“Good enough!” cried Shadow. “But what are we going to do with our suit-cases?”
“You’ll have to tie those on somehow,” announced Dave. “We brought plenty of straps along.”
As the five chums got ready for the trip to the construction camp, Dave and Roger were told of many things that had happened to the others during the past few weeks. In return they told about themselves and the encounter with Nick Jasniff.
“A mighty bad egg, that Jasniff,” was Phil’s comment.
“The worst ever,” added Shadow.
“Mr. Dunston Porter and the girls didn’t tell you half of the story about those gypsies,” said Ben. “Those fellows tried to make all sorts of trouble for us. They tried to prove that they had a right to camp on that land, and my father and your uncle had to threaten them with the law before they went away. Since that time several of the gypsies have been in town, and they have made a number of threats to get square. That old hag, Mother Domoza, is particularly wrathful. She insists that she got the right to camp there as long as she pleased from some party who used to own a part of the land.”
“Where are the gypsies hanging out now?” questioned Dave.
“Somebody told me they were camping on the edge of Coburntown.”
“You don’t say! That’s the place where I had so much trouble with the storekeepers on account of Ward Porton’s buying so many things in my name.”
“If I were living in Coburntown, I’d keep my eyes open for those gypsies,” declared Ben. “I wouldn’t trust any of them any farther than I could see them. Ever since they camped on the outskirts of Crumville folks have suspected them of raiding hencoops and of other petty thieving. They never caught them at it, so they couldn’t prove it. But my father was sure in his own mind that they were guilty.”