“If you back the thing, I’ll make the arrests,” said the officer, but reluctantly. “I will back you!” the scout told him. “Or, if you don’t want to do it, I will make the arrests myself; yet I should prefer to have you to do that part of the work.” He did not think it wise, being still rather hazy about some points himself, to tell these men all his conclusions; he preferred to let events speak for themselves. When they got down to the Casino and called for Miss Vera Bright, they were informed that she was not there; that, in fact, she had left Blossom Range that morning, on the stage for Calumet Springs. “Let me see the manager of the show,” Buffalo Bill requested. The manager came down--a pale, blond, young fellow--and began to answer Buffalo Bill’s questions. “I didn’t know she was going,” he declared; “and none of the company did. The first we knew, she had her things packed, and asked me for her salary. I wouldn’t pay it, of course, under the circumstances, as we expect to play here another week, and she was in the cast. She went away in a huff.” “How long was she with your company?” was the scout’s next question. The manager admitted that he had “picked her up” at Calumet Springs, when the company was there on its way to Blossom Range. “She wanted to join us, and I let her do so, as I thought we could use her,” he explained. “So you really know nothing about her?” “Not a thing!” When Buffalo Bill left the Casino, he sent a telegram to the marshal of Calumet Wells, requesting him to hold the woman until certain charges against her could be investigated. “Now for Juniper Joe’s!” he said to the officer. When they reached the cabin of Juniper Joe, they had somewhat the same experience; Juniper Joe was not there, neither was his wife. The cabin was locked. The door which the scout had so recently splintered had been somewhat repaired, and was braced on the inside, as well as locked. “This is queer!” was the officer’s comment. “Just a little bit,” the scout agreed. “Shall I break the door in?” “That is my advice.” When it was battered in and they entered, they found no one inside. A warrant had been secured, authorizing the house and the mine to be searched. Therefore, the officer forced the door which led to the mine. The mine looked dark as a cave; so lights were secured, before they tried to enter it. They examined the mine back of the cabin, the scout flashing the light curiously on the walls. He made no remarks about his discoveries, and his examination was not a close one; but he commented freely enough on the fact that the couple must have departed by the front door. “Yet it seemed to have been barred on the inside!” was the officer’s objection.