“Faith,” spoke up Golightly, who had been intently listening, “Oi’ll take me oath it wasn’t. Oi know Bernritter some mesilf.”
“Then,” said Nomad finally, “none of these three trouble-makers had anythin’ ter do with ther Three-ply business.”
“They may be in the hire of Bascomb and Bernritter,” said Dell.
“Le’me tell ye, gal,” averred Nomad, “them two false-alarms aire on the run, an’ they ain’t goin’ ter stop runnin’ ter hire three pizen varmints ter do any underhand business eround hyar. Take my word fer it.”
“Thin whoy th’ dickens did they take th’ buckboard?” demanded Golightly. “Answer me that.”
Dell Dauntless faced about in her saddle.
“I can tell you,” said she, in a low, tense voice.
Her manner claimed the fullest attention of Nomad and Golightly. She was about to tell them something of vital importance--the fact stood out in her eyes.
“Don’t hang fire, gal,” urged Nomad. “Our ears aire wide open.”
“They took the buckboard and horses because the rig is known in Phœnix as belonging to Mr. McGowan,” said Dell.
“Waal, what o’ thet? Arter stealin’ ther rig ther scoundrels wouldn’t drive et inter Phœnix.”
“That is what they did, nevertheless,” was the girl’s surprising statement; “what is more, one of them unmasked and drove the rig.”
“I did. I had to go to Phœnix on ranch business to-day, and, as Annie McGowan is a friend of mine, and as I knew she was to arrive this morning, I went to the railroad-station to meet her.”
“She did. I talked with her a few minutes on the station platform.”
“What did she say because no wan was there t’ meet her an’ bring her t’ th’ moine? What hotel was she afther shtoppin’ at?”
“She did not go to any hotel,” returned Dell deliberately. “She was met by a man who said he came from the mine for that purpose.”
Nomad stiffened, and a look of astonishment quivered across his sun-browned face.
“Glory be!” gasped Golightly, thunderstruck.
“I knowed thar was some kind of er hen on,” grunted Nomad.
“What’s more,” proceeded Dell, “the man who met Annie _had McGowan’s rig_.”
“Cut an’ dried game ter git holt o’ ther ole man’s gal,” boomed Nomad, “thet’s what et was. Did she drive off with thet feller in ther rig?”
“Of course she drove off with him, bag and baggage,” answered Dell. “Why shouldn’t she? He said he came from the mine for her, and that her father was too busy to come himself. Then, too, don’t forget that he had the star-faced cayuses and the mine buckboard. Annie knows that rig as she knows her two hands. Why should she suspect that anything was wrong? No, no! Those scheming villains laid their plans too cleverly. Ah, if I had only known that Golightly had been sent from the mine by Mr. McGowan!”