A strange clicking and buzzing—then: “Here’s your party!”
“Hello!” from Mary Louise. “Yes, I am Mary Louise—Who is it? I can’t hear very well—Who do you say it is? Oh, I can’t hear! I can’t hear! A little louder! Maybe central can give better connection.”
All she could hear was a faint whisper that seemed to come from another world, in fact, she could not believe it was a human voice. So far away and indistinct, it seemed to be but the pulsing of her own veins, blood pounding against her ear drums like the “sigh that silence heaves.” The whisper seemed to say: “Are you well, my beloved?”
“Yes!” she gasped, “I am well—” and then she fell in a little crumpled heap on the floor.
CHAPTER XVIII
CLOSED FOR REPAIRS
Josie was closeted with Chief Lonsdale for a long time. He had much interesting news to impart to her. She was all attention as he read a long communication from New York. She whipped out a little blank book and began taking notes in the cryptic characters taught her by her father.
“I want to be sure not to forget a word,” she apologized to the chief. “I tell you there is going to be something doing before so very long, here in old Dorfield. It isn’t such a sleepy spot after all, in spite of its name.”
“No, not with the Higgledy Piggledies to keep things lively,” laughed the chief. “How about Jim Hathaway’s fortune? Anything turned up there yet?”
“Nothing! Mary Louise, at last, has a tenant for the big house and I am going there as soon as you finish divulging things to me and make another examination of the premises. I might have overlooked some spot. Even girl detectives make mistakes you know, Chief.”