"Then stop that infernal racket," answered Whopper. "Do you want the neighborhood to think that there are more explosions taking place?"
"Time to be moving," said Giant, and passed on, to arouse Shep.
"Now, my son, be very careful and keep out of danger," said Mr. Dodge to Charley, when the latter was ready to leave. "I shall send old Jed Sanborn up to see you once or twice, and if you need anything from here you let him know and he can bring it to you." And then, after a warm handshake from his father and a kiss from his mother, Snap almost ran from the house, fearful that he would be late.
At the barn where the things had been stored he found Giant and Shep, but nothing was to be seen of Whopper.
"I woke him up," said Giant. "Something has gone wrong, or he would be here by this time."
They waited five minutes longer, and Snap was on the point of going to Whopper's home when they saw the missing club member approaching on a run.
"What in the world kept you so long?" cried Shep.
"Oh, I had a little set-to with Barney Hedge," answered Whopper. "He said some things I didn't like and I rolled him over in the snow and put some down his back to help him cool off."
"Barney Hedge," repeated Snap. He knew the fellow mentioned to be a crony of Ham Spink and Carl Dudder. "What was it about?"
"Oh, about our outing last summer. It seems Hedge and the others are starting a report that we didn't shoot the game we brought in, but that Jed Sanborn brought down the most of it for us."