“What was that?”
“The shoe on the off fore hoof was different from the others. It had a bar plate, and the mark of it showed plainly wherever it struck yielding soil.”
“I follow you,” Chick nodded.
“And I followed the tracks of that bar-plate shoe,” said Patsy. “There were none in the paved streets, mind you, but I hustled out to the road leading to Benton Corners, and there I found the tracks again.”
“Good work.”
“Knowing I might be mistaken, however, if I assumed that Dewitt had gone to Hanlon’s place, I decided to stick to my trail.”
“A wise decision, Patsy.”
“It took me some time to follow it, but it led me to Hanlon’s place, all right, and, after watching from the woods back of the stable until late in the afternoon, I made a discovery.”
“Yes?”
“Jake Hanlon showed up on horseback and rode into the stable, and Dick Bryan came from the house and joined him.”