“Those two hi-jackers have fled!” Judy exclaimed. “I guess they weren’t as badly hurt as we thought!”
At a run, the Scouts raced up the road to join the patrolmen, who by this time had broken open the door lock on the back of the truck.
“Just as I thought,” one of the searchers declared as he swung open the double doors. “Stolen auto tires!”
“Tires snatched from the Graystone Transport Co. The truck was held up early this morning across the state line.”
Judy and her friends were bewildered with respect to what had happened to the two accident victims. They were not long in doubt however, for tire marks on the pavement showed plainly that a car had come along, turned on the roadway, and returned in the same direction whence it had come.
“Ben Vodner must have stopped the driver and made him take him and his pal, Joe, to town,” the patrolman commented. “They’re likely heading for Brady City, over the state line. There’s a slim chance we can overtake ’em.”
Knowing that the wild chase might end in a gun battle, the patrolmen told the Scouts they could not take them along.
“Catch a ride back to your camp,” one of the men advised Judy as he prepared to drive away. “We’ll let you know later how this comes out. If we overtake those hi-jackers, we may need you to testify. If they get away, you want to steer clear of them. Joe and Ben are mighty tough boys, and they’ll bear you no gratitude for the help you gave them today!”
All that day, Pine Cone Camp buzzed with the exciting story of how the four Beaver Patrol Scouts had given first aid to the two notorious hi-jackers.
Judy, Beverly, Betty and Kathleen were subjected to a great deal of teasing. The other campers, to plague them declared that their timely assistance had made it easier for the truckers to escape.
That the two men had made a successful getaway was confirmed late in the afternoon. Two state highway patrolmen, Clinton DeWitt and George Franey, dropped around at Pine Cone Camp purposely to inform Judy and her friends that the identity of the hi-jackers tentatively had been established.
“We’re quite sure those two truckers were Joe Pompilli and Ben Vodner,” the girls were told. “They stopped a car and made the driver give them a lift. At gun point, they forced him to take them across the state line. Finally, on a side road, miles from a telephone, they abandoned the driver and continued on their way.”