lace where he found the note."

Thus it happened that a short time later, Chick-chick, Goosey and two
other scouts were making a careful search around the bee tree.

"Everything's trampled flat around here. That crowd this morning did
it," announced Chick-chick. "Every fellow spread out ten yards to his
left."

It was Goosey who found the trail.

"Here it is," he cried. "It's Brick's trail all right. Mr. Spencer said
to look for marks of heel plate on the right shoe and here it is. There
was somebody with him."

The ground being soft and damp in spots there was no difficulty in
following the trail. It led them to an open glen which showed a recent
camp fire and the travel of many feet. Leading off toward the road were
the broad depressions made by the tires of an automobile.

"My find, now," cried Chick-chick. "Here's where we do some real fine
work, an' we can do it on the run, we can. See the tracks. What are
they?"

"Automobile tracks," yelled the squad.

"What kind of a tire made 'em?"

There was no enthusiastic shout this time.

"An automobile tire," ventured Goosey.

"Jes' so, Goosey. Jes' so! It was rubber one, too, why don't you say?
Good, safe guess--rubber."

"All right, Chick-chick. Be as funny as you want. If my father ran a
garage I reckon I'd know something about tires, too."

"'Scuse me! You certainly right, Goosey. Who ought know automobile tires
if not me. What I want you see is these tires can be followed anywhere
'cause they're non-skid with that peculiar bar formation. They'll show
up on road so we can follow on dead run, we can."

"How do you know we want to follow? What makes you suppose Mason has
gone in the car? Maybe we'll find his tracks going on away from here."

"Bright thought, Goosey. Ev'body look for tracks leading 'way from
here."

They searched industriously but in vain.

"No good," decided Chick-chick. "Got old Brick in their wagon, all
right, all right. We must go after him, we must."

"Mr. Newton said not to attempt any rescue."

"We ain't was going to. Back to headquarters an' report an' me for my
motor-bike. Mr. Newton mebbe can get a car in Buffalo Center an' mebbe
he can't; but no heavy old buzz-wagon can get where my motor-bike can't
catch 'em."

Mr. Newton agreed to Chick-chick's plan of chase rather more readily
than he had expected.

"It's perhaps as good a thing as we can do," he asserted, discussing the
plan with Will Spencer. "I have a good many