"Did father ever have trouble with him?"
"Never, that I know of. Hark! I believe there is some one at the door."
"It is a noise at the barn. I must go out and see if Sammy has cared for the horses properly. It has been a hard day for them. Come, cheer up, mother, and it will come out all right."
"But aren't you going to eat any supper?"
"When I come in, perhaps. To speak the truth, I am not hungry."
Little Snap talked until late in the night with his mother, and when they retired both felt in better spirits.
"At last I have got a clew," he said to himself. "I can't realize it, but it looks as if Ab Raggles had something to do with all this trouble. Just now I am bothered to know what these stories mean about Mr. Rimmon."
Though he did not sleep much, Little Snap was on hand at the post office the following morning, where he found a large crowd of men collected.
He noticed prominent among them Sheriff Brady and Justice Claverton, who nodded their heads and whispered something to each other at sight of him.
"I have heard it threatened that this shall be your last trip," said the post office clerk, as he handed the mail pouch to the postboy.