“I suppose you’ve got Jake Hockley’s watch with you,” put in Frank. “If you have, you had better pass it over to us.”
“You—er—you talk in riddles,” returned Markel. “I know nothing of his watch excepting that it was taken from him while in a crowd.”
“You took the watch yourself, Mr. Markel,” put in Mark, boldly. “And what is more, you sent for his valise and robbed that. It is utterly useless for you to deny it. If there is any officer in this settlement I shall have you arrested.”
At this the man from Baltimore turned pale. He started as if to run away, then saw how hopeless such a move would be and held his ground.
The talk had attracted a crowd, which included the general manager of the mining settlement, Mr. John Brisbam. He now demanded to know what it meant, and, with many interruptions from Markel, Mark and Frank told of the Hockley affair and of what had occurred at Macuto.
“We can prove all we say, if you’ll only give us a little time,” added Mark. “As soon as I can find my friends again I’ll bring them here. In the meantime I would like this man placed under arrest.”
“Arrest! Not much!” howled Dan Markel. “It—it’s an outrage! I am an honest American citizen and I demand protection. There is a great mistake. I am not the person they are after.”
“Do you mind being searched?” asked Andy Hume, shrewdly.
“You have no right to touch me!” returned the man from Baltimore in increased alarm.
A war of words, which nearly came to blows followed, but in the end Dan Markel was marched into one of the offices of the mining company. Here his pockets were examined and from one was taken Hockley’s watch.