Page:Allan Dunn--Dead Man's Gold.djvu/197

Rh "If you chaps strike a fortune," he said, smilingly, "I'll let you endow a bed."

"Wot's that mean?" asked Larkin. The doctor explained.

"We'll hendow a bloomin' 'orsepittle if we strike w'ot we're hafter," Larkin said. Then came the anticipated question.

"Which way are you boys going?" asked the doctor, without showing any particular curiosity. "You read, perhaps, where some prospectors were wiped out by the Apaches down Stone Men Cañon? About the time you got into trouble yourselves. They claim there's no gold there, anyway."

Stone looked at him closely but the doctor showed no signs of hidden meaning or undue desire to meddle in their affairs.

"Read about it in the Phoenix papers," Stone said. "But we're working north up toward the Little Colorado."

"I've heard there's gold that way," answered the doctor and dismissed the matter as he shook hands with them and wished them good luck. As they left his office they almost ran into Peggy Furniss. Larkin's face grew red and he embarrassed. He took her outstretched hand as if she had suddenly put a damp and dead fish into his palm instead of her own magnetic fingers.

"I want to wish you all kinds of good luck," she said. "I haven't heard from Mary, Mr. Stone, but letters are so long in coming when she's on 'loke.' I hope we'll see you both again. I suppose I shall be