Instead of stopping, the man at the steering wheel had put on a burst of speed.
Ted, bound and gagged, just as he had been, was being held on the knee of one of the men.
“What time is it!” inquired Captain Tom.
“Twenty-five minutes of four,” replied Warren, hauling out his watch.
“Less than half an hour to fix up everything!” gasped Tom his face blanching. “Oh, we must do some tall hurrying!”
“Why, we can be in the village in ten minutes,” replied Deputy Sheriff Warren, soothingly.
“Yes, but this young man’s father and lawyer must be in court, too, before four o’clock. Stop at the very first house where you see a telephone wire running in, will you?”
Within two minutes the man at the steering wheel began to slow down. He ran up before a cottage, stopping at the gate.
Tom leaped out before the car came to a full stop. Running to the door, he encountered a pleasant-faced young woman.
“Let me use your telephone, in a hurry, will you?” panted Halstead. “It’s on the law’s business.”