"They dug up somethin' here, all right," commented Leffingwell, "but I'll bet somethin' handsome it wasn't money."
McKibben wandered around the vicinity of the hole for a few minutes and then turned and started back toward the road.
"We've only Clipperton's word for it," said he, as he descended the bank to the car.
"And mine," added Matt.
"We'll never have Dangerfield's—now."
"Would Pima Pete's sworn statement help any?" asked Matt.
"It might, Matt; but just how much weight Pima Pete's affidavit would have with a jury is a question."
On the homeward trip another halt was made at the place where Fresnay had been robbed. The road was hard at this point, and the unyielding earth had left no sign of what had taken place.
This was another disappointment for Matt. If the ground had been soft, and no moccasin-tracks found, a good point would have been scored for Clip. But fate seemed to be working against Clip at almost every turn.
The party got back to Phœnix at half-past ten, and Matt and Chub left the car at the bank. Here Matt drew $200 of the money that had been paid to him as a reward for bringing in Dangerfield, and the boys proceeded at once to the office of a legal gentleman whom Clip declared to be one of the best criminal-lawyers in Phœnix.