“Um! Um! I certainly have made a mess of it!” exclaimed the miner, with a worried air. “I certainly have!”
“What did you do?” asked Jerry in curiosity.
“Why, those fellows came here this morning. They talked pretty slick, said they knew you and all that. Heard I knew something about gold mining. They heard, somewhere, about the treasure chest of Blue Rock, which isn’t surprising, as I’ve told the story often enough down in the village store. Well, to sum it all up, Noddy Nixon offered me a good sum if I’d pilot him and his chum out West to the place where the stage coach went over the cliff down into the canyon.”
“Did you accept his offer?” asked Jerry quietly.
“In a sense I did, yes. I’m thinking of going back out West, anyhow, and I thought this a good chance to make some money. But if I had known what sort of fellows those two are——”
“Did you tell them all the particulars?” asked Bob.
“Yes, I think I did—about everything! Like an old fool I blurted out all I knew—how the horses ran away, how they went over the cliff, and how it looked like the end of everything.”
“But did you tell them where Blue Rock is—where the accident happened?” asked Jerry eagerly.
“I reckon I did. That Noddy Nixon is a slick one. He kept on asking me questions—worming things out of me. And I told them all! Even about the exact spot where the treasure chest fell. My! My! But I wish I hadn’t! I certainly wish I hadn’t!” groaned the old miner.