CHAPTER VII.
WORKING ON NED'S THEORY.
At daybreak Frank Shaw stood in the screened porch facing west, watchingand waiting for the return of Nestor and Jimmie. It had been a long nightfor him, but he had kept his vigil alone, knowing that his chums neededall the rest they could get.
Many times between midnight and morning the noises of the tropical foresthad taken on the semblance of human voices, and then he had crept out fromthe screens to listen intently for some indication of the approach of hisfriends. But they had not come, and now he was anxious to set out insearch of them.
While he stood there with his brain filled with forebodings of evil, heheard a step in the cottage, and then Jack Bosworth stood by his side,bright and exuberant of spirit after his long sleep. He stood silent for amoment, looking out into the wonderful jungle and then turned to Frank.
"Great country," he exclaimed, sweeping a hand toward the gorgeousthickets.
"A dangerous country," Frank said.
"And a country for an appetite," cried Jack. "I'll get the boys up andwe'll have breakfast. Why," he added, turning back to the porch afterglancing over the row of bunks, "where's Ned?"
"He went away at midnight," was the reply, "and hasn't returned. I'mafraid something serious has happened to him."
"And you have been watching for him all night?" asked Jack. "Why didn'tyou waken me? I reckon I'm entitled to a fair share of what's going onhere, be it good or bad."
Frank told the story of the night briefly and Jack listened with a frownon his brow. His fingers clenched at mention of the bomb which had beenplaced under the floor of the cottage.
"We're spotted, of course," he said, when Frank concluded the story. "Ifwe had only tipped His Nobbs off the ship on the way over."
"I suggested that to Ned," Frank answered, "but he only laughed at me. Hedeclared the fellow to be the missing link between himself and theprincipals in the Gatun dam plot."
"What's the answer?" demanded Jack, with a puzzled air.
"Why, it is his theory that half of the criminals of the world wouldescape punishment if they could only learn to lie quiet until they werelooked up."
"I see. His notion was that the plotters, guided by His Nobbs, would visitus with hostile intentions, and that they might leave a trail back totheir own camp."
"That is about it."
"Well, they seem to have looked us up all right."
The other boys now came tumbling out of the cottage, shouting theirgreetings to Frank and Jack and the golden morning, and clamoring forbreakfast. Five minutes later, when the events of the night had beenexplained, their healthy appetites had vanished. Even when the cook beganpreparations for the morning meal, filling the air with tantalizing odorsof cooking food, they sat in serious consultation with no thought ofbreakfast in their minds.
"What ought we to do?" asked Jack.
"Go and look him up," suggested George Tolford.
"He may have become lost in the jungle," Peter Fenton remarked. "Supposewe go out into the jungle and fire our guns?"
"I'm afraid it is worse than that," Glen Howard remarked. "We ought to letLieutenant Gordon know about it."
"I am afraid Ned wouldn't like that," Frank said.
While the boys discussed ways and means a dusky youth of perhaps twentywas seen approaching the cottage on a run. His dress was half American andhalf native, but his face was wholly Spanish. He paused when he discoveredthe boys on the porch and held out his hands, as if to show that hismission was a peaceful one. Frank motioned to him to approach and openedthe screened porch door for him to enter.
"Good-morning, gentlemen," he said, in excellent English. "I am fromLieutenant Gordon."
"Then I think you're the fellow we are looking for," Jack said.
"He wants you to join him up at the Culebra cut," the youngster continued."The two who left the cottage last night are there waiting for you."
"Glory be!" shouted Jack. "We were just wondering what had become ofthem."
"They wandered out to Gatun and came upon the lieutenant," said themessenger.
"In the night?" asked Peter, suspiciously.
"A little while before daybreak," was the ready reply.
"We'll go and get ready for the journey," Frank said, but at the door hebeckoned to Jack and they walked away together.
"What do you think of him?" asked Frank.
"Why, he seems to be all right," was the reply. "At any rate he knowsabout the boys going away in the night and not coming back."
"The man they followed away would know that, too," Frank said.
Jack looked his friend in the face for a moment and scratched his head.
