“That’s right, to an extent,” decided Blake; “but, at the same time, they may have wanted to give a false clue. So we mustn’t let that fool us. Keep on looking.”
Narrowly they scanned the ground. It was covered with marks, not only of the footsteps of the wreckers, but of the men and boys themselves who had made the unsuccessful raid the night before.
“Hello!” cried Blake, suddenly, as he dived into a clump of bushes. “Here’s something!”
“What is it?” asked Joe.
“A piece of cloth, evidently torn from a man’s clothing. And, Joe, now that I recall it, it’s the same color as the suit worn by Hemp Danforth when he chased us. We’re on the trail at last, Joe!”
CHAPTER XX
THE DISCOVERY
Joe Duncan leaped to his chum’s side. Eagerly he looked at the bit of cloth which, caught on a thorn bush, had ripped from some man’s garment. The cloth was not weather-beaten, which, to the boys, showed that it had not long been hanging there.