“There’s one good thing about it,” Ben observed, “and that is that we’ve already set a trap to catch him.”
“How’s that?” asked the millionaire.
“Mr. Mellen has employed a detective to follow Doran’s companion on the theory that sometime, somewhere, the two will get together again.”
“That’s a very good idea!” Mr. Havens declared.
“Now about this man Redfern,” Mr. Mellen went on. “Is he believed to be still in the mountains of Peru?”
“I have at least one very good reason for supposing so,” answered the millionaire. “Yes, I think he is still there.”
“Give us the good reason!” exclaimed Carl. “I guess we want to know how to size things up as we go along!”
“The very good reason is this,” replied Mr. Havens with a smile, “the minute we started in our airships for the mountains of Peru, obstacles began to gather in our way. The friends or accomplices of Redfern began to flutter the instant we headed toward Peru.”
“That strikes me as being a good and sufficient reason for believing that he is still there!” Mellen commented.
“Yes, I think it is!” replied the millionaire. “And it is an especially good reason,” he went on, “when you understand that all our previous plans and schemes for Redfern’s capture have never evoked the slightest resistance.”