“Nobody’s accusin’ any of you boys,” said Baldy.
“You walked into the trap with me.”
“Then where is he?” queried Meline. “He’s on the inside of our deals. You don’t know whether it was Government officers or not?”
“How could I? Still, they don’t usually bushwhack. I’ve got a hunch that somebody stole our cargo for themselves. Somebody knew that we were comin’ across last night, that’s a cinch. If it had been Government officers they would ’a’ tried to nail us along with the stuff.”
“Yes, that’s true. Do you suppose it could have been the work of those strange cowboys?”
“It sure could,” grunted Kohler, his hand going to his neck.
“Torres!” exploded Baldy. “By God, this is his work. He’s in with Steve Guadalupe, and I’ll bet he found out about that cargo. They’re both Mex, damn ’em.”
“Yes, and Hartley and Stevens are in with Torres,” growled Kohler. “If they wasn’t, why did they block us? I vote that we go and get them two smart punchers.”
“But that doesn’t prove that there is a traitor among us,” said Meline. “Who got that letter? Torres had nothing to do with your mail, Baldy.”
“Mebbe the letter was lost and Torres found it,” suggested Horan.