"We're lucky to have the trail this far," observed Dave Darrin.
"But we can't follow it accurately at night. Say---gracious!
Do you know what time it is? Half-past one in the morning!"

"Wow?" ejaculated Prescott, halting and looking dismayed. "It'll
take us a good many minutes to get back to where we left the horse.
It'll be after two o'clock when we hit 'The Blade' office. Dave,
we simply can't follow the trail further tonight. But we must
strike it first thing in the morning. It'll be a big thing for
'The Blade' to be the folks to find the missing banker and clear
the mystery up."

"Unless Dodge just kept on until he came to one of the stations,
and took a train. Then the trail would be a long one."

"He didn't take a train tonight," returned Prescott, shaking his
head. "If he wanted to disappear that would be the wrong way
to go about it. He'd be recognized from the descriptions that
will go about broadcast. No, sir! Mr. Dodge must be hiding in
some of the big stretches of woods over yonder. A regiment could
hide and be lost in the great woods."

"It's a trail I hate to leave," muttered Dave Darrin.

"But we've got to wait until daylight. We can't do much in the
dark, anyway. I've got to get back to 'The Blade' office. Get
your bearings here, Dave. To make doubly sure I'll cut a slice
out of this tie to mark the place where we found this print, for
it may be indistinct by daylight."