Could a breeze have blown the manuscript to the floor? Jack was convinced otherwise, but to make certain he searched under the table and along the terrace railing.
“War,” he said, keeping his voice low, “you’re sure you didn’t take those papers with you?”
Miserably, the boy shook his head. “I left ’em lying right here on the table. They can’t be gone!”
“But they are,” Jack said, his voice grim with worry. “That call to the lobby was a trick by someone to get us away from this table. Mr. Livingston trusted that translation to us, and now it’s been stolen!”
Chapter 2
CAPTAIN CARTER
“A fine Scout I prove to be!” Warwick berated himself. “Why, I’ve messed up the expedition to Peru! Without that translation, there may be no trip.”
The other three Rovers knew that War might be right about the expedition. However, careless as he had been in leaving the manuscript unguarded, they did not blame him.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Ken said, to make him feel better. “We all fell for that telephone gag.”
“Whoever took that translation can’t be far from here,” Warwick muttered. “Why, I wasn’t away from this table five minutes, if that long.”
As the four Explorers searched the terrace floor, a waiter came over to inquire if anything had been lost. Jack told him about the missing papers and asked if anyone had visited the table during their absence. The waiter recalled that a man had stopped there for a moment and then had left the terrace.