“He got away,” explained Jerry, realizing that the sick man was in his right senses, for a time at least.
“I remember you,” went on the miner. “You and some other boys helped me after I was struck. You left me alone in the cabin. I was afraid the one who took my gold would come back, so I crawled out. The air made me feel better. I walked to the railroad, got on a freight train, and came here. Then I got sick again.
“Gold! gold! gold!” exclaimed the miner, suddenly. “I see it all around. Millions and millions of it! There is gold for all of us! Do not rob me!”
Jerry knew the man was wandering again. Just then the doctor came in and Jerry, after promising to come back, hurried around to the hotel, where he found his friends worried over his absence. He explained about his chase and the finding of the mysterious miner.
“Did you catch Noddy?” asked Andy.
“I forgot all about him when I saw Nestor,” replied Jerry. “I guess Noddy got away, all right, probably out of a back door.”
“What are you going to do about the miner?” asked Mr. Wakefield, after supper.
“I’d like to befriend him if we could,” said Jerry. “He seems like an honest man.”
“I’ll go around and see him,” remarked the athletic instructor. “Perhaps we can arrange to do something for him.”
It was quite late that night when Mr. Wakefield returned from his visit to Jim Nestor. He found the boys up waiting for him.