It was press day at the Modoc City News. Dan Reid had called there to buy a copy of the weekly for the masked man. Previous visits had made him acquainted with the staff, and as the paper run had not yet started, he was busy helping Inky - a printer's devil, clear the littered floor. Hilda, a typesetter, worked at nearby case, and in the back room the editor, Tom Carson, fought to keep an old press in operation. As the machine clattered and thumped, a shadow fell on the glass on the street door. Advancing slowly through the door with the help of a cudgel like cane, the caller revealed an almost flesh-less face. A black patch dangled over one sunken eye, and fixing the other on the boys, he croaked out to ask where the editor was. He needed Tom's help. Fifteen years ago, his brother, Buck, had hidden a hundred thousand dollars in gold before being caught by the law. He'd given his brother, Patch, a clue to the location - a shaving mug with a red bull on it - and he wants the editor to put an ad in the paper to find the shaving mug. He's dying from consumption, but is adamant that if they find the money - the finder can keep a large share of it.