“Well, you boys didn’t lose any time getting here.” The officer laughed as he grasped their hands.
“I guess we did hit it up a bit,” Bob grinned. “When the United States Government calls we want to be ‘Jonnie on the spot’ you know.”
“Just excuse us one minute till we put these wheels around back and get this box of trout unpacked and we’ll be with you. Of course you’ll have to stay to dinner and we’ll show you what real trout tastes like.”
They were back on the porch in less than ten minutes and the officer at once plunged into the reason for his visit.
“I’ve got a big job on hand,” he began, “and I thought perhaps I could get you boys to help me out. I’ve been working at it now for over a month without any success. You see there’s an enormous quantity of liquor being brought over the border. We’ve confiscated a lot of it in different places and more than one man has gone up for a good long term but we haven’t yet been able to find out just where it is brought across nor who brings it. Also we don’t know how it is being done. In fact about all we do know is that it comes and that there must be quite a gang concerned in it.”
“You say you don’t know just where it is brought across,” Bob said as the officer paused. “But do you have any idea?”
“Well we are pretty sure that the most of it at any rate goes through Jackman and for that reason we think it must be somewhere up that way.”
“How many men have you on the job?” Bob asked.
“There’s only Lou and myself. You remember Lou, don’t you.”
“Sure do and he’s a mighty fine fellow,” Jack answered while Bob nodded assent.