"but the diplomat probably had his eyes
open when he was in that building. Don't ask so many questions."

Twice within a few moments the boys heard some one approaching them,
coming down the mountain side at a great pace, and twice they saw a man
hasten by the place where they had hastily secreted themselves and
confer with the party below.

"Spies! Messengers! Japs!" commented Shaw. "I heard that jargon in a
Jap restaurant in New York. What about it?"

"You are as full of the Yellow Peril scare, to-night, as the
sensational newspapers," replied Nestor, as they moved on up the
mountain side. "We are not looking for trouble with the Japs, but we
can take care of ourselves if it ever comes."

After a time the boys paused on a ledge of rock and looked over the
moonlit space about them, Nestor expectantly, Frank with apprehension.
The party with the unwilling guide was now far below them, and during
the last few moments they had walked boldly, Nestor watching for a
signal which he now thought he saw.

While they stood there a light flashed for an instant in a little gully
off to the right, and Nestor replied with a bird-call which was so
natural that Shaw gave a little start and looked about for the bird.
There was another flash of light, and then five men made their
appearance. There was a further exchange of signals, and then the
newcomers advanced to where the boys stood.

"You are Ned Nestor?" the leader of the party asked.

"And you are Lieutenant Gordon?"

"The same," replied the other, grasping Nestor by the hand. "We found
your camp but you were not there, so we came on down to the place where
the boy said you had gone."

"Weren't there two boys there?" asked Frank, a sudden fear gripping
him. "We left two there."

"I'm sorry to say that we found only one," replied Lieutenant Gordon.
"The other had been kidnapped, the little fellow said."

"Come on, then," Shaw shouted, speeding away as rapidly as the nature
of the ground would permit. "We've got to go and find him. Was it
Fremont who was taken?" he added, turning back for a moment.

"The boy we saw told us his name was Smith," laughed the lieutenant.

"He probably thought you were after Fremont," Nestor said. "We must
hasten up there, after we do a little important business here."

Lieutenant Gordon and the patrol leader conferred together for some
time, and then instructing Shaw to make his way to the camp as quickly
as possible, the lit