“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 179 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.”