"Hell! How did you know that?"
"Never mind; I do know—so you can go on."
He hesitated, as though suspicious of me, yet finally resumed.
"I had no intention of speaking names."
"Oh, let that pass. You may think Grant all right, but the rest of us know he is at the bottom of the whole matter."
"You mean he betrayed me?"
"There is no doubt of it. He is in with Fagin."
The lad drew a long breath.
"I half suspected it," he said slowly, "only it didn't seem possible. Now listen, and perhaps together we can make something out of all this. I went to the place where we were to meet, and had a talk with Grant—yes, it was Grant all right. He told me some things, but needed a day or two to get other information. While waiting I came over here to Elmhurst, and found Claire. She's the kind of a girl you can tell things to, and I wrote out what I had learned, and left some of my papers. Then I went back to Lone Tree. It was dark when I got there, and I rode right into Fagin and three of his men. They had me before I could lift a hand."
"Just wait a minute, Mortimer," I broke in, becoming suddenly aware there was a grayness in the eastern sky. "I want to creep in toward the house while it remains dark. You can tell the rest as we go along. Tom, take these ropes and tie your man up. Make him safe, and then come along after us."