“They had the sign covered. But they came this way and I have followed them too closely to be mistaken. Stop them, I say!”
“Dan! you don’t know who these men are,” gasped Mr. Polk, as the motorcycle came to a halt and the excited boy leaped off.
“I don’t care who they are!” declared Speedwell, his righteous indignation still inspiring him. “I saw what they did——”
“Are you sure? Can’t you be mistaken?”
“Didn’t they just come from Riverdale?”
“Ye-es. They came from that direction.”
“And I have been chasing them. There was no other car.”
“But the gentlemen are beyond suspicion of any such act as you relate, Dan!” cried the deputy sheriff. “One of them is Thomas Armitage, of Compton, and the other is Raleigh Briggs, who has offered the prize for the cross-country run of a thousand miles which is to be arranged next month—you’ve heard of it. Why, Dan, neither of them would allow his chauffeur to commit such an act of violence as you relate.”
CHAPTER III
THE MYSTERY OF THE MAROON CAR