CHAPTER VIII--THE LOST CAR
"What's the trouble? What's the trouble?" demanded George excitedly whenthe boys had run out through the kitchen door.
"Uncle Sim says that my car is gone," replied George.
"Gone? Gone where?" demanded Grant.
"He doesn't know and that's what he wanted to find out from us."
"Yas, suh. Yas, suh," broke in the old colored man who now approachedthe place where the boys were standing. "Dat car sho' am gone. I jes'came to fin' out if any ob yo' young gen'lemen disremembered who mighthab tuk de car."
"Why, there hasn't anybody taken it," said John. "Have you looked in thegarage, George?"
In spite of his perplexity George laughed slightly as he said, "Icertainly have. You don't think I would solemnly state to you that thecar was gone if I had seen it in the garage, do you?"
The boys by this time had advanced to the open door of the garage and ahasty examination confirmed the statement of the old colored man thatthe automobile was not there.
"What do you suppose it means?" inquired Fred.
"It means somebody has taken it," replied George.
"You mean stolen it?"
"That's what I don't know. I'm trying to explain to you fellows that thecar isn't here and if it isn't here it must be somewhere else. Now, ifit is somewhere else how did it get there and who took it there? Do yousee? Can I make any impression on any of you?"
"Why don't you say in plain English just what you mean?" retorted John."Do you think your car has been stolen?"
"I know it's gone and that's all I know."
"What are you going to do about it?"
"I'm going to take you fellows and Uncle Sim in the old car and find outwhat has happened to the new one, if I can."
"That's all right, we'll be with you in a minute," declared George.
Speedily the boys entered the house and securing their caps at onceprepared to accompany George, who soon started down the lane toward theroad beyond. There was no plan clearly defined in his mind nor had anyone in the party any suggestions to make as to whom the thief might beor what had become of the missing automobile.
In response to George's queries Uncle Sim related his own experiences.He had been coming in from the barn and noticed that the door of thegarage was still open. As he had strict orders to see that this wasclosed every night, he turned aside to carry out the directions. To hissurprise he found that the new automobile was not in its accustomedplace. His first thought naturally was that the boys had taken it foranother drive and yet at that very moment he heard the sound of theirlaughter issuing from the dining-room.
Puzzled by the fact he at once entered the house and soon made hispresence and his errand known.
His statement, startling as it was, at first had not alarmed George, butas soon as he had made a hasty investigation he too was as troubled ashis dusky friend. The car was gone and there was no accounting for itsdeparture.
"Did any of you fellows hear the automobile when it went down thedriveway?" George inquired of his friends as they sped along the dustyroad.
"Not one of us," said John, positively.
"That's the trouble in having such a good car," said George dryly. "Yousee it makes so little noise that it couldn't be heard a few feet away."
"I don't think that was it," spoke up Grant. "I think it's becausecertain members of our party were making so much noise that anearthquake or thunder would have been drowned."
"That's all right, then," said George dryly. "You wait until we findthat car and then we'll talk a little more about it."
"What was the number of your car?" asked Fred.
"27155."
"I think a man has got more nerve to steal an automobile than anythingelse. Of course he knows he will be taken," declared Fred.
"Not always," answered George. "Down on the sea shore there was acertain firm last summer that did a regular business in stolenautomobiles. They painted them different colors and did a few littlethings that altered the appearance so that a man wouldn't recognize hisown car."
"Is that so? Is that true?" demanded Grant.
"It certainly is. I know a man who lost a car down there. Those men workall through the towns and cities in the northern part of the state andrun down to the seashore with the stolen cars in the night when nobodyis around and the next day the cars wouldn't be recognized by the verymen who were looking for them."
"Well, I hope we shan't find your car down there," said Fred warmly.
"I hope we shan't," replied George, "though the main thing I want justnow is to find the car anyway. Some of the good times I promised youfellows this summer will go begging, I'm afraid, if we have lost ourautomobile."
"We'll find it, George," said John, patting his friend on the shoulder.
Meanwhile Uncle Sim, who was still a member of the party, had taken noshare in the conversation. At that moment, however, he uttered anexclamation of surprise and directed the attention of the Go Ahead boysto the old Meeker House which now was not far ahead of them.
"Yas, suh. Yas, suh," said Uncle Sim, his voice trembling in hisexcitement. "I sho' do see some lights in dat cellar ob de ol' house.'Pears like dere's always somethin' wrong in de ole Meeker House."
