“Anything serious the matter?” asked Hodge.
“It’s a message from my brother, Dick,” answered Frank. “You know I wired him to address his letters to Prescott. He didn’t stop to send a letter. Instead he sent this telegram. You know Felicia Delores, Dick’s cousin, with whom he was brought up? The climate of the East did not agree with her, therefore I provided a home for her in San Diego, California, where she could attend school. Dick has learned that she is ill and in trouble. He wants me to go to her at once.”
“What will you do?” asked Hodge.
“I must go,” said Frank quietly.
Frank mounted the steps of a modern residence, standing on a palm-lined street in San Diego, and rang the bell. He was compelled to ring twice more before the door was opened by a sleepy-looking Mongolian.
“I wish to see Mr. Staples at once,” said Merry. “Is he home?”
“Mistal Staple not home,” was the serene answer, as the Chinaman moved to close the door.
Frank promptly blocked this movement with a foot and leg.
“Don’t be so hasty,” he said sharply. “If Mr. Staples is not home, where can I find him?”