“Did they do that?” Sandy asked.
“Yes,” Joe said. “They did. Apparently they were desperate enough to do anything to keep me away from Mormon Crossing.”
Mr. Cook leaned forward in his chair. “But, Joe,” he said, “why didn’t you tell us?”
Joe shook his head and shrugged. “I guess I should have,” he said. “But I didn’t want you to get involved. I thought that once we got away, the danger would be over.”
“But then you saw the smoke,” Mike said.
“And I knew they were on my trail. I didn’t know what to do,” Joe said. “I knew I was putting you in danger and I didn’t want that, so I decided to disappear and try to find the silver before they did.”
“What good would that have done?” Mr. Cook pointed out. “They would just have come after you later.”
“You’re right,” Joe admitted. “I guess I was too worried to think things through clearly. At any rate, I was up in the mountains when you came looking for me. I saw Sandy and Mike get captured by the Crows. I followed them up to the Crow campsite and waited for the Crows to leave. You know the rest. They were going to use the boys as hostages to force me into giving up the search.”
“One thing still puzzles me,” Mr. Cook said.
“What is it?”