"Oh, I've got the letter all right. An' it's enough as far as it
goes. But it ain't proof; not the kind of proof a man pays out
reward money on," he added, cunningly. "You say you left Roddy down
there with that Funcke feller, hey?"

"Yes. It'll make a man of him, if anything will. I threw that in
as an extra."

"Yes; but what about them two crooks that goldbricked him? What's
become of them?"

"On their way to Alaska or Bolivia or Corea, or anywhere else, for
all I know--or care," said Average Jones indifferently.

"Is that so?" The quack's voice had taken on a sneering intonation.
"You come back here with your job not half done, with the guilty
fellers loose an' runnin', an' you expect me to pay over, the five
thousand dollars to you. Huh!"

"No, I--er--don't expect--er--anything of the sort," said Average
Jones slowly.

Doctor Hoff's little, restless eyes puckered at the corners. He was
puzzled. What did the young fellow mean?

"Don't, eh?" he said, groping in his mind for a solution.

"No. You forgot to send me that promised form of agreement, didn't
you? Thought you'd fooled me, perhaps. Well, I wouldn't be so