“So it is; but it can wait until later, until we have the money in hand, and have decided about Cavendish.  You say your tunnel is within twenty feet of the lead, which it must be according to this map, and you propose breaking through and holding on until the courts decide.  Now don’t you know that will kick up a hell of a row?  It will bring us all in the limelight, and just at present we are better off underground.  That’s why I came out here.  I am no expert in mining law, and am not prepared to say that your claim is not legal.  It may be, and it may not be—­we’ll waive that discussion.  The point is this—­from all I can learn of Westcott, he is the kind who will fight to the last ditch.  Perhaps he hasn’t any chance, but if he ever does learn how we got hold of his letters and discovered the location of that vein of ore, he’s going to turn this whole affair inside out, and catch us red-handed.  You made a fool play to-night.”

“That wasn’t my fault,” Lacy protested sullenly.  “The fellow misunderstood; however, there won’t be no fuss made over a Mexican.”

“I’m not so sure of that; Westcott will know it was meant for him and be on his guard.  Anyhow it was a fool’s trick.”

“Well, we do things different out here from what you do in New York.  It’s my way to take no chances, and when a man’s dead he can’t talk.”

“I’m not so sure of that; there’s been many a lad hung on the testimony of a dead man.  Now see here, Lacy, this is my game, and I propose playing it in my own way.  You came in under those conditions, didn’t you?”

“I reckon so, still there wasn’t much to it when I came in.  This mining stunt developed later out of those letters Westcott sent East.  This man Beaton here offered me so much to do a small job for him, and I named my price without caring a whoop in hell what it was all about.  I don’t now, but I’ve learned a few things since, and am beginning to think my price was damn low.  You never came way out here just to stop me from tunnelling into Westcott’s mine.”

The other hesitated.

“No,” he admitted at last, “I did not even learn what was being done until after I got here.”

“Beaton sent for you?”

“Not exactly.  I never had any personal connection with him in the case.  I am not sure he ever heard of me, unless the woman told him.  He was working under her orders, and wired her when Cavendish got away to come out at once.  He didn’t know what to do.”

Lacy laughed, and began to refill his pipe.

“That was when I first began to smell a mouse,” he said, more at ease.  “The fellow was so scared I caught on that this was no common kidnapping outfit, like I had thought before.  He wasn’t easy pumped, but I pumped him.  I told him we’d have the guy safe enough inside of twenty-four hours—­hell! there wasn’t no chance for him to get away, for the blame fool headed East on foot straight across the desert—­but he sent off the wire just the same.  That’s what I thought brought you along.”  He leaned over, and lowered his voice.  “There was a dead man back East, wasn’t there?”