“I had hoped that you would go back to the mountain for the rest of the summer,” he said, “where there is some peace and quietness. It seems that you have stepped into trouble at almost every turn, and there is only one thing that I worry about. That is LeBlanc. He is a most vindictive rascal, and I will not feel confident of your security until you are off to school this fall or until he is safely under lock and key in some prison, where he belongs. I hope you boys have no wild times on this, yet I would be the last one to ask you to shirk your duty; and since the Chief Ranger has such a high regard for you, who are yet boys, to send you on such an errand, I can only say I’m proud that you have done so well, and deserve all the praise that can be accorded to you. Also, I wish that you would postpone your departure for a few minutes, as I want to write a note to Nate Webster for you to mail when you get to Bangor. It will go quicker then, for the train that you will take this afternoon does not carry mail.”
Naturally they agreed to this, and went outside while Mr. Boone wrote his note. In some way it had been noised about the camp that the boys were to leave, and soon several of the men had gathered in front of the office. Mr. Boone finished his letter, and gave it to Garry and they got into the flivver. The man called Tom, who had taken them on the coon hunt some nights before, started several times to speak, and then decided not to.
Just as they were about to start, Garry called to Art Howells to be sure and keep an eye out for news of Sandy’s fate. There was a gulp in his throat as he said this. His chums, too, were silent, for they missed their faithful, four-footed friend sorely.
This evidently decided Tom, for he came to the flivver, and said to Garry:
“If you can get me time off enough to go to town with you, I promise you that you will have your dog a half an hour after we reach there!”
CHAPTER II
BAD NEWS IN HOBART
On hearing this, the boys gave a shout of joy, and in a minute had arranged for Tom to come with them as far as town.
With the cheers of the lumberjacks sounding in their ears, and with a wave of Mr. Boone and Art Howells, the boys were off. The flivver coughed, and gathering speed, rattled down the bumpy road.
As soon as they had started, they hurled a number of questions at Tom about Sandy.
“I wasn’t goin’ to say anything about the dog, because you fellows might take it out on us. My brother came to see me in camp the day after the coon hunt, and stayed around for awhile and made half sort of friends with the dog, and then later he was gone. I found out that he had taken him with him. ’Course I know it was stealing, but he was my brother and I was afraid he would get into bad trouble. You fellows know how I felt. First place I was ashamed to tell you I had a brother that would do that, and second place I was afraid you’d have him taken up for it. But I was going to see that you got him back somehow. When you got ready to go today, I knew how you felt about the pup, and so I couldn’t hold in any longer. All I wish is that you won’t have anything done to my brother, bad as he is.”