Tomlinson was thoughtful for a few moments. He was wondering, no doubt, if Matt was pursuing the intruders while he was in the barn looking for the letter. Evidently he made up his mind that Matt knew nothing about his night visit to the barn, and it seemed equally evident that he believed the two men had got the letter. The fierce expression vanished from his face and he became more amiable.
"After that," said he, "you were afraid the machine might be tampered with, and so you came here and stayed all night?"
"That's the way of it, Mr. Tomlinson," replied Matt.
"I'm glad to know that I've got such a careful and discreet driver. I was worried about the car myself, and came out here, during the evening. I saw no one around, though, and suppose, at that time, you were chasing the two men. Wonder what they wanted here?"
"Perhaps they were two of the men who tried to hold you up," suggested Matt.
"What object would they have in coming here?"
"That's hard to tell. They might have wanted to injure the car just to get even with you."
Tomlinson shook his head.
"That would have been a foolish move," said he, "and I can't believe that was their object. Well," he added briskly, "it doesn't much matter. We'll get away from Ash Fork in less than an hour. Come in to breakfast. The landlord promised to have an early one for us."
"How are you feeling, sir?" Matt inquired, as they walked toward the hotel.