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 and help myself to the gold bars. I made one lunge past him and then let out a yell.

The vault was absolutely empty!

Kind of dazed, I turned to Pancho for a explanation, and he's nowheres in sight, but from the end of the hall comes sounds of scufflin'. I'm there as fast as a pair of tremblin' legs can take me, and my eyes pop out till you could of hung your hat on either of 'em when I see Pancho Nogales strugglin' in the grasp of his six enemies. One of them is sayin' soothin'ly:

"Come, Pancho, you have had enough excitement for one day. We shall put you to sleep for a while!"

Just then Maida blows in and walks up to this baby.

"Oh, Dr. Mazelli, shall I prepare a hypo?" she asks him.

I come out of my trance as a horrible suspicion begins to dawn on me!

"Doctor?" I holler. "What the—"

The American among the six whatnots looks at me curiously.

"I tried to explain to you, sir," he says coldly, "but you informed me that you knew all about it. Those were your very words. I naturally thought Mister Roberts and his friend Mister Young were conversant with General Nogales's condition and had put on that interesting boxing exhibition to humor the whim of a once great man. Nogales, of course, is as crazy as a bat—has been for years!"

Sweet Mamma!

"Then you guys ain't no oil syndicate which gypped him?" I managed to gasp.