“I am here in search of you, Mr. Harding.”

“How is that?” asked the sick man, quickly.  “Is my sister sick?”

“Not that I know of.  I come from Mr. Armstrong, in New York.”

“You come from Mr. Armstrong?” repeated the sick man, in evident surprise.  “Have you any message for me from him?”

“Yes, but that can wait.  I am sorry to find you sick.  I hope that it is nothing serious.”

“It would not be serious if I were in a settlement where I could obtain a good doctor and proper medicines.  Everything is serious here.  I have no care or attention, and no medicines.”

“Do you feel able to get away from here?  It would be better for you to be at Deadwood than here.”

“If I had anyone to go with me, I might venture to start for Deadwood.”

“I am at your service, Mr. Harding.”

The sick man looked at Luke with a puzzled expression.

“You are very kind,” he said, after a pause.  “What is your name?”

“Luke Larkin.”

“And you know Mr. Armstrong?”

“Yes.  I am his messenger.”

“But how came he to send a boy so far?  It is not like him.”

Luke laughed.

“No doubt you think him unwise,” he said.  “The fact was, he took me for lack of a better.  Besides, the mission was a confidential one, and he thought he could trust me, young as I am.”

“You say you have a message for me?” queried Harding.

“Yes!”

“What is it?”

“First, can I do something for your comfort?  Can’t I get you some breakfast?”

“The message first.”

“I will give it at once.  Do you remember purchasing some government bonds for Mr. Armstrong a short time before you left his employment?”

“Yes.  What of them?”

“Have you preserved the numbers of the bonds?” Luke inquired, anxiously.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because Mr. Armstrong has lost his list, and they have been stolen.  Till he learns the numbers, he will stand no chance of identifying or recovering them.”

“I am sure I have the numbers.  Feel in the pocket of my coat yonder, and you will find a wallet.  Take it out and bring it to me.”

Luke obeyed directions.

The sick man opened the wallet and began to examine the contents.  Finally he drew out a paper, which he unfolded.

“Here is the list.  I was sure I had them.”

Luke’s eyes lighted up with exultation.

It was clear that he had succeeded in his mission.  He felt that he had justified the confidence which Mr. Armstrong had reposed in him, and that the outlay would prove not to have been wasted.

“May I copy them?” he asked.

“Certainly, since you are the agent of Mr. Armstrong—­or you may have the original paper.”

“I will copy them, so that if that paper is lost, I may still have the numbers.  And now, what can I do for you?”