om Shopton. "Then he may have
called for help, and some autoists, passing, may have heard and taken
him away."

"Yes, but where, Tom? Whoever called for help was taken away, that's
sure. But where?"

"To some hospital, I suppose."

"Then hadn't we better inquire there? There are only two hospitals of
any account around here. The one in Shopton and the one in Waterfield.
My wife is on the board of Lady Managers there. We could call that
hospital up and--"

"We'll look along the road first," said Tom. "If we begin to make
inquiries at the hospitals there will be a lot of questions asked, and
a general alarm may be sent out. Mr. Nestor wouldn't like that, if he
isn't in any danger. And it may turn out that he has met an old friend,
and has been talking with him all this while, forgetting all about the
passage of time."

They were now driving along the highway that led from the little suburb
where Mr. Nestor lived, to the main part of Shopton, just beyond which
was Tom's home. This section was country-like, with very few houses and
those placed at rather infrequent intervals. The road was a good one,
though not the main-traveled one, and Mr. Nestor, as was known,
frequently used it when he rode his bicycle, an exercise of which he
was very fond.

As Tom and Mr. Damon drove along, they scanned, as best they could in
the light from the young moon and the powerful lamps on the runabout,
every part of the highway. They were looking for some dark blot which
might indicate where a man had fallen from his wheel and was lying in
some huddled heap on the road. But they saw nothing like this, much to
their relief.

"Do you know, Tom," said Mr. Damon, when they were nearing the town,
and their search, thus far, had been in vain, "I think we're going at
this the wrong way."

"Why, so?"

"Because Mr. Nestor may have fallen, and been hurt, and have been
carried into any one of a dozen houses along the road. In that case we
wouldn't see him. We've passed over the most lonely part of the journey
and haven't seen him. If the accident occurred near the houses his
cries would have brought some one out to help him. He is well known
around here, and, even if he were unconscious and couldn't tell who he
was, he could be identified by papers in his pockets. Then his family
would be notified by telephone."

"Perhaps you are right, Mr. Damon. We may be wasting time this way.
What do you suggest?" asked Tom.

"That we don't delay an