“No; the sheriff didn’t ketch Jakey,” said the watchman, “but he was clost after him, ’cause he knowed that Jakey was the chap who took the robbers over the lake and spilled the grip-sacks into the water. How did the sheriff find that out? The robbers told him, an’ described Jake an’ his canoe so well that all the guides knew in a minute who they would have to arrest. Where did Jake hide the money after he fished it outen the lake?”
“How do you ’spose I know!” growled Matt.
“Who should know if you don’t?” replied Rube. “I seen you follerin’ him in a skiff.”
“Well,” said Matt, who saw it would be useless for him to deny it, “I don’t know where he put the money, an’ I’m mighty sorry for it. Seen any thing of Jake lately?”
“No, I ain’t, an’ what’s more I don’t expect to see him again very soon, either. He’ll keep clear of me, for he knows that if I could find him it would be my bounden dooty to take him up an’ lay claim to part of the six hundred dollars reward. All you’ve got to do is to make yourselves comfortable here in my house—”
“Well, we ain’t goin’ to make ourselves comfortable in your house no longer,” interrupted Matt. “We’re thinkin’ of takin’ to the woods.”
“What for?”
“’Cause we don’t think it safe here so nigh the place the constables come every time they go into the woods. We’d feel better if we was a piece furder off from ’em.”
Rube carelessly inquired where his guest thought of going; but Matt did not give him any satisfaction on that point. He thought he might as well send word to the sheriff and be done with it. Then he broached the subject of furniture, and found that, although Rube was quite willing to sell what he did not need for his own use, he had one hard condition to impose. Cash up and no trust had been his motto through life, and he was too old to depart from it now. He wanted to see the color of Matt’s money before he let a single thing go.
“That’s the way I’m workin’ it to keep him here till I can find them guns,” thought the watchman, as he threw himself upon his shakedown. “Matt ain’t got ten cents to his name; an’ where’s he goin’ to get it? Winter’s comin’ on, an’ it would be the death of him an’ all his family to take to the woods without something to wrap themselves up in of nights, an’ so I reckon they’ll stay here with me for a while longer. But I don’t know what to think about Jakey.”