Well, if you must knowthat Whiteside feller was there, as per usual, and along come Jeff, limpinIn the weeks that followed, Landor spent days and some nightsthose when he sat up to visit the guard, as a ruleattempting to decide why his ward repelled him. She seemed to be quite like any other contented and natural young girl. She danced, and courted admiration, within the bounds of propriety; she was fond of dress, and rather above the average in intelligence. Usually she was excellent company, whimsical and sweet-humored. She rode well enough, and learnedto his intense annoyanceto shoot with a bow and arrow quite remarkably, so much so that they nicknamed her Diana. He had remonstrated at first, but there was no reason to urge, after all. Archery was quite a feminine sport.Landor rode over to Bob's place, and giving his horse to the trumpeter, strode in. There were eight men around the bar, all in campaign outfit, and all in various stages of intoxication. Foster was effusive. He was glad to see the general. General Landor, these were the gentlemen who had volunteered to assist Uncle Sam. He presented them singly, and invited Landor to drink. The refusal was both curt and ungracious. "If we are to overtake the hostiles, we have got to start at once," he suggested.
ONE:When Everdail gave me all the facts he had about the London attempt to ruin the emeralds, the first idea I had was that some independent robber had failed to find the real gems and, in spite, had damaged the imitations.
THREE:No. Set down in the little inlet, yonder. He waved toward the shoreline concealed beyond the estate shrubbery. It was closer to my own crateits stalled yonder in the golf course.
THREE:Back along the hangar wall they crept, until they came up to the small wooden cupboard with its dusty, frayed protecting burlap across the front. Under the cupboard boards the wires ran well concealed by more dusty lint which seemed to have been swept into the corners by the lazy act of some cleaner.
[See larger version]The caretaker raised no objections. He seemed entirely satisfied that Mr. Whiteside was exactly what he claimed to be, and so Dick, who had held some misgivings, accepted the man as a detective and worked with a will to discover some clue to the means used by the ghost for getting in and out of the hangar.The first step of the plan was taken. They had made contact with the small, speedy craft which, on a later signal that they had picked up the incoming yacht, would speed out to sea to meet her.No answer still."I shall ride into Apache with you in Captain Landor's stead, if he will allow me," he told her, and added, "and if you will."But she only answered that that was unlikely and slipped her arm around his neck, as she added that if anything were to happen to him, she would not have one real friend in the world. There was something pathetic in the quiet realization of her loneliness.
