Usually his face beamed when he saw these young people, but today he looked greatly troubled.
“What’s up, Mr. Wiggin?” Bob drew rein to inquire. “You look as though you’d seen a ghost.”
“Well, I came out to warn you young people you’d better turn back. Old Man Bartlett, who lives a mile up the wood road, was robbed an hour ago. He’d been to town to get five hundred dollars he had in the bank; got a queer notion that the bank was going to pieces. He had the money in an old bag. Someone must have seen him getting it out of the bank and followed him. Anyway, when he reached the wood road, he was held up and robbed.”
“Well, with all the unbroken snow there is about here, it will be easy enough to catch the thief,” Bob said.
“You’re wrong there!” Mr. Wiggin replied. “Several teams have been along the lake road since the blizzard, and he could walk in the ruts.”
“Was poor old Mr. Bartlett hurt?” Gertrude asked anxiously.
“No, not at all. He was blindfolded and tied to a tree, but he worked himself loose before long, but the robber was gone. The old man came right down here and we telephoned to the sheriff. He and his men will be along most any minute now. There may be some shooting, and so I’d advise you boys to take the girls right back to town.”
Jack looked anxiously at Merry, who was vigorously shaking her head. “We aren’t afraid, are we, girls?”
“Not with all these boys along to protect us,” Peg declared.
Then Doris explained: “We’re only going as far as our cabin. Mr. Wiggin; that’s not more than a mile from here. We’ll be all right.”