“You did!” exclaimed Fred. “Who were the boys?”
“They was that Flanders boy and them two other fellows named Sands and Halliday.”
“Tell us all about this, Jeff!” cried Andy eagerly.
Thereupon, sitting on the bungalow porch with the boys around him, the colored man gave the particulars. He said that he had caught the three boys behind the shed at the Willoughby camp smoking and playing cards. They were talking about old times and did not notice him when he went into the shed. He heard them mention a fire at the Colby Hall boathouse and, listening, found that it had been caused by Flanders and his two cronies.
“I ain’t sure that they done it on purpose,” went on Jeff. “They went there to rough-house the place, same as when they done come here and rough-housed this bungalow. They had a lantern with ’em, and Sands said the lantern got knocked over accidental like. But Flanders didn’t act much like it was accidental like and Halliday didn’t neither.”
“I guess if it was accidental they were glad it happened,” cried Jack. “And one thing is certain, they didn’t try to put out the fire. They just skipped out and let the place take care of itself.”
“We ought to let Colonel Colby know about this,” said Spouter. “It’s too serious a matter to let go by. Of course, we could accuse Flanders and those other fellows, but what good would it do us?”
“Let’s put it all down in writing and get Jeff to sign it,” suggested Gif.
This was agreed upon, and the boys lost no time in taking down the colored man’s statement. Then they read it to him and he signed it, and they put their names on the paper as witnesses to the signature. Then Jeff shuffled off into the kitchen of the bungalow to get ready for supper.