“Shall we go on in after him?” asked Alex. “He may get into trouble, and he’s none too strong yet.”
“I think we would better remain here,” Clay replied. “If there is danger we will hear the signal agreed upon.”
“Frank says he remained hidden in a tree in there for some time,” Alex remarked, then. “Now, what was he hiding from, and how did he get down here? If he came in a steamer, and the steamer was waiting for him outside, that wouldn’t be hiding at all. Might as well try to hide while riding on the neck of an elephant!”
“Have you ever thought that Frank may be the one who put the marked paper on the Rambler that morning?” asked Clay, irrelevantly.
“Yes, I have thought of that, but why should he have done it—if he did? If he knew where the diamonds were, why didn’t he arrange things so he could secure the reward for himself? He needed the money badly enough, according to his own story.”
“But how could he know where the diamonds were?” asked Clay.
“Well, the person who left the marked paper on the boat knew where the stones were! You can’t get away from that! Besides, Frank had been seen loitering outside, and there had been a motion at the glass panel of the door just before he showed himself. Oh, it is all rather suspicious!”
“We’ll have to give the boy time to explain everything,” Clay admonished. “I have great faith in him.”
“How long do you think that kid, Jule, will remain in there?” Alex yawned.
“Not long, I hope.”