“Well, just as you say,” agreed Dick, a little reluctantly. “It’s right enough that somebody should stay outside with the machine, though.”
Phil left the motor turning over slowly, and he and Tom, with revolver in one hand and little electric flashlight in the other, stepped warily from the brilliant sunshine outside to the damp gloom of the big cave.
But they found little to reward them for their trouble. The floor of the cave was littered with old cans and broken cooking utensils, and bore other signs of having been used extensively by the bandits. There was nothing to give the boys a clue to the where-abouts of the main stronghold, however, and at last they emerged blinking into the sunshine, disappointed at the fruitless result of their search.
“How about it?” inquired Dick, eagerly, as they emerged. “What is it like in there, anyway?”
“Not worth the trouble of going in,” said Phil, disgustedly. “It’s a fine big cave, though, and I suppose Espato is mighty sore because we discovered it.”
“Well, I’m glad I stayed out here, then,” said Dick. “The propeller is better than an electric fan to keep a fellow cool on a hot day.”
“Oh, well, I didn’t really expect to find much here,” said Phil. “I suppose we might as well get going again. As long as you’re in the pilot’s seat, Dick, you might as well steer the old ship awhile. I’d like to sit back and loaf for a while, the way you and Tom usually do.”
“Huh!” snorted Tom, “whose fault is that, I’d like to know. We’d drive all the time, if we got the chance.”
“Yes, but then you wouldn’t have time to think up those swell jokes of yours, and think of what a loss that would be to everybody,” grinned Phil.
“It would be pretty tough on the world, I’ll admit,” said Tom. “I suppose I really should never have joined the Rangers. If you or Dick gets killed, it doesn’t matter, but if I do, it will be a big loss to humanity.”