“When I observed his approach I untied my two hounds, Nip and Tuck, and hid myself in the forest. He was gone when I returned to the ark.”
“Likewise, part of his anatomy, I suppose,” commented Penny.
“Nip and Tuck did cause a commotion,” Old Noah acknowledged, “but they did him no harm. When he went away the sheriff left a cowardly note tacked to a tree. It said he would return to dispossess me. Before that happens, I will blow this ark to Kingdom Come!”
“How will you do that?” inquired Penny, rather amused.
“With dynamite.”
“Do you have any aboard the ark?”
Old Noah smiled mysteriously. “I know where I can lay my hands on all I’ll need. When I was hiding in the woods yesterday, I saw where they keep it.”
Penny and Louise glanced quickly at each other. While it was possible that Old Noah was talking wildly, the mention of dynamite made them uneasy. If it were true that he had come into possession of such a cache, then obviously it was their duty to report to the authorities.
“Who hid the dynamite?” Penny asked.
“I do not rightly know,” replied Old Noah. “It may have been those strangers who were pestering me last night. They came to my ark and were very nosey, asking me about this and that.”