“Not any. And it beats my time. I don’t see where that Dick Beckworth could have holed up. He sure didn’t get out of town, for the Forks are both plumb impassable for man or beast.”
The two girls exchanged glances again. What had happened to Dick Beckworth? Surely he must have got out of the closet—out of the hotel——
Suddenly Betty seized Nell’s arm with an hysterical grip.
“Nell! Nell!” she whispered.
“Don’t give way. Of course he’s all right—though he ought not to be!”
“That closet door! It shut with a spring lock. It could not be opened from inside!”
“Oh, he could smash down the door.”
The two young men did not notice the girls’ perturbation. They were striding ahead. A crowd was running toward the fallen hotel. Something of moment was happening there. But before they reached the place Cholo Sam saw them, and started toward the parson and Joe.
“Señor Hunt! Señor Joe! Keep the señoritas back. It is not for them to see.”
“What’s the matter, Sam?” asked Hurley.