“We can give it up and go back,” he suggested. “After all, White Nose and Eagle Feather haven’t found the entranceway. They may miss it entirely.”
“No chance of that, if they come back this way,” Dan said significantly.
“The mouth is well guarded by bushes.”
“Yeah,” Dan agreed, “but look sharp and tell me what you see.”
Both Brad and Red peered intently toward the cave entrance. At first they noticed nothing unusual. Then they noted a thin wisp of black smoke issuing from the jagged mouth.
“Someone’s got a fire in there!” Red exclaimed.
“And that smoke can be seen out on the river,” Brad added in alarm. “This settles it! We’ll have to go in there and warn the guy. I’ve got a hunch Mr. Hatfield wouldn’t want us to get mixed up in this business, but what else can we do?”
Neither Red nor Dan were eager to enter the dark cave, yet they agreed with Brad that the occupant should be warned of his danger.
“Let’s get on with it,” Brad said briskly. “You two can wait here and I’ll go in alone.”
“Nothing doing,” Dan rejected the proposal. “We’ll stick with you. Won’t we, Red?”