selves alone after the departure of the
prisoner under guard. Mr. Perry had accompanied the officer and Mr. Baker
to the yacht to aid them in arranging comfortable quarters for the night.

"What makes you think that?" Cub inquired, while he and Hal and Max all
gathered around the speaker, whose remark afforded stimulus in harmony
with the weird twilight shadows around them.

"I bet I said only what you fellows were all thinking about when I
spoke," Bud ventured by way of indirect reply.

"I felt it in my bones," Hal declared. "Bud didn't have any more reason
to think something is going to happen to-night than all of us have. If
something surprising doesn't happen, I shall be--"

"--surprised," finished Max, whereupon there was a chorus of laughter.

"Whatever happens, or doesn't happen, Hal is going to be surprised," Cub
concluded facetiously.

"I think we all will be surprised," said Bud.

"Surprise party," shouted Hal.

"Bum surprise party without any girls," Cub added.

"Well, anyway, I think we ought to keep watch here to guard against the
kind of surprise party we wouldn't like," Bud declared.

"I agree with you there, old boy," Cub put in quickly. "Whether or not
anything happens, it would be jolly to have watches and relieve one
another the way they used to do out west among the Indians and outlaws
and road agents."

"I bet they do it yet in some places out there," said Max.

"Course they do," Cub concurred. "You can't tell me that the day of
outlaws is gone. Think of the automobile bandits we have now-a-days.
They'll be raiding with airplanes next."

"No, I don't believe that," Hal objected. "They couldn't use an airplane
to any advantage. We won't have any more stage coach robbers or pirates
on the high seas, and I don't think there's any chance of much of that
sort of thing in the air, but there's a good chance for some bad doings
in the air in another way."

"How's that?" asked Max.

"We've all had some experience with it, and you ought to know what I
mean."

"Oh, I know," declared Bud. "You mean radio."

"Sure," replied Hal. "There are going to be a lot of con men at work in
the air or some way in connection with radio; you see if there are not."

"They've been at work already," said Cub. "There's been a good deal in
the papers about the games they work. But I'd like to know the truth
about the fellow who tried to keep us from coming on this trip to find
Mr. Baker's son."

"I bet he's