“He did not mention any one else.”
“And the six people were the sole occupants of the boat, were they?”
“That is what the man told me.”
“Before you concocted this story,” Case declared scornfully, “you ought to have jogged your memory a trifle. You saw Captain Joe and Teddy on board the Rambler the night you cut our cable. Why didn’t you add to your story and say that the dog and the bear were with the three boys?”
“The man I saw said nothing to me about the dog and the bear,” Max insisted stubbornly. “I had only a moment’s talk with him.”
“And then you came directly to the Rambler to tell me of the incident?”
“I came directly to the spot where I believed the Rambler would be,” was the answer. “Of course, I didn’t know exactly where you were, but Captain Morgan said that when you left him it was your intention to ascend this stream. I was lucky in finding you.”
“And now,” Case asked, with a scornful smile on his lips, “what do you expect me to do under the circumstances? What would you advise?”
“I thought,” replied Max, “that you would go down the river, and make your way to the mouth of the other stream.”
“Why do your employers want me to leave my present location?” asked Case. “Do they want the boys to come out of the forest and find the Rambler gone? Is that what you were sent here for?”