"But what are you going to do in the meantime—while you are waiting for a chance to show them up?" Betty persisted. She did not half like the way things were going—even if there was a chance of finding a fortune on the ranch. It seemed to her that Allen was putting himself into too great danger. And if anything happened to him, what would all the gold in the world be worth?
"'In the meantime?'" Allen was answering her question lightly. "Why, in the meantime I intend to keep my eyes and ears wide open and do a little scouting around Gold Run until I get a line on the doings of Peter Levine and his crowd—if he has a crowd. He may just be in partnership with one other rascal like himself, for all I know. That's one of the first things I want to find out. After the information of our friend, back there at the mine," he added, "there is no longer any doubt in my mind that this Levine is a crook."
"Humph," said Betty, "I was sure of that the first time I laid eyes on him."
"And yet you said you could almost love him for making your mother decide to come out here," Allen reminded her quizzically.
"And you said you were on your way to kill him," said Betty, adding with a chuckle: "What made you change your mind?"
"I didn't change my mind," retorted Allen, with a grin. "I just didn't happen to meet him, that's all."
They had nearly reached the ranch house before Betty thought to ask Allen if he had talked his plans over with her mother.
"No, I haven't," he admitted. "As a matter of fact, I hadn't made any definite plans until I had this confab with Dan Higgins. He made me see the whole thing straight, so to speak. I'll have a talk with your mother and father to-night," he promised.
He kept his promise and had the satisfaction of knowing that both his clients were backing him heartily.
"Go to it, Allen," Mr. Nelson said at the end of the conference. "Seems to me that you have gotten the correct angle on this thing, and if you need any help from me just call on me. Only," he warned, "don't run yourself into unnecessary trouble."