"How, by airship?"
"No, by horse and wagon. A lot of cases of valuable silks imported from England to Canada, where the duty is light, were slipped over the border somehow, in airships, it is thought. Then they came here by freight, labeled as calico, and when they reached this town they were taken away in a wagon."
"But how did they get here?"
"On the railroad, of course, but the freight people had no reason to suspect them."
"And where were they taken from the freight station?"
"That's what the customs authorities want to find out. They think there's some secret place here, where the goods are stored and reshipped. That's why so many detectives are here. They are after the smugglers hot-footed."
Chapter V The Raid
Tom Swift dropped the tool he was using, and came over to where Ned stood, his chum having vaulted in through the open window.
"Ned," said the young inventor, "there's something queer about this business."