“I’ll keep my eyes on the Ritter crowd,” said Jack, “and make sure they don’t play some trick of another kind during your absence.”
In a roundabout way Pepper and Andy learned that Reff Ritter and Gus Coulter were going to Cedarville on their bicycles. As soon as they heard this the two chums got out their own wheels, pumped up the tires, and were off.
“We’ve got to do a little spurting,” said Pepper. “Ritter and Coulter are both fast riders and we want to get to town quite awhile ahead of them.”
It was still fairly light, so that they did not need lamps. They pedaled along with vigor, up hill and down, until the lights of the town shone in the distance. Without slacking speed they took to the main street and slacked up only when the drug store came into view.
“Now if only the clerk is in charge,” said Pepper. “I don’t know the proprietor very well.”
“Come, let us take our wheels to the rear,” suggested Andy. “Then if we want to get out in a hurry we can do it without Ritter and Coulter seeing us.”
They placed their bicycles in a shed at the back of the drug store and then hurried around again to the front. As they went in they met the proprietor coming out. This caused the cadets to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Well, boys, what can I do for you?” asked the clerk, as he came forward and nodded pleasantly to Pepper.
“You can do a whole lot for us, Charley,” answered Pepper, and continued: “Anybody here?”
“No, the boss just went out. I am in sole charge.”