"Whew!" grunted Tom disconsolately. "We"ve soon got to be hitting the home trail, haven"t we?"
"Or else go to bed to-morrow night on a small allowance of food," nodded d.i.c.k, "and prepared to do without food the day after that."
There was much discussion that night. Tom was for "sticking it out,"
doing the best possible on a diet of fish that might be caught in the pond. But wiser counsel prevailed. Early next morning d.i.c.k and Dave started out over the bare ground on their way to the nearest house that had a telephone. It proved to be Constable Dock"s house, though the officer himself was away. Calling up Miller"s grocery store, Mr.
Miller"s son, Joe, was engaged to come out to camp at once with a wagon.
It was late in the afternoon, however, when Joe arrived. It took another hour for the boys to get their outfit packed on to the wagon. Then they seated themselves on top of the load and Joe clucked to the horses.
"So you boys ran across the fit thrower out in the woods, and he gave you plenty of excitement?" queried Joe, after the start homeward had been made.
"Yes," nodded d.i.c.k, "and we were afraid he"d show up again before we got through in the woods."
"Why?" asked Joe, bringing the whip down lazily on the flanks of the horses.
"Because," d.i.c.k answered, "we found his loot, and he knew we had found it. We feared that he"d make another big effort to get back the stuff, which was valuable."
"But the police have the stuff," Joe went on.
"How do you know that?"
"Why, Ripley"s crowd knew it when they got back to Gridley, and the newspapers got the fact from the Gridley police."
"If Mr. Fits read the Gridley papers," remarked Prescott, thoughtfully, "then of course he knew he couldn"t recover any of his plunder by paying us a visit. That, I guess, was the only reason why he didn"t pay the cabin another visit."
"That, and the other fact, perhaps," Joe went on, "that the Gridley papers hinted that the cabin was being shadowed by the police."
"But it wasn"t."
"No matter; if your fit throwing gentleman thought he was going to take any chances of running into police out in these woods, then he wasn"t going to slip his neck into a noose."
"I"m glad he kept away," muttered Tom Reade.
"Unless we could have had the pleasure of jumping on the rascal and getting the glory of capturing him," flashed Dave Darrin.
"I feel a bit blue over leaving the good old cabin," complained Greg Holmes.
"So would I," returned d.i.c.k, "if it weren"t for the fact that Lawyer Ripley told us we could use the place whenever we choose. That means that we can go camping there again."
"Maybe Lawyer Ripley will take back what he said when he hears about the cook shack being burned to the ground," suggested Harry solemnly.
"But we didn"t burn it down, anyway," retorted d.i.c.k.
"Who did, then?" asked Joe curiously.
None of d.i.c.k & Co., however, offered an answer.
After glancing at the boys in turn, Joe decided to hold his peace on that topic.
It was well after dark when the outfit arrived in Gridley. Joe drove to d.i.c.k"s first, with that youngster"s belongings. The other boys jumped from the "rig" and scurried homeward for supper.
"Young man," was Mr. Prescott"s greeting of his son, "from all I hear, you boys went in for a bigger list of adventure than you outlined to us before starting away."
"It wasn"t on account of any wishes of ours, Dad," laughed d.i.c.k. "We fairly had the extra excitement thrust on us."
"I hope you"ve had a good time, my son, and supper is ready for you,"
remarked Mrs. Prescott practically.
"Run upstairs with your mother and have your meal," directed the elder Prescott. "I"ll watch the store while your mother is thrilling over the doings of the week."
"Mother," was one of d.i.c.k"s first questions upstairs, "did Dan"s homing pigeon get back with our message?"
"Oh, yes."
"Then all you parents were easy about our safety."
"Quite. But I can"t tell you how worried I was when I heard of your adventures with that terrible thief."
"He didn"t bother us much, mother. We were small boys, but there were too many of us."
"But suppose he had shot one of you?"
"He didn"t have any firearms, mother, until one of the officers made the mistake of throwing a pistol at him."
Then d.i.c.k had to go over all the adventures of the s...o...b..und days.
"As soon as I clear up here," said Mrs. Prescott, "I"m going down into the store and tell your father some of the exciting things you"ve been telling me. And I know, Richard, that you"re anxious to get out on the street and see some of your schoolmates. So run along."
d.i.c.k had not been out five minutes before he encountered Dave Darrin.
"Let"s go up Main Street and see if we can"t run into Tom and some of the other fellows," proposed Dave.
"Good enough," d.i.c.k nodded. But they went a good many blocks without encountering any of their own crowd.
"Wait; I want to step into this doorway and tie my shoe," said Dave.
d.i.c.k took a few steps ahead. Just at the corner he encountered a man slinking around into Main Street.
"You here?" gasped d.i.c.k, then instantly he went down under a blow on his chest.
"Dave!" gasped Prescott, rather badly winded.
"What?" demanded Darrin, racing up.
"Mr. Fits knocked me down and bolted around that corner," flashed d.i.c.k Prescott.
CHAPTER XXII