"Well, he is loose and that's all there is about it. What'll we do next?"
"Find those canes. They're here, I know they are."
"Just tell me where they are, will you?"
"They won't come to us, that's certain! We've got to look them up. And if we don't find them pretty soon too it'll be the worse for us."
Will turned as he spoke and once more opened the lid of a piano box that was standing on the floor near them. The box apparently was filled with oats and they had inspected it before, but as it had not presented any appearance of containing the object of their search they had passed it by and gone on to the loft above.
This time, however, Will thrust his arm deep down into the oats and in a moment he almost shouted. "Here's something, Foster! Help me clear away these oats. There's something down in there!"
Foster seized the scoop that was near the improvised oat bin and with feverish haste threw the oats up on one side and then said exultantly, "Here's something! Here they are!"
Leaning over the box, he drew forth a bundle of canes carefully tied together and partly hidden from sight beneath the oats.
"Are they all there?" demanded Will in a hoarse whisper. He hastily inspected the bundle and then exclaimed, "Here's only a part of them, Foster!"
"Where some are it's likely there are more," and Will at once resumed his search. His efforts were speedily rewarded by the discovery of another bundle similar to the one that had already been found, and, dropping his scoop, he hastily began to count the canes.