The ground was pretty well trampled over, as though a number of men had been walking back and forth many times in their occupation, whatever it could have been. Paul also saw a number of indentations in the earth, which made him think some heavy object had rested in that open space.
"Whatever they brought here," remarked Jack, presently, "it looks like they must have used some sort of vehicle to carry it; because these tracks have the appearance of ruts made by wheels."
"Rubber tires, too," added Phil. "I've seen too many of 'em not to know; for my father has a garage."
"Is that so?" exclaimed Bobolink, shaking his head, as if to say that with each discovery the mystery, instead of getting lighter, only grew more dense.
"And look how close together they seem to be, would you; a pretty narrow bed for a wagon, don't it seem?" asked Tom Betts.
"But they run off that way," observed Bobolink, "and there are so many of the tracks you can hardly tell which are mates. There's Paul followin' 'em up; reckon we'd better keep with him, boys. We don't want to get separated."
Paul soon came to a stop, and was joined by the others.
"Queer how the marks all seem to knock off about here," he remarked, pointing to the ground. "You can't find one further on. And it isn't that the ground suddenly gets hard, either. This looks the queerest thing of them all. What do they run that thing with wheels up and down here for? Anybody know?"
But silence was the only answer he received, since every one of the six other scouts seemed to be scratching his head, and wrinkling his forehead, as though deep in thought, yet unable to see light.
So they went back to the field forge, to look around again, though their labor was all they had for their pains.