"I'll catch him doing it!" was Jack's reply.
"What do you think about it, Ned?" asked Frank. "Is that the prince, or is it Mike III.? You may have all the guesses you need.
"First," Ned said, turning to Jack and Frank, "tell me what the boy said when he spoke in French."
Jack repeated the interpretations as previously given, and Ned remained in a thoughtful mood for a long time. Then he went into the tent, without answering any questions, and began overhauling the stock of reading matter brought along.
When he found what he wanted to he threw himself on the bunk where he had slept and read steadily for an hour or more. At least he held to the book for that length of time, turning the leaves rapidly at times, and then not at all for several minutes.
"What's he up to?" asked Teddy. "Something on his alleged mind!"
"I'll go and find out what he's reading," Jimmie volunteered.
The boy entered the tent, but was back in a moment with a broad grin on his face.
"It is a French dictionary!" he gasped. "Ned is learning French, so he can talk with the prince in his native tongue!"
"The prince isn't French!" Jack declared. "He belongs away in the East somewhere. French is the polite language of Europe, so of course, he's been taught it!"