Andy and Randy had begged for permission to talk things over with their cousins, and they came in to see Jack and Fred almost immediately after Colonel Colby left.
"If Slugger Brown wrote that letter, maybe he and Nappy Martell did the shooting," remarked Randy.
"They would be just mean enough to do it," added his twin. "They'd do anything to get our crowd into trouble."
"Why can't you two fellows watch Brown and Martell?" questioned Jack. "You might tell Gif and Spouter and Ned about it, too. Find out where those two fellows were yesterday afternoon, and find out if they used any of the shotguns."
"Say! that's an idea!" cried Randy, enthusiastically. "I'll go at it right away!"
"And so will I!" declared his brother. "Maybe we'll be able to lay the whole blame on that pair."
The twins talked it over with the others for a little while longer, and then were let out of the guardroom by a servant, who locked the door after them. As they came out into the main corridor of the Hall, they saw that Elias Lacy was just leaving Colonel Colby's office.
"All right, then, I'll wait," the old farmer was saying. "But I'll be back by to-morrow afternoon, an' if you can't prove by that time that them Rover boys is innercent, I'm a-goin' to have 'em locked up."
"Very well, Mr. Lacy," the colonel replied, and bowed his visitor out of the door.
"Well, anyway, the colonel has got old Lacy to wait another day," whispered Randy. "That will give us just so much more time to get on the track of what Martell and Brown have been doing."