“You lads stood by me finely,” said McGowan, “and I’ll not forget it. Harry,” he added to one of the amalgamators, “get on the best horse in the corral and ride to Phœnix. Tell Rising to come out here, and have him bring a doctor.”
The amalgamater started forthwith for the corral. The men of the day-shift in the mine had got wind of the fighting and had flocked up into the shaft-house. McGowan met them, told them the trouble was all over, and sent them back to work.
The men from the bunk-house, who had gone in pursuit of Bascomb, Bernritter, and the redskins, had all straggled back, and were talking over the exciting events in front of the blacksmith-shop.
Buffalo Bill and McGowan went back to the laboratory. There they found that Nomad had made Jacobs comfortable in his bed, in a small room off the workroom. Jacobs was pale and there was an apprehensive look in his eyes when he saw McGowan.
The mine-owner drew up a chair by the head of the bed.
“Did you or Bernritter put that bar of bullion in the Dutchman’s saddle-bag, Jacobs?” he asked.
“I put it in,” said Jacobs. “Bernritter told me to.”
“Why was that done?”
“Bernritter was afraid Buffalo Bill would come out here with you and look into the gold-robberies. He wanted to shift suspicion onto some one else until this job of to-day was pulled off.”