“Why so, Joe?”
“We’ve got to go into his province to get the treasure. He’s powerful there, and we need his good will. He might make it pretty hot for us otherwise.”
“True enough,” said Archie, gloomily. “But you can’t cultivate the friendship of a dummy. He won’t respond worth a cent.”
“He must have some sentiment,” suggested Joe; “his faithfulness to his Prince proves that. Let’s study him and try to discover how to reach his gratitude, or self-esteem, or——”
“Or what?”
“How to further his ambition.”
“If the Prince is buried at sea,” I said, reflectively, “Mai Lo will be disgraced at home. If we can save him from this disgrace he ought to be grateful, for it will give him a chance to carry out his ambitious plans.”
“I thought he was obliged to commit suicide,” said Archie.
“So he is; but not immediately. First he must settle his master’s affairs, and that business ought to provide pretty fair pickings for an unscrupulous man. Then he will be obliged to seal up the ancestral hall and destroy all traces of any entrance to it, or even its existence. All this takes time, and will give him a chance to complete his plans for running away with his plunder, most of which will be stolen from the tombs of the Prince’s ancestors.”
“Will he dare do that?” asked Archie.