“Well,” Tommy answered, “I believe you were right when you said that the Little Brass God meant something more than intrinsic value to at least one of the men who are chasing it up.  Now,” the boy went on, “if this brass-faced fellow has the sacred idol nut in his head, he won’t leave this section of the country until he finds it.”

“That’s the way I figure it out!” Will answered.

“And this adds another interesting feature to the case,” Tommy continued.  “When we started out we were alone in pursuit of the Little Brass God.  Then we came upon Pierre, and we were just beginning to believe that he also was in search of the merry little jigger when Antoine murdered him.  Now, here comes a third interest, and, if you are anywhere near correct in your conclusions, he comes all the way from India.”

“You don’t know where he comes from!” Will interrupted.  “The question we want to ask ourselves now is this: 

“Have we any chance of recovering the article we were sent after if we remain in this district?  In other words, ought we to settle down here and wait for things to quiet, or ought we to make an effort to discover the whereabouts of the two men who have expressed such decided opinions regarding the value of the Little Brass God?”

“Meaning Antoine and the alleged Hindu?” asked Tommy.

“Exactly,” was the reply.  “You see,” Will went on, “there’s no use of our remaining in camp here if the person who has the stolen article in his possession has taken it away.”

“I believe Antoine has it!” declared Tommy.

“If Antoine has it, if that was Antoine sitting before the fire that night, why did he take the Little Brass God there instead of concealing it in his own cavern?”

“The more we talk about it, the less we know,” grinned Tommy.

“Night before last,” Will began, “the Little Brass God was in a cave only a few miles from this spot.  I don’t believe it has been taken out of the district!  If you boys leave it to me, we’ll stay in the cabin for a few days, and take quiet trips about the country, particularly the hilly country to the south, in search of Antoine and the Hindu.”

“That suits me!” Tommy declared, “and I know it’ll suit George and Sandy, too!  There’ll be a lot of fun in tramping about.”

“Then why not make a trip to the range of hills right now?” asked Will.  “We can be back long before night.”

“I don’t know about that,” replied Thede who had been listening to the conversation without speaking.  “It’s a long way over to the hills and the snow’s deep.”

“Then I’ll tell you what we’ll do!” Tommy exclaimed excitedly.  “We’ll get a lot of game and send you back with it, and you tell the boys that if we don’t return tonight, we’ll be camping in some of those caverns in the hills.”

“I thought you’d be ready for another runaway night excursion!” laughed Will.

“I suppose I don’t run away when I’m with you!” commented Tommy.