"Tell you what," said Tom Betts, who had also escaped with only a few minor injuries, because he was as quick as a cat, and must have fallen on a soft piece of ground besides; "tell you what, I thought that old hill had turned into a volcano, and just bust all to flinders."
"Well, now," Phil admitted, "I somehow had an idea that storm had chased up when we didn't chance to be watching, and lightning had struck a tree close to the place where we happened to be standing looking at that crazy man wave his arms."
"Me?" Bobolink remarked; "why, I was dead sure what we guessed about a war game bein' played up here between two pretended hostile armies was right; and that one of 'em had blown up the fort of the other. You see, that aeroplane had a sorter military air about it, even if I didn't see it. And I'm not sure yet it isn't that."
"One thing sure," remarked Paul; "the man was trying to warn us to keep back, for he knew some sort of mine was going to explode, and that we might be killed. As it was, we got off pretty lucky, I think. This sprain will heal in a day or two; but if a rock weighing a ton or two had dropped down on me, I guess the chances of my ever seeing Stanhope again would have been mighty slim."
"But tell me," Bobolink asked, "what in the world would counterfeiters want with exploding mines, and doin' all that sort of thing? Just remember that big bang we had the other night, that woke everybody up. Shows it's a habit with 'em, and that this wasn't some freak accident. Gee! my head's buzzing around so I can't think straight. Somebody do my guessin' for me; won't you, please?"
"That's right," said Tom Betts, suddenly; "who are these men, anyway? P'raps we didn't size 'em up straight when we made up our minds they were bogus money-makers. Mebbe they happen to be a different sort of crowd altogether. How about that, Paul; am I off my trolley when I say that?"
"I've been beginning to believe something was crooked in our guess for a little while, Tom," replied the scout master; "but all the same, you've got me up in the air when you ask who and what they are. I'm rattled more than I've been in many a day, to be honest with you all."
Bobolink took out something from his pocket. He stared hard at the two shining quarters, and jingled them in his hand.
"Look good to me," he was heard to say; "I'd pass 'em any time for genuine. But what silly chump'd be throwing good money around like that, tell me?"
"Or bad money either, Bobolink," remarked Paul; "so you see, it was an accident in any case. You've lost money many a time out of your pocket; well, this man was in the same boat. Chances are, that's straight goods."