"Just the same, Fred, if they do come back we'll have to keep our eyes wide open, for they surely will do their best to put one over on us, and any fellows who would be mean enough to do what they have done, wouldn't hesitate to do worse."
"I can't understand why Colonel Colby is going to let them come back at all."
"Oh, I suppose he feels that he ought to give them at least one more chance. He probably remembers how Dan Baxter acted toward our fathers and the colonel himself, as well as their chums, and how Baxter afterwards reformed."
"Yes, that may be true. But when one fellow like Walt Baxter's father reforms, a dozen others remain as bad as ever, or grow worse. To my mind, there isn't much in the way of reform in Slugger Brown's make-up, or in Nappy Martell either."
"Oh, I agree with you there. Slugger Brown is nothing short of a brute, and Nappy Martell is as sly and vicious as any fellow I ever ran up against. We'll certainly have to watch them when they get back here."
CHAPTER IV
OUT HUNTING
After the excitement attending the skating races, matters moved along quietly at Colby Hall for several days. The Rover boys, as was their custom, paid close attention to their studies.