“He tried to rob us,” contributed Ken, “but we were fortunate enough to elude him.”
“Carlos doesn’t usually operate alone,” Rhodes informed the group. “You were lucky he didn’t shoot you at sight.”
“If we’d known that he had taken Mr. Corning captive, we’d have pursued him,” Mr. Livingston said. “Where is his hide-out?”
“Oh, he has half a dozen of them back in the hills,” the mining engineer returned vaguely. “He moves from one to another. A reward has been placed on his head, but no one ever collects.”
“You say you’ve made no effort to try to find Corning?”
“That’s right,” Rhodes retorted, “and I don’t like your tone, Mister. You know what these mountain trails are like.”
“We do.”
“I can’t send natives to look for him. They wouldn’t venture a step. As for myself, it would be folly to leave the mine. My first duty is to the operators.”
“So nothing is to be done?”
“I didn’t put it that way,” Mr. Rhodes returned, his eyes flashing. “If your friend is still alive—which I seriously doubt—there will be a ransom demand in time. It will be prohibitive, of course. Whether or not it is met, will be up to the mine operators, not to me.”