“It’s a wonder some one didn’t see them.�
“Well,� admitted Roy, “the rail isn’t in plain sight except from certain places. And, I suppose, even if some one had seen the actual theft taking place, they would think that it was the real owners of the horses who were unhitching them.�
“Maybe,� agreed his father doubtfully. “Anyway, no one seems to have done anything toward stopping them.�
“But there are some here who know more about it than they are letting on,� murmured Teddy and he looked significantly across the street toward Duck Rimor’s place.
“It shore is too bad,� affirmed Bug Eye. “But pile in, everybody! It’s going to be a tight squeeze, but these flivvers are made of rubber, I guess. Got bags, ladies? All right, Teddy! Chuck ’em in the back. Shore, put yo’ dad’s in there, too! All ready? Here we go! Hang on!�
The car started with a jerk, the transmission bands being worn thin. Roy looked around from the front seat to see that they cleared the edge of the station, which they did by the fraction of an inch. Bug Eye was eccentric in his driving at times.
As Roy gazed, he noticed a figure coming out of Duck Rimor’s. It was the cowboy in the checkered shirt. Catching the ranch boy’s eyes, the puncher grinned derisively and waved mockingly at the departing auto.
CHAPTER IV
A CLUE
As the automobile careened along the dusty road, a strained silence settled over the occupants. The only sounds were the muffled exhaust of the motor and the squeaking and groaning of the springs as the car bounced its way toward the X Bar X.
Bug Eye and Roy were in the front seat and Mr. Manley and the two girls were seated in the rear. Teddy was supporting himself upon a rear door of the touring car, clenching the sides to hold his place against the joltings of the flivver, and bent almost double to avoid hitting the roof whenever Bug Eye dived into a particularly deep rut.