One of them had attacked Hang Gow on pretense of entering the kitchen to ask for something to eat. The Chinese had been knocked out by a blow on the head with some blunt instrument, but before he lapsed into unconsciousness on the floor under his table he had seen through a window the attack on Bill Cromley.
In spite of his struggles, Cromley had been overpowered and taken off in a wagon or an auto; Hang Gow was not quite sure or quite clear about this.
“At any rate, they’ve got Bill!” exclaimed Ned.
“It’s a wonder the men at the mine didn’t hear something of the fight,” remarked Bob.
“They didn’t hear a thing,” reported Tinny. “They were blasting about that time, and that probably accounts for their not hearing anything of what went on here. Besides, it was all over in a few minutes, according to Hang Gow. They must have taken Bill by surprise. But now that we know what happened, we’ve got to do something!”
“You said it!” cried Bob, with sudden energy. “Come on! Let’s trail after Noddy and his gang!”
“That’s what we’ll have to do if we want to get Bill back,” added Ned.
“If Bill wasn’t handicapped by that lame leg of his,” said Jerry, “he’d have put up a better fight, I’m sure.”
“Well,” remarked Tinny, “I think there’s only one thing to do, as you boys have suggested. We must begin a search for Bill. We can’t leave him in the hands of those rascals, though they’ll probably treat him decently for the sake of the information they hope to get out of him.”