“Well, it seems she was trying to find out if we were dead set on going on to the mine.”
“What’s so suspicious about that?” Ken asked, turning his head away as the woman under discussion glanced in his direction. “It might be natural curiosity.”
“Maybe,” Jack conceded, “only Mrs. Rhodes doesn’t hit me as the curious type. When she asks a question, she’s after information.”
“What did War tell her?”
“Nothing. He figured she was pumping him, so he gave her double talk.”
The two Explorers forgot Mrs. Rhodes as a guide appeared to conduct them through the banana groves. Somewhat to their relief, the woman did not join the sightseeing party.
Grassy lanes intersected the plantations, stretching as far as the Scouts could see. The giant plants were spaced fifteen feet apart, and rose to a height of nearly forty. Except for the droning, monotonous voice of the guide, a great stillness prevailed.
“Gosh, what a forest of ’em!” War murmured in awe. “A fellow could get lost here!”
“Don’t go wandering around,” Jack warned him. “Stick close to the guide.”
The Scouts kept together on the main cart road and in the lanes which seemed to stretch endlessly. With keen interest, they watched the cutting of green bananas.