“I’ll get my father to sue him for damages,” put in Buster. 274
“Well, don’t be hasty,” advised Dave. “There may be some mistake—although I think not.”
At Oakdale, Wilbur Poole was turned over to the authorities, who placed him in a comfortable room attached to the lockup. As it was known that he was insane, he could not be counted a criminal, and the majority of the people pitied him and hoped that some day he would be restored to his right mind.
A telegram was sent to the Poole family, and the next day came a reply that some men would come to take Wilbur Poole away to a sanitarium. It was established beyond a doubt that he had used the dynamite to blow up the dining-room of Sparr’s hotel, and, consequently, our hero and his chums were cleared of that charge, much to their satisfaction.
“I wonder if Nat will come back?” said Shadow. “I should think he would hate to do it.”
“I don’t think he will,” said Luke.
“What will you do if he does come back, Phil?” asked Gus.
“I don’t know, Gus. Of course, I’ll let him know what I think of him for spoiling my plans for a spread. But I hate to be hard on him, because of this disgrace about his uncle.”
“Yes, that’s a terrible thing,” was Chip Macklin’s 275 comment. “I’d hate to have a crazy man in my family.”
“Well, such things can’t be helped,” put in Polly Vane. “The Poole family will have to make the best of it.”