"Why--uh--yeah, maybe. How much is it?"
"Ten million! Can you raise it?" Ames snapped sarcastically.
As Duffy gaped in confusion, the officers suddenly flung their weight
forward. The door flew open and Duffy was thrown back, almost losing his
balance. Beyond, through the small vestibule, Ames caught a glimpse of
Tom on the sofa.
"There he is!" Ames shouted.
Moments later, Tom was untied. Mirov and Duffy were handcuffed together.
The young inventor shook hands joyfully with his rescuers. "Nice going,
Harlan! Boy, I was sweating icicles here, wondering if you'd be able to
decipher all my double talk!"
"You made the numbers clear enough," the security chief said with a
grin, "but it took a while to guess what they stood for. And then, of
course, we had to trace the address through the telephone company."
Eying the ugly bruise on Tom's forehead, Ames added, "Sure you're all
right?"
"Right now I feel swell!" Tom declared, chuckling. He told of his
kidnaping, while one of the officers took down the details.
The prisoners were taken off to jail in the police squad car. Tom and
Ames, meanwhile, in the security chief's high-powered sedan, drove to
the scene of Tom's capture.
They found his sports car badly damaged. The right side was wedged
against the utility pole, which was leaning at a crazy angle.
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