Again Sautee made a leap, but this time he met Rathburn’s left fist and staggered back, dropping into a chair. Rathburn looked at him coldly.
“Funny you’re so anxious to take my word for things now, when a minute ago you said you couldn’t know but what I’d told that holdup story for a blind so’s I could get away with––this!”
The wrappings fell away, revealing a wad of blank paper.
Rathburn’s face froze. Sautee stared white-faced at what the other held in his hand. Then a peculiar glint came into his eyes and he looked at Rathburn narrowly.
“So that’s the way of it,” he said sarcastically.
Rathburn stuffed the paper into a pocket. Then he pulled a chair in front of the mines manager and sat down. He took out paper and tobacco from his shirt pocket and began to fashion a cigarette.
“It sure looks bad for me, doesn’t it, Mr. Sautee?” he asked as he snapped a match into flame.
“I thought you were going to return the money,” Sautee said sneeringly.
“It looks bad two ways,” Rathburn went on as if he hadn’t heard the other’s comment. “First, if that package the holdups got had contained the money you could have swore it was a put-up job. I’d have had to beat it fast. Now, when I find that the package you gave to me was full of blank paper, you can say that I framed the holdup 142 story and changed the money for paper in the bargain.”
Sautee’s eyes were glowing. “An’ you’ll have to beat it, after all,” he jeered.