The afternoon passed in routine tasks but when the final edition rolled from the press Tim went over to the room which housed the paper's library and ordered out the files for the last year. When they were available he carried the large, sturdily bound books to his desk where he placed them one on top of another. Ralph's desk was not in use and he opened the last volume of the file and placed it there. Drawing up a chair he started the slow task of scrutinizing every picture which had appeared in the _News_ for the last year. The job was doubly difficult since one of the boasts of the _News_ was that it carried an interesting picture on every page. Members of the staff left the office, one by one, until Tim alone remained, bent over the file and scanning the pages as he riffled through them. Daylight faded and he snapped on the light over Ralph's desk. Under the glow of the electric he continued his task until his shoulders ached from the continued strain of bending over. When he finally straightened up it was 7:30 o'clock and the telephone was buzzing. "Atkinson _News_," said Tim. "Hello, Tim," said Carl Hunter. "There's a big amphibian coming in within the next half hour. Thought you might want a story. We don't get many ships like that here." "Who's on board?" "Haven't got anything on that yet. Will you be down?" "Right away," promised Tim. He closed the file, snapped off the light and hurried around to the garage in the rear where he signed an order for one of the _News_' cars. Hunter was waiting for him at the airport. In one hand he held one of the pink slips on which the radiograms were copied. "Just got a report on the ownership of the amphib," said the field manager. "It belongs to some fellow by the name of Sladek in New York City." "Is it Jack Sladek?" asked Tim. "Can't say. The message asking for refueling here is just signed Sladek. You know someone by that name?" "No, but I've read a lot about a Jack Sladek of New York. He's something of an international figure; been mixed up in a lot of different things, South American revolutions, Arctic explorations, underwater treasure hunts and rum running when that business was profitable. I've seen feature stories in eastern papers that credit Sladek with having made a fortune in deals that are just inside the law." "You'll have a chance to see him first hand," grinned Hunter, "for the ship was over Spencer half an hour ago. It should be here in another fifteen minutes."