about it."

"That is exactly what I thought," said the lieutenant, "so I lost no time
in getting to the editorial rooms. Mr. Shaw was there, and treated me very
courteously, but the only satisfaction I could get from him was the
information that he knew something of what was going on, and was doing his
best to secure enough facts regarding the matter for a news story."

"I may be able to get more than that out of him," George ventured.

"I doubt it," the lieutenant said, "for he is afraid some rival newspaper
will get an inkling of the matter and beat him out on the sensation he is
preparing. It seems that his men have discovered documentary evidence of
some sort, papers which might be of great value in the hands of the
government."

"Wouldn't he give you a hint as to the contents of the papers?" asked
Ned.

"No; he wouldn't even give me an idea as to the parties he suspects. I
think he might have done that, in the interest of good government. Well,
of course his information is his own, but he might have trusted me not to
betray his confidence to his rivals. I must confess that I don't like his
attitude in the matter."

"The papers may contain nothing the government could use," Ned observed,
"although their value to the newspaper may be great."

"I would like to get a look at them, all the same," said Gordon.

"I wish he would call off his reporters," Ned went on. "If they go about
the city asking the questions they asked of you, the plotters will soon
know that they are being watched, and that will make their capture more
difficult."

"That is the idea," exclaimed the lieutenant. "Perhaps we can get him to
let the case alone for a few days."

"That is doubtful," Ned said, "but there is one ray of light in the
situation. If the plotters find out that the editor of the _Daily Planet_
has documentary evidence against them, they may try to steal the papers,
and so disclose their identity."

"I would steal them myself if I got a chance," laughed Gordon. "The
government needs every pointer it can get."

"Better let the others try first," advised Nestor, with a smile. "It
really does begin to look as if the first move in this Panama game might
be made right here in New York."

"I'd like to know where Shaw got the pointer," Gordon said, in a moment.
"I thought at first that Frank might have let out something in asking
permission to go to the Zone."

"He doesn't know a thing about it," Jimmie put in, warm in t