Tom and Ricky decide to have a garage sale to earn money, but they are baffled when a strange man steals a small wooden chest given to them by an elderly neighbor.
Tom and Ricky, warned by Sergeant Collins to be on the lookout for strangers, become involved in catching a thief after they find a coded message inside a library book, and Tom's bicycle is stolen.
Bill Train, a talented pitcher for the Edison High Egg Rolls, has two good friends on the team but cannot seem to make the coach like him, or anyone else for that matter.