rnoon."

They were at the outskirts of Whiteside now. Jerry slowed speed again,
and three minutes later he swung into the parking lot next to Dean's,
in the busiest part of the town. Through the rearview mirror Rick saw
the other car go by, heading for a vacant space at the curb, probably.
He had noticed one a half block down.

The four got out of the car and Jerry took the parking check from the
attendant. "Now what?" he asked.

"We walk down the street," Rick directed, "and if we haven't spotted
him by the time we get to Mark's Supermarket, turn into the store. It
has two entrances."

"If we split up, he'd get confused and we'd lose him easy," Jerry
suggested. "Then we could meet somewhere."

"Amateur," Scotty scoffed. "We don't want to lose him. We want to find
out who he is."

Rick and Scotty led the way, Cap'n Mike and Jerry following. As they
passed the parked car, Rick saw the license plate clearly. It was the
one he had noticed at Kelso's. Probably Carrots or Red, he thought.
Maybe both. Without seeming to look around, he noted every possible
hiding place where the tracker might wait for them, and decided on the
doorway of an office building. There were a half dozen pillars the
tracker could use for cover. He waited until they were a half block
down from the building, then he turned suddenly as though to speak to
the two behind him. Scotty, whose mind worked much the some way,
turned at about the same time.

Rick got a quick glimpse of a stocky youth with carrot hair dodging
into a doorway. He stopped and said, "Don't look back. I've got him
spotted. Let's go into Mark's and we'll figure out how to get rid of
him."

"Carrots," Scotty said gleefully. "We'll have to think of something
really cute for that little friend."

"Fiend," Rick corrected.

They turned into the supermarket and mingled with the shoppers. Rick
led the way behind a counter stacked high with cereals where they
couldn't be seen. "The meeting is open to suggestions," he said. "We
can shake him with no trouble, but that's too good for him. Any
ideas?"

"Lead him on a wild-goose chase," Jerry offered.

Scotty had a grin on his face that boded ill for Carrots Kelso. "I've
got one. I saw it pulled once. Jerry, do you suppose Mildred is at the
office?"

Mildred Clark, the older sister of one of Barby Brant's closest
friends, was the newspaper's bookkeeper. She had been a visitor at
Spindrift several times, accompanying Jerry to picn