orders. You can't see him----"

He broke off with a startled cry when he saw the girls.

"Where--where did they come from?" he gasped.

"Right from where you locked them in, Mister," replied the boy, boldly.
"But you didn't count on me; did you? I was on the job. Mr. Gordon has
asked to see Nancy Nelson, and he's going to see her."

"You young scoundrel!" exclaimed the man in gray. "I'll have you
arrested for breaking and entering."

"All right, sir," returned the youth, quite calmly, but walking swiftly
to the window of the room. "See yonder, Mister? See that cop on the
corner? Well, that's Mike Dugan. He's my next-door neighbor. And if you
were the President of the United States, instead of a senator, Mike
Dugan would be a bigger man than you.

"Understand? Nancy Nelson sees Mr. Gordon just as soon as the nurse
says it's all right. You try to interfere and I'll call my friend up
here!"

The inner door opened and a white-capped nurse appeared.

"Not so much talking, please!" she said, severely. "You are disturbing
Mr. Gordon. Has the girl appeared yet?"

Nancy Nelson ran forward. Senator Montgomery tried to stop her; but
Scorch was right in his path.

"Stand back!" exclaimed the red-haired youth, emulating his favorite
heroes of fiction. "She's a-going to see him!"

"Of course she is," said the nurse, taking Nancy's hand. "I believe it
will do him more good than anything else. He is worried about something,
and if he relieves his mind, the doctor says, he has a very good chance
of recovering."

"He's mad. He's not fit to talk with anyone," declared Senator
Montgomery, as the door closed behind Nancy and the nurse stood on
guard.

The man was dripping with perspiration and showed every evidence of
panic.

"Say, boss," advised Scorch, "if Mr. Gordon is likely to tell anything
that is goin' to incriminate you, as the newspapers puts it, take my
tip: Get away while you can."

And whether because of Scorch's word, or for other reasons, Mr.
Montgomery tiptoed from the room, and was not seen again about the
hotel. Nancy and Jennie remained, however, for several days, being
assigned to a room next to Mr. Gordon's suite.

Just what passed between the injured man and Nancy Nelson nobody but the
two will ever know. Nancy did not tell everything even to her chum. But
Mr. Bruce likewise had a long interview with the lawyer that very day
and at once went to work under the injured man's direction to obtain
certa