"There's still another. He was the chap who got stuck in the mud up in the gully. Perhaps he's up there yet, if the Dodds haven't caught him on the way out."
The trooper despatched two of his men up the gully road at once, to see if they could locate the other member of the gang.
"Well, Montrose," he said, turning to the former hired man, "so we've landed you at last."
Gus looked down at the handcuffs.
"I'd have been clear away if it wasn't for them brats of boys!" he said viciously.
"They were a little too smart for you and your gang."
The four auto thieves were herded together and an officer with drawn revolver was put on guard.
"I guess we'll go back into the cave and see what we can find," decided the trooper.
Leaving the prisoners under guard, he and some of his men, together with the Hardy boys, went back into the main cavern, where the officers inspected the remaining cars and the loot that they found stored there. The sergeant rubbed his hands gleefully.
"Everything's here," he said. "At least, everything we need to make an airtight case against that gang. And we'll recover the rest of the stuff without much trouble, I imagine."