“Scott got it into his head that his girl had been kidnapped by Mexicans and he got us up here after three of ’em. Looks to me, Father-in-law, like he’d picked the wrong kidnapper.”
“That’ll do, Ed; fat folks was made to look funny, not to talk smart. Here, let’s get this boy bandaged up before he bleeds to death.”
Polly, white and frightened, looked on as Penhallow’s experienced hands tore up a shirt and made it into a bandage. The wound looked very vital to her and she would have given up hope a dozen times if it hadn’t been for Penhallow’s cheerful monologue.
“That’s the idea! Say, you boys better guess what this girl and I got in that Ford. We’ve been after treasure. Oh, you’re waking up, are you?” as Scott opened his eyes. “I thought you would. You won’t josh your wife much about Gasca and his hidden gold, I’m thinkin’.”
“It’s all my fault,” wept the girl. “If I’d only told you where I was going this wouldn’t have happened. Oh, Marc, I’m so sorry!”
“Well, you ain’t the only one that’s sorry, I reckon,” grinned Merriam. “That Mexican ain’t going to do much ridin’ for a while by the looks of him.”
“Humph!” Penhallow and Hard lifted Scott gently into the car. “Don’t worry about him. He’s had this coming to him for some time by all accounts and the worst of it is his hide’s probably so tough he won’t know it’s been punctured.” Penhallow spat disgustedly.
The return of the two cars, the one with the treasure and the other with the missing girl, made a sensation quite after Chula Vista’s own heart. When it became known that the doctor had pronounced Scott’s wound not dangerous but requiring care and quiet, the situation was all that could be desired. They would have been happier still could they have heard Polly’s ultimatum, delivered the following morning when she and Scott were alone together a few minutes before Clara’s wedding. Scott had insisted that the wedding should not be postponed for even a day.
“You’re needed in Athens, Hard,” he said. “With Bob and me both in the discard, you’ve got to stand by the ship.” So the wedding had been set for ten o’clock, Polly’s train leaving for the railroad junction at noon.