“I see no room for such hope.”
“But, even if so, it should be an immeasurable relief. It means that she has not fallen into the lake, nor is she in danger from a night’s exposure.”
“But think of her being in the power of those hideous creatures,” wailed the mother.
“If they have stolen her it is for the purpose of ransom. They will take the utmost care that not the slightest harm befalls her, since it would defeat their scheme.”
“And this is the twentieth century!” was the bitter exclamation of the physician. “If the probability occurred to you and me, why did we not take steps to baffle them instead of wasting our time in groping through the darkness of the woods?”
“I did do so.”
“Now it is I who do not understand.”
“Two of the fleetest of the Boy Scouts,—Alvin Landon and Chester Haynes,—are at this moment making all haste to the village of Bovil, on the road to Boothbay Harbor. If they can reach a telephone, they will communicate with officers in the surrounding towns and villages, asking for the arrest of the tramps on sight. Those boys will not waste a minute.”
“Thank heaven for that.”
“Furthermore, at the earliest moment they will ’phone your nephew, and you need not be told that he and his dog Zip will be equally quick in getting on the job.”