rayed his trust and assisted in what was done, or was followed
here and attacked with the others. It is a great puzzle. One might ask a
dozen questions without finding an answer. For instance: Why was the
interior of the hut wrecked?"

"There was a fight, of course," Frank said.

"And not a shot fired!" cried the Captain. "I don't believe it! A fight
would have led to shooting; shooting would have attracted attention. No,
sir, you will find that Lieutenant Rowe stood in with this game! Why
should official communications follow so closely on his heels? If the
officials who sent him here had anything to add to his orders, they
might have sent a messenger on after him, of course, but there are no
cables here, so he could not have been notified that the man was coming.
Yet it is clear that he expected this man! Oh, he was in it, all right!"

"Did you size him up for that sort of a man?" asked Ned.

"I didn't see much of him," was the reply.

"You may be right," Ned said, "although I can't see why he came here at
all if he was to make so sensational a disappearance."

"He wasn't thinking of disappearing when he came here," insisted the
Captain. "Something in the instructions the fourth man brought changed
his line of action. I'll bet my head on it!"

"Will you kindly talk with the two men who were put to sleep and see if
they confirm the story told by Tag?"

The Captain agreed to this, and went away to look the men up. He was
back in a few minutes with the report that the men were not to be found.

"They left just after talking with Tag," he added, looking angrily at
the Filipino.

"They said nothing to me of going," Tag hastened to say. "They certainly
were not alarmed at what took place under their noses last night."

"Did they tell you who gave them the drink?" asked Ned.

"Yes; they said it was the fourth man."

"And there you are!" the Captain roared. "The fourth man! It is a wonder
he didn't stick a knife into them!"

"How old were the men with the Lieutenant?" asked Ned. "You said they
were young fellows."

"Well, they were tall and stoutish, but they looked young. Anywhere from
sixteen to twenty, I should say."

"Did you notice a locked box in the party?"

"No; they carried nothing of the kind."

"They carried some baggage?"

"Yes; one suitcase. Came away in a hurry, they said. I saw the suitcase
opened, on the table in there, and there was no box."

Ned took a thin, flat steel key from his po