"Great Scott! They are fighting!" exclaimed Hal. "What can we do? He might kill the Ambassador."
"There is nothing we can do, old man," replied Chester quietly. "We'll have to let them fight it out."
They listened intently.
The struggle continued, and occasionally the listeners could catch the sound of fierce ejaculations. Then, suddenly, there came the sound of a shot. Then silence, followed a moment later by a voice:
"There! I guess now you will know better than to interfere with me."
"Robard," said the voice of the ambassador, very weak now, "you shall pay for this."
"I don't know whether I have done for you or not," came Robard's voice after a pause, "and I don't care. In fact, I hope I have. Now, just to blacken your reputation a bit, if I have killed you, I shall go through with my plan."
The boys could hear him stalk heavily across the room. A moment later a door slammed.
Hal rose to his feet and passed a hand across a moist brow.
"And to think that we were unable to lend a hand," he muttered.