It was a waste of time to protest against the wishes of such a woman. Moreover, Buffalo Bill admired her pluck and high courage, and he knew she would be no weakling. The woman who could climb a wall of that perilous cañon and hurl a rope to him, as she had done, had more than the usual share of coolness and daring. In short, he recognized in this brown-haired, bright-faced young woman the stuff of which heroines are made. “The emeralds!” he said, as a final objection. “Let them go! I’d give them to the road agents willingly if they would release Bruce. And, Mr. Cody, I confess to you that is what I mean to do if I get the chance--offer the gems to those men for Bruce’s release. We can’t fight them, they’re too strong; but we might buy them, if we can get in touch with them to enter into negotiations. That’s what I hope to do. They want the emeralds, not Bruce.” “Very true,” he admitted. “I think they want the emeralds much more than they do him.” “What I can’t understand is, how they knew I had them, or anything about them. But they did. They searched Bruce hurriedly; and I heard one of them tell him to hand over the emeralds. Where did they find out about them?” “I’ll make a confession to you,” said Buffalo Bill, “as we ride along. Lucky this horse is big and strong, and doesn’t object to double burdens!” he cried, as he helped her to mount to the back of his horse, and then he swung up into the saddle. Pawnee Bill and Nomad started their horses, and turned into the broad trail left by the road agents when they rode away with their prisoner. “The confession I make is,” said Buffalo Bill, “that a man who, I believe, was in this stage holdup, was seen by me at your uncle’s home when I was there--when I came there with the emeralds, after the fire. I didn’t want to tell you before, and make you uneasy. But I saw him out under the tree, and when I tried to speak with him he ran. I have been thinking the matter over since, and am pretty sure now that he listened at the window, or under the floor.” “Under the floor?” “You’ll remember that I asked you if your uncle kept a dog? That was because I had seen a hole under the floor which appeared as if something--some animal or man--had recently been in it. I think now that the man I’m speaking of had really been under the floor. If so, he probably heard our talk about the emeralds. “Now, another thing: That man my friends and I saw with the mustang catchers of the Bitter Water. He is called Toby Sam.” “You think the mustang catchers had a hand in this holdup?” “It looks it. I’m guessing a good deal, you see, and really am in the dark; but that is my present guess.” The horses were going at a gallop now. Buffalo Bill drew rein, and asked the others to stop. “We’re foolish,” he said, “to take those emeralds on with us. The thing to do is to hide them here somewhere. Then, no matter what happens, they will be safe.”