Mr. Hampton paused. Jack, who had been eyeing his father closely, now put a hand on his arm.
“And now what, Dad?” he asked.
“Now Anderson wants me to attempt to go after the ‘Lost Expedition’ and try to relocate the oil fields as well as find some trace of Thorwaldsson,” said Mr. Hampton.
“I thought so,” said Jack, in a tone of satisfaction. “When do we start?”
“We?” Mr. Hampton chuckled. “I like that. Just as cool as you please about it, too. We? Well, well.”
“Do we leave at once?” asked Jack, imperturbably, not one whit disturbed by his father’s pleasantry.
Mr. Hampton shook his head.
“Whether I take you at all is questionable,” he said. “Certainly, I have no intention of going at once. If I go at all, it will not be until the Arctic Summer begins.”
“Meantime, I suppose, I’m to return to Yale.”
“Yes, you’ve missed a half year, thanks to our adventures in search of the Incas’ treasure in South America, but that is no reason why you should miss the balance of the term. I’ll tell you what,” he added, taking pity on the three, “if you fellows go back to college and study hard to make up for lost time until Summer, and if the ‘Lost Expedition’ is still lost at that time, why, I’ll see what can be done.”