The sound that came through the telephones was now exceedingly loud, indicating that the quarry was near by. But this very nearness was confusing to Ralph, for the volume of sound prevented him from exactly locating the invisible kidnapper and the girl. In vain he turned the aerial in all directions, seeking one point from which it came louder than another that would determine the course of his pursuit. For the moment he was halted, and, like some hound baffled by the cunning of the fox, he cast about him eagerly, waiting for what he knew must come, the next move of the pursued man. And then it came--a deepening tone in the telephones, a gradation of sound that to the trained ear of the scientist told him all that he wished to know. With an exultant cry he sprang forward, and dashed through the entrance of a small store. The proprietor, whose state of mind may best be described by the word "flabbergasted," struggled for some moments in vain for speech while Ralph and his men, with outstretched hands eagerly swept from wall to wall. "Here, here, you fellows," he finally managed to gasp, "what are you after? What are you trying to do? You'll knock something over in a minute. Hey, look out there--there it goes!" For Ralph had reached around a tailor's dummy, knocking it over as his hands closed upon something behind it, something invisible and yet warm and firm; something that quivered and shrunk away at his touch. The proprietor, rushing forward to pick up the dummy, stopped short, gaping. Ralph's hands, at the moment of contact, vanished into thin air. But in an instant they re-appeared, as he drew towards him, out of the influence of the ultra-short waves what he knew must be the bound and gagged form of Alice. Once away from the influence of the apparatus she became visible again. A sack had been tied over her head and shoulders and her hands were tightly bound to her sides. She was still on her roller skates, and her feet had been left free, the sack being sufficient to render her almost wholly helpless, and unable to make any effective resistance. As Ralph removed the fastenings and released her, she staggered and clung to him, her head dropping in exhaustion. "Oh," she gasped faintly, "what is it? Where did you go?" "Water!" exclaimed Ralph harshly to those about him, and the fat storekeeper, trembling with excitement, but withal displaying an extraordinary energy for one who could never at any time have been a streamline model, made a dive for a vase of flowers on the counter. Grasping the tops of the flowers with one hand he flung them in a corner, and tendered the vase of discolored water to Ralph, panting the while as one who has run his race, and emerged triumphant. "I said water--not mud," shouted Ralph in exasperation, as he rubbed the girl's cold hands between his own warm ones. "Well, that's water, ain't it?" said the man, and Ralph glowered at him.