Summary

Lemuel and his kidnapper struggle against each other in the car. Lemuel has the upper hand until his kidnapper puts a pistol to his head. He interrogates Lemuel about the location of the gold mine Shagpoke had discovered. Lemuel tells him he doesn't know this information and at that moment someone crashes into the car. Lemuel is knocked unconscious and upon awaking in an ambulance the attendant informs him he lost his thumb in the accident. The man tells him Mr. Whipple was never injured and has not been to the hospital. Lemuel has fifteen minutes to make the train and asks the ambulance to drop him off at the station. The man resists but eventually agrees to help him.

In Chapter 24, Lemuel arrives at the train and finds his friends waiting for him. When they make it to California, they travel by...