“Something has happened!” burst out his chum. “Dave, this looks bad to me.”
“They want to know if we know anything. That must mean that Jessie and Laura are away from home, and they are without news about them.”
“It certainly looks that way.”
Each of the youths read the telegram again. But this threw no further light on the mystery.
“And to think we didn’t get any letters! That makes it look blacker than ever,” murmured Roger.
“I’m going to answer this at once and see if we can not get further information!” exclaimed our hero. He turned to the station agent. “How long do you expect to remain open?”
“I generally shut down about seven o’clock, but to-night I expect to stay open until the five-forty gets here, which will be about seven-thirty.”
“You haven’t got to go away, have you?” continued Dave. “The reason I ask is that I want to send an important telegram off, and I’d like to wait here for an answer for at least a couple of hours. Of course, I am perfectly willing to pay you for your time.”
“I haven’t anything very much to do to-night after I close up, and if you want me to stay here I’ll do it,” announced the agent, who was not averse to earning extra money.
The two young civil engineers held a consultation, and soon after wrote out a telegram, stating they had heard nothing since the receipt of the last letters from home, the dates of which were given. They asked for immediate additional information, stating they would wait at the telegraph office for the same.