So the two High School boys sat there, in the buggy drawn up at the side of the road, for the next fifteen minutes. In that time the launch took on the waiting passengers, and the light played over all that part of the river, then started down stream. Dick slowly headed the horse about, this time driving much closer to the river's bank than he had done before. "There's a lantern under the seat, Dave. I saw it when we started from 'The Blade' office. Haul it out and light it, will you?" For some minutes the two High School boys searched without much result. At last Dick and Dave began to move in wider circles, away from the much-tramped ground. Then, holding the lantern close to the ground, Prescott moved nearer and nearer to the railway track, all the while scanning the soil closely. "Look there, Dave!" suddenly called Prescott. "No-----Don't look just yet," he added, holding the lantern behind him. "But tell me; you've often seen Mr. Dodge. What kind of boots did he wear?" "Narrow, pointed shoes, and rather high heeled for a man to wear," Darrin answered. "Exactly," nodded Dick. "Look there!" Darrin bent down over a soft spot in the soil close to the railway roadbed. There were three prints of just such a boot as he had described. "You see the small heel print," continued Prescott, in a whisper. "And you note that the front part of the foot makes a heavy impression, as it would when the foot is tilted forward by a high heel." "I don't believe another man in the town ever wore a pair of boots such as made these prints," murmured Darrin excitedly. "And they're headed away from the river, toward the railroad! And look here---other footprints of a different kind!" "You're right!" cried Prescott, holding the lantern closer to the ground and scanning some additional marks in the soil. "Coarse shoes; one pair of 'em brogans! Mr. Dodge had companions when he went away from here." "They may have been forcing the man somewhere with them," quivered Darrin, staring off into the black night about them. "No; not a sign of a struggle," argued Dick, still with his gaze on the ground. "No matter who Mr. Dodge's companions were, he went with them willingly. Gracious, Dave, but we were right in believing the banker to be still alive! Coat and hat at the water's edge were a blind! Mr. Dodge has his own reasons for wanting people to think him dead. He has sloped away. Here's the track. Which way did he and the fellows go?" "Away from Gridley," declared Darrin, sagely. "Otherwise, Mr. Dodge would have been seen by some one who would remember him." "We'll go up along the track, then."