"The boy?"
"Yes."
"Ah! He, at least, was able to sleep. But, after you got him, was your connection with the superintendent immediate?"
"Almost immediate, I guess."
"It didn't strike you that he was purposely delaying?"
The listeners leaned forward. And Herrick, as at a touch home, dropped his eyes.
"Why, I couldn't say that it did. No, hardly. Besides, he might have been asleep, too."
"Ah! So he might. And what was the first thing he said to you?"
"Through the 'phone?"
"Certainly. Through the 'phone."