Britz opened the door and a tall, stockily built individual forced an entrance with an authoritative shove of his elbow.
"Where's Mr. Ward?" demanded the visitor. "Has he—" The man paused as, for the first time, he recognized Britz. "Why, lieutenant, I didn't expect to find you here," he said.
"Peck!" exclaimed Britz. "What brought you here?"
"The chief sent me. He just got word from Delmore Park that Ward has skipped."
"What!" An angry frown overspread Britz's features.
"Ward must have known that he was being trailed," pursued the visitor. "This morning, Grady was hidden in the bushes opposite the house waiting for Ward to come out. Two men set on him, bound and gagged him and left him lying on the grass. A passer-by found him half an hour ago and untied him. Grady telephoned immediately that Ward had made a get-away."
"And the chief sent you down here?" asked Britz.
"Yes. We had got word of the failure and the chief thought I'd better come down here to look things over."
Here was a new disappointment for Britz. The one man whom he wished to see above all others, had slipped out of his grasp.
"We've got to act quickly," said Britz, consulting his watch. "You stay right here. I'll go down to Headquarters."