they had dug a deep hole in the ground. On the
morning of the 29th gold was discovered, lots of it, at the bottom of
this hole. And all three, my master and his two partners, were very
happy about it because now they would be rich. But Manuel Mendoza asked
Bluebeard Bill to go for a walk with him. These two men I had always
suspected of being bad. So when I noticed that they left my master
behind, I followed them secretly to see what they were up to. And in a
deep cave in the mountains I heard them arrange together to kill Luke
the Hermit so that they should get all the gold and he have none."

At this point the judge asked, "Where is the witness Mendoza? Constable,
see that he does not leave the court."

But the wicked little man with the watery eyes had already sneaked out
when no one was looking and he was never seen in Puddleby again.

"Then," Bob's statement went on, "I went to my master and tried very
hard to make him understand that his partners were dangerous men. But it
was no use. He did not understand dog language. So I did the next best
thing: I never let him out of my sight but stayed with him every moment
of the day and night.

"Now the hole that they had made was so deep that to get down and up it
you had to go in a big bucket tied on the end of a rope; and the three
men used to haul one another up and let one another down the mine in
this way. That was how the gold was brought up too--in the bucket. Well,
about seven o'clock in the evening my master was standing at the top of
the mine, hauling up Bluebeard Bill who was in the bucket. Just as he
had got Bill halfway up I saw Mendoza come out of the hut where we
all lived. Mendoza thought that Bill was away buying groceries. But
he wasn't: he was in the bucket. And when Mendoza saw Luke hauling and
straining on the rope he thought he was pulling up a bucketful of gold.
So he drew a pistol from his pocket and came sneaking up behind Luke to
shoot him.

"I barked and barked to warn my master of the danger he was in; but he
was so busy hauling up Bill (who was a heavy fat man) that he took no
notice of me. I saw that if I didn't do something quick he would surely
be shot. So I did a thing I've never done before: suddenly and savagely
I bit my master in the leg from behind. Luke was so hurt and startled
that he did just what I wanted him to do: he let go the rope with both
hands at once and turned round. And then, CRASH! down went Bill in his
bucket to th