"What happened?" asked Frank. "How on earth do you come to be down here, tied up like this?"
"Hold-up!" said the older man briefly. He looked up toward the road, an anxious expression on his face. "I don't suppose you met a truck along the road anywhere?"
The boys shook their heads.
"It's gone, then," said the younger man with a gesture of resignation. "Six thousand dollars' worth of goods!"
"We'll have to get back to town and report this."
"We can take you back," said Frank quickly. "We have motorcycles up on the road."
"Fine. Let's hurry!"
The two men started back toward the path at a rapid gait and the three boys hurried along. As they ascended the slope, the plump young chap explained what had happened.
"We're truck drivers for the Eastern Importing Company, and we were bringing a load of silk into Bayport," he said. "Right at the top of the embankment we were held up by those two men."
"How long ago?" Joe asked.