ng for deserted provisions," Will
suggested. "I'd like to know who it was that made the search!"

"It might have been your Hindu friend," suggested Tommy.

"Look here, kid," Will said in a moment. "Now that this Hindu
discussion has broken out again, I'd like to know what you think
the chances are for locating that little brown man."

"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."