"Thank you very much, Mr. Powell, but I think I can manage it," returned Dick.
He and his brothers had talked their plans over carefully, and had reached the conclusion that they would not ask for outside assistance unless it became absolutely necessary. They wanted to show both their family and their friends that they could "stand on their own bottom," as Dick expressed it.
"You have no word in regard to the bonds?" questioned Mr. Powell, when he was ready to leave.
"Not a word. We hired that detective you recommended, but he said it was a difficult case to handle, and that we must not expect too much."
When the Rover boys returned late that afternoon to the Outlook Hotel, they found that Dora had gone out and had not yet returned. She had left a note on her table stating that she was going to look again at the moving picture in which Sam and Tom had taken part.
"Oh, yes, we mustn't forget to go there to-night, Sam!" cried Tom. "It's better than looking at yourself in the looking-glass, isn't it?" and he grinned.
Six o'clock came, and then half-past, and still Dora did not show herself. As the time went by, Dick began to get a little worried.
"That show ought to be out by this time," he said to his brothers. "Generally those moving picture places kind of run down between six and seven o'clock. If they are continuous they throw in some old stuff or a lot of advertising matter just to fill in the time."
"Well, maybe she stopped on the way to do some shopping," suggested Sam. "The stores must prove a great attraction to her."
"She told me yesterday that she was rather tired of shopping," answered the young husband. "You see, she went at it pretty strong at the start, so there isn't so very much left in the way of novelty. I think I'll go down and look for her;" and a minute later Dick left the apartment.