“Thank you; I’m in too much of a hurry. Will you kindly take down a message and give it to the captain at once.”
The distant clerk assured him that he would. Dave quickly went over the few facts which he thought it was necessary for the captain to know, ending with: “He’ll hear from me in the morning.” “Good-bye” was trembling on his tongue when an afterthought prompted him to ask: “How many boys are in the party?”
“Three,” came the answer.
“One very tall?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Any of them about?”
“No; all went out together some time ago.”
“Thank you. Good-bye.”
“What did he say?” demanded Victor.
“Yes; Tom is there, all right.” Dave smiled. “Come on,” he added, seeing the familiar expression of anger instantly flash into the other’s face. He grasped the lad’s arm and hurried him outside. “No time to lose, Vic,” he urged. “Look, the main tent is already down.”