“If a butler comes, don’t let him give you that ‘Mr. Merrimac is not at home’ line,” Dan warned. “Just let him know we’re here for business and have to see the big boss.”
“Even the butler doesn’t seem to be on tap,” Brad declared, pushing the doorbell button again.
The boys waited. After ringing repeatedly, they were about to give up in disgust.
“Try just once more,” Dan advised, as Brad started away. “I thought I heard footsteps.”
This time Brad not only rang the bell, but kept his finger for a long while on the button.
“That ought to raise the dead,” he grinned.
“Maybe it did,” Dan chuckled. “At any rate, someone is coming.”
Through the door glass, he made out a shadowy figure in the front hallway.
The man, bent and old, approached the door and then seemed to hesitate.
“What’s the matter with him anyhow?” Dan muttered impatiently. “He acts as if he’s scared.”