"I see!" said Welch. "You don't need any whiskers, boy, to do the brain
work of a man. Here comes the first batch!"

Itto and Gostel were the first ones brought in. Itto was wounded fatally
and Gostel was bleeding from a wound in the side. The other men were not
injured. They stood in a little group for a moment, and then Itto dropped
to the ground.

The reports of the men who had been sent out to the danger points showed
that each one of the four had been caught lighting a fuse, the bombs
having been set.

"We were forced to work before we were ready," Gostel said, defiantly.
"Our government discovered what was going on, and we would have been
arrested to-morrow. So we were obliged to take the risk to-night. We were
working for the glory of the Emperor, but he forbade it!"

"I did not believe the government of Japan would descend to any such
despicable work," Ned said. "You fellows are cranks! You would have worked
great harm to your Emperor if you had succeeded. By the way," he added,
"what did you do with Lieutenant Gordon?"

Gostel glared at his questioner, but Itto beckoned Ned to his side.

"The old stone house on the road to Las Cruces!" he whispered.

"Where is that?" asked Welch, who had bent over the wounded man and heard
the words.

"I know," replied Ned. "One act of this tragedy has already been pulled
off there. Have your men take these cranks to Gatun and get a railroad
motor. We must get to Gamboa without loss of time. It is only a short
distance from there to the place he speaks of. If they took Lieutenant
Gordon there a prisoner, they are likely to have had a warm reception, for
three of my chums are there!"

But it was not necessary for them to go to the old stone house. At Gamboa
they found Lieutenant Gordon and the three boys. Jimmie excitedly related
the sensational occurrences at the house.

"Jack and Harry came up," he concluded, "just as the two men, Pedro and
Gaga, were going together with knives. I was scared into a trance! The
boys covered them with guns an' we trussed 'em both. You never saw people
more surprised in your life. Then two men brought in Lieutenant Gordon,
all nicely tied up, and went away, or started to go away. Well, they
wasn't prepared for an attack from the bushes, and we have four prisoners
in a cell of a jail at Gamboa, right over there!"

In an hour the boys were all back at Culebra, with Lieutenant Gordon
looking angry enough to eat sinkers, as Jimmie said.