“Did he mention the parties he suspected?”
“He refused to do so. I can’t understand why he should refuse. Can you?”
“I think I can appreciate his position,” replied Ned.
“Great Scott!” cried Frank. “Do you think the agents of the men we are to grapple with in the Canal Zone have been in this house to-night? If so, it looks like they were looking us up, instead of our being after them.”
“Where is this man Pedro?” asked Ned, not answering the question.
“He was in the study when I left, a few moments ago.”
“Then we will go down there. I want to ask him a few questions.”
At the foot of the staircase, they heard the telephone ringing, and Frank went into the closet. When he came out again he seemed excited and unnerved.
“I guess there’s something more than the necklace at stake to-night,” he said, “for Dad’s rooms in the newspaper building have been ransacked. I guess we won’t have to go down to Gatun to lock horns with the men who are in this plot against Uncle Sam. If the Gatun dam was in New York, they might have blown it up to-night, for all that has been done to thwart them.”
“Well, we’ve just got to work on the case,” grinned Jimmie.