“Now, what’s the big idea?” asked Zeph, softly, closing his room door after having pulled the electric light chain to illuminate the place. Ralph looked at him grimly. “Yes,” he said, “Whitey had been on an errand for McCarrey, and probably to Jim Perrin’s house. He was bringing some message, or the like, from Jim.” “You’re guessing,” said Zeph. “We ought to have searched Whitey, as I said.” Ralph drew out the sealed envelope that he had taken from Whitey Malone’s pocket with his bandanna. He held it out to Zeph. “I guess this is what Whitey carried,” he said quietly. “Gee, you did search him!” exclaimed the other happily. “You smart kid!” “The luck of fools,” rejoined Ralph, with some disdain. “If it is anything of importance I can’t accept praise any more than you can.” But Zeph was already tearing open the envelope. CHAPTER VII SOMETHING BAD Ralph Fairbanks sat down on the edge of the narrow bed and watched Zeph open the envelope. He had all the curiosity that his friend had about the contents of it, but he displayed more placidity. Zeph was always as eager as a bird dog on the scent. “What do you suppose this is?” he murmured, drawing out a folded piece of paper. “A doctor’s prescription?” suggested Ralph grimly. Zeph gave a look, then uttered a disappointed ejaculation. “Shucks! Why, it’s only a list of names. Not another thing. Four names. Shucks!” Ralph held out his hand for the paper and Zeph gave it up, his face screwed into an expression of disappointment. “It’s a roast for us,” he muttered. But Ralph made no comment—at first. He read aloud the column of names. “Lyons, Bertholdt, Mike Ranny, Peters.” “Do you know ’em?” asked Zeph, with some curiosity. “Perhaps. I know Mike Ranny. He has a brother Bob. Bob takes out Number Eighty-two. He is a good engineer. But Mike is a shopman. Yes, I guess I can identify him.” “And those others?” asked Zeph. “Perhaps. But that isn’t the first thing to do. Here is a list of names that Whitey was carrying to Andy McCarrey. Very secret about it. And we are led to believe the list was coming from Jim Perrin.” “All right! All right!” returned Zeph impatiently. “What’s the answer?” “I can find out if Perrin really wrote these names down. I’ll do so to-morrow first thing. Then we may identify the four persons named. Just why Lyons, Bertholdt, Peters and Mike Ranny are named here to Andy McCarrey, we can only surmise. But we may believe that the four men belong to the shopmen’s union and Perrin has selected them for some certain matter which McCarrey wishes put over.” Zeph merely nodded his head and humped his shoulders forward, staring in Ralph’s face. “But remember, we are only supposing these things. Got to identify the writing of the names and the men owning them,” the young dispatcher continued. “Huh!” exclaimed Zeph. “And even then we won’t know anything. Got to wait till something happens. Gee!”