“I rather thought you might be,” smiled Jacobs, “after Tully blurted out that he was a special agent. I kind of put two and two together and it looked like it would be mighty strange if Tully were selected and not you.” “It may be necessary for me to be away from the office at various times,” went on Bob, “but if I can’t get word to you, my uncle will see that you are advised.” “Anything that really looks like a clue turned up?” asked Jacobs. Bob shook his head. “Not as far as I know, and I guess if there had been I wouldn’t be at liberty to tell you.” Jacobs put on his coat. “Coming down tonight?” “I’ve some routine I can get out of the way,” replied Bob. “I’ll have lunch nearby and will be able to get through in a couple of hours.” “I should come back, but I’m all in. Don’t work too late.” The filing chief stepped out of the office and closed the door behind him and Bob was left alone in the long, high-ceilinged office. The room was in heavy shadows already, for the day had been cloudy and twilight had come early. He turned on the light over his desk, decided that he was hungry, snapped it off, put on his coat and left the office. At the door he turned and made sure that the room was securely locked. Then he walked rapidly down the corridor, turned, and signalled for an elevator. Bob was walking through the main doors when someone hailed him and he saw his uncle. “Going to eat?” asked Merritt Hughes. “Just about half a ton of food,” grinned Bob. “It seems ages since I had anything, yet it was only a few hours ago.” “Charge that up to excitement,” replied his uncle, as they strode along together. “Any news of the man who broke out of the police station?” There was a real note of anxiety in Bob’s voice. “Not a word. He must have been a magician. The police are still combing the city, but I doubt if they’ll find him. He belongs to too clever a gang.” “But where could he hide so securely in Washington?” “An embassy, possibly,” shrugged the federal agent. Bob’s eyes widened. It had never occurred to him that a representative of a foreign government would give shelter to a criminal. Yet he knew that any one of half a dozen foreign powers would give a great deal to possess the new radio secrets. “Don’t take that suggestion too seriously,” warned Merritt Hughes, who guessed the trend of Bob’s thoughts. He leaned closer to Bob. “This case is causing all kinds of trouble. The entire War Department is in a furore and I hear special intelligence officers are being assigned to see if they can’t ferret it out.” “Does that mean they don’t think the Justice Department capable of solving the mystery?” asked Bob. “Not exactly that, I guess. It simply means that this case is of such tremendous importance that everything the government can do will be done in its solution.”