Jim pondered. The analysis of the ore was not as good as he had expected and the miner who had examined the specimens at his camp agreed. For all that, assayers were generally honest and skillful.
"What's the matter with the man I went to?" he asked.
"He's sometimes soused and you can't trust a tanker. Then he's extravagant."
"Ah," said Jim. "Is that all?"
Martin gave him a dry smile. "I happen to know Baumstein lent him money. It's possible he meant to get value for a risky loan."
The others said nothing, but they saw the significance of the hint and Jim's face got stern.
"There's something else," Martin resumed. "Davies has left me and gone back to Baumstein."
"Gone back?" Jake exclaimed.
"Sure," said Martin, quietly. "I didn't know he'd worked for the fellow when I hired him. Now I've a notion he's been Baumstein's man, not mine, all the time."
Jim clenched his fist and Carrie's eyes sparkled. "We're up against a poisonous crook," she said, and looked at Jim. "You see why he made us trouble? He wanted to break us, so we'd sell him the Bluebird cheap."