“I want to withdraw everything I said against the theory,” Carl cut in.
“Look here!” Ben said rather excitedly. “Those fellows who claimed to be mounted policemen are both big men, and they both wear full beards. Now it seems to me that the man who took Colleton out of his office would be the man to keep him under duress until the excitement of the case dies down.”
“For the love of Mike!” Jimmie exclaimed. “Don’t go to materializing the man with the alfalfa on his face right here in the mountains.”
“That’s the man we’re looking for,” suggested Ben.
“Well, let’s don’t find him until we’ve had a little more fun flying over British Columbia!”
“Say, Mr. Havens,” Ben proposed. “You ought to send word to Washington to have one or two of the most intelligent of those clerks sent out here. When we get the man with the full beard we’ll want some one to tell us whether we’re right or not.”
“I’ll do that the first time I reach a telegraph office,” the aviator replied. “That ought to have been thought of long ago.”
“It strikes me that you won’t get to a telegraph office very soon!” laughed Jimmie. “You’ll have a mess of feet that look like bread dough by morning! Those porcupine quills often poison as well as wound.”
“Well, you boys can send the message then,” returned Mr. Havens.
“And you can watch camp!” laughed Carl.