“Like you,” Mr. Holton replied. “After all, Bob and Joe are able to take care of themselves. If Karl will stay in the vicinity of Cuzco until they get back, it will ease matters some. Or, if the boys will be gone too long, Karl can come on with the rest of the expedition to the valley of the Comberciato, and then return later to pick up Bob and Joe in Cuzco.”
“I’ll be glad to do it,” Karl Sutman said, and so the matter remained settled.
That evening Bob and Joe went to Dr. Rander’s hut at the edge of Cuzco. The old man seemed glad to see them, offering them the best chairs he had.
“Now about the secrets,” he began, after he had closed the door and made sure that no one was near. “First of all, we must keep it strictly to ourselves. If, while on our way, anyone should ask why we are going into the mountains, we must not tell them.”
“For one thing, we’re going to take movies of the country,” said Joe, and then explained this in full to the old man.
The youths spent all evening at the old man’s hut. When at last they were ready to leave, they had agreed on one thing: They were to start early the next morning.
As they walked silently back to the camp, gazing up at the starlit sky, Bob and Joe wondered what would be their adventures for the next few weeks. Would they actually come into possession of valuable treasure?