Leroy gave an appreciative nod, and rejoined Plummer.
“So you have been robbed,” said the latter. “I’m not surprised,—and I think I can tell you who were the robbers.”
“Who were they?” eagerly asked Southmayd.
“George Ives was one of them,” said Plummer.
“Yes,” responded Southmayd, “and the others were ‘Whiskey Bill’ and Bob Zachary; and I’ll live to see them hanged before three weeks.”
Southmayd did not know that Plummer’s accusation was made for the purpose of detecting his knowledge of the robbers. Bissell, who had overheard Southmayd’s revelation to Plummer, said to him soon after,
George Crisman, who was standing by, added,
Business detained Southmayd in Bannack the succeeding three days. During that time he never met Plummer, who left him immediately after they held the conversation above narrated.
Two days afterwards, while on his way to Virginia City, Caldwell, the driver, met with “Whiskey Bill” at the Cold Spring ranche.
“Did you hear of the robbery, Bill, on my trip out?” he inquired.
“Sure, I did, Tom,” replied Bill. “Do you know any of the fellows who committed it?”
“Not I,” replied Caldwell, “and I wouldn’t for the world. If I did, and told of them, I shouldn’t live long.”
“That’s so, Tom,” rejoined Graves. “You wouldn’t live twenty-four hours. It’s always best to be ignorant in matters of that kind. I’ve had experience, and I know. I’ll just tell you, by way of illustration, about my being robbed in California. One night as my partner and I were riding along, two fellows rode up and told us to throw up our hands. We did so, and they took from us two thousand dollars in coin. I said to ’em, ‘Boys, it’s pretty rough to take all we’ve got.’ They said so it was, and gave us back forty dollars. A week afterwards I saw ’em dealing faro. One of ’em saw me looking at him, and arose and came up to me, and said in a whisper, ‘Ain’t you one of the men that was robbed the other night?’ ‘Not at all,’ says I, for I thought if I said ‘yes’ he would find a way to put me out of the way. ‘Oh, well,’ says he, ‘honor bright! I want you to own up. I know you’re the man. Now, I’m going to give you four thousand dollars, just for keeping your mouth shut.’ And he kept his promise. So you see, Tom, that I saved my life, and got four thousand dollars for keeping still.”