By this time Jimmie had joined the two, and now stood with a grin on his freckled face, rather enjoying the situation.
“And you chased off and left him chewing up our grub, did you?” he demanded. “What are we going to eat tomorrow?”
“Oh my! oh my!” wailed Gilroy. “I don’t believe there will ever be any tomorrow. Once I get out of this brutal country, I’ll never leave New York again!”
“What are we going to do with him, Ned?” asked Jimmie.
“He’s simply got to go back to the cave,” Ned answered. “We can’t have him with us at a time like this.”
“I can’t go back to the cave!” shouted Gilroy, again brandishing his searchlight in the air. “I won’t go back to the cave alone!” he continued. “If you insist on my leaving you, I’ll start afoot over the mountains for San Francisco.”
“If you should do a fool thing like that,” Jimmie declared, “the bears would have a beautiful feast of fat clerk before morning!”
“I won’t go back to the cave, I just won’t!” insisted Gilroy.
“Well,” Ned said hesitatingly, “if you’ll keep your eyes open and your mouth closed, and hand me that light so you won’t be showing it every second, you may come along with us.”
Gilroy meekly handed over the electric, and the three proceeded on their way, Ned walking close to the fat clerk in order to ensure his silence. Jimmie trailed along with a grin on his face.