“Certainly, sir,” said Don, wondering at the strangeness of the request.
“Very well,” the major said, handing him the letter. “You may go at once. Remember, wait for an answer, and I would also appreciate it if you would not tell anyone that you are doing this for me.”
“I’ll do that, Major Tireson,” promised Don.
“Thank you. You may go now, Mercer. Take a boat and cross the lake.”
Don returned to his room, got his hat and gray overcoat and went down to the boathouse. He saw no one on the way, for all the cadets were in class. The man who was in charge of the boats was not in the boathouse when he arrived there, so Don opened the doors and rolled out a flat-bottomed rowboat and pushed it into the water. When he had closed the doors he got in, and pushing off from the shore sat down at the oars and began to pull for the opposite shore.
The day was bitter cold and he was glad that he had on his overcoat. A gray darkness lay over the entire sky and a faint wind swept over the lake.
“Bet we’ll have snow before the day is over,” Don thought as he bent to the oars.
He speculated as he rowed across the lake, but he could make nothing out of the strange situation. The major had evidently decided on the spur of the moment to send him with the letter, but it was evident that he had been about to send someone with it, and whoever was to go was not to tell that they had been. The whole affair had an unusual look that Don did not like, and the fact that the letter was going to Dennings was another step in a case that puzzled him greatly. If Dennings himself was to be at the old farmhouse Don would get a good look at him, a thing which might come in handy later on. Although he was not sure that everything was as it should be, he was nevertheless glad that the major had picked him out to deliver the message. If he could definitely find out where Dennings was he could add greatly to their store of information.
He decided, as he beached the boat on the opposite shore, that as soon as he returned to school he would inform the authorities and the colonel’s brother of all the facts discovered. By holding on to the card and what little information they had they were delaying justice and the finding of the colonel, and there was no use in keeping things to themselves any longer. He was glad that they had not taken the major into their confidence, however. He did not like the look of things. It would be safer to carry their plans out without consulting the temporary headmaster.
He pulled the boat far up on the shore, hid the oars so that no chance wanderer could make off with them, and then turned into the woods. He had seen the farmhouse twice, once when they had seen the sunlight message from Clanhammer Hall and a second time when they had tramped through the woods. They had not gone up to it on that last visit, and from the outside it had appeared to be empty. He was sure of the direction and walked confidently on, enjoying the brisk walk in the keen, cold air.