“Why isn’t he here now?”
“Well, I heard one of the other scientists say that he had gone to a place called Fayetteville, and will come on from there.”
“Fayetteville!” ejaculated Tom. “Yes. That isn’t far from Shopton.”
“I know,” assented Tom. “I wonder — I wonder why he is going there?”
“I can tell you that, too.”
“You can? You’re a regular detective.”
“No, I just happened to overhear it. Beecher is going to call on Mary Nestor in Fayetteville, so his friends here said he told them, and his call has to do with an important matter — to him!” and Ned gazed curiously at his chum.
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Chapter 8
CHAPTER VIII
OFF FOR HONDURAS
JUST what Tom’s thoughts were, Ned, of course, could not guess. But by the flush that showed under the tan of his chum’s cheeks the young financial secretary felt pretty certain that Tom was a bit apprehensive of the outcome of Professor Beecher’s call on Mary Nestor.
“So he is going to see her about `something important,’ Ned?”
“That’s what some members of his party called it.”
“And they’re waiting here for him to join them?”
“Yes. And it means waiting a week for another steamer. It must be something pretty important, don’t you think, to cause Beecher to risk that delay in starting after the idol of gold?”
“Important? Yes, I suppose so,” assented Tom. “And yet even if he waits for the next
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steamer he will get to Honduras nearly as soon as we do.”
“How is that?”
“The next boat is a faster one.”
“Then why don’t we take that? I hate dawdling along on a slow freighter.”