"Well--that seems quite feasible--at any rate," remarked Teddy. "I don't think Roseye should go up again--just for the present." "Certainly not," I said. "There's some deep-laid and desperate scheme against us. Of that, I'm now convinced. Our enemies do not mean to allow us to conduct any further experiments--if they can help it." "But they don't know the truth, Claude," chimed in Roseye. "No. They are working most strenuously to get at it. That's quite clear." "But who can they be?" asked my well-beloved. "Ah! That's a mystery--at least it is at the present. It is a very serious problem which we must seek to solve." "But we shall do so, sooner or later, never fear," Teddy exclaimed confidently. "We hold the secret, and our enemies, whoever they may be, shall never learn it." A silence fell between us for several moments. At last I said: "I wonder who that woman was that old Theed declares he saw on that night out at Gunnersbury?" "Ah! if we knew that, my dear chap, we might make some progress in our inquiries. But we don't," Teddy said. "Her identity is just as much of a mystery as that of the owner of the Invisible Hand--that hand that took out the steel bolt and replaced it with one of wood." "But I mean to discover the author of this infernal attempt upon me!" I exclaimed fiercely. "Whoever did it intended that I should be killed." "Never mind. You've cheated them finely, Claude," Teddy laughed. "Get quite well, old man, and we'll set to work to fathom this mystery, and give whoever is responsible his just deserts." "That we will," I said resolutely. "It's the dirty work of somebody who is jealous of us." "Yes. And I think that Miss Lethmere ought to exercise the very greatest care," he remarked. "As they failed in their attempt upon you, they may very probably make one upon her." "By Jove! I never thought of that!" I gasped, staring at my friend. "And they might form a plot against you also--remember that, Teddy." "Quite likely," said my chum airily. "I'll keep wide awake, never fear. What about getting old Theed to suggest some good private detective?" "No," was my prompt reply. "We'll be our own detectives. We'll watch and wait." CHAPTER EIGHT. SOME SUSPICIONS. We waited, and we watched. And what we were able to discover was certainly astounding. During my convalescence many of my flying friends called at my rooms in Shaftesbury Avenue to congratulate me upon my narrow escape. I had been shaken very considerably, but actually I was not much the worse for it. I felt quite fit and eager, but the doctor would not hear of me going out, except for a run in a closed car. The real cause of my accident was kept a profound secret from every one.