“That’s about the size of it!” Joe ejaculated. “And to think that we let him get away from us!”
“Dan Cassey?” queried the wireless man. “Why, that’s the same man my cousin was telling me about; the one you fellows had trouble with last spring. Are you sure this was the same one?”
“No doubt of it,” declared Bob. “We had a scrimmage with him not half an hour ago, but in the darkness he managed to get away from us. If we had had any idea that he had attacked and robbed you this way, though, we’d have gone after him.”
“But we can’t be sure that he was the thief, anyway,” said Brandon Harvey. “How did you boys happen to be coming here?”
“Before we talk any more I’m going to fix your head up,” said Bob. “You’ve had a pretty bad crack there, and you’d better stay as quiet as you can. After I’ve fixed you up, I’ll tell you what we came for.”
The wireless station was equipped with a complete medical outfit. Bob sponged the ugly looking gash, then applied iodine and bandaged the wound as well as he could.
“There!” he exclaimed. “That isn’t very fancy, but it’s a whole lot better than nothing. How do you feel now?”
“Pretty much all in,” Harvey confessed, essaying a smile. “I don’t mind the rap on the head as much as I do the loss of the money. I’ll have to make it good, and that will take some while out of a wireless operator’s pay.”
“Don’t worry about that money,” said Joe. “It isn’t as though you didn’t know who took it. There isn’t a doubt in any of our minds but Cassey is the guilty party. If we can locate him, we’ll either make him give it back or else wish he had.”
“Well, I only hope so,” said Harvey doubtfully. “But you haven’t told me yet what lucky accident brought you to my assistance.”