“Over four dollars’ worth of telephoning in one morning!” ejaculated Paul, forcibly. He did not like criticism.
“Just the same, it feels good to know there’s somebody back of us. Of course we knew there was, anyway, but to have them get together and then telephone clear here—it’s mighty encouraging,” spoke Phil. “Now we can’t let them think we aren’t capable of getting out of this pickle by ourselves, and we don’t want them to hold a convention here. The answer is, get busy! So what are we going to do?”
“Well, what are we going to do?” This from Paul, as if he would say that everything possible to do had been done.
“Why, there’s one thing that seemed like a good suggestion,” said Phil, “and that is that we look in other places—get on the train, get in touch with the police and the auto clubs and garages in different likely places, personally.”
“It’s reasonable, and the thing to do,” declared Worth with emphasis. “Phil, why can’t you and Dave go to Albany or Rochester this very day? Stop off at Syracuse. Go up to Pittsfield, too? Paul and I can watch and hunt around here and follow up what poor little clues we’ve got.”
“Clues? We have no clues!” spoke MacLester, moodily, “unless Hipp and Earnest are the ones. I’ve come to the conclusion that those fellows lied about seeing a man in a raincoat. Who else saw him? Don’t we know that young Earnest can lie like a beggar? Is Hipp any better?”
“But there’s the raincoat! Saw it ourselves!” Billy argued.
“Oh, that might belong to anybody! Plenty of old raincoats lying around,” persisted David.
“I’m afraid you’re on the wrong track, Mack,” Phil Way urged quietly. Then immediately he added: “We must look up trains at once. Billy’s plan may not be very promising but, goodness, we can’t sit around and wait for the car to come to us!”
So the agreement was made, quite as Worth proposed. Dave and Phil had just time to catch the 1:24 train—one of the few fast trains that stopped at Griffin—and they promised to telegraph from Albany the same night, if they found anything worth reporting.