Then he spoke in a rasping, unpleasant voice.
"Well, Morello, you must do as you wish with them. It is not my affair at all, but from what you have told me of them I think that such lads are better out of harm's way."
"Exactly," rejoined Morello, "and now, if you please, I will have them placed somewhere where they will be safe for the night. One of them particularly is a very slippery youth," casting a lowering glance at Nat.
"Just as you please, Morello," responded the other listlessly. "You must have your way, I suppose. At any rate, Elias Gooddale will not oppose you."
"Elias Gooddale!" exclaimed Nat, startled out of his resolve to keep silent whatever might happen.
The black-bearded man bent a piercing gaze upon him.
"Yes, young man, that is my name," was his response.
"That is queer," rejoined Nat, who scented some mystery; "the last time I encountered any one of your name was in a hut in the Sierras."
The other started and turned pale.
"In the Sierra Nevadas, you mean?"