"Say," he asked, "do you think this is a stall?"
"I don't like the looks of the fellow," was the reply. "Besides, whatwould the boys be doing up at the Culebra cut?"
"If you think it is crooked we won't go," Jack observed.
"Another thing," Frank went on, "we were to have nothing to do withLieutenant Gordon while on the Isthmus. We were to roam about at our ownsweet will and pick up what information we could. So it doesn't seemlikely that he would send for us all to meet him at the Culebra cut. Doesit, now?"
"No, it doesn't look reasonable," Jack admitted.
"You know what we were saying about Ned's theory?" Frank asked, in amoment.
"You mean our talk about criminals pointing the way to their owndestruction by unwise activity in defensive methods? Of course I rememberit. If what we suspect is true, though, Ned rather overplayed it in thiscase, and got caught."
"We don't know yet whether he got caught or not. We only know that he isunaccountably missing. Well, what if we accept Ned's theory here and gowith this messenger? If he is on the square he'll take us to Ned. If he iscrooked he'll take us to people who know why Ned did not return to thecottage."
"It may be easier to get taken to the people you speak of than to get awayfrom them," Jack said, dubiously.
"I'm game to try it, anyway," Frank continued, "but I think we ought toleave one behind at the cottage, for Ned may return, possibly, though Idoubt it. Anyway, it will do no harm to leave some one here."
"Suppose," suggested Jack, "we don't leave any one at the cottage, butinstruct one of the boys to remain here when we go with this fellow andthen follow on immediately, sort of keep track of where we are taken?"
"That's a fine idea," Frank replied. "I'll go with the messenger and takethe boys with me. You remain here and see where we go--that is, you remainhere when we leave and then trail on after us, like a Sherlock Holmes."
"I would rather go with you," Jack replied, "but I'll do the sleuth act ifyou prefer to have me. You'll need a rescuer, all right," he added, "forLieutenant Gordon never sent that chap after us. Never in the world."
The cook soon called the boys to breakfast, but there was not much eaten,greatly to the disgust of the cook. When they left the table the messengerasked if they were ready to go.
"All ready," cried Frank, but Jack threw himself into a chair and took upa magazine, watching the face of the messenger over the pages as he didso.
"You are to give up the cottage," the messenger said, with a frown ofdisapproval. "No one is to be left here."
"It will be all right for me to remain here until the others come," Jacksaid, with a smile. "I don't feel like a walk this morning."
"There is a motor car just over the hill."
"No inducement," laughed Jack. "I'm going to remain here."
The messenger said no more, though it was plain that the arrangement didnot please him. In a few moments the boys were off, the messenger leadingthe way and keeping up a running fire of conversation.
"What do you think of that?" asked Jack of the cook, as the partydisappeared in the thicket.
"I don't like it," was the reply. "I overheard what Frank told you aboutthe disappearance of Ned and Jimmie, and was anticipating something of thekind."
"Why didn't you say something?"
"It was n
ot for me to interfere," was the reply.
The cook, known as Tommy, was looked over critically by Jack.
"I believe you're all to the good," he said. "You wouldn't be here if youwasn't. Now, what do you say to exchanging clothes with me?"
"I have no objections, only I don't exactly see--"
"We're just about the same size," Jack went on. "Same black hair and blackeyes, same ugly smooth face--glad you have no whiskers. You're tanned up alittle, but I can put some stain on my face. There you are. The cook goesto Gatun and Culebra and Jack Bosworth remains at the cottage. They won'tthink of molesting the cook."
"I would rather go with you."
"But some one ought to remain here," urged Jack.
Tommy thought over the proposition for a moment and smiled.
"All right," he said. "I'll remain here, as long as necessary," he added.
The exchange of clothing was quickly made and Jack managed to darken hisface with a stain made of crushed leaves which Tommy gathered for him.
"Now, you'll stay right here, won't you?" Jack asked, as he passed out ofthe doorway. "Ned and Jimmie may return, you know."
"Yes, I'll stay right here," the cook said with a grin.
