"Your suitcase," smiled the man; "I didn't know you had one."
"I had a minute ago," said Barry; "I set it on the floor here and now it is gone."
"Where could it go to if you had it by your side?"
"Why, I was looking at the pictures in the ceiling," said the agitated boy, "and someone must have crept along and stolen it."
"Well, I didn't see anything of it," was the calm response.
In despair, Barry ran from one person to another until the marble space below the dome was a scene of unusual excitement. In the midst of the agitation a bright-looking, well-dressed young man came striding across the hallway leading from the House of Representatives. He noticed the stir, and something about Barry's manner attracted him. He went up to the boy and said in kindly tones:
"What's the trouble, my son?"
Barry explained as best he could.
"Do you expect to meet someone here?" asked the stranger.
"I do. I was to report to Congressman Carlton."