“But if he stole the turquoise maybe he deserves to be punished,” Red argued.
“Maybe,” Brad shrugged. “But if I’m any judge, those Indians will do their punishing first and ask questions afterwards.”
“They had knives in their belts,” Red admitted with a shiver.
Reaching the Holloway home, the Cubs rapped on the door. Mrs. Holloway did not answer. Noticing that the garage door was open and the car missing, Brad deduced that the Den Mother had gone on a quick errand. But they did not have time to await her return.
“We’ll have to leave the groceries here on the porch,” he told the other two. “We’ve got to find Mr. Holloway. I don’t suppose Mr. Hatfield has come out to the camp yet.”
Depositing their packages, the Cubs hastened down to the river’s edge. The camp was entirely deserted. They saw that Mr. Holloway had been working there, however, for wood had been gathered for the ceremonial campfire.
Dan peered inside the hogan. The sand painting remained in perfect condition. In fact, the entire camp looked in readiness for the pow-wow. Yet no one was around.
“It’s too early,” he said. “Mr. Holloway probably went into town and the others aren’t here yet. We’ll have to wait.”
Brad paced nervously in front of the hogan, trying to decide what to do. As Den Chief, the decision rested entirely upon him. The safe, conservative thing to do, of course, was just to wait for Mr. Holloway or Mr. Hatfield and let them take over.
On the other hand, he was afraid that any delay might be serious. Although White Nose and Eagle Feather didn’t know the exact location of the cave, it wouldn’t take them long to find it, now that they had a clue upon which to work. If the mysterious occupant of the cave were to be warned in time, it would have to be immediately.