your trunk. Then again, if they had the nerve and could manage it, they might try to chloroform us some fine night as we slept, and search our clothes, even ripping open the fleece linings of our leather aviation coats in the hope of finding something worth while."
Of course Tom spoke half in a joking mood, but his chum took it all seriously enough. Unaccustomed to dealing with clever rogues, Jack was beginning to imagine all manner of terrible possibilities as hanging over the heads of his companion and himself.
"Say, we really ought to complain to the captain, and have this thing stopped," he burst out. "If he knew what was going on aboard his old boat he'd gladly put a man on duty day and night to watch our stateroom."
"But we ought to be able to look out for ourselves, it strikes me, Jack. Since we have no paper to be taken away from us, why should we worry? They'll give it up as a bad job presently. Besides, we're only two nights and a day out from port now, and there'll be plenty to engage our attention from now on, without borrowing trouble."
"Well, I'm going to leave my trunk unlocked, after this, so as to save them the trouble of smashing it if they should come in here again" Jack remarked sagaciously, tak-
