peak.

"Dad'll get it out of him," he said

"I'm hungry," said Frank plaintively.

At that moment, Gabby Pete poked his head from the doorway of the
kitchen. Seeing the boys, he called:

"Come an' git it."

The three started on the run for the dining room, their youthful
spirits rebounding from the depressing scene in the room they had just
quit in answer to the tang of a perfect day and the cook's breakfast
call. Bob suddenly halted with an exclamation.

"How about Dad?"

"Oh, he's too busy to miss his breakfast," said Frank. "Anyhow, we can
get the cook to put up something for him."

"Yes, I'll speak to Pete about it," said Jack. "Come on."

They ate hungrily with little conversation. Pete hovered near and his
presence restrained them from talking about the topic that was
uppermost in their minds.

"How about taking a look at the radio plant?" asked Jack when they had
ended breakfast.

The others agreed eagerly. They were in the act of leaving the table
when Mr. Temple appeared. They crowded about him with questions.

"Easy, easy there," he protested. "I'm hungry as a hunter. Suppose
you boys wait outside for me while I get a bite, and then I'll join
you."

When Mr. Temple emerged, he lighted a cigar and leaned against a
pillar. The boys stood about him. For several moments he was silent,
staring out over the expanse of desert to the hills beyond, all
shimmering beneath the heat of the summer sun.

"It's a long story," he began, "but I'll simplify it for you. Rollins
held the key to the mystery. He has a family back East, an invalid
wife, a son in college, a daughter just preparing to enter college.
All that takes money, for doctor bills and school bills and clothes
for the girl. Rollins was a poor man on a salary.

"He needed money and couldn't see his way to getting it. Then a minor
official of the Octopus put temptation in his way by making him a
proposition. Mind you, he wasn't one of the big men of the Oil Trust.
I feel certain they know nothing about all this.

"This man proposed that Rollins obtain certain inside information
about the independent oil operators and sell it to him. Rollins wanted
to, but couldn't get the information. It was too closely guarded by
Mr. Hampton.

"It was then that another temptation came Rollins's way." Mr. Temple
paused. "A weak man seems to carry certain earmarks that draw
scoundrels to him, boys," he said. "It was so with Rollins. At this
moment a represen