“You still believe in the Englishman, do you?” laughed Ben.
“You bet I do!” answered Jimmie. “And I just believe they got him into the mountains because they suspected he knew what was going on in that Pullman stateroom. If you leave it to me, some of the hunters over there are mixed up in the abduction of Colleton!”
“That would be too good to be true!” exclaimed Ben.
“Why would it,” demanded Jimmie.
“Because it’s a long step in the game we’re playing to find the men who actually took part in the plot against Colleton. If we have found them in that bunch over there, we’ve made mighty good progress!”
“Well, when it all comes out at the end,” Jimmie insisted, “you’ll find that some of those fellows are in the deal, all right! And you’ll find that they got DuBois out into the mountains for the reasons I have already given. They doubtless expected they could keep him with them until the whole thing blew over. But he ran away for some reasons of his own and they’re afraid he’ll talk!”
“You’re the wise little Sherlocko!” laughed Ben.
Jimmie arose, seized his chum by the shoulders, whirled him around so that his face looked out toward the shelf of rock, and gave him a playful punch in the back.
“I’m the wise little Sherlocko, am I?” he demanded. “If you think I’m not right, just look there.”
“What does it mean?” asked Ben as red and green signals alternated from the blaze at the foot of the gully.