Pender was silent a few minutes. Then a thought seemed to come to him suddenly.
“I have it!” he exclaimed.
“What?” asked Noddy.
Jack leaned over and whispered something in his friend’s ear. Noddy hesitated a moment, and then gave a start.
“The very thing!” he exclaimed. “I wonder I didn’t think of it before.”
He hurried to where Vasco was sitting, near the camp-fire, smoking a cigarette. To him he whispered what Pender had suggested.
“It’s a risky thing to do,” said the Mexican. “If it fails, we’ll have to leave the country. If it succeeds we’ll be in danger of heavy punishment from the authorities. However, I’m ready to risk it if you are. Shall I tell the men?”
“Of course,” replied Noddy. “I want to make it up to them for being mistaken about the mine.”
Thereupon Vasco called his friends to him, and, motioning for silence, said:
“Our friend Noddy,” he explained, “has just told me something.”