"Mr. Damon hasn't come back; has he?" asked Tom eagerly.
"No—but I wish I could say he had. This concerns him, however. Can you come?"
"I'll be there right away."
In his speedy monoplane Tom soon reached Waterford. Ned did not accompany him this time.
"Now what is it, Mrs. Damon?" ask the young inventor.
"About half an hour before I called you," she said, "I received a mysterious message."
"Who brought it?" asked Tom quickly.
"No one. It came over the telephone. Someone, whose voice I did not know, said to me: 'Sign the land papers, and send them to us, and your husband will be released.'"
"That message came over the wire?" cried Tom, excitedly.
"Yes," answered Mrs. Damon. "Oh, I am so frightened! I don't know what to do!" and the lady burst into tears.
