from which came that curious ticking
noise, he went to his stateroom.

Blake shook his head. He did not know what to think.

"He'll never make a good moving picture operator," he said to
himself. "You've got to give your whole mind to it, and not be
monkeying with inventions when you set out to get views. An alarm
clock!

"Suppose he does perfect it? There are enough on the market now,
and I don't believe there's a fortune in any of 'em. He might much
better stick to what he set out to learn. Well, it isn't any of my
business, I suppose. Joe and I have done all we can."

Several times after this the Spaniard went off by himself, to make
simple moving picture views with the little camera. But, whether
or not he took along the curious brass-bound box, with the metal
projections, which he said was an alarm clock, was something Blake
or Joe could not discover. For Blake had told Joe of Alcando's
confession.

Certainly if Alcando did take his model with him, he did not wind
it up until leaving the boys, for no ticking sound came from the
case.

The Canal was now as it had been before the big slide. Vessels
were passing to and fro, though in some parts of the waterway much
finishing work remained to be done. Blake and Joe took some views
of this, and also "filmed" the passage of the various ships to
make their pictures of wider appeal when they would be shown at
the Panama Exposition. Mr. Alcando did his share, and, for a time
seemed to show a great interest in his work, so that Blake had
hopes the Spaniard would really become a good operator. But
something was always lacking, and it was not altogether effort on
the part of the pupil.

The time was approaching when Blake and Joe must bring their work
to an end. They had accomplished what they set out to do, and word
came back from New York, where their films had been sent for
development, that they were among the best the boys had ever
taken.

"Well, I will soon be leaving you," said Mr. Alcando to the chums,
one day. "I have heard from my railroad firm, and they are anxious
for me to come back and begin making pictures there."

"His friends are going to be sadly disappointed in him," thought
Blake. "It's too bad. He'll make a failure of those views. Well,
if he does they may send for Joe and me, and that will be so much
more business for us, though I'm sorry to see him make a fizzle of
it."

But Mr. Alcando appeared to have no fears on his own account. He
w