“This job of salt is going to win out. Bingham will find less gold in the Forty Thieves than he imagined; but, if he digs away the barrier we’re going to throw up, he’ll find something else here that will surprise him.”
“Why can’t you use a bullet or a knife, if you’re bound to put me out of the way?” called Wild Bill. “What do you want to go to all this trouble for?”
“This will look like an accident, if you’re ever found.”
“Look like an accident!” answered Wild Bill ironically. “How do you figure that, if I’m ever found with my hands and feet tied?”
“If Clancy is right, and you’re not hit by flying rock, or smothered before an hour or two, you’ll get rid of the ropes.”
“And you’re white!” muttered Wild Bill, as though it was hard for him to couple such a murderous act with a man of that color. “Why, you inhuman scoundrel, you ought to be black as the ace of spades, and to wear horns! This may be the end of me, but it won’t be the end of this business for you. My pard, Bill Cody, is coming to Sun Dance Cañon to meet me. If he doesn’t meet me, he’ll know something is wrong, and when he runs out the trail, you’ll owe him something. And whatever you owe Cody, you’ll pay!”
“If I ever owe Cody anything,” scowled Lawless, “I’ll pay him just as I’m paying you. I didn’t pip my shell yesterday. You’re wide of your trail, Hickok, if you think I’m not able to take care of myself.”
Lawless disappeared from the mouth of the crosscut.
“Touch off the blasts,” Wild Bill heard him say to Clancy; “all the rest of you,” he added, “go on to the shaft. We’ve got to make a quick getaway as soon as the fuses are fired.”
Then, with staring eyes, Wild Bill saw Clancy take a candle and bend down. From one fuse to another went the candle gleam, leaving a sputtering blue flame at the end of each fuse.