and they overran the village in the summertime.

Of course it was only by reason of trainman Hanlon's doubtful clew that
the village figured at all in the sensational affair. At all events if
the Harrington child and its desperate companions had actually alighted
there, all trace of them was lost at that point.

The next morning after the newspaper accounts were published a group of
scouts hiked down to Catskill to look over the ground, hoping to root
out some information or discover some fresh clew. They wound up in
Warner's Drug Store and had a round of ice cream sodas and that was all
the good their sleuthing did them.

On the way back they propounded various ingenious theories of the escape
and whereabouts of Master Harrington's captors. Pee-wee Harris suggested
that they probably waited somewhere till dark and proceeded to parts
unknown in an airplane. A more plausible inspiration was that they had
crossed the Hudson in a boat in order to baffle the authorities and
proceeded either southward to New York or northward on a New York
Central train.

The likeliest theory was that of Westy Martin of Roy's troop, that an
automobile with confederates had waited for the party at Catskill. That
would insure privacy for the balance of the journey.

The theory of one scout that the party had gone aboard a cabin cruiser
was tenable, and this means of hiding and confounding the searchers,
seemed likely to succeed. The general opinion was that ere long the
child would be forthcoming in response to a stupendous ransom. But this
means of recovering the little fellow did not appeal to the scouts.