e day that I don't
notice who buys them much. The only time I'd be likely to notice anything
would be if the parties were excited or nervous, and I don't remember
anything like that this afternoon."

The boys thanked him, and left the station.

"That's too bad," said Bob. "I would have given a lot to have caught those
fellows for Larry. People that are mean and selfish enough to upset a boat
and then not even try to rescue the people in it, ought to get what's
coming to them."

"I'd certainly have enjoyed taking a swift punch or two at them myself,"
agreed Joe.

"Well, if we didn't catch them, it wasn't for lack of trying," said Herb.
"People looked at me as though they thought I was crazy when I asked them
questions about the fellows we were after. I didn't even know enough about
them to describe them."

"My idea was that they'd probably keep on running even after they'd gotten
away from Larry, and in that case somebody would have been sure to notice
them," explained Bob. "It looks as though they were wise enough to slow
down as soon as they thought they were safely away, though."

"No use crying over spilt milk," said Jimmy philosophically. "Let's go
back to Larry and report 'nothing doing.'"

"I suppose that's about all we can do," agreed Bob. "We'll keep a sharp
lookout on the way back, and we may find something, after all."

But this hope was doomed to disappointment. There was no sign of the
rascals they sought, and there was no help for it but to tell Larry of
their lack of success.

The latter was naturally greatly disappointed, but he put a cheerful face
on the matter.

"When they once got away from me, I gave up hope of catching them, for
this time, anyway," he said. "Clintonia is getting to be such a big town
that it's easy for people to lose themselves in it. The only thing to do
is hope for better luck next time. I'm mighty grateful to you fellows for
trying so hard to find them, too."

"Don't thank us for doing nothing," said Bob, a little ruefully. "If we
had caught those rascals, it would have been different."

"Oh, it was just hard luck that you fellows didn't come along a few
minutes sooner. We'd have got them then, sure. But I've got a hunch that
we'll run across them again."

"I'll bet you traveled faster with that stick of yours than you ever
thought you could, didn't you?" asked Herb, with a grin.

"I guess I did," laughed Larry. "I must have looked funny hopping along
there. But