"Oh, I see. Of course. Old bones. Humph! Well," and Mr. Ranquist did not seem to know whether to smile or frown. "Well, my friend and I were not exactly looking for old bones. Old stones are more in our line. You see we came out here on a visit and thought we'd take a walk out this way. We've found a fine lot of old stones," and Mr. Ranquist motioned rather vaguely toward his companion. "What are you boys after, anyhow?" he finished, suddenly.
"Nothing in particular," put in Roger, and at the sound of his voice, Mr. Ranquist turned quickly.
"Oh, it's our friend of the post-office," he exclaimed. "I remember you now. How are you?"
"Pretty well," replied Roger.
"Hum. Glad to hear it," responded Mr. Ranquist. "You're from New York, aren't you? Well, so are we, Mr. Dudley and I. Came here to sort of rest up and look around. Nice place, isn't it?"
"I think so," from Roger.
"Yes. Um. Well, Mr. Dudley and I had nothing to do so we sauntered out here."
"Is the railroad going through this place?" asked Adrian. "We heard you were railroad surveyors," he went on.
Mr. Ranquist glanced quickly at the two boys and seemed to be weighing something in his mind. Advancing toward Adrian, he said:
"Now you two young men appear to be smart and bright. If I tell you something can you keep it secret?"