with all their searching the day before, the motor boys and their friends had really secured no definite clew as to the trail taken by noddy nixon and his cronies when they ran off with bill cromley. all they had been able to establish was the fact that the rascals had not taken to certain roads, for they had not been seen on them.

“and this,” said tinny as they started out on the search, “limits us to two or three well-known trails. but, with all that, it isn’t going to be easy work.”

the miners on horseback had been told to follow a road which the boys had not had a chance to investigate the day before. as for tinny, jerry and the other two lads, they elected to go back to the spring near which professor snodgrass had been found bound.

“from there we’ll take up the trail,” said tinny.

the automobile soon took them to the spot[172] where they had turned back the night before. as they came in sight of the little cave bob remarked:

“i wonder if there are any of those moths in there now. the professor might like to have some.”

“we haven’t any time now to stop and see,” decided jerry. “every hour makes it more dangerous for bill.”

after a consultation and a further casual looking over of the trail in the vicinity where the professor had been bound, it was decided that the only way to get real clews to the whereabouts of noddy was by asking persons along the road who might have seen the wagon passing.

they had a very good description of the vehicle, thanks to the observations of professor snodgrass. before this they had not been certain whether it was an auto or a dump cart, for hang gow was so excited that he hardly knew what he was talking about.

but the little scientist was accustomed to observing accurately, and he had had a good view of the vehicle in which poor bill lay bound. thus it could be described to persons of whom information was sought. uriah snodgrass had also taken note of the two horses and, as they belonged to the animal kingdom, he could speak[173] intelligently of certain marks and blemishes on them which would lead to easy identification.

“well, at least we know what we’re looking for,” said jerry, as they started on again.

however, if they hoped soon to pick up the trail of the kidnapers they were doomed to disappointment. after journeying along for several miles, the trail being a lonely one, they met a party of prospectors who were developing a mine.

“did you see anything yesterday of a wagon with a bound man in it passing here?” asked tinny, who knew some of the miners slightly.

“no,” answered the leader. “we didn’t. why, did you lose somebody?”

“it’s a case of kidnaping,” tinny answered, and he told briefly what had happened.

“those fellows sure had their nerve with them!” was the general opinion of the prospectors, and to this the searching party agreed.

they kept on, making several inquiries at different places, but getting no clews until nearly noon. by that time they had found the trail so rough that it was a risk to take the automobile over it in certain places, and they had been obliged to creep along in low gear.

“this isn’t doing my new car any great amount of good,” decided tinny. “i think we’d better stop when we get to nolan’s pass and leave the machine there. we’ll hire horses. they’ll be[174] better and quicker, though not quite so comfortable.”

it was at nolan’s pass, a small mining town, that they got the first definite clews since the information given by professor snodgrass.

“say, i think i know the fellows you mean,” said jake stout, to whom they applied for horses. “did one of them have a queer squint in his left eye?”

“that was dolt haven!” exclaimed ned.

“well, he and another chap, who was very bossy, came in here late yesterday afternoon and wanted to know if i would buy a wagon from them,” went on jake, who, in contrast to his robust name, was a thin, wizened specimen of a man. “they wanted to trade the wagon in toward the hire of some horses.”

“did you see the wagon?” asked tinny.

“no. but they said one of the axles had het up on account of not being greased and the wheel was bound on it. they couldn’t budge it without a blacksmith to take it off—sort of fused on, i reckon. there was only two of them, though.”

“they probably left jack pender in the wagon as a guard over bill,” decided jerry. “it was haven and nixon who came here.”

the others agreed with this theory.

“did you hire them any horses?” asked tinny.

“yes. but i didn’t buy the wagon. i said[175] i wasn’t in the habit of buying pigs in a poke, though i might have taken it if they’d run it in here. but they left it about a mile out and walked in, they said. they wanted four horses, but they didn’t have cash enough to hire but two.

“so they took them, and said they’d be back for two more. and they did, later that night. the first two—the one with the squint and the bossy chap——”

“he was noddy nixon,” murmured jerry.

“yes? well, maybe that was his name, but i didn’t hear it,” said mr. stout. “anyhow, them two came back on the horses i had hired out to them and hired two more, which they led away. they gave me a paper agreeing that i might keep the wagon if they didn’t come back with the horses.”

“but four horses are worth more than an old wagon with one wheel fused to the axle, jake,” said tinny, with a grim laugh, for he knew mr. stout. “you’re stuck, old man!”

