Colson frowned and bit his lip.
“He has told us about it.”
“Ask him for it then. He broke into our tent the night we found it and carried it off.”
“Is this true?” demanded Fletcher, eyeing Colson suspiciously.
“No, it’s a lie. The nugget is in charge of a mounted escort on the way to Melbourne.”
“What have you done with your nugget, Colson?” asked Obed.
Colson did not reply.
“There’s no time to waste here. Stackpole, you and the boys will have to go with us. Here, you two men, close behind them. We must not let them escape.”
The party started with the captives in the middle. It was decidedly a bad outlook for our three friends.
It must be confessed that the reflections of Obed and the two boys were far from pleasant. The cup of happiness had been dashed from their lips just as they had begun to taste it. Then again it was very mortifying to watch the exultation of Fletcher and Colson, who had finally triumphed over them after being successfully baffled.