“Nothing. I’ve told you all I know about it.”
“Very well. Here is your dollar. You may go now,” said Hippy, handing a dollar bill to the messenger; whereupon the boy ran away.
“This is a fine mess,” complained Tom Gray. “I suppose we might as well do as Nora has suggested, and see what we can do for him. What do you say, Hippy?”
“Say? I’ll say that I am going to bed and get some sleep. To-morrow morning we will go down and take this matter up. Were we to go into it to-night, we probably should have nothing but our trouble for our pains.”
“Yes, I think you are right,” agreed Emma. “Besides, it will do Stacy worlds of good to stay in jail until morning. I’m not sure but that a longer time there might be beneficial to him.”
“Emma!” cried the Overland girls in shocked tones.
“We do not wholly agree with the sentiment, Emma, but we will, I think, be wise to follow Hippy’s advice and go to bed. There really appears to be nothing that we can do to-night. I’m going to turn in,” announced Grace.
“So am I. And, girls! There’s one great satisfaction that I hope you have not lost sight of—Stacy is in a perfectly safe place. No harm can come to him, so let sweet peace hover over our dreams to-night. Good-night,” said Elfreda.
The Overlanders turned in laughing, despite their worry over Stacy. Early on the following morning, immediately after breakfast, Tom and Hippy started down to the hotel, it having been decided to leave the girls in camp with the guide. Tom was of the opinion that two men could do more for Stacy than the entire party could do, so the two went alone.
On their way down they discovered Hippy’s pony, saddled and bridled, grazing on the mountain-side. The animal either had broken loose or someone had released him. Hippy caught the pony and led it along with them. Reaching the hotel, they secured the animal, then walked over to the office of the commanding officer, but it was locked and no one, not even a sentry, was to be found. After waiting about for nearly an hour a guard appeared and unlocked the door. In reply to Tom’s question, he said that Stacy Brown had spent the night in the guard-house where he then was, and that his case would be called before Lieutenant Chambers at nine o’clock that morning.