“That sounds as if they were gypsies! What became of them?”
“I can’t tell you about that. You see, one night we lost two of the chickens, and so I set a watch, and the next night I saw these two fellows sneaking up toward the house. I had my shotgun, and asked them what they wanted, and both of them dived out of sight behind some bushes and then ran for the woods. I followed them as far as the shed, and after that I lost track of them, and I’ve never seen them since. The next day I went down to the shed, thinking they might be hanging around somewhere, and there I saw they had been camping out in the shed, and saw where they had cooked the chickens and eaten them.”
“That sounds pretty interesting,” said Dave. “But I hardly think those fellows could have been the men we are looking for. The gypsies we are trying to spot must have had some money, and I don’t think they would camp out in that shed you mention. However, I’m going to remember it,” he added.
The chums questioned the farmer further, but got very little satisfaction. Then the journey in the automobile was resumed.
“What makes you think those fellows could not have been Bopeppo and Vazala?” questioned Roger, when they were once again speeding along the highway.
“I think this kidnapping was conducted in a much more high-toned fashion—if you can call it that, Roger. Those gypsies who used to camp on the outskirts of Crumville were far from poor. In fact, I have an idea that old Mother Domoza is really wealthy.”
“What! Wealthy, and live like that?”
“Exactly. I think she’s a first-class miser. A good many of the gypsies are—especially the older ones. They pretend to be very poor, but they own all sorts of jewelry, precious stones, and, very often, quantities of gold coin. They won’t trust the banks, but carry the stuff around their person, or else bury it somewhere.”
“But these fellows might have been frightened over something, and gone into hiding on that account,” suggested Roger.
“That may be—and I don’t intend to forget what Mr. Rawson said,” answered Dave. “It’s also possible that those two fellows may have been just hangers-on, who helped Bopeppo, Vazala and Mother Domoza, and maybe Nick Jasniff, to commit the crime.”