"We've got to organize a regular searchin' party," declared JedBlackford, after he and his father, together with Tom and thefarmer's hired man, had searched up and down the road by the lightof lanterns. "We'll organize a posse an' have a regular hunt. Thisis the worst crime that's been committed in this deestrict in manyyears, an' I'm goin' to run the scoundrels to earth."
"Don't be talkin' nonsense, Jed," interrupted his father. "You won'tcatch them fellers in a hundred years. They're miles an' miles awayfrom here by this time in their automobile. All you can do is tonotify the sheriff. I guess we'd better give this young man someattention. Let's see, you said your name was Quick, didn't you?"
"No, but it's very similar," answered Tom with a smile. "It'sSwift."
"I knowed it was something had to do with speed," went on Mr.Blackford. "Wa'al, now, s'pose you come in the house an' have a hotcup of tea. You look sort of draggled out."
Tom was glad enough to avail himself of the kind invitation, and hewas soon in the comfortable kitchen, relating his story, with moredetail, to the farmer and his family. Mrs. Blackford applied somehome-made remedies to the lump on the youth's head, and it felt muchbetter.
"I'd like to take a look at my motor-cycle," he said, after hissecond cup of tea. "I want to see if those men damaged it any. Ifthey have I'm going to have trouble getting back home to tell myfather of my bad luck. Poor dad! He will be very much worried when Itell him the model and his patent papers have been stolen."
"It's too bad!" exclaimed Mrs. Blackford. "I wish I had hold of themscoundrels!" and her usually gentle face bore a severe frown. "Ofcourse you can have your thing-a-ma-bob in to see if it's hurt, butplease don't start it in here. They make a terrible racket."
"No, I'll look it over in the woodshed," promised Tom. "If it's allright I think I'll start back home at once."
"No, you can't do that," declared Mr. Blackford. "You're in nocondition to travel. You might fall off an' git hurt. It's nearly teno'clock now. You jest stay here all night, an' in the mornin', if youfeel all right, you can start off. I couldn't let you go to-night."
Indeed, Tom did not feel very much like undertaking the journey, forthe blow on his head had made him dazed, and the chloroform caused asick feeling. Mr. Blackford wheeled the motor-cycle into thewoodhouse, which opened from the kitchen, and there the youth wentover the machine. He was glad to find that it had sustained nodamage. In the meanwhile Jed had gone off to tell the startling newsto near-by farmers. Quite a throng, with lanterns, went up and downthe road, but all the evidence they could find were the marks of theautomobile wheels, which clues were not very satisfactory.
"But we'll catch them in the mornin'," declared the deputy sheriff."I'll know that automobile again if I see it. It was painted red."
"That's the color of a number of automobiles," said Tom with asmile. "I'm afraid you'll have trouble identifying it by that means.I am surprised, though, that they did not carry my motor-cycle awaywith them. It is a valuable machine."
"They were afraid to," declared Jed. "It would look queer to see amachine like that in an auto. Of course when they were going alongcountry roads in the evening it didn't much matter, but when theyheaded for the city, as they probably did, they knew it wouldattract suspicion to 'em. I know, for I've been a deputy sheriff'most a year."
"I believe you're right," agree............