“The _Bertha_?” asked one of the men in almost perfect English, stepping close to the machine. “You seem to have met with an accident.” “It’s the _Bertha_ all right,” Ben answered, “and we’re out of gasoline.” “And where is the _Louise_?” asked the other. “Off on a scout somewhere,” was the indefinite reply. “That’s unfortunate,” the other began, “for we are instructed by Mr. Havens to notify you all to turn back to New York at once.” “What’s the meaning of that?” demanded Carl. “Mr. Havens didn’t take me into his confidence to any great extent,” was the reply, “but I understood from what he said that you were no longer needed in this section. Is there any way you can signal to the _Louise_?” Now Ben did not believe the man to be speaking the truth. In the first place, Havens would never have sent an entire stranger in the _Ann_. In the second place, Phillips, one of the murderers, had been seen at liberty in that district that very morning, so the hunt was still on! The natural result of this reasoning was the belief on the part of the boy that the _Ann_ had been stolen. “We have no means of reaching the _Louise_,” Ben replied after studying the matter over for a moment. “In fact Jimmie went away with her without our knowledge or consent. We don’t know where he is.” While answering in this manner, a third reason for disbelieving the statement of the Japanese, for such the men appeared to be, was that Jimmie had been chased desperately by the machine which they had seen on the coast during the night. The boy drew away suspiciously. “If you don’t mind,” the Japanese said then, “we’ll loan you gasoline enough to keep you in motion until the tanks can be filled.” “That’s just what I was about to propose!” exclaimed Ben. “Where are you going in the _Ann_?” asked Carl. “After fitting you out,” was the reply, “we are going to find the other machine, deliver our message, and turn back east.” “Supply us with fuel,” Ben suggested, “and we’ll go with you in search of Jimmie. Perhaps we can help you find him.” The two men who had arrived in the _Ann_ conferred together for a few moments, and then one of them began supplying the tanks of the _Bertha_ with gasoline. The boys stood by in a brown study as to what they ought to do next. The Japanese eyed them keenly. “We want to stay right by the machine, so they won’t hop up and run away!” Carl whispered to Ben. “If they do, I’ll send a bullet after them!” Ben whispered back. While the boys talked at one side of the _Bertha_ and the two Japs engaged in conversation on the other side, an aeroplane shot into view, coming swiftly from the west. “I guess that’s Jimmie now,” suggested Ben turning to the Japs. “In that case you can deliver your message, and we’ll all go east together.”