It certainly did look a bit that way, as Frank and Lanky were forced to admit. They studied their find for a few minutes; then Lanky rubbed his nose and went on to remark sarcastically:
"And, say, that same hen must have been some loco, to make such a bunch of crooked tracks."
"Well, it must be some sort of chart, or map," suggested Paul.
"I take it that's right," Frank observed, nodding his head. "Perhaps you might call it a supplementary one to the first we found."
"Now you're shouting, Frank!" snapped Lanky eagerly. "We know that other was mostly about the route to the place where Kinney pulled out his nuggets. All right! Then this tells in some Greek way that he undersold, but is a mystery to us, how to walk up and help yourself at the feed-trough, after you get inside the cave."
"About ah I can make out of it," said Mr. Wallace, "is that there seems to be a five-fingered cave, and the stuff is located in the central zone."
"Well, that's something of a clue, anyhow," Lanky decided. "Besides when we get to studying these queer marks closer maybe we'll run across some sort of key that'll make it all plain as print."
Frank noticed that Minnie was leaning out of the window of the small room she occupied, clad in a pretty and becoming kimono. She seemed to be drinking in every word that was being uttered.
"Chances are," Frank told himself shrewdly, "Minnie will beg like everything to go along with us. But of course that would be out of the question! There'll be all kinds of danger afoot. Besides, I don't think it's the trip for a girl to take, good pal as Min is."
Since the enemy had been chased off, and, besides, what he sought to secure possession of was already safe in their keeping, Mr. Wallace decided it was useless to cheat themselves any longer of their sleep.