“Yes,” nodded the road officer, “and your explanation looks plausible.”
“I don’t want to judge from appearances. You see, I feel like giving Glen Palmer a show.”
“That’s fair enough, Fairbanks. I can’t help thinking, though, that he or his grandfather have had some dealings with the crowd we are after.”
“It is only a theory,” persisted Ralph, “but I figure it out that the old man, Glen’s grandfather, is some veteran telegrapher. He isn’t right in his mind, and perhaps, without Glen knowing it, he was approached secretly by the conspirators. Perhaps they have benefited from his knowledge of telegraphy in tapping the wires.”
“You say the boy, too, is an expert operator?”
“From what I learn, yes,” answered Ralph. “His grandfather would naturally teach him.”
Adair shrugged his shoulders. It was evident he considered circumstances against the Palmers, for he said:
“I don’t like their sudden disappearance. I don’t fancy, either, what Slump remarked about young Palmer being a jail bird.”
“That looks bad enough,” admitted Ralph, “but please consider that message on the piece of board thrown through the window of the station.”
“Well?”