“No, it sounded all right. And it didn’t ring by itself either.”
“Then you think someone may be up there—right now?”
“Could be.”
“Gosh, it scares me to think about it,” Dan muttered. “Even now, someone might be watching us, and we couldn’t see him.”
“Don’t get yourself worked up,” Brad advised in a matter-of-fact voice. “We’re safe enough here so long as we don’t go inside the building.”
The boys circled the church, studying it from every angle. Now that Pat and the others had fled, it was difficult to believe that anything ever had been amiss. The old building appeared as deserted as on the day when the Cubs first had seen it.
“At any rate, we know how Pat and his bunch got inside the church that first time,” Dan commented. “Through the coal chute.”
Both he and Dan felt a trifle discouraged over the outcome of their little adventure. With half a break they might have caught the Bay Shore boys inside the building! Now, it seemed they were no closer than ever to proving the innocence of the Cubs.
“No use to telephone Mr. Hatfield now, or to call the police,” Dan remarked, sunk in gloom. “We muffed it right, Brad.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say so.” The older boy was quite cheerful. “We learned quite a bit. And we can be sure of one thing. I don’t think Pat and his pals will come back here for awhile.”