"They would have wired us if they had."
"That's true, too." The bearded man scratched the back of his head in perplexity. "I can't figger it out at all. Well, it ain't our fault. We've done the best we could."
"Yeah, they can't blame us."
"You're sure you went all through the train?"
"Right through. There was no two boys on it. There was one lad sittin' in the Pullman readin' a book, but he wasn't like the description of either one of 'em. Wore glasses. Looked like he was a regular little willy-boy."
"Wore glasses, eh? Well, he wasn't one of the Hardy boys, then. They don't wear glasses."
The pair moved off down the platform.
"You'd better go through the night train when it comes in. We'll keep on the lookout for 'em for a few days more until we get word one way or the other. The boss would be sore if they got through on us."
"Well, they haven't got through yet. That's one thing certain." The two men moved out of earshot.
Frank was tingling with excitement. He stepped toward the train, intending to go to Joe and tell him what he had heard. Then he hesitated. The rough-looking man who had searched the train might conceivably think he had been mistaken and might go through the train again. If he saw the two lads together he might be suspicious, spectacles or no spectacles. So Frank sauntered unobtrusively up and down the platform until it was time for the train to leave. Then he swung himself on board, but not until the train was actually pulling out did he rejoin his brother.