rted at a run through the orchard. "Let's go
take another look at those photographs!"

They ran through the house and up the stairs to Rick's room, and
spread out on a table the enlargements Scotty had made. "Let's see,"
Rick said. "There must be something they don't want us to see. But
where? We know there's nothing on the grounds, and we couldn't see
anything in the house or garage from the air."

"The marsh," Scotty suggested. "Try the marsh, especially up the creek
from the hotel."

Their heads bent over the best photo of the area and two pairs of eyes
scanned the marsh grass. Rick pointed to an area on the Creek House
side of the marsh, a short distance below the bridge. "There's
something there, but I can't make it out."

Scotty straightened up. "Got a magnifying glass?"

"There's one in the library." Rick ran to get it, stopped to explain
to his father that they might have an important clue, and ran back
upstairs again. It was a powerful glass. He held it over the
questionable area and details leaped to meet him. Wordlessly he handed
the glass to Scotty.

The boy bent and studied the photo, then he turned to Rick with a wide
grin on his face. "So that's it! Rick, this is their cache. They must
park the stuff there until the truck comes!"

The marsh grass had been bent cunningly over the area in an effort at
camouflage, but the magnifying glass clearly showed some sort of barge
piled with wooden boxes!

"Let's go take a look," Scotty said enthusiastically. "Maybe it's
still there."

Rick started to agree, then a thought struck him. "We'd better not.
They'd see us, and they might notice the lights on the plane. We don't
want to tip our hand." Then he brightened. "But they don't know Gus's
plane!" He hurried out into the hall and called Whiteside Airport. Gus
answered.

"This is Rick," he told the airport manager. "Gus, how's your plane?"

"Running like a watch. Just like my car. Why?"

"How's to borrow it for a quick trip south?"

"Now he wants to imitate birds," Gus groaned. "Don't you know it's too
early to fly south?"

"Don't want to go that far south," Rick said.

"Come and get it."

Rick had no hesitation in asking the obliging Gus for the loan of
equipment because he was always ready to oblige in turn. Several
times, when Gus's plane was out of commission or not available,
either because of engine overhaul or because some flier had rented it,
Rick had taken the Cub to Whiteside for Gus t