Hawley shrugged his shoulders. “What’s the use of brooding? I’ve never seen anybody get any farther by doing that. Besides, I’m not absolutely positive that I’m going to jail. I’ve still got a faint ray of hope.”
“What is it?” Carroll inquired eagerly.
“The New York Sentinel,” the Camera Chap replied. “If I can get word to Tom Paxton, I haven’t any doubt he’ll come to my rescue with bells on. The good old Sentinel stands by its men through thick and thin, and, although I don’t quite see how he’s going to work it, I am hopeful that Tom Paxton will find some way of saving me from jail.
“The trouble is, though,” he added, “how the deuce am I going to get word to him? Hodgins isn’t going to let me get in touch with my friends, if he can help it.”
“But he wouldn’t dare do that,” Carroll protested indignantly. “It is illegal. It is your constitutional right to confer——”
“Pshaw! A little thing like a prisoner’s constitutional rights doesn’t bother our friend Hodgins,” the Camera Chap interrupted. “Besides, it is a condition and not a theory which confronts us. I asked the turnkey to let me[Pg 37] send a telegram from here, and was curtly refused. The man told me that he had orders not to let me communicate with any one. They wouldn’t even let me send word of my arrest to you. Still, I am confident that I’ll be able to find some way of getting a C. Q. D. call to the Sentinel.”
“You don’t have to worry about that,” Carroll assured him. “Word has already been sent to the Sentinel. I guess by this time, Frank, Paxton is aware of your predicament.”
“Why, what do you mean?” Hawley demanded eagerly.
“I mean that as soon as I heard of your arrest, old man, I took the liberty of wiring to Paxton, advising him of the situation,” Carroll explained.
“And you took that step without waiting to consult with me?” It seemed to Carroll that there was a trace of resentment in the Camera Chap’s tone.