elf. Tell 'em I have the
owner of the mine out there in the trees, but the old fellow won't
come in until he has a talk with them. Tell 'em they better not show
the money until they chat with him a few minutes. Likely they'll fall
for that, as they don't seem to have the slightest suspicion. But if
they balk at leaving the money let them bring it along. Once out in
the dark the rest will be easy. But I figure they'll leave the money
in the shack--it's just for a few minutes, you know--and they'll
reason that it's safe enough with no one but ourselves within miles.
Well, you lead them off down through the bush. As soon as you do that
I'll slip in through the window, gather up the long green and cache
it somewhere in the scrub. You won't be able to find me at first, but
when you do I'll say that the old fellow wanted to go up to the shack
himself to meet them, and I let him go. Then we'll all go back to the
shack, and find both the money and the old man--the mine-owner, you
know--missing. Then we'll start a hue and cry and all hit into the
bush. You and I will gather up the spoil and make a quiet get-away
for the night. Of course we'll have to turn up in the morning to
avert suspicion, but we can tell them we got on the robber's trail
and followed it until we lost ourselves in the bush. In the meantime
the Harrises will be tearing around in great excitement, and they're
almost sure to run on to Travers. Harris recently fired Travers, and
Allan had a fight with him, if you told me right, so it's not likely
they'll listen to any explanations. They'll turn him over to the
police, and as it's the business of the police to get convictions,
they'll have to frame up a case against him or be made to look
stupid--and that's the last thing a policeman likes. Then you and I
will quietly divide the proceeds of our investment, and you can go
back to your farm, if you like, and live to a ripe old age and get a
write-up in the local paper when you shuffle off. As for me--I'm not
that type, Riles, and I'll likely find some other way to spend my
profits."

"It looks easy," Riles admitted. "But what about Jim? He'll tell what
he heard you say at the ford."

"Let him. Nobody'll believe it. Remember that when he tells that
he'll be under arrest, and when a man's under arrest his word is
always discounted. To be arrested means to be half convicted. It
takes two good witnesses to offset the moral effect of arrest, and
Travers will have no w