“Look here, Dick, I must say that you followed out our agreement to the letter. What did you mean by crying out like that, after it had been decided to let Frischette walk away with the money?”
“But it wasn’t Frischette,” Dick defended himself.
“Wasn’t Frischette. What do you mean? Of course, it was Frischette. I saw him with my own eyes.”
“Yes, that fellow who took the box from the Frenchman yesterday.”
“So that’s their game. Creel is Frischette’s confederate. I can see it all now.”
“That’s the way I have it all figured out too. Frischette is the man who plans all the robberies and Creel is the one who executes them.”
Dick paused and leaned against the trunk of a huge jack-pine, contemplatively regarding his two chums.
“It means we have two persons instead of one to deal with. The treasure-box they keep between them. Each probably has an equal interest in it. I wish there was some way we could get hold of it.”
“Mebbe that not be so very hard,” Toma suddenly interjected. “One night we go over to Creel’s cabin an’ find it sure. I think I know how we get it without much trouble.”
“You remember yesterday when Frischette come close to Creel’s cabin he stop in the brush an’ make ’em noise for him to come out. Well, one of us do same like that while other two hide close to cabin. When Creel come out, thinking it Frischette, good chance go get box. What you say?”
“A good plan, certainly,” criticised Dick, “only how are we going to imitate that peculiar, mysterious whistle. I’m sure I couldn’t.”
Toma put two fingers to his mouth and blew softly. It was an excellent imitation of the sound the boys had heard on the previous day, and both Dick and Sandy clapped their hands in delight.
“You’re good!” Sandy exclaimed. “I’m proud of you. How can you manage to do it, after hearing it only once?”
“I hear it many times,” flushed the young Indian. “You see, there is bird that hide deep in the woods that make ’em call like that. Frischette, jus’ like me, try make sound like that bird.”
“Ten o’clock will be a good time,” Sandy suggested. “Dick and I will enter the cabin, while you, Toma, practice your wiles upon the thieving Mr. Creel. Lead him away from the cabin as far as you can, so that we’ll have plenty of time to look around. We may have some trouble in finding the place where he has hid the box.”