"Shall I go down and question him? Maybe he can give us a pointer."
"Yes, go ahead," said Dave.
"And I'll go along," added the senator's son, and a moment later the two boys were off.
While the pair were gone, the others surveyed the damage done. The most of the decayed vegetables were swept into a corner, and then the boys did what they could toward straightening out their things.
"Here's a stale egg in my hat-box!" groaned Sam. "I'd like to throw it at some fellow's head!"
Dave had found his trunk open, and was searching the box with care. Suddenly he gave a loud cry:
"It's gone! It's gone!"
"What's gone?" queried Phil.
"The photograph! I had it among my books and papers, and the whole bunch is missing!"
"You mean the photo of the man who looks like you?" asked Sam, quickly.
"Yes." Dave gave a groan that came straight from his heart. "Oh, boys, I must get that back! I can't afford to lose it! I must get it back! It is worth more to me than anything in the world!" He was so agitated that he could scarcely control himself.
"Let us hunt for the picture," came from Buster Beggs, who knew about the photograph, and all
