But old Mr. Harding was tugging frantically at the sheriff’s arm.  He was seconded by Mortlake.  Interpreting the signals aright, he stopped short.

“In fact, it looked suspicious,” he concluded lamely.  He turned and went off, followed by Harding and Mortlake.

“How did you ever come to make such a mistake?” snarled old Harding, as they walked away much crestfallen, “we haven’t a leg to stand on, now.”

“Why, confound it all,” retorted Mortlake, “my sister mentioned a young man being with the girl in the aeroplane, and I took it for granted that it was her brother.”

“And a nice mess you’ve got us both into, with your ’taking it for granted,’” snorted the old miserly financier of Sandy Beach.  “It looks as if we’d got ourselves in a trap now.”

“Nonsense.  Who’s to know we have the money?  I’ll take the first opportunity to send it back, and no more will be heard of the matter.  Lucky I didn’t hide it in his aeroplane, as I intended to do.”

“Yes; but we’ve still got the cub as our rival.  I wish I could think of some plan to choke him off.  That scheme of yours to blame the robbery on him would have been all right if you’d only made sure of your facts first.”

“Don’t worry.  Our chance will come yet.  I’ll make that whole outfit regret bitterly that they ever stole a march on us by kidnapping that officer.”

“To have discredited him with the navy would have been the best way, however,” said old Harding brusquely.

“I’ll find a way to do that yet,” Mortlake promised.

In the meantime, speculation and wonder had ruled among the occupants of Roy’s auto.  Everything seemed very much muddled, but one fact stood out clearly, and that was that an attempt had been made to cast suspicion, if not the actual guilt of the robbery, upon Roy.

For what object?

“I have it,” cried Peggy suddenly.  “If they could have placed Roy under a cloud of suspicion, it would have worked to his discredit with the naval authorities, and might have resulted in our aeroplane being denied a place in the trials.  That seems plain enough.”

They all agreed that it did.  But Jimsy said suddenly:  “If that was the case, why didn’t they try to make out that I stole it?”

“Because—­forgive me Jimsy—­you’re not Roy.  Without him, the tests of the Prescott aeroplane could hardly be conducted.  Unless——­”

“Unless a certain young person named Peggy Prescott undertook to take charge of them,” cried Jess loyally.

“Don’t be foolish, Jess,” warned Peggy; “but look, here is Mrs. Galloway coming to speak to us.”

The farmer’s wife approached the automobile, from which none of the party had as yet alighted.  She was followed by her husband.  Both began apologizing profusely for the questions of the sheriff.

“But land’s sakes alive,” exclaimed the farmer’s wife, “I declar ter goodness, we’ve bin so flustered thet I don’ know no more than a wet hen.  My brother, that’s Mr. Mortlake, was dead sot on it bein’ one of you folks, but I knew that was reediculous.”