“Yes, I found them,” Ned replied. “I found the counterfeit foresters and the Chinks, as you call them, and I found something else.”
“That is what we expected you would do,” Green said, after a moment’s hesitation. “We wanted you to begin without pointers, with a brain free of all the unsuccessful schemes which have been worked. You see, I know a great deal about it, my boy,” he added with a laugh. “I knew, days ago, that you would be here. When I saw the aeroplane in the sky I knew who was in charge of it.”
“What is the next move?” asked the boy.
“That is for you to say,” was the reply. “I am under orders to follow any reasonable instructions from you. It is for you to suggest something.”
“Well,” Ned said, “that brings me to a point I was studying over when you came in. I was wondering if you would detail men to do certain things for me.”
“Sure I will. If Washington has confidence enough in you to put you in charge of the blindest case in history, why shouldn’t I have equal confidence in you? You bet I’ll be there with the oxen when you give the word.”
“I thank you,” Ned replied. “What I want now is men enough to guard two points. One is a cave near Lake Kintla, and the other is the cavern where the Chinese have been hiding.”
“How many men?” asked Green.
“Two to each place. If there is need of more, others should be ready to assist.”
“I wish you all success,” Green said, after the details of the surveillance had been arranged. “We have located the tools, and now it is for you to let down to bed rock. The government wants the headpiece of this game, and believes that you can put your finger on him. Half a dozen inspectors have failed, but I have faith in you, boy.”