That was my undoing."
"How?"
"As soon as the men got the cash, they had no further use for
me. The next I remember is eating a rude meal, while we discussed
the future of making diamonds. I knew nothing more until I found
myself back in the small hotel at Indian Ridge, whence I had gone
some time previous, with the men, to the cave in the mountain."
"What happened?" asked Tom, much surprised by the unexpected
outcome of the affair. "I had been tricked, that was all! As soon
as the men had my money they had no further use for me. They did
not want me to learn the secret of their diamond making, and they
drugged me, carried me away from the cave, and left me in the
hotel."
"Didn't you try to find the cave again?"
"I did, but without avail. I spent some time in the Rockies,
but no one could tell where Phantom Mountain was; in fact, few
had heard of it, and I was nearly lost searching for it.
"I came back East, determined to get even. I had given the men
a very large sum of money, and, in exchange, they had given me
several diamonds. Probably the stones are worth nearly as much as
the money I invested, but I was cheated, for I was promised an
equal share in the profits. These were denied me, and I was
tricked. I determined to be revenged, or at least to discover the
secret of making diamonds.
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