"Did you give him my message?"
"Every word of it, as I received it from Bok-kar-oo; I made it as strong as I could."
"You couldn"t make it any too strong; how did he take it?"
"It didn"t seem to worry him much; he says he don"t know anything about the missing boy and your threats don"t scare him. But, Hank," added Tozer, lowering his voice almost to a whisper and glancing furtively around, "I suspect Motoza was lying."
"I _know_ he was, fur he doesn"t know how to tell the truth."
"If he"s treated right, I believe he"ll produce the missing youngster."
Hank Hazletine was keener mentally than most of his friends suspected.
He had more ac.u.men than even Bill Tozer suspected. A great light flashed upon the cowman, and the questions and answers which fell from his lips during the next few minutes were intended to hide his real purpose.
"What do you mean by treating Motoza right? If he was treated right he"d be kicking the air this very minute."
"I agree with you," said Tozer, laughing; "but Motoza doesn"t, and he"s the one who asks to be treated right, as he considers it."
"I"ve said that if he produces the younker, and we find he hain"t been harmed, why we"ll call it a joke and drop the whole thing."
Tozer gazed at a distant mountain peak and thoughtfully chewed tobacco for a minute. He was approaching delicate ground and needed all his _finesse_.
"That"s fair on your part, and is more than he ought to expect, but I"ve a suspicion it isn"t what he means."
"Do you know what he means, Bill?"
"No; he hasn"t told me a word, but I think I can guess it."
"Wal, then, guess."
"Remember it"s only a guess, and I may be away off."
Hazletine nodded his head.
"I"m listening."
"I suspect Motoza has the tenderfoot in hiding somewhere, where there"s no chance of his getting away or of any of his friends finding him."
"What does the scamp mean by doing that?"
"He must have had an idea that the father of the Greenwood boy has enough money to pay a good sum to recover him unharmed."
"That"s a new scheme! I"ve heard of such things in the East, but never knowed "em to be tried in this part of the country."
"Bear in mind," Tozer hastened to add, "that it"s all guesswork on my part."
"You"ve said that afore, but it"s powerful good guessing, Bill. It"s my "pinion you ain"t a thousand miles from the truth, but you can see this makes a mighty different thing of the bus"ness."
"How so?"
"The younker"s father lives in New York; he"s got to be reached, and the question laid afore him. How much money will Motoza ask to produce the younker?"
"Certainly not much--something like five thousand dollars, I should say."
"That is rather a healthy pile for you or me, but I don"t "spose it"s more than a trifle for them folks in the East."
"Of course not; they"ll raise it at once, and be glad to do so."
"But it"ll take two weeks at least."
"Not necessarily; you can telegraph from Fort Steele, and two or three days ought to wind up the whole business."
"But you can"t telegraph the money."
"Yes, you can; nothing is easier."
Hazletine was silent a minute or two.
"It sounds easy "nough, the way you put it, but it won"t be so powerful easy after all. I s"pose the Sioux will want the money afore he turns over the younker?"
"Of course; that"s business."
"How can we know he"ll give up the younker after he gits the money?"
"In a matter of this kind, a point must be reached where one party has to trust the other, and Motoza wouldn"t dare play you false."
"He wouldn"t, eh? Just give him the chance."
"Then we won"t let him. I"ll guarantee that he shall keep his part of the agreement in spirit and letter."
It was on Hazletine"s tongue to ask who should guarantee the honesty of Bill Tozer, but for reasons of his own he kept back the question.
"Wal, now, to git down to bus"ness, as you say; s"pose Doctor Greenwood sends word that he won"t or can"t raise the money you ask--what then?"
Tozer shrugged his shoulders suggestively.
"Don"t forget that I am guessing all the way through. I should say, however, that Doctor Greenwood would never see his boy again."
"I"m afraid he never will, as the matter now stands."
"That depends on the parent. If he is not rich, the father of that young man over yonder is, and he would let him have the money."
"No doubt he"d do that very thing; but s"pose the thing is all fixed and carried out as you"ve been saying--does Motoza fancy there won"t be some accounts to be squared with him afterwards?"
"You know what a cunning fellow he is. He wouldn"t go through with the job until he was guaranteed against any punishment for his part in it."
"The father of the younker would give the pledge, and he"d keep it, too, if he"s anything like his son. But what "bout Hank Hazletine?"
"He would have to make the same promise--that is, I presume he would. It might be, however, that Motoza would feel able to take care of himself, so far as you are concerned. But we are talking blindly."