It was no light one at that, lifting out those sacks filled with nuts, and stowing the same away in the man's room near by; but both were husky fellows, and by degrees managed to complete their task.
"There," said Toby, wiping his streaming brow, "that part's done, and the rest won't be so hard, because the bags are only half filled; but I kind of wish we had 'em planted O.K., and were on the way home again. Whew! what would happen, d'ye think, Elmer, if Connie Mallon dropped in on us when we were dumping a sack over the fence into his yard?"
"That'd be hard to say," replied Elmer; "but what's the use crossing bridges before you come to them? Time enough to bother with that when it happens. And if you knew Connie as well as I do, because he doesn't live far away from my house, you'd never expect him to be home at nine o'clock on a Saturday night. He's too fond of loafing down in the pool room with his crowd; or being off on some lark, robbing some orchard of late apples. Now, suppose you lead Nancy out, after you've got her harness on, and we'll hitch up."
This was soon done, and afterwards Toby started to back the vehicle out of the barn, while Elmer extinguished the lantern.
"I'll leave it here alongside the door, so we can find it again when we come back," he told the driver; after doing which he mounted beside Toby, and they started off on their queer errand.
Phil Jackson lived close by the Jones home, so they paid the first visit there. Lights could be seen through the windows, but the boys found it an easy thing to lift one of the half-filled sacks of nuts out of the wagon, and silently slip it over the fence, leaving it there to be discovered by Phil is the morning.
After that a second visit was made, and their end was accomplished quite as easily as at the Jackson house. The third one proved a little harder, for there were some people standing at the door as the boys drove past.
"Better make a turn around the block, Toby," suggested the scout master; "they've been having visitors, and perhaps they'll be gone when we get back again."
This proved to be the case, and having decided just where they wished to leave the sack of nuts, the boys drew in the animal and quickly dropped their burden over the picket fence.
"Things are booming," remarked Toby; "that makes three of the lot, and only one left, which is Connie Mallon's bag."