"
"Yes, probably you're right. Ring him up, then. It's late, but he won't
mind."
What a different story there would have been to tell had someone had that
thought only half an hour earlier! But it is often so. The most trivial
miscalculation, the most insignificant mistake, seemingly, may prove to be
of the most vital importance. Dick went to the telephone. It was one of the
old-fashioned sort, still in almost universal use in the rural parts of
England, that require the use of a bell to call the central office. Dick
turned the crank, then took down the receiver. At once he heard a confused
buzzing sound that alarmed him.
"I'm afraid the line is out of order, sir," he said.
And after fifteen minutes it was plain that he was right. The wire had
either been cut or it had fallen or been short circuited in some other way.
Dick and Jack looked at one another blankly. The same thought had come to
each of them, and at the same moment.
"They've cut the wires!" said Dick. "Now what shall we do? We can't hear
from Harry, either!"
"We might have guessed they'd do that!" said Jack. "They must have had some
one out to watch us, Dick--perhaps they thought they'd have a chance to
catch us. They know that we've found out something, you see! It's a good
thing we stayed where we could make people hear us if we got into any
trouble.
Pages:
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127