"Why, I took them out of his pocket," Fred cried, in surprise.
"Explain yourself," Mr. Wright said to the prisoner.
"Me an' Tim Sanger was goin' to camp out on the mountains while work was slack," Gus began with an air of truthfulness. "We had a shanty built, an' Tim went off fishin' when this feller," here he pointed to the astonished Fred, "jumped in on me. I'd seen him in Blacktown, so didn't think anything was out of the way till he knocked me down."
"Why did he strike you?"
"That's jest what I don't know. He tied me all up like this, an' I had to do as he said till we met Joe Brace. Then I heard one of 'em say to the other: 'This will get Sam out of the scrape, for we can say Gus Dobson had the money what was stole, in his pocket.' That's all I know about it, an' I never saw them bills till this very minute."
"It was a good scheme for Sam to give up the money in this way when he found the case was so dead against him," the cashier said in a low tone, as if speaking to himself; but he took care that Mr. Wright should hear distinctly.
"What do you mean?" Joe cried fiercely.
"Nothing, nothing, I must have been thinking aloud."
"You intended we should hear every word," the miner added, excitedly.
"Be quiet, Brace, while we get the facts of this strange story," Mr. Wright said, sharply.