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additional section I think you might look into.”
    â€œWhat’s that?” Joe inquired.
    â€œWillow Grove. That’s a park area, but there’s also a lot of tangled woodland to one side of it. Good place to hide a stolen car.”
    Mr. Hardy suggested that the boys meet for a picnic lunch at Willow Grove and later do some sleuthing in the vicinity. “That is, provided you haven’t found Chet’s jalopy by that time.”
    Mrs. Hardy spoke up. “I’ll fix a nice lunch for all of you,” she offered.
    â€œThat sure would be swell,” Chet said hastily. “You make grand picnic lunches, Mrs. Hardy.”
    Frank and Joe liked the plan, and it was decided that the boys would have the picnic whether or not they had found the jalopy by one o’clock. Mrs. Hardy said she would relay the news to the other boys when they phoned in.
    Chet and Joe set off on the Hardy boys’ motorcycles, taking the twelve-to-three segment on the map. Then Mr. Hardy and Frank drove off for the three-to-six area.
    Hour after hour went by, with the searchers constantly on the alert. Every garage, public and private, every little-used road, every patch of woods was thoroughly investigated. There was no sign of Chet’s missing yellow jalopy. Finally at one o’clock Frank and his father returned to the Hardy home. A few moments later Joe and Chet returned and a huge picnic lunch was stowed aboard the two motorcycles.
    When the three boys reached the picnic area they were required to park their motorcycles outside the fence. They unstrapped the lunch baskets and carried them down to the lake front. The other boys were already there.
    â€œToo bad we can’t go swimming,” Tony remarked, “but this water’s pretty cold.”
    Quickly they unpacked the food and assembled around one of the park picnic tables.
    â€œUm! Yum! Chicken sandwiches!” Chet cried gleefully.
    During the meal the boys exchanged reports on their morning’s sleuthing. All had tried hard but failed to find any trace of the missing car.
    â€œOur work hasn’t ended,” Frank reminded the others. “But I’m so stuffed I’m going to rest a while before I start out again.”
    All the other boys but Joe Hardy felt the same way and lay down on the grass for a nap. Joe, eager to find out whether or not the woods to their right held the secret of the missing car, plunged off alone through the underbrush.
    He searched for twenty minutes without finding a clue to any automobile. He was on the point of returning and waiting for the other boys when he saw a small clearing ahead of him. It appeared to be part of an abandoned roadway.
    Excitedly Joe pushed on through the dense undergrowth. It was in a low-lying part of the grove and the ground was wet. At one point it was quite muddy, and it was here that Joe saw something that aroused his curiosity.
    â€œA tire! Then maybe an automobile has been in here,” he muttered to himself, although there were no tire marks in the immediate vicinity. “No footprints, either. I guess someone tossed this tire here.”
    Remembering his father’s admonitions on the value of developing one’s powers of observation, Joe went closer and examined the tire.
    â€œThat tread,” he thought excitedly, “looks familiar.”
    He gazed at it until he was sure, then dashed back to the other boys.
    â€œI’ve found a clue!” he cried out. “Come on, everybody!”

CHAPTER VI
    The Robbery
    JOE HARDY quickly led the way into the swampy area as the other boys trooped along, everyone talking at once. When they reached the spot, Chet examined the tire and exclaimed:
    â€œThere’s no mistake about it! This is one of the tires! When the thief put on the new one, he threw this away.”
    â€œPerhaps the Queen is still around,” suggested Frank quickly. “The thief may have picked this road as a good place to hide