The Secret Service man nodded.
Ensign Warwick and his party, he continued, had been ambushed as they pushed up the canyon, but had cut their way through and taken refuge in the stockade.
"Knowing the Sub Chaser was guarded and would wait for us, we determined to wait for daylight before attacking the smugglers," continued Inspector Burton. "We were at a disadvantage through unfamiliarity with our surroundings. Fortunate for all concerned, you boys were on the job.
Otherwise we in the stockade would not have known that the major portion of the attacking party had gone to the landing, and it might have gone hard with Robbins and his handful of sailors."
"I suppose, Inspector, that the breaking up of this gang of coolie smugglers is a matter of some importance," suggested Mr. Temple.
"Some importance, indeed," Inspector Burton said.
He was silent a little while, gazing out of the window at the palm trees on the lawn and the bright sunshine flooding all.
"A great feather in my cap, and sure to bring me advancement," he said, smiling. "The credit really belongs to you, boys, but matters of that sort are not recognized in official circles. I, as the man on the ground, will be the one rewarded."
"And quite rightly, too," said Mr. Temple, warmly. The genial Secret Service man had commended himself by his actions. "I am sure," he added, "that these boys feel anything they were able to do was owing to the accidents of fortune."
"Yes, indeed," said Jack.
And Frank chimed in:
"We were in great luck, sir, to be permitted to have a hand in the ending of the adventure."
Bob nodded.
"Very good of you, boys, to take it like that," approved Inspector Burton. "But, remember, I have no illusions about the matter. I know of what help you have been.
"At any rate," he continued, "the capture of this gang is of the greatest importance. Smuggling of Chinese coolies into the country has been growing alarmingly. Who would have thought the smugglers would be so bold as to operate a distributing point on Santa Cruz Island? Yet, after all, what better place could they have found? Isolated, practically uninhabited, it was admirably suited to their purpose.
"This man Folwell is a smooth crook with a tremendous reputation for elusiveness. We have never been able to obtain definite information connecting him with criminal activities. He is the head of a gang that has its ramifications not only up and down the Pacific but in the east, too, in New York.
"Through your instrumentality, we have him by the heels now, and not only him but his agents in our own official circles as well as old Wong Ho."
"What," interrupted Jack, "you have arrested that old Chinaman? Why, we had no idea where it was in Chinatown that we had been taken."
"I know," said Inspector Burton, "but from Matt Murphy I obtained information that I wired at once to San Francisco, and Wong Ho is in the toils. From Murphy, too, I obtained the names not only of Handby, but of several others in official positions, who have been spies for Folwell.
They, too, are being watched and either under arrest already or soon will be. You see," smiling, "I have had a busy morning."
"And the other boats employed in the coolie traffic?"
"Ensign Warwick is attending to that matter. They will be rounded up."
"A good piece of work," approved Mr. Temple, breaking the silence which followed the Secret Service man's last remark. "And now, boys, we'll go back to San Francisco for a day or two while I conclude the business matters which brought me west. Then we'll return to New Mexico where I will leave you at the Hampton's for the two or three weeks left of your vacation, while I return to New York."
Inspector Burton leaned forward, and cleared his throat.
"Mr. Temple, I have a proposition to make to you," he said.
The older man regarded him with surprise.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Just this," said the Secret Service chief. "These boys have been of such service to the country that I want them to have some reward."
"Oh, we're not looking for anything," said Frank quickly.
Inspector Burton smiled tolerantly.
"My dear boy, I know very well you aren't. But what I am about to propose may please you, after all. Have you ever been to Washington, the national capital?"
"No, sir. None of us have."
"Well, wouldn't you like to shake hands with the President? And wouldn't it be nice to have the Chief of the Secret Service thank you personally for what help you have done?"
The eyes of all three chums shone. The unexpected proposal left them speechless. Mr. Temple spoke for them.
"That would be fine, Inspector," he said. "You've knocked the wind out of the boys. They'll tell you what they think of your plan as soon as they recover."
"Boy, oh, boy, I guess that wouldn't be scrumptious," said Jack.
"Something more to tell the fellows at Harrington Hall when school reopens," said Frank.
"I'm ready right now," said big Bob, melodramatically leaping to his feet and grabbing the doorknob. "Come on. Let's go."
Mr. Temple laughed, and Inspector Burton joined him.
"Not so fast," he said. "When you leave New Mexico for home, you can go by way of Washington. That will be time enough. In fact, I'll have to precede you to arrange matters."
After some discussion, the chums went out to wander around Santa Barbara, leaving Mr. Temple and the Secret Service man to make the necessary arrangements as to time, etc., for their proposed trip to Washington.
"Come on. Let's go down to the beach for a plunge," said Bob. "That's the only way I can get this exuberance out of my system."
CHAPTER XXIX-A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE -----------------------------------
Jack, Frank and Bob reached Washington alone, Mr. Temple, weeks before, having left them in New Mexico to return to New York.
"You fellows have given me the longest and most exciting vacation from business that I ever had," he said, on leaving them at the Hampton ranch. "Little did I think I would be involved in international intrigue on the border or engaged in breaking up a tremendous smuggling ring. But I'm too old for all this excitement, although you youngsters seem to flourish on it."
"Old," protested Bob. "Why, Dad, you look fitter after all our experiences than for years."
Mr. Temple's eyes twinkled.
"Well," said he, "I can't say that I haven't enjoyed it all. Quite a change from business, hey?" he added, appealing to Mr. Hampton, Jack's father, the mining engineer.
Mr. Hampton nodded, smiling slightly. He himself led a life filled with more adventure and excitement than that of the quieter business man. Yet he, too, had had a considerable increase in thrills that summer, kidnapped in an airplane and held captive by Mexican rebels at the Calomares palace in the mountains of Sonora, as related in a previous tale of _The Radio Boys on the Mexican Border_.
Life at the ranch had gone along quietly for the boys during the two weeks after Mr. Temple's departure, filled with riding, several short trips into the mountains and a visit to Santa Fe, second oldest city in America, to inspect the ruins of the Spanish occupation.
Then had come the expected invitation from Inspector Burton of the Secret Service to visit Washington, and with two weeks left of their vacation, all three set out for New York via the national capital.