In the gray light of the morning a wise and significant smile flickered across Piper’s face.
“There’s but one explanation,” he answered. “The men who tried to rob the bank last night did not get those securities. They were stolen at some previous time.”
CHAPTER XXII.
FOLLOWING THE TRAIL.
“Gee whiz!” exclaimed Hooker, astonished. “Who stole them?”
“That question,” admitted Sleuth, “I’m not ready to answer at present. I’ll focus my marvelous discerning intellect upon it after the would-be bank robbers are securely in limbo. I’ll guarantee that the posses searching for them are rushing hither and thither without rhyme, reason or system. That’s no way to hunt the scoundrels down. Of course they may blunder upon the fugitives by accident, but the trail should be taken up and followed in a scientific manner.”
“That’s easy enough to talk about,” said Roy; “but, without the aid of bloodhounds, how is it to be done?”
“To begin with, we know they fled in this direction, for old Quinn saw them running from the back of the bank and fired at them. They must have reached Middle Street a short distance away. It was impossible to follow their tracks in the dark, but it’s now daylight, and I’m going to try to pick up the trail.”
“A fine job you’ll do at that,” scoffed the other boy. “Even if you should find their tracks, you’d need the skill of an Injun to follow ’em.”
“We’ll see,” said Piper—“we’ll see about that. There’s a cedar hedge running from Main Street to Willow, and any person who dashed through that hedge at full speed must have left some tokens.”
“Let’s examine the hedge.”