“Absolutely certain, Honorable Dugan. Nippon is not ungrateful for any services that may have been done her, and you will reap your reward. But when is the trial flight to be made?”
“You have not been able to get plans of the equalizer yet?”
“No; as I told you, I have failed so far. Lieutenant Duvall will not let them out of his hands. But I’ll get them, if I have to knock him down and take them from him.”
“That is right,” smiled the Jap. “I could wish you were acquainted with jiu-jitsu, to make your task more easy. Above all things, I must have the working plans of the equalizer. The rest does not matter so much, but to equip our aerial fleet we must have that device.”
“You see, it’s the invention of Duvall himself, and for that reason he guards it pretty close.”
“Naturally. However, we shall be too clever for him. You don’t think any one suspects my presence here?”
“Not a bit of it,” Dugan assured his yellow skinned companion. “Didn’t you come in by night and make straight for this place? You couldn’t have a better hiding-place. No one ever comes here, and——
A board, upon which Tubby had unthinkingly stood, so as to obtain a better view, gave way under the heavy youth’s weight at this interesting point. With a gasp of dismay, Tubby clutched at the lilacs to save himself from falling, thereby creating even more noise.
“Who’s there?” roared Dugan, springing to his feet. The boys caught the glint of a revolver, as he shot erect. Like a small and venomous snake, the Jap, too, was up like a flash. But they were neither of them quick enough to catch a glimpse of the scouts, as they dashed off into a patch of woods lying to the left, into the shadows of which they had dived, wriggling along on their stomachs, before either Dugan or the Jap had recovered from their start.
From their cover, the boys could see the pair emerge from the house and search about it thoroughly, without, of course, finding a trace of anything unusual.
“Guess it must have been a rabbit or something,” they could hear Dugan say, after a prolonged search that showed no indication of human surveillance.
“Huh! Honorable rabbit gave me a big jump,” they heard the Jap rejoin.
The two went back into the house, no doubt to continue their deliberations, while the boys, making a detour through the woods, once more emerged on the main road, with Tubby’s thirst still unsatisfied.