and they were opposed only by the
inexperienced patrol leader from New York and his three chums, Frank Shaw,
Glen Howard, and Peter Fenton. It will be remembered that Jimmie McGraw,
Jack Bosworth, and Harry Stevens were at the old stone house on the road
to Las Cruces from Gamboa, and that George Tolford had accompanied Tony to
the Chester camp.

On reaching Gatun the boys had slipped out of the lights of the station
and descended immediately to the bottom of the cut. They were at once
accosted by a foreman, but the explanation Ned gave seemed more than
sufficient, for Dan Welch, the man in charge of a group of workers on the
locks, at once summoned his assistant to the job and remained with the
boys.

"I have heard about you, Ned Nestor," Welch said; "in fact, about half the
men in the workings at Gatun have heard of you."

"I don't understand how," replied the puzzled boy.

"Well, through that bomb business at the cottage. You see, it leaked out.
When the attempt to blow up the place was reported, the men naturally
asked what the dickens the scamps wanted to blow up a crowd of sightseers
for, and then it came out that you came here with Lieutenant Gordon, and
that's about all."

It was at this time that the lights suspended operation. Welch glanced
about the busy scene for an instant and sat down on a box which contained
tools.

"No use," he said. "The electric men work as they please. We'll wait here
and lose our record. Did you say where Lieutenant Gordon is to-night?"

"I did not, because I wasn't asked," was the reply, "and because I don't
know where he is."

"He's a good fellow, Gordon," Welch exclaimed. "I'd go far and fast to do
him a favor. I hope he's coming out of this game all right."

Then Ned sat down on the tool-box and told Welch the story of the
abduction of the lieutenant, and also the story of what was going on there
that night, as he understood it. To say that Welch was profoundly excited
does not half express the foreman's state of mind as he listened.

"My God!" he cried, when Ned paused. "To think of the wickedness of the
thing. To destroy the work of years. To delay the completion of the canal
for a decade. What can we do? In this darkness, the spoilers can work
their will."

"I think I know who they are," Ned said. "We must find them."

"It is too bad that the lights should fail us just at this time," the
foreman said.

"I have an idea that the plotters arranged for that," Ned s