"Yes," he growled, "I came out--to look. But when I got out--I clean
forgot what it was--who, I mean--no, _what_," he corrected himself
again, "I'd come out to look for. Can't make it out at all." He broke
off in a troubled way.
"No?" agreed Judy sympathetically, as though _she_ knew.
"But you want to find it awfully," Tim stated as a fact.
"Awfully," admitted Stumper with a kind of fierceness.
"Only you can't remember what it looks like quite?" put in Uncle
Felix.
Stumper hesitated a moment. "Too wonderful to remember properly," he
said more quietly; something like that. "But the odd thing is," he
went on in a lower tone, "I've seen it. I _know_ I've seen it. Saw it
this mornin'--very early--when the pigeon woke me up--at dawn."
"Pigeon!" exclaimed Tim and Judy simultaneously. "Dawn!"
"Carrier-pigeon--flew in at my open window--woke me," continued the
soldier in his gruff old voice. "I've used 'em--carrier-pigeons, you
know. Sent messages--years ago. I understand the birds a bit.
Extraordinary thing, I thought. Got up and looked at it." He blocked
again.
"Ah!" said some one, by way of encouragement.
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