If the Chinese
government did not get the gold, neither did the leaders of the
revolutionary party.
It had been claimed at Washington that the whole thing was a plot to
discredit the United States government in the eyes of the nations of
Europe, and Ned Nestor and his chums had been sent out to search the
wreck for papers which would disprove the statements made. The papers
had been secured.
The point now was to connect the foreign statesmen who had burned their
fingers in the plot with the affair. Ned knew that the papers would
establish the falsity of the charges, but he wanted to place the blame
for the whole matter where it belonged. He wanted to track the man who
had conferred with known conspirators back to his home. He wanted to be
able to point out the treacherous government which had so sought to
belittle the United States in the eyes of the world.
The boy had no doubt that this was actually the mission upon which he
had been sent when ordered by the Secret Service department to report at
Taku and there await instructions before proceeding to Peking. He did
not understand why he had been instructed to make the trip to Peking on
a motorcycle when there were easier ways, but he was quick to obey
orders. Later on he learned just why this order had been given.
"Yes," Ned replied to Jimmie's remark, "I think we may as well set out
for Peking to-night. If we wait until morning, we may not be at liberty
to start out.
Pages:
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28