The boys looked at him blankly.
"Development in what?" asked Joe.
"In the car thefts."
"We haven't heard anything," Frank said. "Have they found the thieves?"
Mr. Hardy shook his head.
"No such luck. The thieves are still very much at large."
"You don't mean to say another car was stolen?" exclaimed Joe.
"Not only one. Two cars."
"Two more?"
Their father nodded.
"Two brand new autos, a Franklin and a Studebaker, were stolen last night," he told them. "Right in the city."
"Good night! And there's been no trace of them?"
"Not a sign. The police kept it quiet all day, hoping to recover them without any fuss, but they've had to admit themselves beaten. The cars have absolutely disappeared."
Aunt Gertrude spoke up.
"Mighty funny there were no cars stolen while those Dodds were in jail," she said pointedly. "The minute they get out—away go two new automobiles."
The boys glanced at one another uncomfortably. They were quite convinced that Jack Dodd and his father were innocent of any com-
