For nearly fifteen minutes longer the two men continued to talk, but nothing more of interest to the two boys was said, and soon they went back toward the camp.
The boys waited till they were out of sight and then quickly made their descent to the ground retrieving their snow-shoes on the way down. If they had made good time coming, they nearly flew back so eager were they to impart the news to their father.
“Well, well, you certainly must have struck it thick,” Mr. Golden said, as they burst into the office, where he was talking to Tom, and threw the bags of gum on the table.
“And gum was not the only thing we struck either,” Jack declared as he threw his mittens on the table. And he told them what they had overheard.
“That is good news indeed,” Mr. Golden assured them when he had finished. “It may keep Ben from cutting on the tract, but after all it don’t help us much unless we can find the deed. Of course,” he hastened to add, as he saw a look of disappointment on Jack’s face, “we stand a good deal better chance of finding it now that we know that Ben hasn’t got it.”
“Sure we do,” Bob agreed. “As he said, someone must have picked it up, and, as it’s no good to him, he’ll probably try to sell it to you or to Ben if he learns what he’s up to. It looks to me as though the finder was just waiting to see what’s the best thing to do with it. If he was honest he’d have given it to you before this.”
“Yes, no doubt but that it has fallen into the hands of some dishonest person,” Mr. Golden agreed soberly.
A good road had been broken on the ice through from Greenville to North East Carry and it was decided that directly after dinner Bob and Jack would drive down with their father and bring the team back the next morning. They reached the village just as it was beginning to get dark and just in time for Mr. Golden to catch the train for home. The boys spent the night at the little hotel, and soon after daylight the next morning started back up the lake reaching the camp just in time for dinner.
“There’s a friend o’ yourn in the office,” Tom sang out as they drove in to the clearing.
“Who is it?” Bob asked.