“I’m hungry,” exclaimed Ken. “Let’s go in for an ice cream soda.”
“That’s the perfect idea,” agreed Paul. “And I hope it will put us into the right spirit.”
“Most likely it will cool us off,” remarked Jack. “But I’ll also have a soda.”
They entered a drugstore and ordered three ice cream sodas. As Jack said, it cooled them off, but it also picked them up in spirits. They emerged smiling, cheerful, confident. The police headquarters was a short distance away and they were soon in front of the building. They hesitated before entering. Each one of them felt his heart sink low and his pulse begin to throb. Paul shrugged his shoulders and commented, “Well, as the saying goes, faint heart never won fair maiden. Let’s go in.”
They entered the hall. At one side was a desk with a sergeant behind it. “Yes, boys,” he called to them, “What do you want?”
Ken said, “I want to see Chief Bates; my name is Ken, Ken Armstrong.”
The policeman smiled patiently. “The chief is very busy, you know, and unless you have important business with him, you can’t see him.”
Jack piped up, “Oh, it’s very important.”
Paul pulled his friend away. Ken said confidently, “Oh, he will see me all right. You see, he knows me. Just say that Ken Armstrong wants to see him.”
“And what shall I say is your business with him?” inquired the sergeant, amused at the boy’s self confidence.