hem?"

"Well, you've got one of 'em right here," answered one of the men,
stepping forward. "What do you want?"

"Who are you?"

"I am Jackson Fells, and I happen to be sheriff of this county."

"The sheriff!" burst out Dick. "Just the man I'd like to meet. Sheriff,
I've got a prisoner for you, and I want you to raise a posse as quickly
as you can and round up five or six other persons."

"Eh, what? A prisoner?" cried the sheriff. "Where is he?"

"Tied up good and tight inside the car. Tell me where to take him, will
you?"

"Hum! Well, I guess you better take him over to my office first and
we'll look into this," said the sheriff. "It's right around the corner.
I was just going home."

The county official got into the car and the other men followed on foot,
anxious to see what was going on. In less than a minute they reached the
sheriff's office and several lamps were lit and the chauffeur was
brought in.

It took quite some time for Dick and Sam to make themselves clear and
get Sheriff Fells to move. The driver of the big touring car was
questioned, and then placed in charge of the keeper of the lock-up.

"Maybe you'll get off easy, if you turn state's evidence," said one of
the men present. "You'd better do it, too, for this is a serious case."

"I'm willing to tell all I know," growled the prisoner. "I was led into
this before I knew what was going on."

"We're going to use the car to round up the others," added Dick.

"Go ahead, I don't care. It don't belong to me anyway--I hired it from
my boss."

"Then we'll settle with your boss," said Sam.

One of the men present was a constable and another a special policeman,
and both said they would go along with the sheriff and the boys. The
posse went well armed, for Dick had warned them that some of the
rascals to be rounded up were desperate characters.

"We don't want any of them to get away," said the oldest Rover boy. "We
want to make each one a prisoner."

"Don't you worry, young man, they won't get away from me," answered the
sheriff. "I used to be on the New York force before I moved out here,
and I know that class of scoundrels. I know that old stone house, and
when we get there we'll fix a plan to bag every one of 'em."

All were soon in the touring car, and once more Dick put on the speed.
They ran so fast it made the constable chuckle.

"Gee whizz!" he murmured. "We're exceedin' the speed limit, Sheriff!
Don't you think I'd better hop out