She repeated the entire message and waited breathlessly. Then, to her infinite joy, she watched him signal back.
“Give me one hour! Courage!” he flashed, and, turning around, he returned whence he came.
With a great gasp of joy the girls sank to the floor exhausted.
CHAPTER XVIII
RUTH FINDS A PARTNER
Early Monday morning John Hadley and Jack Wilkinson drove one of Mr. Andrews’s machines out of Silvertown, back by the quickest route to the farm-house. In his hand, Jack carried a map of the trip, and they followed the road that ran closest to the creek.
At the farm-house they met Mrs. Higgins, and asked anxiously for news of the girls. Overcome by a sense of remorse, she told them the whole story, just as it had occurred. The boys listened with increasing anger.
“The man’s crazy, of course!” cried Jack, fiercely. “Why, I’m her own brother——”
“Still, there may be a Margie Wilkinson missing—and not your sister,” remarked the woman. “It’s not such an uncommon name.”
“Hardly likely, though. You haven’t seen the old devil since?”