n heard from Brooke and the boys were as much in the dark as
ever.

In the morning Dick went in the runabout and got the bundle of papers
from Brooke.

"Well, did you find out who hired the boy to put in that outrageous
article?" the young fellow asked.

"No, I did not," said Brooke. "He said he did not know the young man and
could not tell him again if he saw him."

"Where is he now, the boy I mean?"

"I don't know. He did not come to work this morning and his mother says
he has gone up the river to take a job somewhere else."

"Did the foreman see the man who gave the order supposedly from Mr.
Sheldon?"

"He says he had the order by telephone and never saw the copy which he
was told would be sent in. Please look over the papers now to see if
they are all right."

Dick read over one of the magazines, compared it hastily with a dozen
others and found that no extraneous matter had been introduced.

"Yes, they are all right," he said, "and we will pay you for them but I
would very much like to find out who was juggling with them. It is a
queer thing all around. Wouldn't the foreman know Jack's voice?"

"He says he never thought to question it when some one said over the
wire that he was Sheldon. He never had to do with your friend anyhow. I
did most of the talking."

"But didn't you think it odd to send such a message over the 'phone?"

"I was pretty busy at the time working at the paper and we had some job
work besides so that I left things to the foreman. He is rather hard of
hearing and cannot distinguish voices very well. You have to yell at him
to make him understand but the more noise there is in the office the
better he can hear."

"Well, I don't suppose we will see the boy again and I wouldn't know him
if I did see him. Jack might, for he remembers faces. What's the boy's
name, anyhow?"

"Joe Jackson. He is red headed and squints. He always did get on my
nerves and I am not sorry that he has gone but I shall have to find
another."

"Well, the papers are all right and we will give you the job again but I
hope we will not have any more such trouble. You can trust to Jack to
see if there is anything wrong, however."

Dick took the papers, put them in the car and started for the Academy,
reaching which in something less than half an hour, he found a big crowd
of the Hilltop boys waiting for him.

They all clamored for the papers and Dick rapidly distributed them,
giving Jack a significant look t