Yesterday, along about noon, the boy--or
a lad very much resembling him--was seen by a lieutenant of infantry
in a motor boat, speeding up the Potomac."
"Why didn't he catch him, then?" asked Jack.
"Because he did not know at that time that the prince had been
kidnapped. The authorities kept everything quiet! I presume they
thought the thief didn't know that he had committed a crime, and were
afraid the newspapers would tell him about it!"
"Tell that to Frank!" laughed Jack. "He'll go up in the air!"
The boys found Jimmie and Oliver in the club-room when they went
down. The garage and carriage house had been searched--in vain, of
course, for the boys had encountered the Chinaman on his way down to
the basement as they ascended the stairs, the elevator being closed
for the night.
"I believe that Chink had something to do with it, all the same,"
declared Jimmie. "He ought to be watched every minute of the time!"
"Now, here's another point I don't understand," Jack said, going back
to the conversation he had had with Ned in the attic. "Why do the
authorities think the boy has been taken to the mountains?"
"Because that would be a natural place for the thieves to hide," Ned
answered. "The mountains are easily within reach of Washington, and
they are virtually inaccessible to known officers of the law--at
least so it is reported.
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