“Because the owner is a thief, and if he finds it is in the hands of an officer he will let it go rather than face an investigation.  Besides, I need it.”

“Ted Strong, aire yer goin’ dotty over them derned smell wagons, too?”

“No, I can’t say that I am, but if I lived in a town like this, and could afford it, you bet I’d have one.”

“But where aire yer goin’ ter keep it?  We shore can’t take it up ter our room.”

“Not exactly,” laughed Ted.  “You forget that we have friends in this man’s town.”

“Not a whole heap.”

“What’s the matter with Don Dorrington?”

“By ginger, that’s so.  Ther young feller what was with us down in Mexico when we found ther jewels and things under ther president’s palace.”

“Yes, and we’re heading right for his house now.”

“What fer?  Goin’ ter try ter git him inter trouble, too?”

Ted piloted the machine through the thronged downtown streets, and coming at last to Pine Street Boulevard, he let her out, and went skimming over the smooth pavement until he came to Newstead Avenue, and was ringing the bell of Don Dorrington’s flat before the astonished Bud could recover his breath from the swift ride.

Dorrington himself came to the door, having looked through the window and seen Ted arrive.

“Well, by all that’s glorious,” exclaimed Don, as he grasped Ted by the hand.  “Where are you from, and why?  Hello, Bud, you old rascal!  Get out of that car and come in.  Where did you get the bubble?”

Ted and Bud entered the house and were taken into Don’s workroom, where he was soon put in possession of the facts concerning the motor car, although Ted said nothing about the real object of his visit lo St. Louis.

“Well, what can I do for you?” asked Don.

“Have you a place where I can store this car for a while?” asked Ted.

“I sure have,” said Don.  “You can run it right into the basement from the back yard.  When these flats were built it was intended that the basement be used as a garage, but so far none of the tenants have shown a disposition to get rich enough to buy one.  No one will be able to get the machine out of there,”

“That’s the only thing I fear,” said Ted.  “It’s a cinch that the owner, if he is a thief who has escaped with a pot of money, as I strongly suspect, will have his pals try to get it back.  And I don’t want them to get it until I have used it to try to trace them.”

“I’ll bet a cooky ther feller with ther checked suit wuz after ther machine himself,” said Bud.  “When we eloped with it he came holler in’ after us ter bring it back, but we gave him the glazed look an’ left him fannin’ ther air in our wake.”

The boys rolled the motor car into the basement, which was securely locked.  Then Ted and Bud returned to town on a street car.

As they got closer to the downtown section, they could hear the shouts of the newsboys announcing an “extra” newspaper in all the varieties of pronunciation of that word as it issues from the mouths of city “newsies.”