“No, sir.”
“You would have seen him, had he stopped?”
“I think so. Our family generally see everything that is going on around here.”
The neighbor could tell no more, and Captain Putnam and the cadets were nonplused.
“He must have gone somewhere!” declared Pepper. “The question is, where?”
“Let us ask the folks around town if they have seen him?” suggested Dale.
This was done, and at last they met a blacksmith who had seen George Strong on the road a mile outside of Malville.
“He was stopping by the roadside, and two odd-looking men were talking to him,” said the blacksmith. “They seemed to be arguing about something.”
“Wait!” burst out Jack. “Tell us how those men looked, if you can.”
The blacksmith did so, and they listened with interest.