Jack repeated his story, leaving out the part about the white card. For a while there was silence. Mr. Armstrong mused. Finally he said, “It must have been some man who knows the family and bought her some candy.”
“But why should he leave her at the end of the town to walk back alone,” demanded Ken.
Mr. Armstrong shrugged his shoulders wearily. “I can’t understand that myself,” he said. “But the fact remains that the child was not harmed. Which leads us to the conclusion that the man must have been a friend.”
The boys had no desire to argue with the older man and so they left it at that. In the street, Ken asked, “Why did you leave out that part about the white card, Jack?”
“I didn’t think it mattered,” was the answer. “I figured that if I told him about it, he would give it over to the police, and then it would get into the newspapers and then everybody would know about it. And the guilty man, even if he is crazy, would know better than to do anything to give himself away. As it is, nobody knows, except the three of us, and by a little quiet work we may track the culprit down.”
“I think you did right,” spoke up Paul.
“That is to be seen,” added Ken skeptically.
The boys walked down to Leonard Street and Jack pointed out the exact spot where he came upon Betty. The neighborhood was one occupied mostly by the poorer people of the town. Of course, there was nothing to be found in the way of clues. They walked all around the neighborhood and noticed the various shacks and empty lots but did not come across any man that was tall and kindly looking. At last they decided to give up the search and go to a meeting of their boy scout troop, the Red Fox Patrol.
All the other boys—Nuthin’, The Carberry twins, William and Wallace, Bobolink, Bluff—were already there when the three arrived. Pressed for information, Jack for the third time re-told his story.