96 THE ELECTRONIC HYDROLUNG
“Who’s there?” he asked loudly.
“Mirov! Let me in, Duffy!” replied an accented voice from outside.
With a look of relief, Duffy started to open the door-then froze as he saw not only Mirov, but two police officers and Ames accompanying him.
“Are you the one who’s going to put up bail?” one of the officers demanded.
Duffy floundered, scenting danger but unable to pick up any clue from Mirov’s face. “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.”
TELEPHONE CODE 97
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.
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