her bomb under the house this minute," Frank said,
starting up from his chair. "The place has been alone all day."

The boys swarmed out of the porch like a colony of bees looking for a new
home, and while some crawled under the floor of the cottage, others
penetrated the jungle for some distance in every direction. There were no
suspicious objects under the floor, and the jungle seemed to present a
peaceful attitude.

"What about having the old temple and the deserted house watched for a
time?" asked Jack, as all returned to the porch.

"What do you think of that, Ned?" asked the lieutenant.

"If they are watched at all," was the reply, "it is my idea that the work
should be done very secretly, and no arrests made there."

"Say," Glen Howard remarked, "there was a dwarf in the house named Jumbo.
He didn't seem to like the gang he was training with, and I thought we
might be able to get him to keep an eye out for us."

"I'll go and see him," Jimmie said.

"Yes, go walking right up to the front door and knock, and say you would
like to sell the lady of the house a carpet sweeper, and you'll get a
piece of lead in your anatomy," Jack said.

"All right," Jimmie grinned, "when I go to call on Jumbo I'll get an
airship an' drop down out of the blue into the chimney. Say, you fellers
make me tired. Do you really want to get this Jumbo person into the
game?"

"It might not be a bad idea," Ned replied.

"All right, then," grinned Jimmie, "I'll have me private secretary look
him up."

"You might have him look up my emerald necklace, while he is about it,"
laughed Frank. "I can't afford to lose that."

"As I have before remarked," said the lieutenant, "find Pedro and you'll
find the necklace."

"Unless he's soaked it," Frank put in.

About dark Lieutenant Gordon arose to go back to Ancon and Jimmie and
Peter Fenton moved down the little path with him.

"Here," the lieutenant said. "You boys mustn't be seen with me. You are
not supposed to be connected with the secret service in any way."

"No, I suppose not," chuckled Jimmie. "I suppose they come here an' put
bombs under our cottage, an' lug us off to deserted houses, an' all that,
thinkin' we're down here in search of a new kind of butterfly. If anybody
should ask you, the plotters know just as much about our arrangement as we
do."

Ned, who had been following along behind the others, broke into a laugh.

"The boy has the situation sized up correctly," he s