"I guess I can explain that," said Ben. "I was talking to my cousin about it, down at the drug store. Just as we were coming out, after having some soda, I saw Nat behind one of the partitions. He must have heard all we said, and I suppose it made him mad to think we were going to have a good time, and that he wouldn't be in it."
"Exactly," returned Dave. "Just as he was mad when he wasn't invited to the party, and tried to spoil the ice-cream."
"Do you suppose they have a right to close the road?" questioned Roger.
"I don't know. I always thought this was a public highway."
"So it is," added Ben. "The paper company bought the ground on one side of the road but not on the other. I don't think they can stop us from going through, even though they may stop us from going down to the Falls."
"But if we can't go to the Falls, what is the use of keeping on this road?" asked Laura.
"We can go above the Falls, Laura," answered her brother. "There is a beautiful spot there called Lookout Point, where you can look out all over the valley."
The matter was talked over for a few minutes, and the boys decided to go ahead, to show that they considered that they had a right to use the road, even if they did not go down to the Falls. The roadway was cleared sufficiently to let the cars pass, and the power was turned on once again.
"Be careful, Dave, that you don't run into more trouble!" sang out Roger.
"I'll be on the lookout!" was the answer. "And you be prepared to stop quick, too, so as not to run into me."