angerous.

He rather liked that one. It would mean that the chicken had been
dropped "mischievously," to use Zircon's word, to try to scare them out
of the immediate vicinity. But there were other possibilities.

First premise: The frogmen knew of their connection with Steve.

Second premise: The frogmen weren't worried about people with JANIG
connections.

This might be explained by superior weapons in the hands of the frogmen,
coupled with the assumption that the Spindrifters had no communication
with Steve. It might also be explained by knowledge of their real reason
for being on Clipper Cay.

Rick didn't care much for the last two premises. The first one seemed
more reasonable. After all, they were not sure that the former tail had
seen the _Water Witch_ in St. Thomas, or had known of their connection
with it. On the contrary, to get to Clipper Cay so soon after the
Spindrifters arrived, the frogman must have left about the same time the
scientists did. There was even a possibility that he had arrived ahead
of the Spindrift group and that the frogmen's boat had been out when
Rick and Scotty had first spotted the diving equipment in the house.
Anyway, there had been no sign of any tail but the Virgin Islander while
they were around the pier and on the _Water Witch_. Either he or Scotty
would almost certainly have spotted a second man--especially since they
had seen him before.

There was a major precaution, however, to be taken: he and Scotty must
not let Steve's former tail get a good look at them. They had to assume
he had recognized their clumsiness for what it was--a deliberate stall.

Scotty poked him, and Rick suddenly realized that he had been leaning
for quite a long while on the broom he was supposed to be using.

"Made up your mind about anything?" Scotty asked.

Rick knew his friend had been watching him. During their many adventures
each had developed a rather unusual understanding of how the other's
mind worked.

"Partly," Rick replied. He told Scotty his thoughts.

"You make sense," Scotty agreed, then added practically, "but I don't
see what difference it makes, whether they know about our connection
with Steve or not. The moment they catch us snooping they'll assume
we're enemies. Until then, they'll let us alone just as they've been
doing."

Zircon and Scotty joined forces to prepare lunch. The temperature had
dropped sharply, and hot soup and hamburger sandwiches were welcome.

After