ng her hand for silence. Then the two
girls heard some men in the next screened-off place talking, and one
of them spoke loudly enough to be overheard.

"I'm sure we can get it," he was saying. "It's a nice little patent,
and all the movies in the country will want it. It makes the pictures
clearer and steadier. I tried to make a deal with him for it, but he
turned me down. Now I'm going to get it anyhow, if you'll help."

"But how can you get it if it's patented?" another voice asked.

"That's the joke of it. It isn't patented yet. And all we need is the
working model, and we can make one like it and patent it ourselves.
Are you with me?"

"I guess so--yes!" was the answer.

"Good, then we'll get the model to-night and start a patent of our
own. I know where he's taken it."

There was a scraping of chairs, indicating that the men were leaving.
Ruth and Alice gazed at each other with startled eyes.

CHAPTER XXII

THE WARNING

"Did you hear that?" asked Ruth of Alice, in a whisper.

"Yes! Hush! Don't let them hear you!"

Ruth looked apprehensively over the back of her chair, but beheld no
one. The noise made by the men as they were going out grew fainter.

Alice rose from her chair.

"What are you going to do?" asked Ruth, laying a detaining hand on
her sister's arm.

"I'm going to see who those men are."

"Don't. They may----"

Alice made a gesture of silence.

"I'm pretty sure who one of them is," she whispered, as she bent down
close to Ruth. "But I want to make certain."

"But Alice----"

"Now, Ruth, be sensible," went on Alice, as she passed around back of
her sister's chair. "You heard what was said. I'm sure those men
have some designs on that patent Russ has worked so hard over. We
must tell him about them, and put him on his guard."

"You may get into danger."

It was curious how, in this emergency--as she had often done of
late--Alice took the lead over her older sister. And Ruth did not
object to it, but seemed to follow naturally after Alice led the way.

"Danger!" laughed Alice softly, as she came to a position behind the
screen, whence she could note who the men going out were. "There's no
danger in a public restaurant like this. And I'm only going to make
sure who that man is. Then we'll go tell Russ."

Ruth made no further objection, and turned to watch her sister. The
men had come to a halt at the desk of the cashier, to pay their
checks, and their backs were toward