"That box is mine!" he cried. "I demand that it be returned to me unopened. I am the son of a United States senator."
"If what I suspect is true," Ned said, "you will need all the political pull a member of the senate has in order to keep yourself out of the penitentiary."
"Put that boy out of this cabin!" snarled the young man. "This is my private room. I paid for its use during the cruise."
Ned whispered a few words to the Captain, and the latter turned with a smile to a door opening at the rear of the little room where the excited group stood.
"Well," he said, "there is a question here as to whether the box contains any treasonable documents. If the box belongs to you, open it and we'll see if the charge is true or false. If it is false the box shall be returned to you."
"I have lost my key," was the reply.
"How long ago?" asked Ned.
The young man turned a supercilious face on the boy, but answered:
"Several days ago. What is it to you?"
"Where were you when you first missed it?" Ned persisted.