"Will you surrender the key?" asked Captain Curtis of the Lieutenant.
"The boy lies!" thundered Carstens. "I have no key."
"What does the box contain?" asked the Captain.
"I don't exactly know," Ned replied, "but it is my opinion that it contains a treaty pledging certain tribes to unite in rebellion against the United States provided they are supplied with guns and ammunition."
"Your opinion is of little account!" gritted the Lieutenant.
"And I believe," Ned went on, "that other papers are in the box—papers giving a history of the plot, also papers stolen from the government. Anyway, if you say so, Captain, I'll open the box with my key and we'll soon find out."
"Perhaps we would better retire to the cabin," suggested Captain Curtis, noting the curious faces gathering about. "We can settle the whole matter there."
Lieutenant Carstens would not have entered the cabin if one of the officers of the gunboat had not crowded him down the stairway.
"This is an outrage!" he shouted.
The senator's son now came hastily down the steps, his face red with rage, his fingers working convulsively, as if already playing about the throat of an enemy.