The speaker was Luke Robbins and the time was two days after the series of exciting incidents recorded in the last few chapters.
“Why do you ask, Luke?” replied Ernest. “Are you tired of it?”
“Yes, lad, I want to move on.”
“But what about the reward you are entitled to for the capture of John Fox?”
“The cashier thinks I will only receive a part of it, as Fox has escaped.”
“That is unlucky. You will have to wait until the matter is decided, won’t you?”
“No. He has offered me an advance of a hundred dollars, and is authorized to collect whatever prize money may be awarded to me. You have some money left?”
“Yes, about seventy-five dollars.”
“Then we both have enough to start on. I propose to go to California by train, getting there as soon as possible. When we reach there we will see what we can do to increase our pile.”
“I like that plan. When shall we go?”