He disappeared from the barn and made a bee-line for the garage. Chet hurried inside but was back in a few seconds.
“I have it!” he shouted. “That guy came here to get the spare tire for the jalopy.”
“The one you had is gone?” Frank asked.
Chet nodded. He suggested that perhaps the man was not too far away. He might be on some side road changing the tire. “Let’s find out,” he urged.
Although the Hardys felt that it would be a useless search, they agreed to go along. They got on their motorcycles, with Chet riding behind Joe. The boys went up one road and down another, covering the territory very thoroughly. They saw no parked car.
“Not even any evidence that a driver pulled off the road and stayed to change a tire,” Frank remarked. “No footprints, no tool marks, no treads.”
“That guy must have had somebody around to pick him up,” Chet concluded with a sigh.
“Cheer up, Chet,” Frank said, as they walked back to the house. “That spare tire may turn out to be a clue in this case.”
When the boys entered the kitchen again, they were met with anxious inquiries from Callie and Iola.
“What in the world were you doing-dashing out of here without a word?” Callie asked in a shaking voice.