Slowly the minutes ticked away. When the time was up Anderson was the first to leave. The moment the door had closed behind him, Tom Powers seized Sam Hogg by the shoulder and whispered:
“Follow him and see where he goes.”
To Sam Hogg it seemed impossible that the good-natured, affable politician could be mixed up with the Lava Gang, but his training in the Rangers had taught him that all things were possible, so he nodded and slipped out after Anderson.
CHAPTER VI
THE LAVA GANG IN ACTION
Anderson went to Maria’s cantina, gave some directions to Mac Kennedy, and seated himself at a table with a Mexican girl. He had noted Sam Hogg’s rather unskillful trailing. A few minutes later he saw Hogg peer in for an instant.
As soon as the cattleman’s head disappeared, Anderson went out the rear door. He, who always claimed he went unarmed, now slipped his hand beneath his armpit and withdrew a short-barreled Colt. He tiptoed warily along the alley to the corral behind the Red Queen. At the small door in the barn he stood listening for a moment before he unlocked it and entered. He climbed to the loft and unlocked the second door which led to the short passage. With this door locked behind him he lost his air of caution. The third door—that same door behind which Allen had listened—opened into a room comfortably furnished with table, chairs, and a bed. Anderson lit a lamp and pressed a button near its other door.
Down in the Red Queen a big game progressed at the faro table. Francisco Garcia sat in his usual place on the platform. The Yuma Kid lounged near him, and Baldy sprawled on the platform at his feet.
Garcia leaned forward, his protruding eyes fixed on the dealer’s hands. A mining man had just placed a large bet, and the dealer was about to flip the cards. Behind them a buzzer sounded. The Toad frowned impatiently and shrugged his massive shoulders. The dealer turned the cards and the mining man won.
Again the buzzer sounded imperiously. The mining man doubled his bet, and the dealer glanced over his shoulder for mute instructions. The Toad shook his head. He never allowed a dealer to turn a crooked card unless he was present, and now he had to obey the summons of that buzzer.
He heaved himself to his feet and waddled toward the rear door. Grunting at each step, he climbed the stairs and made his way to the secret room in the barn.