THE VANISHING CROOKS
The radio boys broke into a run, and soon reached their excited friend.
"What's the matter, Larry?" asked Bob. "You look as though you had just
seen a ghost. What's the trouble?"
"I wish you'd gotten here a few minutes sooner!" panted Larry. "Confound
this blamed crutch of mine. How can anybody hope to make any speed with
one of these things?"
"He can't," said Bob. "But hurry up and tell us what's eating you."
"I just saw the fellows that were in that motor boat when it ran us down!"
exclaimed Larry.
"You did?" cried the radio boys in chorus. "Did you try to stop them?"
"Of course I did," replied Larry. "But they evidently recognized me, for
they gave me one look, and then started off at top speed. I tried to run
after them, but I'm too blamed crippled yet to do much speeding, and of
course they got away clean. If you fellows had come along three minutes
sooner, we could have caught them, I think."
"They can't have got very far yet, then," said Bob. "Which way did they
go? It may not be too late to catch them even now."
"They went around that corner," answered Larry, pointing with his crutch.
"I got there as soon as I could, but by the time I arrived there was no
sign of them."
"I'm afraid we haven't much chance to catch them now, but we might as well
try, anyway," said Bob. "Judging from the direction they took, it looks as
though they might have headed for the station. Suppose we each take a
different street, and work down to the station, keeping our eyes open as
we go along? Even if we don't succeed in catching them, we may find
somebody who knows them and can give us some information."
"Sounds good to me," agreed Joe, briefly, and the others also assented to
Bob's plan.
"I'll go straight down High Street, then," said Bob, decisively. "You take
Jerome Avenue, Joe. You take Van Ness Avenue, Herb. And you take Southern
Boulevard, Jimmy. They all run together near the station, and we can meet
there. So-long, Larry. Whether we learn anything or not, we'll come back
to the hotel and let you know all about it."
"All right, then, I'll be waiting for you," said Larry, with a wave of
his hand. "I only wish that I could help you, but I'm a lame horse yet.
Good luck, anyway."
The radio boys set out at top speed, each one hunting high and low along
the street assigned to him, and asking questions of every one he met. But
the strangers seemed to have vanished into thin air, for, hunt as they
would, the boys could find no trace of them. At the railroad station they
learned that a train had left for New York only a few minutes before, but
the ticket agent said he did not remember selling tickets to any men such
as the boys described.
"That doesn't prove anything, though," he said, as he noted their
disappointment. "I sell so many tickets here during the day that I don't
notice who buys them much. The only time I'd be likely to notice anything
would be if the parties were excited or nervous, and I don't remember
anything like that this afternoon."
The boys thanked him, and left the station.
"That's too bad," said Bob. "I would have given a lot to have caught those
fellows for Larry. People that are mean and selfish enough to upset a boat
and then not even try to rescue the people in it, ought to get what's
coming to them."
"I'd certainly have enjoyed taking a swift punch or two at them myself,"
agreed Joe.
"Well, if we didn't catch them, it wasn't for lack of trying," said Herb.
"People looked at me as though they thought I was crazy when I asked them
questions about the fellows we were after. I didn't even know enough about
them to describe them."
"My idea was that they'd probably keep on running even after they'd gotten
away from Larry, and in that case somebody would have been sure to notice
them," explained Bob. "It looks as though they were wise enough to slow
down as soon as they thought they were safely away, though."
"No use crying over spilt milk," said Jimmy philosophically. "Let's go
back to Larry and report 'nothing doing.'"
"I suppose that's about all we can do," agreed Bob. "We'll keep a sharp
lookout on the way back, and we may find something, after all."
But this hope was doomed to disappointment. There was no sign of the
rascals they sought, and there was no help for it but to tell Larry of
their lack of success.
The latter was naturally greatly disappointed, but he put a cheerful face
on the matter.
"When they once got away from me, I gave up hope of catching them, for
this time, anyway," he said. "Clintonia is getting to be such a big town
that it's easy for people to lose themselves in it. The only thing to do
is hope for better luck next time. I'm mighty grateful to you fellows for
trying so hard to find them, too."
"Don't thank us for doing nothing," said Bob, a little ruefully. "If we
had caught those rascals, it would have been different."
"Oh, it was just hard luck that you fellows didn't come along a few
minutes sooner. We'd have got them then, sure. But I've got a hunch that
we'll run across them again."
"I'll bet you traveled faster with that stick of yours than you ever
thought you could, didn't you?" asked Herb, with a grin.
"I guess I did," laughed Larry. "I must have looked funny hopping along
there. But it won't be long now before I'll be traveling around on my own
two feet again."
"You're certainly looking better every time I see you," remarked Bob. "I
guess you'll be plenty strong enough to start in at steady work at the
broadcasting station next week, won't you?"
"Oh, sure," responded Larry. "I could do it this week, as far as that
goes."
"Don't get too ambitious," said Joe. "A week's rest here will do you all
kinds of good."
"Do you find the grub as good as we told you it would be?" asked Jimmy.
"It's simply heavenly," said Larry, solemnly.
"Say!" exclaimed Bob, suddenly, "have any of you Indians happened to
think what next Monday is?"
"Sure," said Herb, flippantly. "It's the day after next Sunday. Ask me
something harder next time."
"That's right," said Bob, giving him a withering glance. "As our friend
Herbert says, it is the day after Sunday, but it also happens to be
Columbus Day, and therefore a holiday. How did we ever come to forget
that?"
"Hooray!" they shouted, and with one accord linked arms and executed an
impromptu dance.
"That being so, let's go with Larry when he reports for work," proposed
Joe. "Who's game to do it?"
"I'm with you!" exclaimed Bob. "We can see that Larry gets there all
right, and maybe Mr. Allard will show us over the station. We were in such
a hurry when we were there before that we couldn't see very much."
"I'd like to go first rate," said Herb. "But I'm so far behind on my
French that I'm afraid I'll have to stay at home and make up for lost
time. I'm 'way back in math., too."
"I won't be able to go either, I'm afraid," said Jimmy, dolefully. "Dad
has just taken a big contract, and I've promised to help him all my spare
time next week. I'd forgotten about Monday being a holiday, though," he
added, truthfully.
"Well, if you can't, that's all there is to it," said Bob. "Maybe you'll
change your minds before then, though."
"I don't want you to come just on my account, fellows," said Larry. "Of
course, I'd love to have you come, but I don't want you to think you've
got to."
"It isn't that at all," Bob assured him. "In the first place, it will be
fun to take the trip, and then, if we get a chance to look around the
station, we may get some good tips for our new set."
"Well," said Larry, doubtfully, "since you put it that way, it will be
great to have you come with me. I guess I've got influence enough around
there already to show you the inside works."
"All right, then, we'll consider that settled," said Bob. "Joe and I will
call for you early in the afternoon. By that time Mr. Brandon will be
back, and maybe he'll come, too."
The radio inspector returned the next day, but he could not promise to
accompany the little party, as he had to attend a meeting at headquarters
the following Monday.