“I think he is,” was the short reply.
“I am glad to hear you say that,” Colonel Sharrow continued. “I should be sorry to change the good opinion I have formed of Lieutenant Gordon.”
“It seems to me,” Frank said, indignantly, “that you are inviting an adverse opinion concerning him.”
“Not at all,” was the pleasant reply. “It was my purpose, in making the remark I did, to test your loyalty to my very good friend.”
There was a short silence in the room, during which Frank could hear his friends moving about excitedly in the adjoining apartment. If they were conversing, they were doing so in whispers, as no words could be heard.
“Lieutenant Gordon,” the Colonel said, “is very much devoted to the service, and is especially interested in the investigation upon which he is now engaged. By the way, he seems to have a very able assistant in the person of Ned Nestor.”
“Ned can help some,” Frank replied, delighted at this appreciation of his chum.
Colonel Sharrow did not seem to be a bad fellow, after all.
“I suppose Ned will be here with the lieutenant?” Frank asked, then.
The Colonel hesitated, smiling more pleasantly than ever.