Soon all reached the outskirts of Oakdale and there, at one of the corners, the boys left the girls.
“Pretty late!” cried Gus Plum, consulting the watch he carried. “We’ll have to hike back lively, if we don’t want to be marked up for tardiness.”
“We can get an excuse, if we tell about the wild man,” said Buster. “I’ve hurried all I’m going to.” 90
“We’ll certainly have a yarn to spin when we get back to the school,” was Phil’s comment.
At the entrance to the campus the boys, who were a little late, met the first assistant to Doctor Clay. As my old readers know Mr. Dale was as pleasant as Job Haskers was disagreeable.
“Had a fine walk, boys?” he asked, with a smile.
“We had an adventure,” answered Dave, and then he and his chums told what it was.
“Well! well! that wild man again,” mused the instructor. “This is getting truly serious. I was hoping he would leave this neighborhood. And so he calls himself the King of Sumatra? That is strange.”
“It certainly is strange,” answered Dave.
But how strange, our hero was still to find out.