iece of property placed in my possession as a sacred
charge," the young man answered. "I didn't know what it contained. This
man Keene, who has been posing as Lieutenant Carstens, alone knew what
was in the box."

"That is false!" shouted Keene, "for you wrote the treaty, and witnessed
the signing of it. It was all done in the interest of that gigantic
corporation of which your very honorable father is the head!"

"Are you ready to tell the truth at last?" asked the Captain.

"Yes," answered Keene, "I'll tell all I know about it. I was poor and in
disgrace in army circles, and this senator offered me more than I could
refuse. That is all there is to it. I'll tell the truth, fast enough."

"You're a fool!" shouted the senator's son. "Who will believe what you
say? As you said a moment ago, you are in disgrace in army circles now,
having been cashiered for cheating at cards. No officer would take your
word, or your oath, for that matter."

"And he," Keene faltered, pointing a shaking finger at the young man,
"was sent out here to pay me the price of my treachery and to see that I
delivered the goods!"

"It is false!" the young man replied. "All a lie! Wait until you hear
from Washington! Then you'll see who is a traitor!"

"And this," Ned went on, holding up another paper, "is the order which
followed Lieutenant Rowe to Captain Godwin's headquarters. Why they kept
it, I do not know, but keep it they did."

"Read it," commanded the Captain.

"It orders Lieutenant Rowe," the boy summarized, "to arrest Tag, Captain
Godwin's servant, and half a dozen other Filipinos at Godwin's
headquarters and place them in irons. It informs Lieutenant Rowe that he
must remain at Godwin's quarters until further instructions are sent to
him."

"That paper," Keene said, "was retained to prove to the native chiefs
what difficulties we, their friends, were encountering in trying to
assist them in building up a confederacy of their own."

"It seems to me that there is nothing more to say about this matter,"
Ned said. "We boys came to the Philippines to assist the government in
unearthing this plot and bringing the leaders to punishment, and there
seems to be nothing more to be done."

"But I don't quite understand it yet," Captain Curtis said. "How did you
know that this box contained the treaty? How did you know that Keene was
personating Lieutenant Carstens?"

"This man Keene," Ned laughed, "played his hand awkwardly. Through spi