"Got any change? I have to make a phone call."
The counterman took the bill and walked to the cash register. The mate cast a quick glance at Rick, then called, "Sam, I need some change, too. Give me some nickles and dimes for this half-buck." He tossed a fifty-cent piece on the counter.
Rick relaxed. Perhaps some of the townfolk had seen his and Scotty"s pictures in the paper, but evidently the mate wasn"t one of them.
There had been no recognition in the man"s eyes.
The counterman handed Rick a dollar in change and gave the mate some smaller change. He winked. "Gotta call yer girl, Chick?"
"Sure have," the mate answered. He had an odd voice, as though his nasal pa.s.sages were completely blocked with a bad cold. He looked at Rick. "Go ahead, kid, make your call."
"After you, sir," Rick said politely. "I"m in no hurry."
"Thanks." The mate walked to the booth and shut himself in.
Rick got up and wandered casually in that direction, his ears c.o.c.ked for the mate"s words. Unfortunately, the booth was tight. He could hear only a faint murmur. He went back to the counter and started sipping his coffee, keeping his eyes on the booth. He heard the dim tone of bells and his pulse quickened. Those were coins dropping into the slots. The mate was making an out-of-town call! If only he could hear!
The hot coffee was almost scalding, but he scarcely noticed. His mind was racing, searching for some way to overhear that conversation.
There just wasn"t any way. If he walked over and put his ear to the booth, the men sitting at the tables and farther up the counter would see. No, he was sunk this time.
Within four minutes the mate was out of the booth. He came over and took a seat at the counter a few stools up and nodded at Rick.
"Thanks, boy."
"That"s all right," Rick said. He had to make a pretense of phoning now. Well, he could call Spindrift and tell his mother they would be home for lunch. He hadn"t been sure how long the hearing would take when they left.
He went into the booth and closed the door. The phone had no dial.
Evidently Seaford, like Whiteside, had no dial system. He started to pick up the receiver and inspiration struck him. If he could imitate the mate . . .
He tried to imitate Chick"s nasal tone and thought he did pretty well.
He tried again, and it sounded a little better. Anyway, he thought, there was nothing to lose by trying. If Seaford had more than one operator on the town switchboard, which was unlikely because of the size of the town, it wouldn"t work, anyway. Or, if there were two and he got the wrong one it wouldn"t work.
His hand shook slightly as he lifted the receiver and dropped in his nickel.
"Number, please?" the operator said sweetly.
Rick struggled to imitate the mate"s voice. "Say, I have to talk to that number again. Something I forgot to say."
"What number was that, sir?" the operator asked.
Rick took a chance, based on the number of bells he had heard.
"That New York number," he said. "Forget now what it is. Ain"t you got it written down there?"
"I"ll have to have the number, sir," the operator said with firm sweetness.
Rick grew desperate. "Shucks, lady," he whined nasally. "You ain"t goin" t"make me go through that business with that information gal again, are you?"
There was a subdued tinkle of laughter. "All right. I"ll find it."
There was a brief pause. "That number is Cornish 9-3834. Better write it down this time."
"I sure will," Rick said. He almost forgot and lapsed back into his own voice. But he didn"t have to write it down. He wasn"t forgetting it.
"What is your number, please?"
He gave it, then waited anxiously. In a moment a voice said, "Garden View Hotel."
The operator spoke. "One moment, please. Please deposit thirty cents."
Rick did so, and the bells clanged in his ear. When the ringing stopped, he said briskly, "Mr. James Killian, please."
"Just a minute." Then, "No one registered here by that name."
"Isn"t this the Garden Arms Apartments?" Rick asked.
"No. This is the Garden View Hotel. You have the wrong number."
"Oops, sorry," Rick said jubilantly, and hung up.
He walked to the counter and gulped his coffee, put a dime on the counter and then hurried to the door. The mate was eating a piece of pie.
On the street, Rick looked for Jerry"s car and spotted it at a corner two blocks away. He walked rapidly toward it, waving as he did so. The car pulled away from the curb and sped toward him, and he motioned to Jerry to turn the next corner. He hurried and got there just as the car did.
"Any luck?" Scotty asked.
"Luck? Touch me, somebody. Listen to this: Captain Killian is at the Garden View Hotel in New York, registered under a phony name!" He told them quickly what had happened in the grill and finished, "I"ll bet the mate had orders to phone right after the hearing and let Killian know what had happened to Tyler."
"He was handed over to the constable after the insurance company issued a complaint," Jerry said. "Forgot to tell you that. Well, we know where this missing captain is. Now what?"
"Now what! What do you think?" Rick asked indignantly. "Let"s go to New York!"
CHAPTER XIII
The Tracker
"We can drop your pictures off at the office, then I"ll drive you in to New York, if that"s okay," Jerry remarked, as the car sped up the road to Whiteside.
"That will be fine," Rick said. "I"ll phone Spindrift, too, and let Mom know we won"t be home for lunch. We can pick up a hamburger at a roadstand on the way in."
Jerry slowed down to a more moderate pace and Rick looked at him, surprised. "Thought we were in a hurry."
"Trying something," Jerry said. His eyes were on the rearview mirror.
After a moment he spoke. "The car behind us slowed down, too. I think he"s following us."
Cap"n Mike started to look back, but Scotty said warningly, "Don"t! If they"re really following, we don"t want to let them know they"ve been spotted."
"There"s a curve up ahead, Jerry," Rick said. "Keep your eyes on that car as we round the curve and let me know when they"re out of sight."