"How it is, Fred? Do you agree with Uncle Sim?" laughed George.
"I never saw any lights in it," replied Fred glumly.
"No, but that's what you wanted to see, I guess, more than anythingelse," laughed Grant. "But there's a light there now," he addedsuddenly, "I saw it myself. It shines for a minute and then it is gone.There it is again!" he exclaimed a moment later. "You can see it shiningthrough the cellar windows. What do you suppose it is?"
"Spooks," said George solemnly. "They usually have a supper there once ayear and I think to-night is the regular time for their meeting."
"Do you want to stop?" demanded Fred quickly.
"I don't mind," replied George. There was no enthusiasm, however,manifest among the boys, although every one jokingly declared that hewas not afraid. The excuse was commonly given that the necessity ofhasty investigation into the loss of the automobile demanded action inother directions. Consequently no stop was made and although every boywas frequently glancing behind him at the old Meeker House no light wasseen nor did any additional or unusual sounds come from that direction.
When the boys had gone beyond the corner their thoughts once morereturned to the problem which was confronting them. The mystery of thelost car must be solved. Although there were many suggestions offeredthere was not one of the boys that had any clearly outlined plan as towhat must be done in order to find the lost car or obtain informationconcerning those who had taken it.
"I have a suggestion," broke in Grant at last.
"What's that?" demanded Fred.
"Why, it's your friend, the tramp. Probably he's the man who has beenhanging around the place for several days and when his opportunity camehe took it."
"Which do you mean, the opportunity, or the car?" laughed Fred.
"Both. His opportunity was to take the car."
"That tramp," declared Fred solemnly, "didn't have strength enough abouthim to push the button to turn on the power."
"That's something you don't know," retorted his friend. "I think whenyou are through with it you'll find that the car disappeared at the sametime the tramp did. No one has seen him since," added Grant, positively.
"And from all I can learn," retorted Fred, "nobody saw him before exceptmyself, so you haven't run down your problem yet."
When the boys arrived at the Corners, as the little nearby hamlet wascalled, they made many inquiries of the people they met, but no wordconcerning the missing car was heard. There were several suggestionsfrom the country people that other cars had been lost within the pastfew weeks, but none of them was able to add to the information which theboys already possessed.
Disappointed by their failures, George at last said, "I think the bestthing for us to do will be to go back home. I'll call up my father
onthe 'phone and if he isn't coming out pretty soon he will tell me whatto do."
In response to George's suggestion the boys once more clambered into thecar and in a brief time were noisily speeding over the road on their wayback to their friend's house.
"We've got two mysteries now," suggested George.
"Three you mean," spoke up Fred quickly.
"We've got the mystery of the lost car and the mystery of the old MeekerHouse. That makes two. I don't see where your third comes in."
"The third is our mysterious friend, the tramp, that I saw in the oldMeeker House."
"What's the mystery about him?" laughed George. "I don't find anythingvery mysterious about an unwashed tramp you found in the old house. Verylikely he had crawled in there to sleep and you waked him up."
"He was awake all right," declared Fred promptly. "There isn't anyquestion about that. He wasn't moving around as fast as I have seensome, but he didn't take it all out in motions, either."
"It seems to me," laughed Grant, "that you find in that tramp whateveryou want to find, Fred. First you say he's one kind of man and then youtell us he's another."
"Wait until you see him," said Fred sagely. "Maybe he's in the old housenow. It can't be far ahead."
"Not more than a quarter of a mile," suggested Grant.
For some reason the boys became silent as the car speeded forward in thedim light. The eyes of every one were turned toward the old house whichhad perplexed them in so many ways.
As they came near the corner John said in a low voice, "There's not onlya ghost of a man in that house, but there's the ghost of the automobile.Do you hear that horn?"
All the boys listened intently and to their consternation the faintsound of a horn was heard, issuing from the old house.
"What do you suppose that means?" demanded Fred in a whisper.
"I told you there was the ghost of an automobile in that house, didn'tI?" demanded John.
"Look yonder," called Grant quickly. "There's that light again in thecellar. Don't you think we had better stop and find out what all thismeans?"
At that moment the faint sound of the horn was heard again from thehouse and for an instant lights flashed from every window.
These, however, quickly disappeared and although the boys waited severalminutes, the sound was not repeated nor were the lights again seen.