“I half believe the man is right!” Sam agreed.
“You know I am right!” insisted Doran.
The matter was one which Mellen hesitated to decide. He believed that, by taking Doran to Quito, he would place the boys in some unknown peril; and he believed, too, that by leaving the two men in the mountains he might be contributing to their murder.
“What do you think about it?” he asked, turning to Sam.
“I wouldn’t turn a thieving dog over to those savages!” was the reply.
“No civilized human being would!” Doran exclaimed.
“Very well,” Mellen replied. “I’ll take you to the police office at Quito and ask to have you locked up on a charge of grand larceny.”
“That will be satisfactory,” answered Doran.
While entirely satisfied with the decision which had been reached, both Mellen and Sam did not fully trust the two prisoners. They believed that at some time during the return trip an attempt at escape would be made. The two pretended to be very much interested in the aeroplanes, which were almost constantly in sight, yet Mellen saw that they inspected the trail eagerly as if looking for some soft place to land.
Believing that the men would attempt to leave the motor-car only when within a short distance of Quito, the two did not watch them as closely as they might have done. The attempt came when the car had covered only about half the distance between the camp and the city.