"Anything further?"
"Only this: Keep your eyes and ears open when you get home. If you hear anything that will throw light on this affair, write or telegraph, or send a special messenger, so that I may act promptly on your information. Do you understand?"
"Yes, sir. Your directions shall be followed. I am as anxious as you are to find out why we failed."
CHAPTER XXX. GRIT IS BETRAYED.
In sending Grit to Boston instead of the regular messenger, President Graves had acted on his own responsibility, as he had a right to do, since it was a matter to be decided by the executive. He might, indeed, have consulted the directors, but that would have created delay, and might have endangered the needful secrecy. When, however, Grit returned and reported to him that his mission had been satisfactorily accomplished, he informed the directors of what had been done at a special meeting summoned at his own house. All approved the action except Mr. Courtney, who was prejudiced against Grit, and, moreover, felt offended because his own counsel had not been asked or regarded.
"It seems to me," he said, with some heat, "that our president has acted in a very rash manner."
"How do you make that out, Mr. Courtney?" interrogated that official.
"It was actually foolhardy to trust a boy like Grit Morris with a package of such value."