Part 39 (1/2)

”But the fellow who took it could paint out the name and fix her up a little differently and no one could tell she was stolen.”

”Yes, if we gave him time. But what we've got to do now is to get busy.

There's Nel over there.”

Nelson's report was not comforting. No one had seen the launch that morning, and one old fellow who had rowed across the river at seven o'clock and whose skiff was now tied at the end of the wharf declared that the launch had not been there when he arrived.

”That means,” said Nelson, ”that she's been stolen some time in the night. The man over at the ferry slip says I ought to tell the police and the harbor master at once and telephone up to Norwich and to New Haven and Stonington. So I guess we'd better get busy. Of course they could tow the launch over to some place on Long Island just as easily as they could take her to New Haven, and we can't very well telephone there, I suppose.”

”Of course you can,” said Bob. ”They'll give you connection at New York.

But I think you might as well save your money. If she's been stolen there's just one place the thief will take her to, and that's New York or somewhere around there.”

”Maybe,” replied Nelson dolefully. ”Thunder! If we don't find her I'll hate to go back home and face the pater!”

”We'll find her,” said Bob earnestly. ”Do you know where the police hang out?”

”Yes, the man told me where to go,” answered Nelson as they left the wharf.

”If she was towed away,” said Tom, ”they must have used a launch, I suppose.”

”Probably,” Bob agreed. ”They wouldn't be likely to use a rowboat and a sailboat wouldn't be much better. If the wind died out they'd be caught.”

”Unless they started early last night and got over to Long Island or down the sh.o.r.e somewhere while it was dark,” said Nelson. ”They might put in at some little out-of-the-way place and no one would think of looking for them.”

”Well, if it was a launch,” said Tom, ”wouldn't it be a good plan for the police to find out whether any launch is missing?”

”I should think it would,” said Bob, and Nelson agreed. ”We'll suggest it to them. Have you any more of those clever ideas, Tommy?”

”Well; I think we ought to hire a boat of some sort, a launch if we can find one, and hunt around ourselves. It wouldn't be much of a trick to run up to Norwich, and it wouldn't take long to search the sh.o.r.e around here.”

”That's a scheme!” cried Nelson. ”Tommy, you're a brick! It will keep us busy, besides, and I'd go crazy if I had to sit around the hotel here and wait for the police to do things!”

”How about money?” asked Bob.

”Thunder! That's so! They've got our money, too! How much have you got, Bob?”

”Two or three dollars.”

”And I've got four-seventy-five,” said Tom.

”That's about seven,” said Nelson, ”and I've got about a dollar in change. Eight dollars won't go very far, though, when it comes to telephoning all around the country and renting a launch!”

”You forget Dan,” said Bob. ”He's sure to have a lot of tin on him.”

”That's right. And look here!” Nelson stopped and looked back toward the railroad station. ”What time is it, Bob?”

”Almost half-past ten.”

”Then one of us ought to go back to the station and meet Dan. If he goes down there and finds the launch gone there's no knowing where he will wander to. Will you go down and wait for him, Tommy? Tell him what's up and hold him at the station until we get back.”

”All right,” answered Tom. ”And we might be making inquiries about a launch, eh?”