ony ground beyond,
where his boots would leave no impression, and there all trace of him
was lost. Whether he had buried the sacks somewhere near by, or, if not,
how he had managed to spirit them away, were matters of general
speculation; though to most minds the question was settled when one of
Yetmore's clerks came hastily up to the mine and called out that the
roan pony and the two-wheeled delivery cart, used to carry packages up
to the mines, were missing. The thief, seemingly, had not only stolen
Yetmore's ore, but had borrowed Yetmore's horse and cart to convey it
away.

If this were true, it proved that the thief must have an intimate
knowledge of the country, for, in spite of the heavy rain of the night
before, not a sign of a wheel-mark was there to be found: the cart had
been conducted over the rocks with such skill as to leave no trace
whatever. Cart, pony, ore and thief had vanished as completely as though
the earth had opened and swallowed them.

At first everybody sympathized with Yetmore over his loss, but presently
an ugly rumor began to get about when people bethought them of the terms
of the lease. Those who did not like the storekeeper, and they were not
a few, began to pull long faces, nudge each other with their elbows, and
whisper together that perhaps Yetmore knew more of this matter than he
pretended.

Joe and I were at a loss to understand what they were driving at, until
one man, more malicious or less discreet than the others, spoke up.

"How are we to know," said he, "that Yetmore didn't steal this ore
himself? Three-fifths of it belongs to the company--he'd make a mighty
good thing by it. I'm not saying he did do it, but----"

He ended with a closing of one eye and a sideways jerk of his head more
expressive than words.

"Oh, that's ridiculous!" Joe blurted out. "Yetmore isn't
over-scrupulous, I dare say, but he's a long way from being a fool, and
he'd never make such a blunder as to steal the ore and then use his own
horse and cart to carry it off."

"Well, I don't know," said the man. "It might be just a trick of his to
put folks off the scent."

And though Joe and I, for our part, felt sure that Yetmore had had
nothing to do with it, we found that many people shared this man's
suspicions; the consequence being that the mayor's popularity of the day
before waned again as suddenly as it had arisen.

In the midst of this excitement the mail-coach from the south came in,
when Joe