Roscoe wiped sweat from his brow. "Let's get some juice, Deputy. Then we'll discuss real suspects."
They went to the saloon.
Cleo swung the doors open. "The ice workers!"
"Right!" Roscoe said. "Emmett and Bucky wanted that gold! We should . . . Cleo?" His deputy wasn't moving. He stepped closer and gasped.
Emmett and Bucky were in the saloon with their slingshots drawn. The whole place was silent. Folks looked mighty scared!
"Drop your slingshots and come in!" Emmett said.
Roscoe nodded to Cleo. They put down their slingshots and entered.
"You stole Jake's horses and cut the telegraph wire," Roscoe said.
"We put the horses back," Bucky said. "Now give us our gold!"
"It's locked up," Roscoe said. "You'll never get it."
Fwap! Emmett shot a pebble. It shattered a glass. Roscoe ducked as another pebble flew. Then he heard Emmett yelp.
Roscoe peeked out. Fwap! Fwap! Federal marshals stood in the doorway, firing at the workers.
"Cleo!" Roscoe waved. They rushed outside for their slingshots.
Meanwhile Emmett and Bucky escaped through a back door.
"Stop right there!" the marshals shouted. They ran after the ice workers, and so did Roscoe.
But Cleo stayed outside, staring up at the roof. That sneaky cat had a sneaky idea!
She climbed onto the roof and raced to the back. Below, Emmett and Bucky were surrounded, but they weren't giving up.
Fwap! Fwap! Cleo knocked those slingshots right out of their paws!
"Yikes!" Emmett cried.
Bucky held up his paws. "We surrender!"
Everyone was in the sheriff's office.
"The news about the lost gold spread fast," one marshal said. "We were looking for it in other towns."
"How did the sack get into that ice?" Cleo asked.
"Thieves threw it in a lake last fall," the marshal said. "They planned to come back for it, but we caught them."
The other marshal nodded. "The lake froze in winter, and the ice company harvested the ice. The ice was stored until spring."
Roscoe chuckled. "Finally the gold came here." He went to the safe. "Let's see. The combination is . . . 38 maybe? No, there was a five . . . Or was it a six?" He gulped. "I can't remember the combination!"
Cleo grinned. "Step aside, Sheriff."
The cat put her ear to the safe. Slowly she turned the dial. After a few minutes, the safe popped open!
"You know how to open safes?" Roscoe shook his head. "I changed my mind, Deputy. You have lots of useful skills!"