“Chuck that, Frank, and tell me what you mean,” Lanky pleaded. “Why, you’ve got to communicate with this Mr. Elverson right away, and ask him if his little girl, who was carried away by a crazy or revengeful nurse, months ago, wore a little bonnet made of lace and silk, and decorated with a pale blue ribbon.” “Wow! all that is going to take a few good plunks to pay the expense, if you mean I must telegraph it!” exclaimed Lanky. “I’ll help you out, if you’re short, and you ought to know that,” Frank immediately declared; “and my father would back me to any extent, I’m dead sure. This begins to look as though there might be something in it; and if that child is being held there in that gypsy camp against her will, she must be taken away from them.” “Hurrah! that sounds good to me, Frank!” cried the delighted Lanky, pleased beyond measure to learn that his cautious chum had finally decided to come over to his side of the fence. “And the sooner we go about that part of the business the better. I’ve got some money with me, and if we need more I know where to go for it, Lanky.” “That’s the idea!” declared the tall lad; “nothing like striking while the iron is hot, as we used to learn in our copybooks in school, when we were kids. Let’s head for the station right now, then, Frank, and see if we can’t hatch up a message that ought to give this Mr. Elverson the shock of his life.” Ten minutes later two boys, breathing hard from fast walking, appeared at the little railroad station in Columbia, and asked for a bunch of telegraph blanks. “My! you must be going to keep me busy the rest of the morning, boys!” remarked the young fellow who acted as ticket agent, express representative and telegraph operator combined. “Oh! we’ll let you have time to grab a bite of lunch, Conrad,” replied Lanky, in his humorous fashion. It took the boys about half an hour to concoct a satisfactory message. They wanted to cover all the ground without wasting words; for money did not grow on bushes, Lanky remarked, as he cut out several adjectives that counted for little. Lanky wanted to sign Frank’s name to the message, but the other refused to allow it. “This is your affair, and I’m not going to butt in,” he declared positively. “And I only hope you reach the gentleman without delay, so that you may have a reply soon.” “What could delay it?” asked Lanky. “Seems to me that he’ll be just wild to get in touch with us, if that bonnet is like the one his child wore when the nurse lit out with her.” “He might be away from home, you know, and they would have some trouble in getting him,” Frank observed, for he knew his chum would be bitterly disappointed if he did not hear from Mr. Elverson right away; why, just as likely as not Lanky would lie awake half the night, expecting to hear the telephone bell ring, and the voice of the night operator at the station calling for him.