“He sure is a cute one,” went on the stout youth. “Say, if they don’t catch him soon, he’ll have this whole neighborhood scared to death.”
The students soon reached the old house. Here they found the two girls and Phil, the latter with a heavy stick in his hand, ready for any emergency. The girls had calmed down a little, but were still much agitated.
“We were to come home in my uncle’s carriage,” 88 said Mary Feversham. “But the horse got a lame foot and so we decided to walk. We had heard of the wild man, but did not think we would meet him. Oh, it was dreadful!”
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” asked Dave.
“Oh, no, but he frightened us so! He danced around us and caught us by the arms, and he wanted us to give him money! Oh, it was dreadful!”
“He ought to be in an asylum,” said Dave. And then he and Roger related how the wild man had escaped.
“I sha’n’t go out alone again,” said Vera Rockwell. “That is, not until that man is captured.”
“We’ll take you both home,” said Phil, promptly, looking at Mary.
“But we don’t want to keep you from what you were going to do,” said Vera.
“Oh, we were only out for a walk,” replied Dave. “We’ll walk to town with you. Maybe we’ll hear something more of this strange fellow.”