the party returned to the creek and began to look up the Eclipse Mine once more. The landslide had cut across this, and it was not long before both Wumble and Slim Jim declared the ground to be full of good paying "dirt," to use their own term.
"I hope we are fortunate enough to catch Jack Wumble," said Tom. "I don't want to lose time in Chicago hunting him up." The car was but half filled, so that the boys had several seats all to themselves. They had brought with them a map of Colorado, and they spent much of the day in studying this. When it came time for dinner they entered the dining car.
And the horse pricked up his ears and looked around wisely as if he understood every word. At that moment Tom felt that a horse is indeed man's best friend. He soon set off, but slowly, trying to locate the trail which had brought him astray, and trying at the same time, by the rising sun, to determine the direction in which his brothers and Jack Wumble had passed.
"If I enter the water again it may carry me along for miles before I have another chance to get out," he reasoned. "And then I will be just that much further away from Sam and Wumble." If he had had his pistol he would have fired it to let them know that he was safe, and in the hope that they would come for him. But the weapon had been lost in the tumble down the cliff.
"I suppose you know a great many of the old time miners?" said Tom, after another pause. "Oh, yes, loads of them, Quray Frank, Bill Peters, Denver Phil, and all the rest." "Did you ever meet a man by the name of Jack Wumble?" The burly man started and spilled a little of the coffee he was holding to drink. "Why er confound the rocking of the train," he answered.
One of my brothers, Tom, got lost and I and Sam and Wumble were looking for him when I had the mishap. Do you know Jack Wumble?" "Fer sartin I do knowned him when he war mining up on the ole Bumble Bee Creek, ez he called it." "Indeed!" cried Dick. "Then perhaps you knew my father, Anderson Rover? He used to be in partnership with a man named Kennedy." "Knew him o' course I knew him, lad!
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