“Blast you, you blighter!” Freddy grated. “And you had us all thinking—You really mean—”
“What else?” Dave chuckled, and lightly knocked Freddy’s hands away. “Not that I don’t trust you, pal. I just thought it would be a good idea not to say anything to anybody. Albuquerque? Nuts! This train is an express for the Canal Zone. We’re due in in about eight hours. So lean back and enjoy yourself, apart from your navigation duties, of course. We’ve got plenty of gas to make it, but we’re not overflowing with it, so don’t kick your calculations around. You’ll find charts, and stuff, in that side pocket. I slipped them in there just after mess. I don’t think the Colonel will miss them. Not sore any more, are you, sweetheart?”
“I should be, but I’m not,” Freddy growled. “But I see your point. I guess it was the best idea to say nothing to no one. But why couldn’t we have gone by bomber, just the same?”
“Freddy, Freddy!” Dave groaned at him. “And you’re attached to Intelligence? I think I’m a little ashamed of you, my boy. Put on your thinking cap, and use some of that stuff you’ve got in that thick head of yours.”
“I already have!” Freddy replied with a faint laugh. “And I’m embarrassed for myself, no end. Of course! It was to throw everybody off the trail, eh? Particularly our rat friends?”
“Check,” Dave replied. “There seem to be too many of them, at too many different places. Maybe there wasn’t one of them at Brownsville. But there was no way for us to tell for sure. So the best thing to do was to play it safe, to get the word spread around that we were going back to Albuquerque.”
“And a double reason, that,” Freddy spoke up. “It will not only throw our unknown and unseen friends off the trail, but, no doubt, it will make them wonder just a bit if we have suddenly learned something quite definite about those goings on at Albuquerque.”
“That’s just the idea!” Dave said with a laugh. “Just one bright little guy, me, huh?”
“On occasion,” Freddy snapped. “Only on occasion. But I suppose you realized that our rat friends aren’t the only ones you’re going to upset?”
“I know,” Dave replied gravely. “But nothing can be done about it. When we don’t show up at Albuquerque there’ll be a lot of planes out looking for our crash. Hate to have all that gas and oil wasted. But our job is to get to the Canal Zone, and get there in shape to start swinging at this confounded mystery with both fists. Gosh! I sure hope and pray it doesn’t turn out that we might just as well have gone back to Albuquerque.”