“We may have time for that later. Just now our most important job is to convince Johnson we have something to sell.”
The two men now were very close. Penny flattened herself against the building wall, fearful of being seen. The light from their lantern illuminated her for an instant, but the men were so absorbed in their discussion, they failed to see her. Going on up the hillside path, they vanished into the farmhouse.
What had become of Salt, Penny did not know. Thinking he might have gone down to the lake, she walked rapidly in that direction. As she approached the shack where the mines were stored, she heard a low whistle.
“Is that you, Salt?” she called softly.
He came from behind a clump of bushes to join her. Quickly they compared notes. Salt had overheard no conversation, but he had watched Professor Bettenridge and Webb as they reexamined the mines in the shack.
“They’re onto our game, and it won’t work twice,” he said. “We’ve got to delay the test, but how?”
“Maybe we could cut the boat loose!”
“A capital idea!” Salt approved, chuckling. “Penny, you really have a brain!”
As they scurried over the stones to the water’s edge, Penny suddenly stopped short.
“Listen!” she commanded.