“That was the signal that the men are under arrest.”
“But who did it? Say!” Alex blurted out “You make me weary! I’m all up in the air! Who arrested them? Where was this audience when we entered the house? How many of you came in here?”
“Trumbull, King, a couple of officers, and myself—and another!—came together,” the banker explained. King sent Flint off after the coroner in order to get the two apart. I have no doubt that each has confessed on the other before this. They are bad men when well backed up, but cowards when alone, I am told. Now, what about the third paper?” he added, with a sly smile. “Have you found it yet?”
“It is up there under the ‘X’ near the sunburst!” Alex insisted.
“There is supposed to be a glorious nest of ore under the sunburst,” the banker remarked, “but the third paper is in my possession! If Don hadn’t got out of Chicago so quickly, I should have told him about it, and also saved him a lot of trouble!”
“Trouble!” echoed Don. “Why, I’ve had the time of my life! But I don’t see what got you interested so suddenly, Mr. Frost,” he continued. “It was good of you to come out to us, but it must have been a great inconvenience to you. Why did you do it? Did King ask you to come?”
“There was a thin little lad came to the bank, one day, lately, and told me about an old house at Yuma, and what had happened there, and about King, and all the rest, so I wired King, and we met on the road. It was the lean little boy who brought me out here!”
“And it is the lean little boy who wants a fish dinner!” cried Tom, dashing out of a hiding-place in the rocks, above the Rambler, yet not so very far away. “Who’s going to catch those fish?”
“Tom, you rascal!” shouted Don. “Come down here and give an account of yourself!”
The lad was soon on board, and the subsequent ceremonies of reception caused King and the banker to shake their sides with laughter. The boy was pulled about and mussed over, and hugged until it seemed that there would be nothing left of him! Captain Joe and Teddy looked on in wonder.