“Did you get the license number?” Dan inquired.
“Couldn’t,” Fred explained. “Too dark to see that far. And the men never turned on their car lights.”
“They had a hard time getting the motor started,” Mack contributed. “The driver got mad and began berating the other fellow. Oh, they were heated!”
“You didn’t hear any names spoken?” Brad questioned.
“Names?” Mack repeated. “Well, one of ’em called the other Bernie.”
“That’s two names we have now!” Red exclaimed. “Jake and Bernie. Ever hear of anyone by either of them?”
None of the Cubs had. Mack thought it possible that the pair were known to Mr. Silverton, and in fact, might have been employed by him to do work on the farm.
“That’s possible, of course,” Brad conceded. “But if they were farm workers, why would they talk about being double crossed?”
Although nearly a half hour had elapsed since Mr. Hatfield and the sportsman had gone to the house in search of dynamite, neither had returned. During their absence, Mack and Fred had made an effort to dislodge some of the logs which were causing the water to back up. Their attempts however, had been unavailing.
“The creek still is rising,” Fred declared as the Cubs waded across the piled-up debris to the other side of the stream. “Wonder what’s happened to Mr. Hatfield and Silverton?” Answering his own question, he added: “They may have had to go into the city after dynamite.”