I wanted to rest in
the desert. I thought I could manage it alone, but it looks as if I
were too green. I don't know why John Red Sun thought I could intrude
on you folks, unless--" he hesitated.
"John an old friend of yours?" asked Curly.
"No, I met him on the trail. He was exceedingly kind and hospitable."
Curly whistled softly. "You must have been in bad shape. John's not
noted for kindness, or hospitality either."
"I wasn't in bad shape at all!" protested Enoch. The two men, eying
Enoch steadily, each suppressed a smile.
"Field and I are on a kind of vacation too," said Mack. "I'm a
superintendent of a zinc mine, and he's running the mill for me. We
had to shut down for three months--bottom's dropped clean out of the
price of zinc. We've been talking about prospecting for placer gold up
on the Colorado, for ten years. Now we're giving her a try."
He paused, and both men looked at Enoch expectantly. "In other words,"
said Enoch, refilling his pipe, "you two fellows are off for the kind
of a trip you don't want an utter stranger in on. Well, I don't blame
you."
"Depends altogether on what kind of a chap the stranger is," suggested
Curly.
"I have no letters of recommendation." Enoch's smile was grim.
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