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{{frabfp014.png}} || eagles of the sky ||

lying between the Florida coast and the far
distant Mexican shore line, the wise men in
Washington had supplied Jack with a speedy
plane of the amphibian type, capable of making
landings either on shore or in any of the numerous
inlets dotting the coast, it being equipped
with both aluminum pontoons and adjustable
wheels.

Jack had spent several days at the Capital,
conferring with various high officials, being thus
put in possession of every available scrap of reliable
information at the disposal of the Department.

He had also been given documents of authority,
calling upon each and every Government
agent in all Florida to afford him any possible
assistance, should he require such backing while
learning the identity of the "higher-up" capitalists
guilty of financing the secret clique that had
been giving the revenue men such trouble recently.

The fact was well known that besides the valuable
_caches_ of unset diamonds, and other precious
stones, coming surreptitiously into the country
without yielding the customary heavy duty imposed
on them, there was also being smuggled
into the innumerable lonely bayous and inlets
of the lengthy coast line vast quantities of contraband
in violation of the eighteenth amend-

[[14]]

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