“Well, last question answered first, I’m hitting her up down the gorge because I discovered an easier route back than the one Henry brought us over. And Henry is on his way home to write a letter to the Weather Bureau for a new rain gauge.”
“Andy, you don’t mean it!”—from Charmian Reemy.
“Sure do. I couldn’t hold ’im. Thought I’d talked him out of shaking us, but in the night, while I was pounding my ear, he ups and beats it.”
“But his money?” said Shonto.
“Oh, I paid him in advance,” Charmian confessed with guilty reticence.
“The old rascal!” the doctor snorted.
“But I’m not worrying,” Andy continued. “He’d virtually told me how to find the Valley of Arcana, and it strikes me that he’s already about fulfilled his contract. I believe I can go straight to it from here. I’ll tell you later what I got out of him.
“Personally, I won’t miss the old coot in the least. He’s not so much in the mountains. I walked the head off the old boy on the trip back to the cache. I let myself out—see?—which I couldn’t do in travelling with you folks—if you’ll pardon me. So I took our bold mountaineer on for a regular ramble, and I had him begging for less speed three hours out of camp.”
“He’s quite a little older than you are, Andy,” Charmian made reminder.
She did not exactly approve of Andy’s slightly boastful tone. Dr. Shonto caught the note in her voice, and hastened to say: