who is this?"

"John Sheldon, of Hilltop. Is this Mr. Brooke? Dick Percival will call
for the bundle in the morning."

"Very good. Now then, you rascal----" the voice being less plainly
heard, "who was it paid you for doing it?"

"Keep still, boys," said Jack, turning his head. "I am on the track."

CHAPTER XIV

"SUSPICION IS NOT PROOF"

Jack listened attentively to catch the reply of the boy for upon it much
depended.

Some one had paid the boy to set up and insert the obnoxious article and
Jack knew that his theory that a poor compositor had done the work was
correct.

Now the thing to be learned was who had paid him for what he had done
and Jack believed that he was about to be enlightened.

Then he heard the click of the receiver being put back upon the hook and
the connection was cut off.

"That's too bad!" he muttered as he hung up. "I thought I was going to
find out something. Maybe I can yet."

"Did you get him?" asked Percival.

"Yes," and Jack told what he had heard over the wire.

"It's too bad that Brooke hung up so soon," said Dick, "but can't you
get him again?"

"I suppose I might."

"And ask him pointblank who it was that hired the office boy to do this
dirty work."

"I will, for he must know that I could hear all that was said in the
room. That is a common occurrence."

Jack took down the receiver again and called up the office of the
_News_, presently getting an answer after some delay:

"Line is busy."

"Call me up when it is not, please," said Jack, giving the number of
Dick's 'phone.

Then he hung up again and said to the eager boys:

"The line is busy, of course. It always is when you want it
particularly. However, they will call me up when it is free."

"Somebody paid the boy to get this thing into the _Gazette_," observed
Percival, "and that somebody was an enemy of ours. Who was it?"

"Some one who wants to do Jack an injury," said Harry. "There are Pete
Herring, Ernest Merritt and a few others like them but Herring and his
side partner are the most likely ones."

"It is really narrowed down to those two when you come to it," suggested
Arthur, "for they hate him the worst and are more active than the
others."

"I think we'd better take that for granted," added Harry, "and work
along those lines. I think it was one of them, just as I think it was
one of them who pushed Jack off the bank."

"They may have hired a third party to do the work," remarked Pe