d. Hurrah. Meet us
with car eleven o'clock train. Phil."

"Hully gee! I'll bet _they're_ glad!" chirped Paul. But had he known all
that Dave and Phil now knew, he would have been even more elated and
excited than he was.

After supper the boys stepped around to the garage. Willie Creek had
just left in his own car for Port Greeley, said his boy of all work,
half asleep on the cot in the office. "Somebody telephoned him he could
sell a car, if he could get over there and give a demonstration right
off," the lad explained. "He won't be home till toward mornin', maybe."

"We were only going for a ride, anyway," said Billy.

The facts were that he and Paul had decided to drive out to see Alfred
Earnest and his friend Hipp. They believed they could tell from the
manner of these young gentlemen whether they had not known all along
where the Six was hidden.

"For an entire stranger would never have found those planks _away over
beyond that hill_," declared Worth with confident emphasis.

If Earnest or Hipp had had any knowledge of the stealing of the Auto
Boys' car, however, they concealed the fact amazingly well. They
appeared most hearty in their congratulations upon the machine's
recovery, as Billy and Paul told the story to them and to Rev. and Mrs.
Earnest at the latter's home. Later the cordial young minister and his
wife were taken for a ten-mile spin. Then Mrs. Earnest insisted that all
the boys come in for a little lunch. Worth and Jones had abundant time
at their disposal as they must remain up to meet Phil and Dave, and
cordially accepted the invitation. It was just after ten o'clock when
they at last drove back to Griffin and to the American House, there to
wait until train time.

"Hello, here! Fobes has been looking for you boys high and low!" said
Mr. Wagg, severely, hastening out to meet them. "That man he has had in
the lockup has escaped. Sawed the bars of a cell and went out through a
corridor window. It is bad luck, I'm afraid. Fobes says the man made an
offer to tell you where your car was if you'd pass some saws in to him."

"But I never _did_ it!" cried Billy Worth, indignantly. Quickly he had
seen the likelihood that suspicion might point toward him in the
remarkable coincidence that, directly the stolen car was found, Coster
had been enabled to break jail.

The hotel telephone rang long and loudly. The very tone of haste and
impatience was in its harsh clang and clamor.

"Well!" shouted Mr.