"All right, I guess," replied the life-saver. "I looked in a few minutes ago, and he was sitting up. Hello, Asuki." "Hello, there," responded the little Japanese. "Come," said the policeman, after an unsuspicious glance at Orme, and, mounting the steps, he led his interpreter into the station. Now, indeed, it was time for Orme to slip away. Maku might be brought out at any moment. But Orme lingered. He was nearer to the solution of the secret if he kept close to Maku, and he realized, for that matter, that by watching Maku closely and, perhaps, following him home, he might be led straight to the other man. If Maku accused him, it should not, after all, be hard to laugh the charge away. A murmur of voices came from within the station, the policeman's words alone being distinguishable. "Ask him," the policeman said, "if he knows who hit him." The undertones of a foreign jargon followed. "Well, then," continued the policeman, "find out where he came from and what he was doing on the campus." Again the undertones, and afterward an interval of silence. Then the policeman spoke in an undecided voice. "If he don't know anything, I can't do anything. But we might as well get a few more facts. Something might turn up. Ask him whether he saw anybody following him when he went into the campus." Orme had been straining his ears in a vain endeavor to catch the words of Asuki. But suddenly his attention was diverted by a sound from the lake. It was the "puh-puh-puh-puh" of a motor-boat, apparently a little distance to the northward. The explosions followed one another in rapid succession. He turned to the life-saver. "What boat is that?" he asked. "I don't know. Some party from Chicago, probably. She came up an hour or so ago--at least, I suppose she's the same one." The explosions were now so rapid as to make almost one continuous roar. "She's a fast one, all right," commented the life-saver. "Hear her go!" "Are there many fast boats on the lake?" "Quite a number. They run out from Chicago harbor now and then." Orme was meditating. "Exactly how long ago did this boat pass?" "Oh, an hour or more. Why?" "She seems to have been beached up north here a little way." "She may have been. Or they've been lying to out there." In Orme's mind arose a surmise that in this motor-boat Maku and his companion had come from Chicago. The surmise was so strong as to develop quickly into a certainty. And if the Japanese had come by this boat, it stood to reason that the one who had the papers was escaping in it. He must have waited some time for Maku and, at last, had pushed off to return alone. Were these Japanese acting for themselves? That did not seem possible. Then who was their employer? Orme did not puzzle long over these questions, for he had determined on a course of action. He spoke to the life-saver, who appeared to be listening to the droning conversation which continued within the station.