“I hope our dads don’t turn over that money to them,” went on Jack, his eyes flashing angrily. “That bunch oughtn’t to have a hundred and fifty cents, much less a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. Such a demand is the worst kind of a hold-up.”
“Well, such demands have been made before, and the money has been paid, too,” answered Fred. “Don’t you remember that case of the fellow that was held by the bandits in Algeria, and the case of the two girls who were held by the Mexican bandits? Their folks had to come across. Otherwise those people would have been put out of the way.”
Supper time came, but no food was brought to the boys. They, however, were given a bucket of drinking water by Ocker.
“Davenport didn’t want you to have this,” whispered the man, as he handed the water in. “But I told him I wouldn’t stand for letting you kids go thirsty. It’s bad enough to make you go without the eats.”
“Thank you for so much sympathy anyhow, Ocker,” returned Jack, and then went on quickly: “Why does a nice fellow like you stand in with such a bunch as Davenport’s crowd? Why don’t you cut them and help us to get away? We can make it well worth your while.”
“I wouldn’t dare do it, Rover,” muttered the man. “They’d never forgive me, and they’d be sure to get me sooner or later. I’m kind of sorry that I stood in with ’em, just the same,” and then, as Tate appeared at the entrance of the cave, Ocker walked away hastily.
“Gee, maybe we can work on that fellow’s sympathies and get him to help us,” was Randy’s comment.
“Maybe if we make him a worth-while offer he’ll help us to escape,” put in his twin. “Even if they got the money from our folks it isn’t likely that Davenport, Tate and Jackson, along with that Booster, would let Ocker or Digby have any great amount of it.”
The boys wondered what their folks were doing. Of course, they knew nothing about Dick Rover and Sam joining Tom in Maporah.
Davenport, through Booster, had kept a close watch and reported the arrival at Maporah of the fathers of Jack and Fred. Thereupon a demand had been made upon the three older Rovers for the money, which was to be paid in cash. It was to be placed in a package under a tree along Sunset Trail, and the Rovers were to take care that no one was to be in that vicinity during the night or early morning under penalty of an attack from ambush. As soon as the package was safely received by the Davenport crowd the four boys were to be released and set on their way toward Gold Hill.