“You certainly made a dramatic entrance. Say—there’s the door bell—”
“Osceola?”
“Sure to be. I’ll cut along now and leave him to your tender mercies. See you later.” With a wave of his hand, he left her standing in the hall and ran swiftly down the stairs.
Chapter V
BILL’S HUNCH
Bill opened the front door and let Osceola into the house. The chief was fully dressed. He looked tired and worried to death.
“You’d better go over and dress now,” he said dispiritedly. “I’ve phoned the New Canaan police station and the Chief will be along in a few minutes. Meantime, I’ll locate the place where the telephone wire was cut and splice it if I can. There isn’t much we can do until morning, worse luck. By that time, we’ll have a chance to line things up a little better, and perhaps have some course of action planned.”
“I’ve just got a hunch,” said Bill. “I’ll tell you about it when I come back. If the hunch turns out to be a good one, you and I will get on the job long before daylight.”
“Then here’s hoping it will be a good one—” Osceola’s tone was more cheerful now, “there’s nothing worse than this rotten inaction.”
Bill nodded. Then he called to Dorothy, who stood at the head of the stairs. “Where’s your father staying in Hartford?”
“The Hiblein, I think—he usually does. If you ’phone him, tell him I’m all right, and give him my love.”