“But how come, Dorothy?”
“How do we know that friend Joyce hasn’t got hold of Stoker and possibly Terry, too?”
“Then—if he has, he won’t want us.”
“Oh, yes, he will. You can bet your boots, Mr. Joyce isn’t letting anyone go whom he may think was mixed up in last night’s affair.”
Bill looked surprised. “But Joyce can’t go on kidnapping people,” he argued. “Or rather he can’t keep on trying to kidnap the whole bunch who were in Stoker’s house last night, and then hold them indefinitely. Even if he caught us all, he couldn’t hold us long.”
“Long enough to get what he thinks Stoker has got—and make his getaway, if necessary. At least that’s how I figure it. If he catches any of us we’re not likely to come in personal contact with him. He’s too smart to give himself away like that.”
“Possibly you’re right. But if he did catch any of us, he’d soon find out that Stoker and the rest of the bunch know less about this mysterious something he’s after than he does himself!”
Dorothy smiled. “Rather involved, but I think I fathom your meaning. You seem to forget, Bill, that when Betty and I butted into this thing up at the Conway house, a couple of strong-arm men were starting to heat a poker. I don’t think Mr. Joyce’s hospitality will prove a pleasant experience if we are caught by him or his men.”
“Well, we’ve got to get off this reservation—how are we going to do it?”
“Blest if I know,” she admitted candidly. “But we’ve just got to find a way. And look here, Bill—I know you think I’m all steamed up over a trifle—but I honestly believe that whatever Joyce is trying to steal from Stoker is so enormously valuable that he’s determined to risk pretty nearly everything short of murder to gain possession of it!”