“Just getting ready to start down river. Come on and help me stow this stuff away.”
The riverman had a sixteen foot flat-bottomed boat ready for Tim. A light outboard had been fastened to the stern and an extra can of gasoline had been placed in the boat.
“What’s the idea of the river trip?” Ralph wanted to know. Tim related what he had learned in the village and Ralph nodded his agreement to the plans.
“You stay here and keep the Jupiter ready to fly any minute,” said Tim. “When I get back I’ll want to start for Atkinson as soon as possible.”
“Everything will be ready. Here’s the extra expense money Carson sent for you.” Ralph handed out $50 and Tim paid the deposit necessary for the boat.
“There may be some fellows in here a little later in another airplane,” he told the riverman. “They’re apt to inquire about Crazy John. Do you suppose you could forget all about him?”
“After what you did for us when we had the flood I could forget a whole lot,” smiled the owner of the boats.
“Sladek and his men won’t be here for a couple more hours,” chuckled Ralph. “What I didn’t do to their motors last night doesn’t amount to much. I had a hard time to keep from laughing this morning. Poor old Carl at the airport was the goat. They accused him of failing to keep a proper watch over their plane. We’ll have to square it with him some way.”
Tim obtained detailed instructions from the boatman on the way to Crazy John’s island.
“Don’t try to sneak up,” was the riverman’s final word of caution, “or he’ll get you sure. Just keep off shore in plain sight and do some lusty hollerin’.”