ANOTHER CLUE
Dave and Roger lost no time in getting back to the business section of
Crandall, and there they inquired their way to police headquarters. They
found the chief in charge, and introducing themselves asked him if he
knew about the disappearance of the girls.
“Oh, yes, I know all about that,” answered the chief. “We’ve been on the
watch for them, but so far nothing has come to light.”
Thereupon Dave and Roger related what they had heard from the lame boy
and those at the Bliss House, and then what the little girls had told.
“This is mighty interesting,” mused the chief. “But I don’t see what I
can do except to have my men on the watch for that automobile. If it
turns up, do you want the party running it held?”
“I certainly do!” answered Dave. “Or better yet, if you get the chance,
have the auto followed and see where it goes to—especially if it goes
down the Kapton road.”
“All right, I’ll do that.”
From the police station the two young civil engineers hurried down to
the telegraph office, and there sent a long message to the folks in
Crumville. No message had arrived for them, so they took it for granted
that no news had come in at the Wadsworth place since their departure.
“And now what’s the next move?” queried Roger, who in this affair looked
to Dave as the leader.
“I think we had better travel along that Kapton road and see if we can
find out anything more about that automobile and those in it,” was the
reply. “There is certainly no use in our continuing the trip along the
railroad.”
It was growing dark when Crandall was left behind, and they journeyed
forward on the Kapton road slowly, keeping their eyes open for anything
that might suggest a further solution of the mystery they were
endeavoring to unravel.
“We might stop and question that Mr. Merrick the little girls
mentioned,” suggested Roger.
“Yes, we can do that, although I doubt if the old man can add much to
what we already know.”
They found Mr. Aaron Merrick a very fussy old individual and hard to
talk to. He remembered the incident of the automobile very well, and was
highly indignant, but he could not tell anything about who had been
driving the car or who was inside.
“They went by me jest like a comet!” he explained. “I had to jump fer my
life, or I’d been run over sure! All them pesky rascals ought to be put
in prison. I don’t believe in autermobiles, anyway,” and he looked
rather indignantly at the two chums.
“Well, we are after the fellow who ran that auto,” answered Roger. “And
if we catch him he’ll go to prison fast enough.”
“What’s the matter? Did he steal that there car?”
“He did worse,” answered the senator’s son. “But we haven’t got time to
talk about that now,” he added, and hurried away, followed by our hero.
Mr. Merrick came after them, anxious to know what might be wrong, but
they did not enlighten him.
Half an hour later found the machine rolling into the little village of
Kapton. They had stopped twice on the way, but had learned nothing more
concerning the big touring car with the battered mud-guard and the
cracked wind-shield.
“Do you think we ought to stay here all night?” questioned Roger.
“That will depend on whether we can get accommodation or not,” returned
Dave. “Anyhow, we want to make some inquiries before we leave this
place.”
They soon learned that Kapton boasted of nothing in the way of a hotel
or boarding-house.
“But you can get pretty good accommodations at the Bliss House in
Crandall,” said the storekeeper, who gave them the information. “Or else
you can go to the American House at Frytown.”
“Is that in the opposite direction to Crandall?” questioned Dave.
“Yes, sir; it’s on the same road that you came up on. The road runs
right through Frytown to Cullomburg, and it’s a pretty fair road all the
way.”
“Then I guess we’ll go on to Frytown. By the way, can you give us any
information about a big touring-car that went through here about ten
days ago—a touring-car that had a battered mud-guard and a cracked
wind-shield and was driven by a fellow who looked like a foreigner—a
chap with a small black mustache?”
“Why, yes, I saw that car!” cried the storekeeper. “The fellow who ran
it came in here and bought a lot of groceries.”
“He did!” exclaimed both of the chums in surprise.
“Yes, sir.”
“When was this?”
“Let me see——” The storekeeper rubbed his chin reflectively. “I guess it
was just about a week ago to-day. The fellow came in and said he was in
a good deal of a hurry, so I and my clerk hustled to get the order out
for him. We packed it in a big box, and put the box in the tonneau of
the car. But what about this—is the man some friend of yours?”
“Hardly a friend,” answered Dave quickly! “But we are very anxious to
locate him. Have you any idea where he came from or where he went?”
“All I can say is that he came into this place from Frytown way, and he
turned around after he had the stuff and went back the way he came.”
“Did he give you any names, or say where he was from?” questioned Roger.
