only coherent words he could formulate from the blurred scrawl:
"hurry—and important. Don't miss telling—Slump—Bemis—Wednesday evening—safe—bank shipment—express—found out, and special freight—sure to be there—not later—near South Dover—don't delay a minute—will soon—back at Stanley Junction."
"What is he trying to tell me?" murmured Ralph in a puzzled and anxious way, after a third and fourth reading of the perplexing message.
He finally gave up guessing what the missing links in the postal screed might be.
"One thing is certain," reflected Ralph. "Wednesday evening something is on the books. The only other definite clew is South Dover. Does he mean for me to meet him there? Does he mean that Slump and Bemis are in that neighborhood? There is something about a bank shipment, express, and special freight. That means the railroad is somehow interested. 'Don't miss,' he writes, 'don't delay.' I won't," resolved Ralph keenly. "I wouldn't dare to, with such a word from Van. He has kept mum all along. Now that he does speak out, it certainly means something important."
