'I think we ought to search the island,' declared the secretary. 'It wouldn't be difficult. All
we'd have to do would be to go around the shore, looking for the boat.
'A good suggestion,' nodded Whitburn. 'Which of us should form the expedition?'
'Stephen and myself,' replied Polmore, promptly. 'You would be safe here, sir, with the door
locked. We could make the search in less than an hour.'
'I shall consider it,' decided the professor. 'First, let us see if the telephone is still out
order.'
HE went to the telephone and tried it. There was no response. Yet the old man persisted,
with his intermittent clickings of the hook. Five minutes—ten —still he repeated his trials. At
last, after a quarter hour had elapsed, the professor gave up the task.
'This is serious,' he declared. 'The telephone seldom remained out of order for so long a
time. Perhaps the cable has broken between here and the mainland. Unfortunately, there is
no way by which we can communicate with the telephone company.'
'If we had the boat,' reminded Polmore, 'one of us could go ashore. If Bragg is on the
island, we might trap him. We would then have the boat, in addition.'
'Well reasoned,' declared Whitburn, in a commending tone. 'Yes, Polmore, I believe that
we shall institute the search as you suggest. I think, however, that it would be unwise for me
remain here.'
'Why so, sir?'
'If we should find Bragg, I would want to speak with him. Suppose you and I search,
Polmore. Let us leave Stephen here.'
'That would hardly be fair, sir. Stephen can not well refuse to remain. Yet it was my
suggestion -'
'Very thoughtful, Polmore. Then you can stay.'
'I—I would rather not, sir.'
'You fear danger?'
'No, sir. But the responsibility—you must consider that. How can I protect something that I
have never seen? These plans of which you have spoken, they -'
'They are here in the study. That is all you need to know. It would be best for you to stay
here, Polmore.'
'But the surface of the island is rough. You could not stand the heavy effort, professor.
Climbing over huge rocks -'
Whitburn waved his hand in interruption. He drew his large watch from his pocket, unhooked
it from the chain and placed it on the table.
'Time has flown,' he remarked. 'It is quarter to ten—fully half an hour since I returned from
my inspection of the house. Stephen'— he turned to the stolid man—'do you have a watch
with you?'
Stephen nodded.
'Then I shall leave mine here,' decided Whitburn. 'Polmore, we shall be gone until half past
ten. That is, unless we encounter Bragg in the meantime. Do you still object to staying here
on guard?'
'I guess not, sir.' Polmore eyed the watch that the professor had placed on the desk. 'Three
quarters of an hour isn't very long. You can let Stephen do most of the heavy work,
scrambling over the rocks.'
'Another good suggestion,' nodded Whitburn. 'Come, Stephen, we must start.'
USHERING Stephen from the study, Whitburn followed and closed the door behind him. The
two men passed through the corridor.
Stephen reached the outer door, opened it and stepped to the path. It was then that he felt
the professor clutch his arm.
'Wait!' ordered the old man, in a whisper. 'Step back into the house! Say nothing!'
Stephen obeyed. As soon as they were inside, the professor closed the door with a slight
slam. He held Stephen silent. Minutes passed, one by one. At the end of five, the old man
delivered a soft, whispered chortle.
'The time is right,' he decided. 'Come, Stephen. Follow me. Make no noise. Have your
revolver ready.'
Stephen nodded as he caught the whisper. He was puzzled by the professor's actions; he
became more perplexed when the old man led him back toward the study. Stephen thought
that they were going to make a new search upstairs, in case Bragg should be lurking there.
At the study door, the professor again gripped Stephen's arm. Then, with a quick movement,
Whitburn turned the knob, opened the door and sprang into the room. He held his automatic
ready. Stephen was close behind him, revolver leveled.
THEY caught Polmore in the act. The secretary was beyond the desk. He had opened
Whitburn's watch to get the key. He had pressed back the molding and had managed to
unlock the metal slide.
At the moment of Whitburn's return, Polmore had one hand in the empty space behind the
bookcase.
'Step away!' rasped Whitburn.
Polmore obeyed. Gunless, he had no other alternative. He had placed his revolver on the
table, never suspecting that Whitburn and Stephen would return so soon. The old professor
glared at his secretary.
'We know the traitor,' he declared. 'You managed only to deceive yourself, Polmore.
Thanks to Quex, on the window sill, I knew that some one had been prowling just before
Stephen arrived.'
'It might have been Bragg. But you overplayed your hand. You wanted me to remain here.
Why? Because I had the watch. I suppose you have communicated that fact to my enemies.
You saw the secret of my hiding place.
'I tricked you, Polmore. As soon as I left my watch on the desk, you changed your tune. You
were willing then—anxious—to stay here. You are the traitor—you, the man I trusted!'
Polmore quailed beneath the professor's severe gaze. He tried to talk, but only wordless
gasps came from his trembling lips. It was plain that Polmore was an amateur accomplice.
The professor took advantage of the fact.
'You have been long in my employ,' he declared. 'Therefore, your treachery began at a
recent date. Some one bribed you to betray me. Who was the man?'
'He—he called himself Satterly,' stammered Polmore. 'Reginald Satterly. But—but I'm not
sure that was his name. He was a tall man - tall, with a red mustache—red hair—and he
wore a monocle.'
'Did he talk like an Englishman?'
'Yes—but I think he was faking it. He was disguised—I'm sure of it— when I met him in New
York. He—well, he offered me a job at first. Then he paid me a thousand dollars. He wanted
me to make sure whether or not you had the plans.'
'Have you seen him since?'
'No, sir. Truly, I haven't. I met a man that works for him. A rough-looking chap named Nuland.
In a cottage on the mainland. I—I signaled Nuland to-night.'
'When you pretended to be looking for Bragg?'
'Yes, sir.'
'Where is Bragg?'
