hrough eating and were back in their seats in the
smoking car.

"I don't suppose you boys have even started to formulate a plan of
campaign, have you?" asked Fernald.

"Not yet, sir," replied Garry. "That is, we haven't made up our minds
how to proceed after we have arrived at our headquarters. However, we
have stumbled, or rather Phil has, on what we consider to be a very
important clue, if such it may be called."

Garry's eyes swept the car, and in a moment he had located the two fur
dealers, who had spoken of the cheap furs to be bought near the border.

"Do you see the two men who are in the fourth seat from the front of the
car, facing us and playing cards?" he asked.

Casually, and without attracting any notice, Fernald studied the faces
of the two men. At last, their features having been stamped on his
memory, he turned to Garry, saying:

"Well, I'll know them if I ever see them again, but what of them?"

Hastily Garry related the instance of their conversing together in
French, and their remark about the furs.

"We have planned that if they get off, Phil here will follow them, so
that we won't lose track of them altogether. We are in hopes that they
will eventually lead us to the fountain head of what we are seeking," he
concluded.

"That would have been the wise thing to do in case you were alone,"
Fernald told them.

"But my being here with you changes the complexion of the matter
somewhat. I think if they get off, it would be best for me to follow
them. That is best for two reasons. Seeing the three of you together,
would give rise to suspicions were one of you to detach himself suddenly
from the rest and try to take up the trail of these men in their own
town, for that is what it would be should they get off. Then there is
another matter to be taken into consideration. Once let the smuggler
band be caught, and only half of the job is done; the rest lies in
finding the receiving point of these furs so that they may be seized, or
the receivers be made to pay duty that they have evaded. Of course
whoever is buying these furs knows they are shipped across the border as
contraband. I shouldn't be a bit surprised if these men could lead me
direct to something that would show where immense quantities of fur have
gone in the past six months."

"I wonder where they are going to get off," remarked Garry.

"That is an extremely simple matter to ascertain. Why not look at the
conductor's checks that are s