The Clue of the Screeching Owl by Franklin W. Dixon Page A

high-pitched yap at something that had startled him.
    â€œA man!” Chet shouted. “I see a body!”
    From both sides the searchers came pounding toward him. All stared ahead into the dark woods. Ahead lay the huddled figure of a man in black coat and cap, and gray trousers!
    Tensely, with Mystery bounding along, they pressed forward. Frank and Joe were the first to reach the figure. Both gasped in relief.
    â€œIt’s only a fallen tree limb!” Joe exclaimed, as the others came up.
    â€œSome eyes you’ve got, Morton,” Donner roared. The deputies shook their heads in a half-amused, half-exasperated gesture.
    â€œWell, it looked like a body—from far away,” Chet apologized ruefully.
    â€œMight as well call a halt and rest now that we’re all together,” Sheriff Ecker interposed.
    Eager to make amends, Chet opened his knapsack and passed around tuna-fish, egg-salad, and ham-and-cheese sandwiches. The three deputies sat down on the tree limb that had fooled Chet. Frank, Joe, and the sheriff squatted on their heels while Donner lounged against a tree.
    â€œIt’s noon, but you’d never know it in these dark woods,” Sheriff Ecker commented.
    While Chet went from man to man with a big Thermos of coffee, Frank brought a tiny transistor radio from his pocket and turned on the twelve-o’clock news.
    The swift, precise voice of an announcer roused the search party’s attention:
    â€œNew Jersey and Pennsylvania State Police were forced to admit defeat this morning in their attempt to recover thousands of dollars’ worth of surgical equipment stolen last night from a truck en route to New Jersey.
    â€œDaring hijackers stopped the tractor trailer carrying the equipment, knocked the driver unconscious, and apparently fled in a vehicle of their own. No trace of them has been discovered.”
    Frank and Joe exchanged meaningful glances. This news indicated their father’s work on the case was far from finished!
    â€œOfficials emphasized,” the broadcaster continued, “that this robbery was only the latest in a series of many which have taken place in the area recently. Combined efforts of law-enforcement agencies in both states to round up the hijackers have so far ended in total failure.”
    â€œTurn it off,” the sheriff snapped.
    Donner, however, merely chuckled and shook his head with amusement. “Now isn’t that just like our State Police!” he said. “Just don’t want to work overtime, probably. No wonder they can’t keep up with these hijackers. When thieves are on a job they don’t worry about the hours!
    â€œNow, Sheriff, you tell me,” the big man went on, “why aren’t these criminals caught? All it would take, it seems to me, is a system of alerting all policemen within a reasonable radius, and posting them on all possible escape routes.”
    â€œMr. Donner, I know you mean well,” answered Ecker, frowning, “but you’re hittin’ kind of close to home. I was out all night myself, and my men too. We were out the night before that. I’d be watching the roads right now, if I wasn’t here searching for this man who’s disappeared. A policeman can’t do two things at once, y’know —no more than another man.”
    â€œYou’re right, Sheriff, and I’m sorry,” Walter Donner apologized. “Let’s finish this search.”
    Accordingly, the party spread out in line again, and the hunt went on. By midafternoon the searchers had thoroughly combed the wooded valley floor without discovering a clue to Captain Maguire’s whereabouts. Now they found themselves up against the steep, rocky side of the hollow.
    â€œI see a cave up there,” said Donner, pointing above to ledges and boulders. “It’s just possible we may find something in it. You boys go on ahead. I’ll come after you. I’m not in very good