. Captain of the nine . instrument. We wont wait for information, he THE CAPTAIN OF THE NINE Hes now on a Central Western train—thatsthe road that runs past St. Marys. The trainfor Detroit leaves from the Northern Michigandepot. We must hurry, mustnt we? His fin-gers went rapidly down a page. We want thepublic telephone at the Central WTestern ! Thats the number. Youre not used toa telephone, sonny; let me use it. Almost before he knew it, Bartley was awayfrom the phone. He heard the mans voice: Hello, Central. Never mind , 500. Hurry, please. This is im-porta
. Captain of the nine . instrument. We wont wait for information, he THE CAPTAIN OF THE NINE Hes now on a Central Western train—thatsthe road that runs past St. Marys. The trainfor Detroit leaves from the Northern Michigandepot. We must hurry, mustnt we? His fin-gers went rapidly down a page. We want thepublic telephone at the Central WTestern ! Thats the number. Youre not used toa telephone, sonny; let me use it. Almost before he knew it, Bartley was awayfrom the phone. He heard the mans voice: Hello, Central. Never mind , 500. Hurry, please. This is im-portant. The clock ticked away three or four valuableseconds. The man spoke without turning hishead: Who do you want, sonny? Eedway—Charles Eedway. This time the man half swung around. TheSt. Marys catcher? Yes, sir. A silence settled over the office, and the hotelclerk turned a page in a ledger. The paper 208 A FIGHT AGAINST TIME rustled noisily. Bartleys eyes were fastenedon the moving second hand of the big clock. It. Who do you want, sonny? seemed to race. Would the answer never come 1Then the man spoke crisply: Hello! Arden, 500? Has the train arrived209 THE CAPTAIN OF THE NINE that passes St. Marys? Just in? Theres apassenger on it—Charles Redway. A boy aboutseventeen. Get him to the telephone, please, ifyou have to carry him. Ill hold the you. And now a new fear came to the captain ofthe nine. The train had arrived. Suppose Red-way slipped away in the crowd. The boy hadseen messengers sent out from public tele-phones in railroad depots to catch they failed. Suppose they didnt findRedway— His breath caught in his throat. Slowly the minutes passed. Bartley, nerv-ously twitching his fingers, was conscious thatthe man was watching him. To the captainsmind the delay could only mean that Redwaycould not be found. For the first time in hislife he realized what is meant by cold wet his lips, and wondered at their dry-ness. If they missed him
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishernewyo, bookyear1912
