“I’ll join you just as quickly as I can, Dan.”
“And Dick, did you happen to wake up during the night? If so, tell me: Was there any sort of noise from that region?”
“Nothing that I noticed, Dan; though I slept sounder than usual I’m afraid. But we’ll soon settle that, you know.”
“Whew! I’m all in a tremble to find out,” muttered the other, as he cast another quick glance toward the quarter where his thoughts were centered.
Dick took pity on him, and did hurry, even postponing some of his customary morning duties until later. He found Dan waiting, almost consumed with impatience. No one noticed them steal quietly off, which was just as well. Indeed, Dan breathed an audible sigh of relief when he made sure of this fact.
“Course if there isn’t any Old Man of the Woods squatting down in my pit trap,” he went on to explain as they walked, “we needn’t hurry to say anything about it. If anybody happens to mention the subject later on I’ll tell ’em I hardly expected to strike oil the first thing, and that they’ve just got to give me time.”
Like most boys Dan was very sensitive to ridicule, as his words proved. Dick said nothing further, for already they were beginning to draw near the spot where the pit had been dug.
That Dan was very much on the alert his actions speedily proved. He suddenly clutched his companion rigidly by the arm, and his voice was husky with self-suppressed excitement as he gasped:
“Dick, I do believe it worked after all!”
“What makes you think so?” asked Dick, who had as yet seen nothing to disclose this fact.