What Elmer may have thought just then he did not say; but his ideas were certainly not so pronounced as those of George, who was a pretty blunt fellow, one of the "give-and-take" kind.
As they were all of one mind a start back was made; and Toby, not wishing to be left in the lurch, had to bring his kicking exhibition to an abrupt finish, and hasten after his four chums.
The glorious store of nuts that had already been gathered was immediately turned from the sacks owned by Connie Mallon and his cronies into the burlap bags the scouts had provided for the purpose. Then, far from satisfied, the boys proceeded to take up the work where the late nut-gatherers had left off. They climbed trees, and whipped the branches with the long poles, delighting in the sound of splendid nuts rattling down like hail. There is such a fascination about this sport that it is difficult to know just when to stop it; and the ground was soon covered to such an extent, that when the harvest had been gleaned several of the enemy's bags were more than half filled with the surplus.
"I never saw half so many chestnuts, walnuts and shell-bark hickory nuts gathered in heaps in all my life, as there are right here!" declared George; "a big bag apiece all around, and with three partly filled sacks belonging to that crowd left over."
"Which extra plunder," said Elmer, quietly, "I'm sure none of us would think of wanting, as we've got twice as much as we can use already."
"Then you're going to leave them for the ghost, are you?" asked Chatz, eagerly.
"We'll take them along," said Elmer, "and turn them over to Connie Mallon as a consolation prize; he'll find them in his front yard to-morrow morning, bright and early."