s of the hotel
office.

"Our basket, Willie Creek's lamp and that old raincoat are in our room.
Mr. Hipp brought them and the porter carried them up. Told me so just
after dinner," suggested Paul. "We might tote Willie's lamp over to the
garage."

Straightway up the stairs dashed the two boys. Yes, there at the foot of
the bed the articles in question were deposited. Again the boys examined
the lunch hamper inside and out. Again they searched pockets, lining,
every shred of the muddy, dirty, wrinkled coat.

How freshly the garment, splashed with the rain and the thick pools of
the road, brought back to Billy's mind the dismal afternoon when first
they ventured upon the lonely South Fork! Again, in mental vision, he
saw the Torpedo come over the hill, saw the impossibility of passing the
machine if it did not quickly turn out! Then he recalled--how
vividly!--the dreadful scene, the Big Six ditched, the rain, the heavy,
mist-laden air, the gloom, of approaching darkness.

And in the same train of thought, as he went forward, he seemed to see
the man Hipp and Earnest had told of seeing, marching stolidly along the
wet road, carrying the basket stolen from the Six, wearing this very
raincoat and on his head a low, soft cap, his top boots or leggins
splashed with mud, the rain pelting him till he stumbled as he walked.
How easily the lad's imagination drew for him the picture Alfred Earnest
and his friend Hipp described! Then suddenly----

"For the love of cats, Paul Jones, I am one large punkin head! And so
are _you!_ And so are _all_ of us!"

Quite naturally young Mr. Jones looked up suddenly, startled not a
little by the extraordinary accusation.

"Wh----"

Paul's intended response was violently interrupted. Knocking his own
head with one pair of knuckles, Billy brought those of his other hand
down forcibly on his friend's tawny hair, at the same time and not once,
but repeatedly.

Not until Jones escaped beyond reach, which he did by tumbling
ungracefully backward over a chair, as he retreated from the mysterious
attack, did Worth explain himself.

"That man--the drunken fellow we saw Fobes arrest on Saturday night--you
remember? He's the fellow who wore this raincoat, stole our basket
and--who knows?--maybe the car! Plain as daylight! Why didn't we see it
before? The cap, the leather leggins all caked with mud--I couldn't see
it all plainer if he stood in this very room!"

For a few seconds Paul was lost