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Show 70 Rollins looked at his partner, and Bixby scowled. Finally the tall man cleared his throat. 'Yeah, we're on a big case, kid. We're tryin' to catch the guys that stole the gold down in Jericho." At this, Josh looked astonished. "You mean-you mean somebody stole the gold bar from town?" Even as he said it, his eyes lit on a heavy canvas bag with a leather handle on the bare boards of an old wooden cot. Try as he could, Josh couldn't take his eyes from the satchel. "Your grandpa, huh?" said Bixby. "What's his name?" Finally Josh looked away from the bag, and tried to sound cheerful. "Why, Abner Raintree, Mr. Bixby. You should get to know him. Why don't we all go over and visit him now, 'cause he's expecting me back in a few minutes." Bixby's eyes narrowed when he used Mr. Raintree's name. Josh could see they didn't believe him, but at least now they were in doubt. "He is, huh? That's interesting. And where's that patch-eyed friend of yours?" Furrowing his brow in thought, Josh gave his hand a toss. "Oh, Cap Mullins, you mean? Why, he's back in town, I guess." Rollins came and leaned over him as Josh sat trying to keep the smile on his face. The heavy man's breath smelled sour. "You know what I think, kid? I think you and Patch-eye were snooping around here for something. You didn't follow us up here, did you?" "Follow you? Heck no, I just came up to spend the week end with Grandpa Raintree. Why would I follow you?" |