And hanged if I didn't tell him that the fifty thousand was his--and
let him have it, too. Oh, he was playing in great luck! That
combination wouldn't come twice in a thousand years. The next man who
tried it went to jail," he added with a snap of the jaws.
"Quite correct," I said. "Orders must be obeyed."
"Just remember that," he said significantly. "Have you heard anything
more of Decker?"
"I've heard enough to satisfy me that he's the man who got the Omega
stock."
"What other deal is he in?" asked the King of the Street.
"I don't know."
The King of the Street smiled indulgently.
"Well, you've got something to learn yet. I'll give you till next week
to find the answer to that question."
I was convinced from his air that he had information on both these
points himself, and was merely trying my knowledge.
"I'll not be back before next Wednesday," he concluded.
"Going away again?" I asked in surprise.
"I'm off to Virginia City," he replied after considering for a little.
"I'm not sure about Omega, after all--and there's another one I want to
look into. You needn't mention my going. When I come back we'll have a
campaign that will raise the roof of every Board in town. No orders
till then unless I telegraph you. That's all."
The King of the Street seemed straightforward enough in his statement
of plans, and it did not occur to me to distrust him while I was in his
presence. Yet, once more in my office, with the locked door between, I
began to doubt, and tried to find some hidden meaning in each word and
look.
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