Excerpt
AN IMPORTANT TELEPHONE MESSAGE
"There's the answer!" cried Tom.
"It's as plain as day!" added Sam.
"You are right," came from Dick. "I see it all now." He signed for the telegram and dismissed the boy, closing the door after him. "They are keeping father a prisoner somewhere, so that he cannot sign those documents."
"And it means a big financial loss and dishonor to all of us," went on Tom. "That must mean Uncle Randolph as well as dad."
"I wish Uncle Randolph had sent some particulars," sighed Sam.
"They may come in by mail— most likely they will," answered Dick. "It would be just like him to send a letter and then telegraph afterwards."
"Well, one thing is clear," remarked Tom. "We have got to find dad, and do it pretty quickly, too. We know— or, at least, we are pretty sure of it— that he is in the power of Crabtree and Pelter, Japson & Company. Now the question is, What are we going to do about it?"
"I said this morning I had an idea, Tom," answered his big brother. "I don't know whether it will work out or not, or if you'll care to try it. You know I told you to go to Central Park while Sam and I went down to those offices. I did that so that those brokers wouldn't see you. They don't know you, and you can go down and interview them as a stranger. Do you catch the idea?"
"I do!" cried Tom, eagerly. "And I'll do it! But what shall I say?" he asked, suddenly sobering.
"You might state that you had heard of the Sunset Irrigation Company and thought of investing, or something like that. Maybe they might give you some information that would be valuable for us. And, while there, you may hear something about Crabtree, or something about where father may be."
"I'll go this afternoon," cried Tom. The idea of playing the spy pleased him greatly.
"But you want to be careful," warned his older brother. "If cornered, those brokers may prove to be desperate men."
"I'll be on my guard, Dick."
"Sam and I can go down part of the way with you, and when you go in, we can hang around outside, one at the upper and one at the lower street corner. Perhaps by doing that, we'll catch another sight of Crabtree, although I think, for the present, he'll keep away from Wall street and meet those brokers somewhere else, or telephone to them."
It was not long after this when the three Rover boys set out for the lower part of the great metropolis. They took the subway, that being the quickest way to get there. Dick gave Tom directions how to find the brokers' offices, and then the brothers separated as agreed.
Tom had fixed himself up for the occasion, wearing a slouch hat and a flowing tie, in the manner of a young man from the West or South. He carried a pocket full of timetables and another pocket full of legal-looking documents. He also carried half a dozen visiting cards, with the name and address:
Roy A. PutnamDenver, Colo.
With eyes on the alert for the possible appearance of somebody who might know him, Tom walked into the office building where Pelter, Japson & Company did business and entered the elevator....