Fenn darted forward, and would have taken after the man on the run, only Bart put forth a restraining hand. Fenn looked at his chum in surprise.
“Easy, Stumpy,” murmured the tall lad, as he drew his fleshier companion out of hearing of the crowd in front of the animal store. “Do you want to give the whole thing away? Several times we’ve lost trace of this man because we were in such a rush, and I don’t want it to happen again. You nearly spoiled everything, Stumpy.”
“I’m sorry,” faltered Fenn, “but I want to get at him, and have him explain.”
“So do we all,” went on Bart, “but we can do it better by going slow and easy. He hasn’t seen us, and we can trail him and see where he goes.”
“Did you notice what he had in the paper?” asked the fat lad excitedly.
“What was it?” asked Frank, who had not caught Fenn’s first exclamation.
“A mud turtle. That’s what he got in the store.”
“Say, you had better talk lower,” cautioned Frank, for Fenn had spoken loudly. “People in the crowd are beginning to notice us.”
“Oh, I guess there’s no danger,” decided Bart. “There are lots of strangers in town to-day, and we won’t attract much attention. But we must take after this fellow. We’ll trail him carefully now. He’s still on this side of the street, and he’s going slowly,” Bart announced, after taking an observation over the heads of the crowd still in front of the store window. “Fenn and I will take this side of the street, and you and Ned can take the other side, Frank. If either of us miss our man we’ll meet later at the hotel. Go ahead now, and keep out of his sight. Go slow, as if you were only looking at the sights, but keep your eye on the man. We’ll try and find where he belongs, who he is, and why he collects turtles.”