b's downtown quarters.

"Can it be true?" asked Dave in wonder. "Why don't they--where was the
car and--"

"Course it's true!" cried Phil joyously. "But I do think they might have
spent four or six cents more to tell us something about it. They kept
right down to ten words all right!"

MacLester was for starting to Griffin at once. "But we can't," Way
remonstrated. "We've got to stay by Mr. Rack and don't you
remember--half that reward?"

However, the two boys did hurry away immediately to Mr. Bob Rack's
office. He was out. The stenographer said he would return soon and the
lads waited.

Detective Rack appeared greatly pleased with the telegram from Billy and
Paul. "A little more information might have helped us; still, perhaps,
we do not need it," said he. "We will all go to Griffin this evening.
Would you wire your friends there to meet us at--" he paused and glanced
into a book of time-tables--"to meet us at the train due there at eleven
o'clock?"

With so much to occupy their thoughts and tongues, Dave and Phil found
train time and their meeting with the detective at the station at hand
without one dull minute having passed. And though they had discussed the
evident ability and the possible plans of Robert Rack from all angles,
they were no nearer a conclusion as to what he meant to do than they
were to guessing how Jones and Worth had recovered the Big Six--a
question they were pleasantly impatient to have answered.

Not by word or look did Bob Rack reveal one whit of what he had found
during the day to the pair of his youthful admirers, who had a seat
opposite him, while the train bore rapidly on toward Griffin. When he
talked about the case at all it was only to ask a few questions--some of
them far removed from the problem in hand, the boys thought. For
instance when he desired to know whether there was plenty of lighting
gas in the tank of the Torpedo, both were puzzled, though they answered
that there was.

"We were extremely fortunate in getting away to-night. Every hour counts
now," said Mr. Rack, "but as I have some papers to look over I'll get at
them."

Swiftly through the summer night the train sped on. The detective seemed
to be occupied with nothing more important than some road maps, but his
companions did not venture to interrupt him and in their own
conversation spoke in low tones. The distance seemed very great,
somehow, to the impatient boys. But at last----

"Here we are!" said Robe