“No, he didn’t say anything excepting that he was buying the things for
some folks who were sick in a camp and couldn’t get away. I asked him
one or two questions, but he acted as if he didn’t want to answer them,
and so I didn’t say too much. You see, he paid spot cash for what he
got, so it was none of my business,” added the storekeeper.
“Do you remember the things he got?” questioned Dave. And then, as the
storekeeper showed that he was becoming suspicious, our hero added: “I
may be perfectly frank with you, Mr. Linton. We suspect that the man who
is running that automobile is a fellow who escaped some time ago from
prison. In fact, we are not sure that he owns the automobile he is
running, and it is possible that he may be mixed up in the abduction of
two young ladies. That is why we are so anxious to get on his trail.”
“You don’t say! Well, I’d want to get on the trail of a rascal like that
myself. Yes, I think I can tell you pretty near everything the fellow
bought.”
And thereupon the storekeeper enumerated a number of articles, including
coffee, sugar, flour, butter, and a quantity of canned goods.
“And was that all?” asked Roger, as the storekeeper paused.
“No. After he had those goods, he asked about a good strong
clothes-line, and then he bought a lock, some screws and nails, and a
hammer and a screwdriver.”
“And was that all?”
“That’s all, so far as I can remember. Oh, no! he did buy some smoking
tobacco and a couple of pipes and some packages of cigarettes.”
“And how did the fellow look? Can you describe him?”
“I can’t say much except that he was rather tall and thin and had, as
you said, a little black mustache, and heavy black curly hair. His face
was very dark, as if he had gotten well tanned. He kept on his
automobile goggles, and had his cap pulled down well over his forehead,
and his dust-coat was buttoned up tight around his neck.”
“You haven’t seen him since?”
“I think I saw the automobile going by the door late one evening a
couple of nights ago, but I am not sure. You see, I am getting old, and
my eyesight ain’t none too good,” concluded the storekeeper.
When Dave and Roger returned to the automobile and headed the car in the
direction of Frytown, both were in a meditative mood.
“I think I can begin to figure this out, Roger,” said Dave slowly. “It
looks to me as if Jessie and Laura were being held prisoners somewhere
in this vicinity, and that that fellow who ran the car, whoever he is,
came down here to buy supplies for the crowd.”
“Yes. And do you remember what the storekeeper said about the
clothes-line and a lock and nails? More than likely they’ve got the poor
girls tied fast in some room, and they have put a new lock on the door
and nailed up the windows.”
“What you say would fit in very well with what the storekeeper told us.
If that rascal came here to get his supplies, it would seem to indicate
that the place where the girls are being kept prisoners must be
somewhere in this vicinity.”
“Yes, unless they did not dare to go to any town that was closer by. For
all we know, he may have come from twenty or thirty miles away—or even
farther than that.”
“Well, we’re on the right trail, anyway, and that’s something,” returned
Dave hopefully. Then he gave a sudden exclamation. “My gracious! Why
didn’t I think of that before?”
“Think of what, Dave?”
“Don’t you remember what the storekeeper said about that fellow
purchasing some cigarettes?”
“What of it?”
“Why, just this: One of the things that fastened the crime on Jasniff
and Merwell at the time Mr. Wadsworth’s jewelry factory was robbed was
the fact that both of those rascals were inveterate cigarette smokers,
and smoked a certain brand of Turkish cigarettes—a kind that had a
peculiar gold and blue band around the box. I’m going back and ask that
storekeeper what kind of cigarettes that fellow got.”
And so speaking Dave made a sharp turn and brought the car around, and
in a moment more was on his way back to the store.
“Back again, eh?” said the proprietor. “You weren’t gone very long.”
“I believe, Mr. Linton, you said that fellow we were talking about
purchased some tobacco and cigarettes?”
“So I did.”
“Can you remember anything about the cigarettes? Please try to think
exactly of what happened when he asked for them.”
“Hum! Let me see!” The storekeeper meditated for a moment. “Oh, yes, I
remember now! He asked me if I had any Doradas or Mimoras, or any other
Turkish cigarettes. I told him No, we had very little call for anything
like that. So then he took half a dozen packages of these,” and the
storekeeper pointed to some cigarettes in his showcase.
“Thank you. That’s all I wanted to know,” answered Dave. “Good night”;
and he hurried away to the automobile with Roger following.
“Well, what do you make of this?” questioned the senator’s son quickly.
“I think we have found another clue, Roger. That fellow asked for
Doradas cigarettes. They are a Turkish brand, and come in a box having a
blue and gold band around it—the same kind of cigarettes that Jasniff
smoked when he and Merwell robbed Mr. Wadsworth’s safe.”