“Well, no,” Mr. Walz admitted, avoiding the Scout leader’s direct gaze. “I didn’t have enough evidence to go on.”
“Besides, you thought Stony’s attacker blew town yesterday. Remember?”
“Yes, that’s so,” the motel man agreed with a self-conscious laugh.
By this time, the Scouts had no faith in Walz’ word, and he seemed to be aware of the unfavorable impression he had created.
“I’ve been very upset about the attack on Stony,” he went on. “And all the talk about his gold and a treasure map worries me, too.”
“Why should that worry you?” Ken drawled.
“As I said before, I seriously doubt there is any gold—”
“There’s a place he calls Headless Hollow—” War exclaimed, and then faltered.
“Headless Hollow,” Mr. Walz repeated softly. “So he did tell you about that place in the Colorado Rockies? And he gave you the map too!”
“Stony wasn’t taking anything with him when he went to the hospital,” Jack reminded the motel owner. “As I recall, you were the first to go through his things.”