"Come from 'Frisco?"
"Yes."
The proprietor of the cabin at this reply fixed his eyes reflectively upon Ben and his companion.
"I'd like to know what he's thinkin' about," said Bradley to himself. "Somehow I mistrust him. A man with that face can't help bein' a scoundrel."
"Don't you find it lonely livin' out here?" he asked.
Jack Carter shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't care for company," he said. "As long as me and the old woman get enough to eat, our own company's good enough for us."
"Are there any mines near-by?" asked Bradley.
"Not very."
"What inducement can he have to live out here in the wilderness?" thought Bradley. "If he were workin' a mine now, I could understand. How does he make a livin', I wonder?"