“I shall be occupied here for a time. Is anyone in the house?”
“No sir. Madam has gone to the garden party, and the servants are in their own quarters, sir.”
“Excellent. Have a couple of the boys keep watch outside so that no one comes near.”
“Yes sir.”
“Thank you.”
He closed the door and a moment later they heard the click of heels as the guard hurried to see that the command was carried out explicitly. In the meantime the men puffed, the doctor glanced a bit anxiously at his patients, while the young Indian sat as still as if he had been carved out of some fine dark marble. Jim’s eyes traveled over the well-shaped head, and thought of Ynilea, their special friend in the great Laboratory, and he wondered if this young fellow might not be receiving some of his training in one of the marvelous underground schools. He recalled that Don Haurea had told him that the world was ready for some of the information those scientific men had proved and it was possible that this lad, because of his advantages as a doctor’s son might have been chosen to bring out for humanity medical or surgical truths still unknown to modern life. He remembered too, that the doctor had said that Donald had “been an education” to himself and his wife. Perhaps the story the lad would tell them would answer the questions Austin dared not ask at this time. He rather hoped they would get an opportunity to be alone with Donald before the “Lark” was ready to take them north again.
“It seems to me you boys are making a rather long day of it,” said Bradshaw with a scowl.
“Why remind us of that? This looks like the best time in the world, and if we know a little of the truth of the Black Woods and the Dam, we can go to sleep in peace and not spend hours tossing around while our feeble brains try to find a solution—”
“Feeble is good,” said Bradshaw with a grin. Just then they heard the two guards pacing back and forth and the orderly returned to his station in the hall.
“Guess it’s all set,” the captain told them.