“No; he did not. He never came home.”
“Why not?”
“Mr. Simpson says he was probably murdered for his money.”
“Oh, Simpson says that, does he? What more does he say?”
“He doesn’t seem to know any more.”
“Does he say how much money your father had?”
“He thinks about five thousand dollars.”
The stranger laughed.
“The report was in the camp near by that Simpson and your father had cleared twenty-five thousand dollars apiece.”
“Twenty-five thousand dollars!” repeated Tom, overwhelmed with astonishment.