“Have any idea what he wants?” asked Ralph as they climbed into the roadster which had brought them to the field.
“Not a glimmer,” replied Tim. “There is something mighty mysterious. He talked so low I could hardly hear what he said. We’re not to go to the office. Carson will meet us in room 309 at the Hotel Jefferson.”
“Sounds like secret service,” said Ralph.
“That might not be so far wrong,” replied Tim thoughtfully.
Fifteen minutes later the reporters entered the Hotel Jefferson and made their way to the third floor. They stopped at the door of room 309 and Tim knocked.
The door was opened by the managing editor of the News, who motioned for them to enter the room.
There were two men beside the managing editor in the room when Tim and Ralph entered. They were strangers to the reporters and they waited for Carson to introduce them.
“When I introduce these men,” Carson told his reporters, “You’ll know why I had you come to the hotel.”
The managing editor turned to the older of the strangers, a heavy-set, gray-haired man whose eyes were of an unusual, penetrating blue.
“Boys,” he said, “I want you to know Col. Robert Searle, head of the state police department.”