The chums were used to putting on tires, so the task did not take them very long. There was a device attached to the engine for blowing up the inner tube, so they were saved the trouble of this exertion.
“Suppose you let me run the car for a while?” suggested the senator’s son.
“All right, Roger; go ahead,” was the ready reply. “Only don’t run too fast. I’ve got another idea. Perhaps we’ll be able to trace that other car by the marks left in the roadway. Don’t you remember Horsehair said that the back wheels of the car were equipped with the old-style Horseshoe anti-skid tires?”
“Yes, I remember his saying that.”
They proceeded along the mountain road with care, doing this not only to look for some trace of the car they wanted to locate, but also in order to avoid the rough stones which seemed to crop up most unexpectedly. A quarter of a mile farther on, they came out on a level stretch, and just beyond was a cross-road. Here the woods were thick on all sides, and the roadway was covered with dirt and decayed leaves.
“Certainly a rather lonely place,” announced Roger.
“A splendid place in which to hide,” answered Dave, and then, as they came closer to the cross-road, he added: “Let us stop here, Roger, I want to take a look around.”
The touring-car was brought to a halt, and the chums got out and began to inspect the wagon and other tracks to be seen both on the highway which they had been traveling and the narrow cross-road. A few minutes later Dave uttered a cry.
“Here are the marks of auto tires, Roger! Just look in this muddy stretch. Wouldn’t you say that those were the marks of the Horseshoe anti-skid shoes?”
“That’s just what they are, Dave!” answered the senator’s son, after a brief examination.