The coast was clear, so he crawled through.
Once on the inside, he moved over to a rocky wall and then listened.
He could hear the Chinaman talking in his bland way to the villains.
There had been a man watching for Hop's return, but in some way he had neglected to be looking at the time Charlie crept up, and it was not until he had escorted the Chinaman to the leader that he went to the curtain to stand guard again.
But he did not see the crouching form of the scout, and once he had passed him Charlie began moving toward the rear of the cave.
He soon got to within a few feet of the villains in the cave, and when he peered from behind a rock and saw his wife and Eloise sitting at the table near Wild; he felt a little easier.
Hop was standing before the leader of the band, and all eyes were turned on him.
He had been talking in a random sort of way, not seeing fit to make a report just yet.
"Stop that!" exclaimed Roche, as he started in to give an account as how smart his uncle in China was. "Did you get the money from Young Wild West's partners—that's the question?"
"Me allee samee gittee biggee pile of money and um bottle of tanglefoot, so be," answered the Chinaman, quickly getting down to business.