“I wouldn’t call it game to hurt an old man whom he has in his power. But you mustn’t let it come to that. You must save him. Are you making any progress? Have you run down any of the band? And while I think of it—have you seen to-day’s paper?”
“No—why?”
“The biggest story on the front page is about the West case. It seems that this MacQueen wired to Chicago to Mr. Lucas, president of one of the lines on the Southwestern system, that they would release Mr. West for three hundred thousand dollars in gold. He told him a letter had been mailed to the agent at Mesa, telling under just what conditions the money was to be turned over; and he ended with a threat that, if steps were taken to capture the gang, or if the money were not handed 249 over at the specified time, Mr. West would disappear forever.”
“Did the paper say whether the money would be turned over?”
“It said that Mr. Lucas was going to get into touch with the outlaws at once, to effect the release of his chief.”
A gleam of triumph flashed in the eyes of the man. “That’s sure the best way.”
“It won’t help your reputation, will it?” she asked. “Won’t people say that you failed on this case?”
He laughed softly, as if at some hidden source of mirth. “I shouldn’t wonder if they did say that Bucky O’Connor hadn’t made good this time. They’ll figure he tried to ride herd on a job too big for him.”
Her surprised eye brooded over this, too. Here he was defending the outlaw chief, and rejoicing at his own downfall. There seemed to be no end to the contradictions in this man. She was to run across another tangled thread of the puzzle a few minutes later.
She had dismounted to let him tighten the saddle cinch. Owing to the heat, he had been carrying his coat in front of him. He tossed it on a boulder by the side of the trail, in such a way that the inside pocket hung down. From it slid some papers and a photograph. Melissy looked down at the picture, then instantly stooped and picked it up. For it was 250 a photograph of a very charming woman and three children, and across the bottom of it was written a line.