Alcalde Bartlett had been discredited, though not
officially, since his return from capture by the rancheros. He was soon
to be displaced and there would be no further commandeering of horses
and cattle.
"The commandante tells me," Windham said, "that there is still no news
of the Warren's launch which was sent last December to pay the garrison
at Sutter's Fort. Bob Ridley's men, who cruised the San Joaquin and
Sacramento rivers, found nothing."
"But--the boat and its crew couldn't vanish completely?" Benito's tone
held puzzled incredulity. "There would be Wreckage. Floating bodies--"
"Unless," said Adrian, "they had been hidden--buried secretly, perhaps."
"Adrian, what do you mean?" asked Inez in excitement. "It was about the
time that--"
"McTurpin left," responded Stanley. "I've heard more than a whisper of
his possible connection with the disappearance. McTurpin didn't leave
alone. He rounded up half a dozen rough-looking fellows and they rode
out of town together."
There was a silence. Then Benito spoke. "We haven't seen the last of
him, I fear."
CHAPTER XII
THE NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS
It was almost a month later that Inez galloped home from San Francisco
with a precious missive from the absent brother.
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