"That depends," said Gif, and caught the youth by the wrist. "Tell me, Codfish, were you at our Lodge the other day—the day the whole place was rough-housed?"
"No, I wasn't, Gif. Really and truly I wasn't!" cried the sneak, in alarm.
"Were Werner and Glutts alone?"
"Yes, yes! I had nothing to do with it!"
"See here, Codfish, you keep your mouth shut!" roared Glutts, and he moved forward as if to strike the small youth who cowered before him.
"You keep your distance, Glutts," admonished Jack. "If Codfish is tired of staying with you fellows, he's going to leave, and you're not to say anything about it."
"What right had you fellows to smash those snowballs down on us?" questioned Werner, with an angry look in his eyes.
"What right had you fellows to come and upset Cedar Lodge, destroying some of our stores, and walking off with some of the others?" questioned Jack sternly.
"We didn't walk off with anything," answered Werner quickly. "What we did we had a right to do—to pay you back for what you did to our stores in the sleigh."
"We didn't take any of your things," put in Fred quickly; "and a whole lot of our stuff is missing."