"There wasn't any one else," flared Clip. "If Gregory didn't do it, he knows who did."
"The red roadster may have stopped farther along the trail, and one of the men may have come back. Have you got any gasoline, Gregory?" inquired Matt.
"Nary, I ain't," answered the rancher. "That's what them other two fellers wanted ter know."
Clip cast a quick look at Matt.
"Mebby they're running short themselves," said Clip. "They found Gregory didn't have any. Then they made a dead set at ours."
"Or," went on Matt, "those fellows may have asked Gregory just to make sure we couldn't get a fresh supply from him when they had taken what we had. We'll go on for a while and use the pedals."
"We've lost out," cried Clip angrily. "Just at the start, too. Nice thing for you to tell the governor."
Matt looked gloomily at his watch, then started off with all the speed he could throw into the pedals. But the weight of the machinery, now suddenly useless, pulled him back.
His hopes were down, way down. His mysterious enemies had scored a telling stroke at the very start-off.