The millionaire hesitated.
“I believe you!” Larry spoke earnestly, reassuringly. “It’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.”
“But how did you get them into the life preserver?” asked Sandy.
“Took off part of the cover, cut the rubber, put them in, wrapped in oiled silk to make a tight pack, then used some rubber patching cement I keep for torn rubber coats or boot patching, and with a hot electric iron I vulcanized the rubber together and put back the covering.”
“Then there weren’t any stitches to be discovered!” exclaimed Dick.
“None!”
“Then we’re all right!” Larry leaped to his feet. “We can restore the jewels!”
“Certainly we can!” agreed Sandy. “And Mr. Everdail can telegraph his wife to have Mimi arrested——”
“And she will have to tell who was her partner,” added Dick.
“Now you had better go and get that life preserver, and we’ll cut it open,” suggested Mr. Everdail. “I guess it’s safe enough hidden in the tail of Jeff’s plane—” He was baiting their trap. “Don’t look so surprised, Jeff—that was what caused your ‘hoodooed’ crate to go out of control—but we don’t suspect you of putting it there!”