“oh, no,” replied the other calmly. “i made ’em leave a deposit for more than the four horses were worth.”

“good!” cried mallison.

“where’d noddy get all that money?” asked ned.

“he must have held up and robbed the stage,” suggested jerry.

[176]

“or else they found the blue rock treasure chest,” added bob.

“ho! ho!” laughed the horse dealer. “so you’ve heard that yarn, too, have you?”

“do you think it’s a yarn?” asked jerry.

“sure! a yarn, a fairy story, and nothing else! ask mr. mallison here—he’ll tell you!”

“oh, tinny never believed in it,” said jerry. “no use asking him.”

“i’m beginning to doubt it a little myself,” admitted bob.

“well, anyhow, we have leftover,” remarked ned.

now that they had some definite clew, they were all anxious to hurry along the trail, but jerry suggested that they try to find the disabled wagon, to check up on that part of noddy’s story.

“all right,” agreed tinny, “you boys do that and then we’ll eat and take to horses. i’ll arrange with mr. stout to let us have some. you can ride out on three now if you like, while i put the auto in a garage and get out our camping stuff.”

tinny’s plan seemed wise, and a little later jerry, ned and bob were in the saddle, riding out to where, according to what noddy had told mr. stout, the wagon had been left.

“i wouldn’t be a bit surprised to discover that[177] noddy wasn’t telling anything like the truth,” declared ned, as they ambled along.

“same here,” echoed bob.

but they discovered the wagon just where noddy had said it was, and one wheel was fused so tightly to the axle, because of lack of lubrication, that it was impossible to turn it.

“it begins to look as if we were really after them at last,” observed jerry, when they had inspected the vehicle. as far as any clews in it were concerned their search was fruitless.

“yes, i guess we’ll catch up to them sooner or later,” agreed ned. “but what i can’t understand is why they wanted four horses of mr. stout. two would have been enough with the two they had hitched to the wagon.”

“those horses wouldn’t do for the saddle,” said jerry. “besides, i doubt if they had saddles. and they couldn’t ride bareback, or even with a blanket, for any length of time. i think they sold the team to some miners and with that money, and some which noddy had, they hired the four saddle horses.”

“well, we’ve seen all there is to see here,” said jerry, as they turned away from the stalled wagon. “let’s get back and start off with tinny.”

“we’re going to eat, aren’t we?” asked bob, anxiety manifesting itself in his voice.

[178]

“of course we’re going to have dinner,” laughed ned.

“oh—all right!” and the stout lad breathed a sigh of relief.

with blankets, packages of food, and a simple camping outfit, the party rode off on horses shortly after noon. though it had been comfortable riding in tinny’s auto, the motor boys were not sorry to be again in the saddle. they had done some of this traveling in times past.

now began the search in real earnest, for at last they were on the trail of the kidnapers. word was sent back to the posse of miners from leftover to abandon the trail they were on, since it was a false one.

but cromley’s friends were handicapped by being several hours behind noddy’s crowd.

“they have one disadvantage, though,” jerry said, “and that is they have to keep bill bound all the while. he can’t ride fast in that condition, and they’ll need to accommodate their speed to his horse. they daren’t loosen his ropes or he’ll fight like a wildcat.”

“that’s right,” declared ned. “maybe there isn’t such a handicap against us after all.”

they got little scraps of information here and there about the party ahead of them, and from the general direction taken by noddy and the[179] others, toward evening tinny came to a definite conclusion.

“they’re heading back, and circling around to get to blue rock,” he said.

“do you think so?” asked bob.

“i’m sure of it. why else would they want to make red river canyon? that leads directly to the trail of blue rock.”

“then they hope to force bill to show them the exact spot where the stage went over,” said ned.

“i guess that’s it,” jerry agreed.

“but we’ll have to try to head them off!” exclaimed bob.

“can’t go much farther to-night,” observed tinny, with a glance toward the setting sun. “we’d better look for a place to camp.”

one was found near a spring of water, and the fire was started. bob was overseeing the preparation of the coffee and bacon when the quiet of the mountain region was suddenly shattered by a low but ominous rumble and roar.

“what’s that?” cried jerry.

“sounds like an avalanche!” exclaimed tinny, looking up the side of the mountain stretching far above them. “yes, that’s what it is, boys! an avalanche! we’re in for it, i’m afraid!”