"Sorry, Joe. I can handle this better alone. You might only be in the
way. Run along, and I'll tell you all about it in the morning."
"But if----"
"No ifs. Lady's here, and I'll be perfectly all right. Off, now."
Without another word the boy trudged away. Once he looked back, and could
just distinguish his uncle's form. Again he looked back, and man and dog
were gone. His steps slowed and ceased. He stood listening.
The whippoorwill had ceased to call, and only the chorus of frogs broke
the stillness of the night. By and by he moved again, back the way he had
come. The sneaks made his progress almost soundless. Had Uncle David told
him to wear them so that they could go unnoticed to the pine tree? Why
the tree?
Man and dog were gone from where he had left them. The tree lingered in
his mind. Avoiding the driveway he crept across the grass. A dark pillar,
darker than the night, loomed ahead. It was the tree. He dropped to the
ground and, hugging his knees, sat there and was almost afraid to
breathe.
There was no moon, and the gloom was filled with subtle alarms. Donovan
was probably in a cell, caged and helpless. What would happen to the
maid? And why that intangible something that had hung between Uncle David
and Harley Kent? He grew cramped and shifted his position. It must be
late. Where was his uncle? He strained his eyes toward the tree but could
see nothing.
Suddenly every faculty was sharpened and drawn tight. He thought he had
heard a sound. Slowly he relaxed. It must have been the wind. And then he
heard it again. This time there could be no mistake. There had been a
subdued, almost indistinct scraping.
Silence again, and darkness, and that vague alarm. The silence grew
painful. A leaf, fluttering down, touched his face and a chill ran
through his bones. Why should a leaf fall from a tree in early spring?
And then the stillness was broken by a ringing call:
"Kent, it's no go."
A voice strangled and strained, came down out of the tree. "Who the devil
are you?"
"Dr. Stone. You can't get away with it, Kent. Tell them any story you
like, but be sure you have Donovan released at once. Lady, home!"
Man and dog emerged out of the night, and Joe flattened out and hugged
the ground.
"Come along, Joe," the doctor said.
The boy stood up, abashed, and took his uncle's arm. "How did you know I
was there?"
"Ears--a blind man's ears. When you came in Lady remained quiet. That
meant she recognized someone she trusted. There could be only one
answer--you. Do you realize you might have ruined everything? That's why
I sent you home. One suspicious sound from outside the house and our
quarry might have taken alarm."