INVESTIGATION
The motion picture chums stared at Albert, who, in turn, looked with
wide eyes at the man he had accused. It was Royston, plainly enough,
but he was unaware of the scrutiny turned upon him.
"Look out!" suddenly called Pep, and before he explained further he
wheeled Albert about so that his back was toward the man, at the same
time giving Frank a shove so that his chum's face was turned away.
"What does that mean?" asked Frank, almost thrown off his balance.
"He's looking this way," explained Pep in a low voice. "You don't want
him to see us; do you? And especially Albert, after what he has just
told us?"
"I should say not!" Frank answered. "I was so surprised I lost my wits,
I guess."
"Down this way," suggested Pep, a moment later, as he pointed to a side
path. "He hasn't caught on, yet, to who we are."
Frank and the others took advantage of the opportunity. Royston,
sitting on the bench, had turned in a half-lazy fashion to gaze at the
group of young men. But either he did not sense who they were, or his
thoughts were so occupied with other matters, that he did not even see
the group. Our friends, in their turn, made their escape in safety. For
escape it might properly be called, since they were playing a desperate
game--or were about to.
"Now then," said Frank, when they were behind a screen of shrubbery,
"let's hear the straight of this, Albert. You say that man is the one
your uncle went to New York to see?"
"That's the man. He had some important connection with my uncle's
business--I don't know just what. But you spoke as though you knew him."
"I do--in a way," replied Frank. "At one time I'd have given a good
deal if I had never met him--at least in the way I did," and he thought
of his sore arm, the result of the encounter with Royston.
"Is that all you know about him?" Albert wanted to know, when Frank had
related the episode at the bank.
"Gracious, no!" was the reply. "We've been on that man's trail for some
time, Pep and I, but we haven't been able to clinch anything yet."
"Maybe we can now," suggested Randy.
"How?" asked Frank.
"Why, Albert said this man was the one who put his uncle in the insane
asylum."
"Yes, he was the one mainly responsible," went on the boy whom the
chums had befriended. "But I don't see how that is going to help you
boys any, or me either. My uncle was certainly insane. I never saw a
man act as he did."
"Was he, really?" asked Frank, and there was a note of regret in his
voice.
"Yes, I am sorry to say I believe his mind has left him," went on
Albert.
"I had hopes," said Frank, seeing his chums looking at him for an
explanation, "that perhaps it was all a scheme on the part of this man
to put your uncle in some institution without warrant in law. In that
case we sure would have a hold on Royston."
"Oh, I don't think there was anything like that," Albert said. "Of
course I don't know much about insane persons, but my uncle certainly
wasn't right in his mind. I think his losses made him so. And doctors
certified to the fact that he was insane. The law requires that, you
see."
"Yes, I see, and I don't see," returned Frank. "I guess we'll have to
go about it some other way. I sure would like to get a hold on this
Royston, if not for my own sake, to please Mr. Bullard."
"Does someone else want him, too?" asked Albert.
Frank explained about the suspicions of the government Secret Service
man, and how futile, thus far, had been his efforts and those of the
chum volunteers.
"But perhaps if you were to explain to Mr. Bullard what sort of
business dealings your uncle had with Royston, we might discover
something," suggested Frank. "We might even be able to get back some of
the money you say your uncle lost, part of which was yours."
"I only wish we could!" exclaimed Albert. "Yes, part of the money my
uncle invested in promoting his affairs was mine. That is, I had earned
it from him, but I allowed him to keep it for me. That went with the
rest, he said, when he came back from his trip to New York."
"I think we'll have a talk with Mr. Bullard," suggested Randy. "This
may lead us to a new line of discovery."
"I wish it would lead to the discovery of some money for me," spoke
Albert, whimsically. "I'm tired of living on you fellows."
"None of that!" cried Pep, with playful warning. "We're glad to have
you live with us."
"That's what!" chimed in Randy.
"And you needn't worry but what you are paying your way," added Frank.
"The typewriting work, and letter writing you do, is worth more than we
pay you, really."
"And you needn't be at all afraid of taking the money," went on Pep.
"Frank is hard-headed enough not to overpay anyone."
"Well, I'm glad to feel that I'm not living on charity," observed
Albert, "and if I can do anything to help restore my uncle's fortune,
or aid you in fastening guilt on this man, I'll do it."
"We'd better begin at the beginning and investigate," suggested Randy.
"And, as a starter, we had better see Mr. Bullard. He may be able to
start us on the right track."
"But we must keep out of the way of Royston," cautioned Pep, as he
looked back over his shoulder, possibly to see if the suspect were
following them. But the path was deserted.
"Yes, we don't want to run across him in company of Albert, or he sure
would smell a rat," Randy agreed. "He must have some object in trying
to be friendly with us."
But what that object was the motion picture chums could only guess.
Mr. Bullard was indeed surprised when the boys, calling on him,
related their meeting with Albert, and the latter's recognition of
Royston.
"And now, what's the first thing to be done?" asked Pep, when Albert
had told his story.
"I think a good start, and at least a new one, would be to look into
this matter of Mr. Jackson's being adjudged insane," replied the Secret
Service man. "Of course we may find it all perfectly legal, but it may
develop, as we go along, and it may disclose some new opening by which
we can get hold of Royston.
"For I don't mind admitting," he said with a smile, "that, so far,
he has fooled me completely. I know he is planning a big swindle,
but I can't get hold of anything on which to convict him. It is very
annoying, for the authorities in Washington are wondering why I don't
show some results. So we'll start on a new tack."
To commit a person to an insane asylum is rather a formal proceeding,
requiring action not only on the part of the state, or county,
authorities, but also action by at least two physicians, who make
separate examinations of the patient. Then, in many cases, must come an
action on the part of some court, so that there is legal proof of every
step.
There may be plots, by which sane persons are wrongfully sent to
asylums, but those happen more often in novels than in real life.
Though Pep rather hoped there would be a dramatic turn to the
investigation started by his chums, it was not so fated--at least, not
yet.
Mr. Bullard looked up the matter of the commitment of Mr. Jackson, and
found that it was perfectly legal. The two doctors were interviewed,
and each said there was no doubt about the insanity of Albert's uncle.
"So we can't do anything there," declared Randy.
"Well, I haven't given up," returned the government man. "If you
noticed, those doctors were both very young. It was their first insane
case outside of college, and they were both rather poor."
"What does that mean?" asked Albert, hopefully.
"I can't say--just yet. It may mean a whole lot, and, again it may mean
nothing. It's worth looking into, however. But before we go into that
I want to look up the business end of your uncle's affairs, and find
out what he did in New York. Did he meet anyone else there except this
Royston?"
"Not that I know of," Albert stated.
"Have you any papers belonging to your uncle?" was the next question.
"Yes, some, in my trunk, or in one of my uncle's."
"Then, if you have no objection, we'll take a look at them. We may be
able to get a clue from them."
This investigation had occupied several days, during which Royston had
not been encountered by the chums. Meanwhile they were exceedingly
anxious to settle the matter of a motion picture theatre at the fair,
but it did not seem that their wish would be gratified. The owners of
the wonderful and expensive films were pressing the boys to either take
up their option, or forfeit it, as another concern in San Francisco was
after the pictures.
"I declare I don't know what to do," said Frank, and his chums saw that
he was greatly worried.