“Yes,” was the answer.
“Merriwell and Clancy pulled me out of the water?”
“That was the way of it.”
“Where’s Shoup now?”
“Suffering horn toads!” gasped Bleeker. “Say, I had clean forgotten about that fellow. What became of him? Anybody know?”
“I can tell you,” one of the lads spoke up. “Two or three of us hustled ashore to try and head him off, but he was too quick for us. There were a couple of horses, hitched in the chaparral, and Shoup took one of them and got away.”
A baleful glitter shone in Lenning’s shifty eyes.
“He tried to do me up,” Lenning muttered.
“Why?” asked Bleeker. “I thought you and he were pards.”
“You never can tell what a pard like Shoup is going to do. But I gave him cause to have it in for me. Help me up, Bleeker. I’m not going to ask much of you, nor bother you very long. Five minutes will do the trick.”