Almost two weeks had passed since they first started work on the prize sets when one evening Doughnuts came rushing into Bob's workroom with woe writ large on his round countenance.
"What do you think, Bob!" he burst out. "Some crook has stolen my set."
"Stolen your set!" echoed Bob. "What in the world do you mean?"
"Just that," went on poor Jimmy. "I had it in my father's shop back of the house. I was working on it last night, and when I went out this evening, it was gone."
"Was anything else stolen?" asked Bob.
"No. That's the funny thing about it," replied Jimmy. "Nothing was touched but my set."
"Then it looks to me as though Buck Looker or one of his crowd had taken it," said Bob, after thinking a few minutes. "You know they have it in for us, and they'd do anything to harm us."
"Yes, but if that's so, why should they steal my set instead of yours or Joe's?" argued Jimmy.
"Probably because it was easier to steal yours," said Bob. "We keep our sets in the house, while yours, being in a shed at the back, would be a lot easier to get away with."
"Jimminy crickets! I'll bet you're right," exclaimed Jimmy. "It would be just the kind of dirty trick they'd be likely to play, too."