"Something has happened," said the operator, breathlessly.
"Call him up," said some one.
"He does not answer," said the operator, after a few minutes. But as he spoke a slow ticking came from the receiver.
"Hello!" it spelled, laboriously.
"That isn't Jed Worth," said the operator. "Some one else has got hold of the wire."
"Hold on; ask who it is," said Mr. Tevis.
Then an idea came in Will Tevis' head, and he spoke up. "Ask if it is Frank," he said.
"What for?" inquired the operator, with his fingers on the key.
"Because if they answer yes, you will know they are trying to fool you," he said.
There was a murmur of approval.