By way of an answer Rube took the roll of bank notes from his pocket and began stripping them off.
“How much did you say you wanted?” he asked. “Better take enough for emergencies while you have the chance. I may be broke flat as a flounder by to-morrow.”
“This will give us a chance to get away at once,” said Clay, placing the money in his pocket. “If Alex was here, we could be on our way immediately.”
Jule broke into a laugh at the idea of prying Alex away from that ’possum.
“You’ll not do it,” he announced, “as long as there is a bone left. Alex is some feeder.”
“There’s no hurry,” Buck said, looking at his watch. “The men who stole the boat will lie in hiding all day and go on at night. They will be on the lookout for officers, and will do a lot of skulking. They may even abandon the boat for a time, but they will come back to it.”
“And they may put up a fight,” Jule argued. “For one, I’d like nothing better than taking a shot at them.”
“They won’t do much in the fighting line,” Buck contended. “It all depends on how many of us there are. There seems to be four of them and they won’t stand for more than that in the attacking party. You see,” he added, “there’s the Colorado penitentiary in sight, and they’ll make a desperate run to keep out of it.”
“But they may fight,” suggested Clay.
“Oh, of course,” answered Buck, “but we’ll be on the spot, ready and waiting for them.”