“Where have they been stealing?”
“At the mine; there’s no other place handy where there’s anything valuable. Thunder!” The exclamation broke excitedly from Clancy, for at last the right idea had dawned upon him. “Pink,” he cried, “this stuff is bullion!”
“Bullion?”
“It’s a cinch. Those fellows were trying to get away with it, and we happened around just in time to block proceedings. Say, old man, we’re starring ourselves to-night!”
“I thought bullion was gold,” observed Ballard.
“That’s what it is.”
“Well, gold is yellow. Strikes me this bullion is off-color a good deal.”
“Probably it’s base bullion—gold mixed with other kinds of metal.”
“I guess you’re right, Red,” said Ballard, after a brief period of thought. “Those two fellows stole the bullion at the mine—and left their horses here while they were doing it. We blundered on the horses, and then you cut loose with a yell that scared them into thinking some one from the Ophir Mine was ‘laying for them.’ They pulled out in such a hurry they lost the bag, and didn’t dare come back after it. It’s a case of blind luck. Now, let’s carry the bag to the mine and get the reward.”
Clancy dropped the one bar that had been brought out for purposes of inspection back into the bag, and began binding the cord around the open end.