heir own machines,
which had been put in perfect order. There were several of them
for different classes of work.

Final instructions were given by Mr. Hadley, good-bys were said,
and the boys and Mr. Alcando went aboard.

"I hope you have good luck!" called Birdie Lee to Blake, as she
waved her hand to him.

"And so do I," added Mabel Pierce to Joe.

"Thanks!" they made answer in a chorus.

"And--look--out--for--the--big slides!" called Mr. Piper after
them, as the steamer swung away from the pier.

"Gloomy to the last!" laughed Blake.

So they were off for Panama, little dreaming of the sensational
adventures that awaited them there.

CHAPTER IX

THE LITTLE BOX

Blake and Joe were too well-seasoned travelers to care to witness
many of the scenes attendant upon the departure of their vessel.
Though young in years, they had already crowded into their lives
so many thrilling adventures that it took something out of the
ordinary to arouse their interest.

It was not that they were blase, or indifferent to novel sights,
but travel was now, with them, an old story. They had been out
West, to the Pacific Coast, and in far-off jungle lands, to say
nothing of their trip to the place of the earthquakes, and the
more recent trip to the flooded Mississippi Valley.

So, once they had waved good-by to their friends and
fellow-workers on the pier, they went to their stateroom to look
after their luggage.

The two boys and Mr. Alcando had a room ample for their needs,
and, though it would accommodate four, they were assured that the
fourth berth would not be occupied, so no stranger would intrude.

When Blake and Joe went below Mr. Alcando did not follow. Either
he liked the open air to be found on deck, or he was not such a
veteran traveler as to care to miss the sights and sounds of
departure. His baggage was piled in one corner, and that of the
boys in other parts of the stateroom, with the exception of the
trunks and cameras, which were stowed in the hold, as not being
wanted on the voyage.

"Well, what do you think of him now?" asked Joe, as he sat down,
for both he and Blake were tired, there having been much to do
that day.

"Why, he seems all right," was the slowly-given answer.

"Nothing more suspicious; eh?"

"No, I can't say that I've seen anything. Of course it was queer
for him to have someone in his room that time, and to get rid of
whoever it was so quickly before we came in. But I su