“It’s rather queer,” commented Dr. Morrison, when he had listened to the details the boys gave him.
“Do you suppose some one came and carried him off?” asked Bob.
“More likely he was not as badly hurt as you supposed,” replied Dr. Morrison. “He may have been only stunned by a blow on the head. When he regained his senses he probably feared another attack, and so he hurried from the hut. Let me take the lamp.”
The physician flashed the lantern outside the door of the cabin, holding it close to the ground.
“I thought so,” he said. “See, there are a few grains of the gold-dust showing on the door sill, and here are more, farther along the path. The man has gone away, and has left a little golden trail.”
The physician attempted to follow it, but the yellow specks soon disappeared and there was no other clew.
“Depend on it, he has run away in fear,” said the doctor. “Rather disappointing, too. I believe he could tell a queer story. Who robbed him, I wonder?”
“It was——” began Bob, but a nudge from Jerry stopped him.
“We saw some one run from the hut,” explained Jerry. “We gave chase in the automobile, but the fellow cut across lots and we couldn’t follow.”
“I suppose I may as well go back,” announced the doctor. “There is no use staying here. I don’t believe the miner will return and solve the mystery for us.”