An automobile whizzed past on the main highway, its bright headbeam momentarily illuminating the logging road exit.
Dan bent to tie a dangling shoelace. In stooping, he noticed a small piece of cardboard lying by the railing almost at his feet.
Absently he picked it up, thinking that it looked a little like a railroad ticket check. Then his interest quickened.
“Say, turn on your flashlight a minute, Mr. Hatfield!” he exclaimed. “I think I’ve found something!”
CHAPTER 8
Rain
The bright beam of Mr. Hatfield’s flashlight revealed the torn half of a shipping tag from a freight shipment. Of recent date, it bore the destination of Malborne.
“Malborne is a city of about 500,000 population to the east of here,” the Cub leader remarked.
Disappointed, Dan dropped the tag to the ground. “I guess this isn’t anything after all,” he said.
“No, wait, Dan!” Mr. Hatfield retrieved the torn ticket. “This may have been dropped by one of the men in the station wagon. As a clue, it doesn’t mean much now, but later on, it might.”
Carefully, the Cub leader placed the soiled scrap of cardboard in his jacket pocket.