I might have saved my trouble and my coin. San Francisco replied with
some emphasis that there was nothing for me, and never had been, and
who was I, anyhow?
There was nothing to be done. I must possess my soul in patience in the
belief that the Unknown knew what she was about and that I should get
my orders in due time--probably after nightfall, when darkness would
cover any necessary movement.
But if I could shift the worry and responsibility of the present
situation on the Unknown, there was another trouble that loomed larger
and more perplexing before my mind with each passing hour. If the
mission of to-day were prolonged into the morrow, what was to become of
the Omega deal, and where would Doddridge Knapp's plans of fortune be
found? I smiled to think that I should concern myself with this
question when I knew that Doddridge Knapp's men were waiting and
watching for my first movement with orders that probably did not stop
at murder itself. Yet my trouble of mind increased with the passing
time as I vainly endeavored to devise some plan to meet the difficulty
that had been made for me.
But as I saw no way to straighten out this tangle, I turned my
attention to the boy in the hope of getting from him some information
that might throw light on the situation.
"He's as shy as a young quail," said Wainwright, when my advances were
received in stubborn silence.
"You seem to be getting along pretty well with him," I suggested.
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