"Now what?" demanded Tom.
"I'm going to find out where they went, Tom. They didn't come this far, I am sure of that."
"Why?"
"Because I can't find their tracks in the road. The tracks of the runabout are there and that's all. They didn't come this far. They stopped or branched off somewhere between here and that bridge the road men are repairing."
"Why can't we search the road for tracks?" asked Sam.
"Just what I am going to do. We can go down every half mile or so and look the ground over."
This was done three times, and twice they saw no tracks. Then they located them once more, about half way between the bridge and Plankville.
"Perhaps we had better follow them up on foot for awhile," suggested Dick. "They aren't in the roadway half a mile from here."
"Well, there are no side roads nearby," returned Tom. "And no houses or barns, either," he added, searching the moonlit landscape.
Lantern in hand, Dick led the way, the others following. Thus several hundred feet were covered. Then all came to a halt and stared at each other. The tracks of the touring car led from the roadway directly into a big field, backed up by what looked to be a dense woods.