"And what would I be doing in the meantime?"
"You would have known where I was," said Claus, bending toward Casper and speaking in a whisper. "I would have found means to communicate with you. Of course if I had got that box you would have had a share of it."
Casper did not know whether to believe this or not. Somehow he had felt suspicious of Claus ever since the first night he spoke to him about the box. If the German got it without any of his help, he was sure that he never would see any of it.
"Well, you failed in that scheme, and I would like to know if you have some other means of getting hold of it."
"Certainly I have. Three times and out is what I go by. My next scheme will be to steal the box from them on the train."
"How are you going to do that?"
"We will keep watch of them, and when they are ready to go to Denver, we will go, too. You know their habits better than I do, and by keeping your eyes on them—"
"Well, I won't do it," said Casper, emphatically. "They may not go for a month yet, and I must have something to eat in the meantime."
"I will give you twenty cents a day and enough to pay your rent," said Claus. "That will keep you going, won't it?"
"You must give me more than that. I shall need a cigar once in a while, won't I?"