Apparently satisfied that they were not observed they went into the saloon.
Joe sauntered along slowly and reached a point abreast of the saloon just as a rough looking character pushed open the swinging doors. As they swung back Joe got a glimpse of the interior. There were two or three men lounging in front of the bar, but McCarney and Hupft were not in sight.
Joe had seen also that there was a row of stalls along a balcony at the side of the saloon with dingy curtains over them to insure a certain amount of privacy. He conjectured that the men he had been following were probably in one of these. His resolution was taken on the instant.
He entered the place, which in addition to being a saloon was also run as a cheap hotel and restaurant, and went up to the bar. There he bought a cigar. While he lighted it, which he did deliberately, he noted from the sound of voices that one of the stalls was occupied. He ordered a meal to be brought to him and went up the stairs to the balcony and into the adjoining stall.
There was a murmur of conversation from the stall next to him, and although the voices were pitched low he had no difficulty in identifying them as those of Hupft and McCarney. Hupft seemed to be in a despondent mood, and McCarney was evidently trying to brace him up.
“I tell you, it’s no use,” Joe heard Hupft say. “That fellow has the Indian sign on us. No matter how we try to down him, he wins.”
“He’ll break down soon,” McCarney said confidently. “His luck can’t last forever. You can see he’s throwing his arm out. The harder we make it for him to win games the sooner he’ll have to quit. And think of the melon we’ll split between us when he does.”
“We’ll have to floor him before he quits,” muttered Hupft. “And that’s no easy job either. The fellow has as many lives as a cat. Lemblow thought he had him dead to rights in that timber tumble, but he got away with scarcely a scratch.”
Joe was listening with all his ears when the curtain was pushed aside and a waiter entered with a tray. He set it down on the table and as he glanced at Joe let out an exclamation.