the two planes are gone?”

“I took the paper off after I found my plane,” explained Joe. “There wasn’t any need of it on the plane just now. I thought I put the paper in my pocket but it must have fallen on the ground. But, anyhow, it shows this is the place where we left our planes, Dick, doesn’t it?”

“Sure does. But where are the planes?”

“Somebody’s been here and has taken them,” Teddy said. “You would have done better to have left the paper on, Joe.”

“Maybe,” Joe admitted. “This sure is queer. I say, fellows, look at this!” he cried as he pointed to a place where there was a44 bare spot in the meadow. Scarcely any grass grew there and in the brown earth Dick and Teddy saw some peculiar marks.

44

“What are they?” asked Dick.

“Hoof marks of that deer!” exclaimed Teddy as he got down on one knee to take a better look. “That deer has been here and not long ago. The marks are fresh.”

“And the girls have been here, too!” declared Joe.

“How can you tell?” Dick wanted to know.

Joe pointed to some footprints. There were two sets of them. He bent down to examine them more closely.

“They’re small footprints,” went on Joe, “about the size of the feet of Margie and Lucy. Of course, other girls could have made these marks,” he admitted. “But when we know we heard Margie and Lucy yelling for help and find footprints of girls’ shoes here why, it’s pretty certain Margie and Lucy were here.”

45 “I think so, too,” admitted Teddy. “The question is where are the girls now?”

45

“And where are our planes?” asked Joe.

“And where is the deer?” added Dick. “Gosh, we’ve got three mysteries here instead of one, I guess.”

“Look over here,” and Teddy directed the attention of his chums to another bare patch. “The deer was here and he was sort of jumping around heavy. The hoof marks are deeper.”

Teddy’s chums agreed that this was so and Joe exclaimed:

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