It would not have made him happier to have looked closer; the song of victory would have died away on his lips.  For, instead of certain secret documents sent to the office of the Secretary of State, from representatives of the United States Government in China, Harriet Hamlin had turned over to Peter Dillon an official envelope, which contained only folded sheets of blank paper!

It had been Barbara’s idea and Ruth had carried it out successfully.  In the moment when Harriet left her room in answer to Mollie’s call, Ruth had exchanged the valuable state papers for the worthless ones.  Once Harriet was safely out of the way, she and Bab carried the precious documents downstairs and shut them up in Mr. Hamlin’s desk.  Both girls hoped that all trouble was now averted, and that Mr. Hamlin would never hear of Harriet’s folly!

CHAPTER XXI

THE DISCOVERY

The members of the Hamlin household went early to their own rooms that night.

Ruth at once flung herself down on a couch without removing her clothing.  In a few minutes she was fast asleep, for she believed their difficulties were over.  Bab did not feel as secure.  She was still thinking of the speech the newspaper girl had made to her in the car.

At ten o’clock the Assistant Secretary of State, who was sitting alone in his study, heard a violent ringing of his telephone bell.  He did not know that, at this same instant, his daughter Harriet had crept down to his study door intending to make a full confession of her mistakes to him.

Mr. Hamlin picked up the receiver. “‘The Washington News?’ Yes.  You have something important to say to me?  Well, what is it?” Mr. Hamlin listened quietly for a little while.  Then Harriet heard him cry in a hoarse, unnatural voice:  “Impossible!  The thing is preposterous!  Where did you ever get hold of such an absurd idea?”

Harriet stopped to listen no longer.  She never knew how she got back upstairs to her room.  She half staggered, half fell up the steps.  Suddenly she realized everything!  She had been used as a tool by Mrs. Wilson and Peter Dillon.  Ruth and Barbara had been right.  She had stolen her father’s state papers.  A newspaper had gotten hold of the story and already her father and she were disgraced.

In the meantime, Mr. Hamlin continued to talk over the telephone, though his hand shook so he was hardly able to hold the receiver.

“You say you think it best to warn me that the story of the theft of my papers will be published in the morning paper, that you know that private state documents entrusted to me keeping have been sold to secret spies?  What evidence have you?  I have missed no such papers.  Wait a minute.”  Mr. Hamlin went to his strong box.  Sure enough, certain documents were missing.  Ruth and Bab had put the papers in the desk.  “Have you an idea who stole my papers?” Mr. Hamlin called back over the telephone wire, his voice shaken with passion.