Part 34 (1/2)

”Yes, and you prevented Case and I making one at the house in the city,” Alex. said.

”It is all as simple as twice two,” Red observed, sitting back from the table. ”The robbery at Rock Island was planned and carried out by Sam, the outlaw who a.s.sisted me in the capture of the _Rambler_. I knew that at the time I was with him--at the time I let him go--or when you boys did, rather.”

”But why didn't you pinch him?” demanded Alex. ”There's a reward.”

”Because I hadn't then discovered the goods which had been taken. He was going to take me to them, I being a possible purchaser!”

”Well, of all the nerve!” Jule cut in. ”Just think of that, now!”

”Were they in that old house on the bayou?” asked Alex.

”Some of them were. As soon as I got off your boat I wired back to have the place surrounded and searched. They found all the silks and furs there! You boys did a good job for me when you permitted yourselves to be trapped.”

”It was Captain Joe and Mose who did the good job when they got us out!” Jule said.

”Did you find Sam again?” asked Case, in a moment. ”He was a corker!”

”You boys found him in the swamp,” Red replied soberly, ”and Mose executed the sentence of the law upon him--hanged him by the neck!”

”So you are a detective?” asked Case. ”Why didn't you say so?”

”I am not,” was the reply. ”I am the owner of the warehouse that was robbed, and I set out to get the goods back, that is all.”

”But you asked us to take Chet on down the river when he had the diamonds in his clothes!” Alex. exclaimed. ”What about that? It was a funny stunt.”

”Of course I didn't know that he had the diamonds,” added Red, now to be known as Mr. George Redmond. ”He told me about his having had them when I told him that Sam was dead, that was last night, in New Orleans. Then he told me that he had taken the diamonds from Sam because he wanted to restore them to me, but had promised Sam that he would never reveal his, Sam's, connection with the crime. Of course Sam never knew positively that the boy had stolen the diamonds, but he suspected.”

”And sent this riverman, Gid Brent, on board at Cairo to see if the boy was there?”

”Yes, he did that. By that time I was satisfied that the boy had been in on the robbery--that he had been forced to enter the building by way of a window and open the door for the thieves to enter.

”I knew that the boy would tell the whole story to me if I could get him away from the robbers, and not scare him half to death by putting him in jail. So I followed him along down the river. As the robbers were making their way down toward New Orleans, too, I was doing a pretty good job following him--and especially as the robbers were after him, too. They believed, all but Sam, he had taken the diamonds, you see.

”They got him last night and searched him, but found nothing. Then they told him that if he would get Alex. and Case into their hands they would let him go. So Chet did that very thing, and now the two boys are witnesses that the robbers admitted to them that they were in on the robbery!

”When they let Chet go he made for the _Rambler_ on a run, and found me on the way. All the people who were in the old house are under arrest. And the diamonds are up at Memphis in the deposit vault, and all is well.”

”How do you know that?” demanded Clay.

”Why, we opened the box, the cas.h.i.+er and I,” was the reply. ”I knew they were there before I knew that Chet had ever had them. My one great difficulty was to get hold of the boy after he ran off at Memphis! Your boat was watched all the way down, you know, of course.”