"Tough luck," Scotty said, disappointed.
"Oh, I don't know." Duke's eyes twinkled. "I got enough of a look to see two tiny holes in the piece of stuff the disk covered. The stuff was black, probably plastic. Like telephones are made of."
"In other words," Rick said slowly, "you saw holes for electrical plugs?"
"I think so. I don't know what else they could be."
Rick and Scotty exchanged glances.
"What does it mean?" Jerry asked.
Rick answered. "We don't know. And I'm not kidding. We really don't know."
"I believe you," Duke said briefly. "Okay. I've done my bit, including getting my hair cut. Anything else?"
"We'd like to stick around," Rick replied. "Jerry already knows about this, but Barby is watching a houseboat anchored in North Cove. If anyone leaves the houseboat for the Whiteside pier, she'll call us. We'll take over at the pier. It just might happen that the houseboater will pay a call on the barber."
Duke didn't comment, but Rick knew the editor's mind was at work. "Make yourself at home," Duke said, and went back to his editorial writing.