interesting, the very idea of going into the mountains in quest of an
abducted child, but the thought of going after a boy who would one
day be a king! That was exciting indeed!

"I can't tell you who the boy is." Ned went on, "but I can tell you
that he must be found! The Secret Service men at Washington have a
pretty good idea as to who got him, and they believe the criminals
are not above committing the crime of murder. In a certain sense,
this boy is in the way in the old country!"

"Oh, they wouldn't kill a kid like that!" Jimmie asserted.

"Wouldn't they?" demanded Teddy Green. "If you read up on history,
you'll soon find out whether ambitious men will murder children who
stand in their way! I half believe the boy was murdered at the very
moment he was taken!"

"He has been seen alive since that time," Ned responded. "This is
Thursday. He was taken on Monday, and was seen yesterday. Or a boy
believed to be the prince was seen yesterday, on a launch on the
Potomac river."

"Prince, eh?" cried Frank. "It is a prince, is it? Say, but won't dad
be glad to hear about this? I'd like to write the headlines!"

"We may as well call him the prince," Ned laughed.

Before more could be said, a servant knocked at the door and Jack
opened it so as to look out. In a moment he turned back inside with a
flushed face.