“You fellows are in such a hurry,” said he. “If you are going to lead me the wild chase here that you did in New Mexico I’ll wish I had never brought you. Here I go and plan a little sightseeing trip, and the first thing you do before ever arriving at San Francisco is to become involved in a plot. It won’t do, you know.”
Nevertheless, he got to his feet, signed the breakfast check and followed the boys toward the clerk’s desk.
“No,” said the latter, after Frank had described minutely the mysterious stranger. “I am quite sure I was not on duty last night when the Flyer came
in, but I was talking to the night clerk when the arrivals registered. I remember your faces well, for instance. I am quite sure I would have noted such a man as you describe if he had been among the number.”
Disappointed, Frank turned away.
“So much for that,” he said to his friends. “But, do you know? I wonder if that fellow happened to be in the breakfast room by accident, or whether he was watching us?”
“Watching us?” said Bob. “Oh, you’ve got this plot stuff on the brain, old thing. Why would he be watching us?”
“To see whether we went to the authorities,” said Frank. “If he saw us go to the authorities, he would be pretty certain we had overheard enough of his conversation out on the observation platform last night to make us suspicious, at least.”
Mr. Temple was struck with the force of Frank’s reasoning.
“Look here,” he said, to the three chums. “Frank is right. If there is a big plot afoot, and this fellow suspects us of having gained some knowledge of it, he probably would do just as Frank says.”