The strange aeroplane was still in sight. In fact a great deal closer than when it had first been discovered. It was now over the center of the valley, still pointing toward the shelf from which the signals had been given the night before.
While the boys watched and waited, undecided as to the correct course to pursue, the machine passed over the snow-tipped summit and disappeared.
“Some aviator out for a view of the mountains, probably,” Mr. Havens suggested. “He seems to be keeping on his way pretty well.”
“I’ve got a hunch,” Jimmie insisted, “that that aeroplane has something to do with this Kuro case!”
“Aw, cut out the dream-book!” advised Ben.
“Didn’t my dreams come true?” demanded the boy.
“You’ll have to show me!” declared Carl. “Don’t you suppose there’s more than one false beard, more than one sporty coat, and more than one dickey with wing collars and a red necktie in the world?”
Jimmie ran out to the Louise, showing by his manner that he considered the question too trivial to be answered.
“Come on, Ben,” he called. “We’ll go up high enough to see where that aeroplane went. If she’s still on her way east, we’ll come down and go to bed, like good little boys. If she’s hovering around the other side of the summit, we’ll catch the aviator and put him through the third degree. We’ll have a good ride, anyway!”
No further objections were offered, and the Louise was soon in the air. The boys kept her down so that her lights could not be seen from the other side of the ridge until they came to the vicinity of the gully, then they lifted suddenly and crossed the summit, shivering in the icy air of the mountaintop.