Fred followed with a heavy heart, and the two trudged on in silence until they were within a short distance of the newly-discovered coal vein, when Bill exclaimed in surprise:
"I'm blest if there isn't Joe! What's up now, I wonder?"
This question was soon answered. The approaching miner cried while yet some distance away:
"What are you comin' back so soon for?"
"There was no reason why we should stay longer," and without sparing himself in the slightest, Bill explained what a blunder had been committed.
"Well, you'd better go to Blacktown agin, or else take the train for New York."
"Why?"
"The cashier has been swearin' out a warrant for Fred's arrest, an' it'll be served the minute he gets back."
"A warrant for me?" Fred cried in alarm. "What have I done?"
"The fool thinks you know where the money is, an' that you made the arrangements with Sam, before he left, to get away with it."