"His name is Pratt. Didn't Zeke introduce him?"
"Yes," answered Grant. "I know who he is but what is he?"
"He's a prospector who has been working around here not far from my
brother more or less for five years. My brother was almost insane and
Pratt knew it. He tried to keep a little watch over him, but Sime wouldn't
have him around. He was about here, however, when my brother died and he
helped me locate the claim."
"Were you the man who took our diary?" spoke up John.
"'Your' diary is good," laughed Mr. Moultrie. "Do you think it really was
yours?"
"We found it," said John doggedly.
"By the same rule," said Mr. Moultrie, "the man that found this boy when
he was lost in the gulch ought to own him. We took the diary all right,
but it belonged to us anyway. We were only appropriating what was ours."
"What about that boat that was stove in?"
"That was an accident. We took one of the boats fully expecting to give it
back to you within a day or two. We struck a rock and that's all there is
to the story."
"But what about that pack?"
"Our supplies were all gone so we took the pack," laughed the man.
Pages:
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230