Fred repeated what has already been told, and added:
"What he said concerning the land we talked of buying has made the cashier more suspicious than he would have been. It's too bad to give the secret away, but it must be done unless the money can be found."
"There's no reason why we can't wait a while," Joe said after some thought. "I'll go to Blacktown to-morrow, an' see him."
"You surely can't think he took it?"
"Of course not, an' yet I don't understand how it could 'a been stole."
"He must have lost the money."
"It wouldn't be a bad plan for us to walk to Blacktown over the same path he took," Bill said. "Fred can show us the way."
"I don't believe they'll let me leave. The cashier seems to think I'm concerned in the robbery."
"It won't take me long to tell him he don't run this place. I'll go to Mr. Wright's house, find out when he's likely to be back, an' then tend to the other matter. Joe, wait here."
The miner was not absent more than an hour, and when he returned the others had come to the conclusion that Sam had lost the money before reaching the coal vein.