“But how come he left her at the edge of the town all by herself. A man must be crazy to do a thing like that.”
“Now that is a clue,” spoke up Paul. “An ordinary man would not do a thing like that.”
“Clue!” exclaimed Ken, surprised. “What sort of clue? What are you talking about?”
“Let me finish,” urged Jack. “As I was talking to her, I noticed that she kept one hand behind her back. I asked her why and she just shrugged her shoulders. I looked and I saw that she was clutching a card in her little fist. I asked where she got it and she told me that the man gave it to her before he left her. I asked her to give it to me and she did. Here it is.”
Jack held up the white card, three inches by two inches. The boys huddled together, examining it. “Why, it is just a plain, blank, white card!” exclaimed Ken.
“That’s right. But what is the meaning of it?” asked Jack.
There was no answer. The three boys were mystified. The whole story sounded very odd and the card made it all the more perplexing. “From all the evidence at hand,” remarked Paul, “I am convinced that there must be something wrong with the man who walked off with the child.”
“But that’s just it,” exploded Ken. “If there is something wrong with the man, he must be found out and put away into an asylum. He can’t be permitted to roam the streets and walk away with children.”
“And if Paul’s suggestions are correct,” added Jack, “God knows what other tricks he might be up to and what damage he may be doing.”
“Now let’s think this out calmly and logically,” said Paul. “First did you ask Betty to describe the man?”