“You have heard something,” he said, withdrawing his gaze slowly.
The Chief laughed. This answer, put not as a question, but as a statement of a fact, pleased him.
“Yes,” he said, “I have heard something. The Englishman is coming back. I have a letter from him. It is somewhat mysterious, but it says that he is on his way here, accompanied by one John Ainsworth.”
“John Ainsworth?”
“Supposed to be the father of the child mentioned in the advertisement from Australia,”
“Yes; I see.”
“Well, I don’t see anything clearly, except this: These two men will come down upon us presently; they will want to hear something new—”
“Their affair is twenty years old; do they expect us to get to the bottom of it in five weeks?”
“Well, not that exactly, but I think they will expect us to have organized—to have hit upon some theory and plan of action.”
“Oh,” said Vernet, “as to that, I have my theory—but it is for my private benefit as yet. As to what I have done, it is not much, but it is—”