“And you figure the racket is the jewel smuggling?”
Merritt Hughes nodded gravely.
“This thing is big, Bob,” he went on. “As you know from the confidential report you got, we feel sure that only a few men are actually involved in the ring, but they must be men of great daring and resourcefulness, for they have managed to elude some of the best detectives.”
“Then it seems kind of foolish for me to tackle it,” said Bob, half to himself and half to his uncle.
“Not at all. A new, younger man may have some ideas that older men in the service would not have. You’ve had one break in getting Hamsa out of the way and we’re sure that he was linked with the gang.”
“I guess there’s no question about that for he stole the confidential reports Tully and I had.”
“Then what does that mean to you?” asked Bob’s uncle.
The younger agent, struggling to button a shirt collar that was too tight, stopped and sat down on the edge of the berth.
“In the first place it means that he wanted to find out just what the federal people knew about the operations of the gang. Then it appears pretty obvious that he didn’t want any more federal men nosing around Atalissa and Nira.”
“Right in both cases,” agreed Merritt Hughes. “Now what?”