“Who?”
“Dolt Haven!”
“Who’s Dolt Haven?” Noddy asked.
“A fellow I met in a pool parlor downtown the other day. I got to talking with him, and he let out something of having been a miner in Montana once. I spoke of Thunder Mountain and Blue Rock, though I didn’t say anything about the treasure chest. I let him think it was just a box of papers, or something like that, which might be worth looking for. He said he had heard the story of the runaway stage, but he didn’t seem to know anything about the chest of gold. Why can’t we take him with us to Thunder Mountain? Maybe we can get ahead of the Motor Boys.”
“Maybe!” eagerly agreed Noddy. “I’ll go and have a talk with this Dolt Haven.”
This character was a new but notorious hanger-on in one of the worst pool rooms of Cresville. He was just the sort of man Jack Pender and Noddy Nixon would chum with, and they found him to their liking, as, no doubt, he found them.
“Sure I can take you to Thunder Mountain!” boasted Dolt. “I’m an old Westerner. I know all about that region. I’ve heard of this Bill Cromley, though I’m not acquainted with him.”
“We’ve got to get ahead of them somehow!” said Noddy.
“We’ll do it!” declared Dolt, and then they laid their evil heads together in a plot. “We’ll follow them in your car, Noddy,” suggested Haven. “That won’t be hard to do, as you tell me you’ve done it before. We’ll see if we can’t get this Cromley away from the Motor Boys and get from him more information about this chest. You say it’s got valuable papers in?” he asked sharply.
“Yes, papers—and maybe a little money,” admitted Noddy, with a quick look at Jack. “We’ll give you some of the money if we find it, and we’ll pay you to go out with us.”