Once more assuring the garage proprietor that any losses he might incur would be made good, Clancy opened up the Hornet and started for the railroad station. “Colonel Carson owns a lot of land over toward Orton,” stated Billy gloomily. “He’s mixed up in this somewhere, you can believe me!”
Clancy grunted, but made no reply. When they reached the railroad station they had no difficulty in finding the combination agent and telegraph operator.
“Morning, Mr. Martin!” sang out Billy. “Did you get a wire for Mr. Merriwell about seven this morning?”
“Not me, Billy,” returned the agent. “Was he expecting one?”
“Not that we know of, but he got one,” exclaimed Clancy. “Are you sure that none came in this morning or last night?”
“Nobody here last night, and nothing has come this morning.”
The operator regarded them with curiosity.
“Did you say Merriwell got a telegram, Billy?” he asked.
[179]
“No, I said so,” snapped Clancy. “He certainly got a telegram this morning, and if it didn’t come through you, it’s a mighty queer thing!”
“Yes, I reckon it is,” returned the agent calmly. This merely exasperated the red-headed chap.
“Well it’s a darned funny thing,” he exclaimed, “that telegrams can be received here without the telegraph operator knowing it!”
“Ain’t no message come this morning,” declared the agent again, and with a nod to Billy, he turned and went back into his place of business.
For a moment the two friends were at a loss what to do. It was quite evident that Chip Merriwell had been called away to Orton by some important affair, yet this agent declared that no message had arrived for him!
“I guess we’ll go back and grill those fellows over again,” said Clancy, starting the Hornet. “We want to make sure about this telegram business.”
“It’s easy enough to send a fake message,” suggested Billy Mac.
“We’ll soon see, then.”
Returning to the hotel, they questioned the clerk anew. By this time he was in enough anxiety to speak out fully, and stated emphatically[180] that he had seen the telegram, and that Merriwell had mentioned it.
“I guess that settles it, Clan,” exclaimed Billy, with a gloomy countenance. “He got a message, all right, but it didn’t come through the station agent.”
“Do you suppose that Colonel Carson or his son had a hand in it?”
“Sure I do! Only, what’s their reason? Do you think they tried to get Merry where they could beat him up?”
“From what I saw of the colonel,” said Clancy thoughtfully, “he wouldn’t go into anything so raw as that, old man. Bully tried it and got all that was coming to him last night. Granted that Chip was lured away, there are some folks who would have a decidedly good reason to keep him out of sight for a day or two.”
“Who?”
“Some of the Franklin Academy crowd. I may be doing him an injustice, but I’d be more apt to blame Bob Randall than the Carsons, Billy.”
Billy Mac stared in open disbelief.
“Randall? But why should he try to keep Chip away from Fardale?”
“Because he wants to pitch in Monday’s game against Franklin. It looks to me as if Randall was trying for the place Ted Crockett will leave[181] vacant. If he won the Franklin game he’d be a popular hero——”
“Cut out this foolishness, Clan!”
Billy Mac leaned forward earnestly. He was a staunch friend of Merriwell’s, but he had seen Bob Randall at his best, and both liked and admired the fiery, handsome Southerner.
“You’re away off. Bob Randall isn’t that sort, not by a good deal. He doesn’t like Chip particularly, but it’s an honorable, open-faced dislike, and it won’t last. If he knew anything like this was going on, he would be the first one to warn Chip. No, if there’s any one to blame, Clancy, it’s the Carsons.”
The red-haired chap nodded. He was quick to recognize that his words might have been an injustice to Randall, whom he did not know at all well. Moreover, if anything was wrong it was no doubt inspired by Bully Carson or his father.
“Yes, Billy, I got a bit out of perspective there, I reckon. Randall or the Franklin crowd wouldn’t be down here. Well, our best plan will be to hit for Orton and see if Merry’s car got disabled.”
By dint of inquiries they soon found that there was but one road to Orton, and that if they took it there was no chance that they could miss Merry. Clancy was for going to call on Colonel Carson and putting it up to him straight, but[182] Billy Mac persuaded him to adopt the more sensible course of taking the road to Orton and tracing up Merriwell.
“Let’s go up to your house, then,” said Clancy, “a............