“There! That’s better.”
He peered into the face of Newton Mills. The face was wan, ghastly. But the eyes! a fresh fire burned there.
“They didn’t tell you, did they?” Herman said, speaking quietly to Johnny.
“Tell me?”
“The bullet.”
“They didn’t say anything about a bullet.” Johnny was at a loss to know what it was all about.
“You must call them,” said the gray detective. “Tell them to preserve it carefully.”
“I will call them at once.” Herman McCarthey’s tone was that used by a subordinate officer to his chief. He went to the telephone immediately.
He got Drew on the phone, talked with him for a little time, then ended by saying, “We will drive in at once. Yes, at once.”
“She’s not dead. The doctor says there is hope.” There was relief in his tone. “She has been conscious for a brief time. The man who fired the shot was a youth with a mask-like face.”