"Then," Frank said, soberly, "I know what all these men are gathering here for. I know what they are waiting for—guns."
"I'm afraid you are right."
"Does the War department know?"
"Certainly."
"You found out about it and told Washington by wire?"
Frank reached forward and seized Nestor's hand and shook it as if he expected to keep it in his grasp forever.
"I know you did," he said. "You needn't say a word."
"The War department has the letters," said Nestor, "the letters the diplomat did not secure from Mr. Cameron. I don't know why he did not get them, I'm sure. They were in a drawer of the big desk. It is quite probable, however, that he was frightened away, as the others were. That must have been quite early in the evening, and who it was that scared him away is what is puzzling me."