“So do I,” added Ben and Buster.
“Well, it has got to be done,” answered Dave. “So make the best of it. The doctor understands the situation, so I don’t think he’ll be hard on you.”
“I hope they have got the wild man, and that they prove he blew up the hotel,” said Phil, wistfully. 255 “That is the only thing that will really clear us.”
“Oh, they are bound to get the wild man sooner or later,” answered Dave, hopefully.
It was decided to take the one afternoon train from Camptown Falls, and at the proper time the boys walked to the little depot, Dave with his suit-case, and the others with some hand baggage. Instructions were left with Jerry Blutt regarding the other baggage, and the man was paid for his services. He said he was glad that nobody had been drowned in the flood, and added that he was going up to the broken-away dam later on to see how matters looked.
It was a rather quiet crowd that got aboard the train when it came along. The conductor wanted to know how they had fared in the flood, and they told him. At Lumberport the boys had to wait an hour for the next train to Oakdale Junction, and they spent the time in getting a good supper, and in having their shoes shined, and in brushing up generally.
“I’ll be glad to get back late at night,” said Phil to Dave. “I’d hate to have the whole crowd staring at us when we came in.”
At the Junction they waited but a few minutes, and the run to Oakdale did not take long. They were the only ones to get off at the depot, and the spot was all but deserted. But they had telegraphed 256 ahead, and Horsehair was on hand, with a carriage, to meet them.
“Glad to see you young gents back, indeed I am,” said the school driver.
“Any news, Horsehair?” asked Dave, as they piled into the carriage.