Within four minutes the mate was out of the booth. He came over and took a seat at the counter a few stools up and nodded at Rick. "Thanks, boy." "That's all right," Rick said. He had to make a pretense of phoning now. Well, he could call Spindrift and tell his mother they would be home for lunch. He hadn't been sure how long the hearing would take when they left. He went into the booth and closed the door. The phone had no dial. Evidently Seaford, like Whiteside, had no dial system. He started to pick up the receiver and inspiration struck him. If he could imitate the mate . . . He tried to imitate Chick's nasal tone and thought he did pretty well. He tried again, and it sounded a little better. Anyway, he thought, there was nothing to lose by trying. If Seaford had more than one operator on the town switchboard, which was unlikely because of the size of the town, it wouldn't work, anyway. Or, if there were two and he got the wrong one it wouldn't work. His hand shook slightly as he lifted the receiver and dropped in his nickel. "Number, please?" the operator said sweetly. Rick struggled to imitate the mate's voice. "Say, I have to talk to that number again. Something I forgot to say." "What number was that, sir?" the operator asked. Rick took a chance, based on the number of bells he had heard. "That New York number," he said. "Forget now what it is. Ain't you got it written down there?" "I'll have to have the number, sir," the operator said with firm sweetness. Rick grew desperate. "Shucks, lady," he whined nasally. "You ain't goin' t'make me go through that business with that information gal again, are you?" There was a subdued tinkle of laughter. "All right. I'll find it." There was a brief pause. "That number is Cornish 9-3834. Better write it down this time." "I sure will," Rick said. He almost forgot and lapsed back into his own voice. But he didn't have to write it down. He wasn't forgetting it. "What is your number, please?" He gave it, then waited anxiously. In a moment a voice said, "Garden View Hotel." The operator spoke. "One moment, please. Please deposit thirty cents." Rick did so, and the bells clanged in his ear. When the ringing stopped, he said briskly, "Mr. James Killian, please." "Just a minute." Then, "No one registered here by that name." "Isn't this the Garden Arms Apartments?" Rick asked. "No. This is the Garden View Hotel. You have the wrong number." "Oops, sorry," Rick said jubilantly, and hung up. He walked to the counter and gulped his coffee, put a dime on the counter and then hurried to the door. The mate was eating a piece of pie. On the street, Rick looked for Jerry's car and spotted it at a corner two blocks away. He walked rapidly toward it, waving as he did so. The car pulled away from the curb and sped toward him, and he motioned to Jerry to turn the next corner. He hurried and got there just as the car did. "Any luck?" Scotty asked.