The detective who had been telephoning joined them at the moment to make his report. "Tom didn't know that fellow," he observed. "Said he'd been out and in his place several times during the past week. Had bought a few little things but mostly asked questions. Tom answered them as well as he could, so he said, and that must have been considerable, if I know Tom, at all. Yesterday they got to talking about country estates and old houses and prominent citizens, and Tom said Wayne's name was mentioned. That means that Tom gave him the whole Wayne history as far back as Noah and clear up to date. Did Tom know about your wedding celebration?" he asked, turning to the chauffeur. "Yes," admitted the latter. "I told him how kind Mr. Wayne had been to let the cook fix it up for us, and he wanted me to bring him a piece of the cake." "Well," said the Chief, rising, "I guess we've got a start. Now we'll go after our men. 'Phone Ashton to check up on all the garages and gas stations around and have Burke find out who's who at the hotel. He may run across a dark, smooth-faced man with a nasty smile. It seems to me I have seen someone like that just lately but I can't quite place him. You say James didn't come in for you to-night, Mr. Wayne? Who drove you home!" he asked, turning suddenly back to where the distracted young father was pacing the floor. "Some driver from town. I don't know his name. He works for Lawrence. I think James knows him." "Get him on the 'phone. Ask him if he saw or heard anything suspicious going or coming," snapped the Chief to his assistant. But the chauffeur who had driven Wayne home could not be located that night. "Never mind. We'll look him up down town. There's a chance he might have seen a car or something suspicious." After again warning Wayne to notify them the instant he received any word from the kidnappers the police and detectives started back to town. By nine o'clock in the morning considerable more information had been gained, but as yet there was no direct clue to the whereabouts of the missing child. A strange, low car had been seen early in the evening near the Help-U Gas Station. It had waited for a full half hour near the woods beyond the tobacco patch. A man working in the tobacco patch had observed it and mentioned it at the gas station when he stopped there, later, for a smoke and a chat. He gave a general description of the man who drove the car as well as the man who finally joined him. The chauffeur who had driven away when the nurse's scream resounded, told of having seen what looked like a low, high-powered car scud off to the east, just as he came out of the driveway. "All this helps," the Chief telephoned Wayne, "for it gives us a tangible working basis. In about half an hour--as soon as Burke gets back from the hotel--we're going to start east and see what we can learn from the farmers out that way."