“Call him what you like; he’s a fool if he expects to find anything up there.”
“He has his reasons,” said Harry.
“What are they?” inquired Henderson, growing attentive.
“You must ask him if you want to know,” said Harry.
Henderson went off whistling, and our hero, on thinking the matter over, was rather sorry that he had hinted as much about his friend’s reasons for going up the hill. Having a very poor opinion of Henderson, he feared that the latter would watch and find out if anything of importance were discovered, and this was hardly desirable in a district where the ordinary restraints of law were relaxed, and cupidity often led to violence. At any rate, Harry determined to put Bush on his guard.
“Bush,” he said, when the latter returned, “Henderson has been asking about you to-day. He thought you were a fool to go up there after gold.”
“Let him think so if he likes.”
“But I am afraid you will think that I am the fool.”
“Why so?”
“Because I told him you had reasons for going there.”