“He’s in with us, all right;” this plainly referring to Uncle Sam. “Cody thinks he is standing in with him; and we’ll let him think it. By and by, if we don’t down him too soon with a bullet, Cody will learn the truth.” Again the grumble died down. Then once more words came which could be understood. “The trapper, too; we’ll fix him. Needn’t think he can come into this camp and put the kibosh onto us; it can’t be done easy. We’ve got too many friends here, and our organization is too strong.” For some time the voices went on, in a grumble that rose and fell. But, though snatches of the talk came into the cellar, the baron got little more that he could piece together into intelligible sentences. At last the talk stopped altogether. But the men were not heard to walk away. Still, it was apparent that they had gone. “Vot do you t’ink uff idt?” the baron breathed at last. “It proves just what I said--that Gopher Gabe means to kill us. It proves, too, what I’ve thought, that he has a strong organization in this town. Cody will find that he is fighting all the thugs and bad men of Blossom Range, and there is a regiment of them; I think that in the end they will kill him, too.” “Ton’dt you pelieve idt!” protested the baron. “Dare iss nodt eenypoty vot gan kill Cody.” “He doesn’t bear a charmed life any more than other men; and a bullet in the dark, or a knife thrust, can put him out of the way as easy as it would any one else.” “You ton’dt knowed Cody!” “Yes, I know him. But his days are numbered.” “You are loogking indo der darkness,” said the baron; “loogk oudt ondo der sunlighdt.” The woman seemed to laugh. “I can’t see any sunlight, in this black place.” “Imachine dot you see der sunlighdt, eenyhow! Idt vill hellup. As vor Schnitzenhauser, he nefer gifs oop. I haf peen in vorse blaces, unt I am sdill lifing. You pedt me, ve gan gidt oudt uff dhis.” “I wish you would show me how.” “Py yiminy, I vill!” He began to tug and struggle, in a wild effort to release his hands from the cords that cut them. “I pedt I vill magke idt,” he declared. “Uff in no odder vays, I vill gidt you to gnaw dhem off yoost like a radt.” CHAPTER XVIII. AN ASSASSIN AT WORK. The disappearance of Baron von Schnitzenhauser and Vera Bright filled Buffalo Bill and Nomad with so much uneasiness that they instituted a thorough search for them, but without avail. They had dropped out of sight completely. All that was known, was that the woman had returned to her work at the Casino, and had disappeared; and that the baron, set to shadow the Casino and Gopher Gabe’s, had also vanished. Buffalo Bill sent for the sheriff, Matt Shepard; and laid the facts before him.