y. Dingwell
stood there frowning at the ashes of the dead campfire. He had had a
theory, and it was not working out quite as he had hoped. For the
moment he was at a mental impasse. Part of what had happened he could
guess almost as well as if he had been present to see it. Sweeney's
posse had given the fugitives a scare at Dry Gap and driven them back
into the desert. In the early morning they had tried the hills again
and had reached Lonesome Park. But they could not be sure that Sweeney
or some one of the posses sent out by the railroad was not close at
hand. Somewhere in the range back of them the pursuers were combing
the hills, and into those very hills the bandits had to go to disappear
in their mountain haunts.

Even before reaching the park Dingwell had guessed the robbers would
separate here and strike each for individual safety. But what had they
done with the loot? That was the thing that puzzled him.

They had divided the gold here. Or one of them had taken it with him
to an appointed rendezvous in the hills. Or they had cached it, One of
these three plans had been followed. But which?

Dingwell rubbed the open fingers of one hand slowly through his
sunburnt thatch of hair. "Doggone my hide, if it don't look like they
took it with them," he murmured. "But that ain't reasonable, Dave.
The man in charge of this hold-up knew his business. It was smooth
work all the way through. If it hadn't been for bad luck he would have
got away with the whole thing fine. They still had the loot with them
when they got here. No doubt about that. Well, then! He wouldn't
divvy up here, because, if they separated, and any one of them got
caught with the gold on him, it would be a give-away. But if they
didn't have the dough on them, it would not matter if some of the boys
were caught. You can't do anything with a man riding peaceable through
the hills looking for strays, no matter how loaded to the guards with
suspicions you may be. So they would cache the loot. Wouldn't they?
Sure they would if they had any sense. But tell me where, Dave."

His thoughtful eyes had for some moments been resting on something that
held them. He stooped and picked up a little chip of sealing-wax.
Instantly he knew how it had come here. The gold sacks had been sealed
by the express company with wax. At least one of the sacks had been
opened here by the robbers.

Did this mean they had divided their treasure here?