CHAPTER 19
“I Promise”
Knowing that Mrs. Jones and the Cubs might not be able to hold the tramp a prisoner very long in the barricaded basement, Dan ran as fast as he could down the road.
He had no idea which way Mr. Hatfield had gone. However, it seemed to him that the house most likely to have a telephone, was a large white one a quarter of a mile farther on toward town.
Dan was midway there when he saw a state trooper’s car approaching. His heart leaped. Help, he thought, was at hand.
Even before the boy signaled, the car came to a grinding halt a short distance away. Two state troopers were in the front seat, with Mr. Hatfield sitting between them.
“Get in, Dan,” the Cub leader said, as the door swung open. “What happened at the shack?”
Dan tersely told him.
“On to Mrs. Jones’ place,” one of the state troopers declared, shifting gears. “We’ll get the fellow!”
As the car swung into the farmyard a few minutes later, Mrs. Jones met the group at the door.
“I’m glad you got here!” she said in relief. “That tramp has been making a frightful fuss in the cellar. We were afraid he would break down the door.”