Hippy nodded his willingness to do so. The manager came in hurriedly after receiving the summons, and Hippy repeated his story of the discovery of the morning.
“You are the young fellow that I met on the second floor last night, aren’t you?” questioned the manager.
“No. That was Mr. Brown of our party, I believe.”
“Suppose you show me what you found at the back of the house,” suggested the manager.
“It were best not to do that,” answered Lieutenant Wingate. “It will attract too much attention, and, in case the thieves are about, will tip them off that you have a clew.”
“That is good sense,” agreed Colonel Scott. “Better leave following the clew to the Park guards.”
“Yes, you are right. This is a matter for Colonel Appleby. If you will go with me to the commanding officer of the post and give him the facts, I shall appreciate it. Kindly bring Mrs. Gray with you,” requested the manager, Hippy having given most of the credit for their discoveries to her.
Grace was picked up on the way out, and the party, singly and in pairs, sauntered across the plateau as if they were bent on whiling away time. They met at the office of the commanding officer later on and gained an immediate audience with Colonel Appleby, to whom the facts were related by Hippy, added to here and there by a word from Grace.
“I congratulate you,” said the officer. “You have rendered us a service. I shall now know how to proceed.” Colonel Appleby rang for his orderly.
“My compliments to Lieutenant Chambers, and say that I should like to see him here as soon as possible. You say you lost the trail?” he questioned, turning to his callers.
“I think probably it may be found again farther up the mountain,” said Lieutenant Wingate.
“You are of the opinion that the robbery was not committed by any person in the hotel, then?”
“I am reasonably certain that it was committed by an outsider,” answered Lieutenant Wingate.
“Do you base this opinion wholly on the fact that the thieves headed up the mountain?”
“No, sir. They were not shod as persons about the hotel would be likely to be. Both men wore heavy boots.”
“Excellent reasoning. I shall put the guards at work on that theory, and thanks to your keenness we ought to catch someone. We shall, at least, round up all suspicious characters. How long do you remain in camp here?”