“On the other hand,” broke in Wilson, “if Sorez is in danger, the girl is in danger. The treasure is going to be here for a while longer, but maybe the girl won’t. If we could combine forces with Sorez–––”
“Well, I’m damned!” growled Stubbs. “See here, m’ boy, the only thing that will do is to bring the Priest down on us. If Sorez wasn’t crazy, he wouldn’t have come in here with thet idol with less than a regiment back of him. But he has, an’ what we wanter do is ter keep outer the squall he’s in.”
“You don’t understand the man. He is absolutely fearless. He knows the place––he knows the natives––he knows the Priest. He won’t be caught napping.”
“Maybe so. Then he don’t need us.”
Wilson sprang to his feet. He was half ashamed of an obsession which shut out thought of everything else but the girl.
“See here, Stubbs,” he blurted out, “you’re right and I’m a sickly sentimentalist. I’ve been thinking so much of her that I’m not fit for an expedition of this sort. But from now on I’m under your orders. We’ll get this heathen treasure––and we’ll take it down and show it to Sorez––and we’ll take the girl and fight our way out if we have to. As you say, we haven’t much time and we’ve got to work hard. We know the hut is near the cone and overlooks the lake. Let’s see–––”
He reached for the map which he had fastened about his neck, but Stubbs checked his hand.
“Easy, boy. Jus’ as well not to let the shadders know we has maps. I’ve gut my copy here hidden in the grass. S’posin’ the hut is in the center; this here docyment mentions two peaks––one ‘kissed by the sun’ which I take it is the highest, and t’ other where ‘the trees climb highest.’ Now at sea we often lays our course inshore by jus’ sech marks. I figgers it out this way; these p’ints bein’ startin’ p’ints from the hut mus’ be somewhere nigh the hut. So if we finds the tallest peak on the horizon an’ then the peak on the cone where the trees come up the farthest an’ gits the two in line, we’ll have a straight course for the hut. Ain’t thet so?”