“It was a mistake—a piece of extreme carelessness on the part of the fellow who carried it. Understand?”
“Well, he didn’t stop fer nothin’; he jes’ skipped the letter ter me as he rid along, and then on he flew, as if ther Cheyennes was after his scalp. What’d that mean?”
“That meant that he was simply in a hurry; that I had told him to ride to another place and back, and he had to rush to do it and get back in the time allowed.”
“I reckon he killed his hoss, then!”
“No, he came in all right, and the horse was all right.”
“I don’t jes’ understand about that mistake?”
“That was a letter I sent to a girl, and the letter with the nugget in it, which I meant for you to get, she got, all through the work of that fool messenger.”
Smallpox Dave whistled softly. “Oh-o, I see. So you wasn’t intendin’ to call me all them sweet names? But about ther nugget, and the letter I didn’t git?”
“It was the gold nugget, and the letter appointed a place where we could meet for a talk. But you’re here now.”
“And the nugget?”