"It's nice to hear you two agree on something," was Mrs. Brewster's smiling comment, "but please notice that Likake isn't sulking because he wasn't taken on the trip. That's the way a real grownup would act."
Li didn't mention that Biff had also received a wire from the Ajax Mining Company. He merely said that he was sure they would hear from Biff as soon as he reached New Delhi. As the days passed, the twins had a wonderful time with Li. Among other things, they went on a picnic to Tiger Hill, where they viewed Mt. Everest, the world's highest peak, which towered more than 29,000 feet.
To Li, it was no more impressive than the 28,000-foot summit of Kanchenjunga, which could be seen from Darjeeling. But he reserved opinion on that and almost everything else, rather than start the twins speculating on what their brother Biff might think about it. The next step then would be—why hadn't they heard from Biff, a question Li couldn't answer.
Li was relieved when Biff's wire came from Agra, because he honestly didn't know why Biff had stopped there. But Li knew nothing yet of the postcard, which was still on its way when Mrs. Brewster's brother, Charles Keene, flew in from Burma and stated that he had been summoned to Darjeeling by an official call from New Delhi.
With Charles Keene in the twin-engine Cessna was a burly, red-haired mechanic known as Muscles, who hailed from the State of Kentucky and was proud of it. The plane also brought a Burmese boy named Chuba, who had guided Biff across the border into China, to rescue Biff's uncle when he had been a prisoner there. Biff had detailed those adventures to Li, who already regarded Chuba as an old friend.
So after a brief but hearty get-acquainted session, Li decided to confide in Chuba. They had taken a stroll to look at Kanchenjunga, which Li stated was the third highest mountain in the world. When Chuba asked what two were bigger, Li told him: Everest and K 2—known as Mt. Godwin-Austen—which was far north in Kashmir. Chuba shrugged at that.
"To me, Minya Konka looks bigger," he asserted. "That's the mountain Biff and I saw in China. Perhaps that is because we got a look at it from lower down."
"Kamuka would say that about the Andes," laughed Li. "To him, they would look bigger." Seriously, he added, "That was while you were hunting for Biff's Uncle Charlie?"
Chuba nodded.
"We may have to start a search for Biff's father," continued Li. "Biff only heard from him indirectly."