"Don't fret," advised Henri, "the blow will fall in due time."
It did fall a few minutes later.
The main mover of the meeting was saying: "Gentlemen, it is nearing a new day, and there is great achievement before us. We go to prepare for it."
Benches were pushed back to clear the way, and this scraping sound had hardly ceased when the short airman, who had made the interesting report, hurried to the table for his valuable records.
The boys leaned forward in breathless suspense.
[CHAPTER IV.]
THE STOLEN PAPERS.
"My papers! The report! Has anybody seen them?"
The owner of the wallet shook it vigorously over the table, to assure himself that he had not replaced the records there, and then quickstepped the whole length and around the board, lowering his head again and again beneath the polished surface to see if the documents he was excitedly seeking could have possibly fallen on the floor.