"By the way," Gibbons said to Fred, "I saw the guy in the show-er-the one who gave me Corbin's reservation. He was going to be camping down the line from me, but he had to leave."
Dean and Fred looked at each other. "You mean, leave the tour?" Dean asked, trying to sound casual.
"Naw, just for tonight. Something came up, a friend or someone I guess. He's just not staying in his tent. He asked me to drop off his gear at the sag wagon tomorrow morning so it gets hauled to Alamosa on the truck. He packed it up."
Fred took another bite of apple pie and said very slowly, "I've still been wondering if that friend of his-the Corbin fellow-is the same one that's married to my niece's daughter. Him being from Ohio and all, really makes me wonder. Tell you what, you show me where this guy's gear is and maybe I'll leave a note for the fella asking him to ask Corbin when he sees him."
"You can't miss his campsite," Gibbons answered, "It's the only one without a tent set up on it-just a pile of gear on the ground. It's about halfway down the east side of the field in the next-to-last row. I'd show you but I've got a new friend I'm anxious to get to know better!" Then he added, "The guy was real surprised someone was looking for Corbin." He left with a smile, jogging off toward town. Before Gibbons was out of sight, Dean slumped to the ground, with a look on his face that mirrored both of their disappointment that the man they were pursuing was now aware the two-man posse was closing in.
"Dang!" said Fred. "I was just about to pat myself on the back for weaseling out the location of Corbin's tent. Instead I should be ashamed of myself for not telling Gibbons to be mum about our looking for the guy."
"Don't blame yourself. Gibbons would have been suspicious if you told him to keep quiet about your interest in Corbin."
"Yeah," Fred answered. "Do you suppose he's really meeting someone, or is that just an excuse to beat it?"
"Probably just an excuse. The odds say he skipped now that the word's out we've followed him here."
"There's still a chance he'll think it's another Pat Corbin who sounded familiar. Why else would he leave his stuff?"
"Why not? He's a millionaire. And he's in a hurry."
Fred thought a moment. "Let's at least give his stuff a look-see."
"You took the words out of my mouth," Dean answered as he rose and walked with Fred to the camp area.