Abandoning the Icicle, Louise went with her chum. A dozen steps took the girls to a wind-swept corner of the deserted building. Rounding it, they both stopped short, staring. On the snow-banked parking lot where the car had been left, there now stood only one vehicle, an unpainted, two-wheel trailer. “Great fishes!” exclaimed Penny. “Where’s the coupe?” “Maybe you forgot to set the brake and it rolled into a ditch!” “In that case, the trailer would have gone with it.” Her face grim, Penny ran on toward the parking lot. Reaching the trailer, the girls saw by tire tracks in the snow that the car had been detached and driven away. “I knew it! I knew it!” Penny wailed, pounding her mittens together. “The coupe’s been stolen!” “What’s that across the road?” Louise demanded. “It looks like an automobile to me. In the ditch, too!” Taking new hope, Penny went to investigate the little ravine. Through a screen of bare tree branches and bushes, she glimpsed a blur of metal. “It’s the car!” she cried jubilantly. “But how did it get across the road?” Penny’s elation quickly died. Drawing nearer, she was dismayed to see that the coupe appeared to be lying on its stomach in the ditch. Four wheels and a spare had been removed. “Stripped of every tire!” she exclaimed. “The thief ran the car out here on the road so we couldn’t see him at work from the river!” “What are we going to do?” Louise asked weakly. “We’re miles from Riverview. No houses close by. We’re half frozen and night is coming on.” Penny, her face very long, had no answer. She measured the gasoline tank with a stick. All of the fuel had been siphoned. She lifted the hood, expecting to find vital parts of the engine missing. However, everything appeared to be in place. Seeking protection from the penetrating wind, the girls climbed into the car to discuss their situation. “Can’t we just wait here until someone comes along and gives us a lift to town?” suggested Louise. “Yes, but we’re on a side road and few cars travel this way during winter.”
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