"Wal, you stay here and stand by Heppy. I'm going to town to see about it," Tobias concluded.
"Don't you want my car?"
"No. I cal'late somebody'll be along to pick me up."
In fact the lightkeeper's sharp eye had already descried a bustle about the Nicholet garage. Jackson had the car out.
When he reached the road gate of the Nicholet property, the car was just sliding down into the highway. Lorna waved him a friendly hand from the tonneau.
"Am I lucky enough to catch you going to town, Mr. Bassett?"
"I cal'late," said Tobias grimly, "the luck ain't all on one side."
"Do get in," she said as Jackson brought the automobile to a throbbing halt once he was on the highway. "I want to talk to you, anyway. What do you suppose is the matter with Ralph Endicott?"
"Huh? Oh, sugar! Why don't you ax me to explain this here fourth dimension they talk so much about? I can easy tell how wide, high, and thick Ralph Endicott is," and his eyes twinkled despite his inner trouble. "But I can't tell you the why of him. That's beyond all nater."
"Then you do not really know why he has gone away?"