"How are you, Mr. Sully?" said Dave, for he had met the roadmaster before.
"Oh, so it's you, Dave! Blocked up, eh?" And the roadmaster looked first at Dave and his chums and then at those standing on the other side of the barrier. "Who did this?"
"They did," answered Roger, and pointed to the other crowd.
"What for?" And the roadmaster's voice grew a bit hard.
"Nat Poole, there, claims that his father has a right to close this road," explained Dave. "He put up a barrier some distance back, but we passed it. Now he and his friends have put up this."
"And we want to know if they have a right to do it," added Ben. "I had an idea the new paper company bought only one side of the road."
"So it did," answered Jed Sully. "And even if it bought both sides it couldn't close off this road, which is a public highway." He turned to Nat. "Are you Aaron Poole's son?"
"Ye-as," faltered the youth addressed, and he commenced to look worried.
"Did your father give you orders to close off this road?"
"Why—er—he—that is," stammered Nat. "What business is it of yours, anyway?" he cried.