But as Jack entered the thicket he added:
"Until you get out of sight. Then it is me for the Tivoli and LieutenantGordon. It looks to me as if these babes in the woods had bitten off morethan they can chew."
Whether his supposition was right or wrong, the cottage was closed in fiveminutes, and Tommy, wearing Jack's clothing, was racing through the pathNed had taken the night before, on his way to Lieutenant Gordon.
His journey on foot, however, was destined to be a short one, for at theturn of the path he came upon a man loitering in the open space justahead.
"Wait a second," the man exclaimed.
Tommy was not inclined to check his pace, but a revolver in the hands ofthe fellow induced him to do so.
"You are Jack Bosworth?"
Tommy hesitated. For an instant he thought of declaring his identity andso getting away to the Tivoli and Lieutenant Gordon. The man in his pathsettled the problem for him.
"No use to deny it," he said. "You are to come with me."
"Where?" asked Tommy.
"If you have any weapons give them to me," the other said, gruffly, payingno attention to the question.
"All right," Tommy said, handing out a revolver. "It is a heavy thing tocarry, anyway. Where are you going to take me?"
"Straight ahead," cried the captor, with a frown. "Straight ahead. I'lltell you when to turn and when to stop."
"You seem to have an accommodating disposition," laughed Tommy. "Whydidn't you stop the cook, who went out a little while ago? Perhaps hewould have been glad of your company."
"We are not interested in the cook," came the answer, and Tommy smiled ashe thought that at least one point of the ruse had met with success.
"That cook will be fired for leaving the cottage," grinned Tommy, makingthe deception as complete as possible.
In the meantime the motor car containing the five boys and the messengerwas speeding on its way toward Gatun and the Culebra cut. When Jack cameout on the road the machine was disappearing from sight, but he managed tokeep track of it from the hilltops for a considerable distance.
The messenger was full of talk, his evident intention being to keep theboys interested. In spite of the attention paid them, however, Frank andHarry Stevens managed to hold a conversation on the back seat.
"This is carrying out Ned's theory with a vengeance," Harry remarked. "Ifwe get dumped into the big cut we'll charge it up to him."
"The play opens with plenty of action in the first scene," grinned Frank.
"The adventure would look better to me if I knew what had become of Nedand Jimmie," Harry said, despondently.
"If we keep up the appearance of being pleased with the ride," Frank said,"we may be able to learn something of their whereabouts. It is mystery tome how the plotters got hold of Ned, if they did get hold of him."
"You recall the talk in New York as to whether the men who entered Mr.Shaw's study were in quest of the plot papers or the emerald necklace?"asked Harry.
"Yes; and I've been studying over that problem ever since."
"Well, I've been wondering, ever since we started out on this rather riskytrip with the messenger, whether the people Ned encountered last night,and the people we are likely to meet to-day, are the people of the plotpapers or the people of the emerald necklace. What do you think aboutit?"
"I fail to see why the necklace thieves should bother. They've got thetrinket they wanted, haven't they? It is the canal blowers we are facingnow."
"You know Ned's theory," whispered Harry. "Well, if the necklace thieveshave brought the bauble back to the Isthmus, they think we're hot afterthem, and so may strike at us before we can get our guard up. See?"
"No, I don't see," replied Frank. "I'd like to believe they brought thenecklace over here, though. Then I might stand a chance to get it back.You'll find that it is the men who are plotting against the big dam thatwe are mixing with."
The motor car ran through Gatun without stopping, and finally drew up at arambling old structure which seemed to have been deserted ever since thedays of Balboa. The messenger explained that they were to wait there forthe lieutenant, and all entered the ancient ruin, the boys lookingcarefully about as they stepped through the doorway.
The room which first received them was long and narrow, with walls showingboth age and neglect. They were met at the door by a tall gentleman ofmilitary bearing and a dwarf whose mischievous black eyes stared fixedlyinto their faces.
"The lieutenant is late," the military man explained. "If one of you isFrank Shaw, however, a portion of the business of the day may be taken upbefore his arrival."
Frank admitted his identity, and was invited into a smaller room openingfrom the apartment in which the others waited.