“To prevent him from going to Oldham,” the girl answered. “It was solely on his account, Fred, that I sent you that note asking you to meet me here. I wanted to tell you to warn Mr. Hawley of the trap which had been set for him.” “The trap!” exclaimed Hawley and Carroll in chorus. “Yes,” said the girl. Then, turning to the Camera Chap, she exclaimed tensely: “You spoke just now of having a pressing engagement in town, Mr. Hawley. Isn’t it your intention to take a photograph of the city hall?” “It is,” Hawley replied. “I am on my way to get that picture now. But how in the name of all that’s wonderful, Miss Gale, do you happen to know about my assignment?” Instead of answering his question, the girl asked him another. “You received a telegram to-day, did you not?” she said. “A telegram supposed to have come from the managing editor of the New York _Sentinel_?” “Supposed to have come from the managing editor!” Hawley repeated, a suspicion of the truth suddenly dawning upon him. “Do you mean to say, Miss Gale, that----” “I mean to say that that telegram was a fake,” she declared, without waiting for him to finish. “It didn’t come from New York. It didn’t come over the wire at all. It was composed and written by my cousin on one of the typewriters in the _Chronicle_ office. It was part of the trap which my cousin and the chief of police have set for you, Mr. Hawley.” “I see,” said the Camera Chap quietly. “Their scheme, of course, was to lure me to Oldham to take that picture, and then have me sent to jail for six months for violating the new law. Clever little plan. And it came pretty near succeeding, too. I had no suspicion that the telegram wasn’t genuine. If you hadn’t warned me, Miss Gale, I should surely have walked right into the trap. I can scarcely find words to thank you enough.” “How did you manage to find out about it, Melba?” Carroll inquired, with a fond glance at the girl. “Chief Hodgins was at our house last night,” she replied, “and I overheard him and my cousin discussing the plan. They didn’t know that I was listening, of course; but I managed to overhear enough to enable me to understand what they intended to do. The chief expressed doubts as to whether the scheme would work. He said that Mr. Hawley would probably hear about the new anticamera law, and would not be so foolish as to run the risk of going to jail. But my cousin said that he was confident that the telegram would do the trick. He said that Mr. Hawley had never been known to balk at an assignment, and that no amount of danger could keep the rattle-brained fool--those were the words he used--from coming after that picture if he thought the _Sentinel_ needed it.” Carroll looked at the Camera Chap admiringly. “That’s a mighty fine tribute to get from an enemy,” he exclaimed enthusiastically. “You ought to be proud of that compliment, Hawley, old fellow.”