When she could stand the silence no longer Melissy called up Jack Flatray
on the telephone at Mesa.
"You caught me just in time. I'm leaving for Phoenix to-night," he told
her. "What can I do for you, Miss Lee?"
"I want to know what's being done about that Fort Allison stage hold-up."
"The money has been recovered."
"I know that, but--what about the--the criminals?"
"They made their getaway all right."
"Aren't you looking for them?"
"No."
"Did Mr. Morse want you to drop it?"
"Yes. He was very urgent about it."
"Does he know who the criminals are?"
"Yes."
"And isn't going to prosecute?"
"So he told me."
"What did Mr. Morse say when you made your report?"
"Said, 'Thank you.'"
"Oh, yes, but--you know what I mean."
"Not being a mind-reader----"
"About the suspect. Did he say anything?"
"Said he had private reasons for not pushing the case. I didn't ask him
what they were."
This was all she could get out of him. It was less than she had hoped.
Still, it was something. She knew definitely what Bellamy had done.
Wherefore she sat down to write him a note of thanks. It took her an hour
and eight sheets of paper before she could complete it to her
satisfaction. Even then the result was not what she wanted. She wished she
knew how he felt about it, so that she could temper it to the right degree
of warmth or coolness. Since she did not know, she erred on the side of
stiffness and made her message formal.
"Mr. Thomas L. Morse,
"Monte Cristo Mine.
"Dear Sir: "Father and I feel that we ought to thank you for your considerate
forbearance in a certain matter you know of. Believe me, sir, we are
grateful.
"Very respectfully,
"Melissy Lee."
She could not, however, keep herself from one touch of sympathy, and as a
postscript she naïvely added: "I'm sorry about the sheep."
Before mailing it she carried this letter to her father. Neither of them
had ever referred to the other about what each knew of the affair of the
robbery. More than once it had been on the tip of Champ Lee's tongue to
speak of it, but it was not in his nature to talk out what he felt, and
with a sigh he had given it up. Now Melissy came straight to the point.