"Ted can crowd in with the two of us on the front seat, if he wants," explained Elmer; "and if somebody gives me a hand we'll soon arrange a place for the other seat back here on top of these four partly filled sacks."
"Consolation prizes, you mean!" muttered George, who did not exactly like the idea of their going to all the trouble of carrying the extra sacks home just to drop them in the yards of the members of the Mallon crowd; George was inclined to be proud, and it seemed to smack too much of pulling "chestnuts out of the fire" for others.
"Well, after all, suh, they worked hard enough to knock those nuts down to be entitled to a share," Chatz remarked, that fine Southern sense of justice cropping up again, despite his dislike for Connie Mallon and all those who trained in his camp.
"Not to speak of the bruises and black eyes some of them must have picked up when they conducted that masterly retreat," Elmer added; "I'll never forget that panic; for I don't believe I ever saw fellows more frightened than they were."
"Well, do you blame them?" asked Ted; "if I got it in my head that bunch of ghosth had it in for me on account of my breaking in on their haunt I'd run like a whitehead too, and thatth right."
"I'd like to see Connie's face when he discovers that sack of nuts in his yard to-morrow a. m.," George continued, actually pursing up his lips in a smile, something he was seldom guilty of.
"Reckon he'll think it rained down in the night," chuckled Chatz.
"More'n likely he'll begin to believe he's only been dreaming that these things happened, and that he did fetch the nuts home with him, after all," Toby volunteered.
"But when the other counties are heard from, and they all compare notes, won't they get on to the game then?" George asked.
"How about that, Elmer?" Toby inquired, turning to the scout master.