But the colonel saw the look, and knowing that he had obtained all the information which he was likely to get, he deftly turned the conversation into a fresh channel.
"Of course it's only my chaff, Lilla. I would rather have the pretty gold on your head than all the gold in Pete's Creek, even if there was such a place, which I doubt. But who is the new invalid you are nursing?"
"A Britisher as you are, Colonel; only I find him better-looking," replied Lilla mischievously.
"He might easily be that, Lilla. I'm getting old, my dear, with waiting for you. But how did you find this new treasure?"
"Bacon Brown brought him in."
"Brown brought him in! When?"
"Three days from to-day—when his train came along."
"Where did he find him? Is he one of his men?"
"Ach no. I tell you he is English not Yankee. Brown found him dying on the trail."
"On the trail! Where?"