"Fer waylayin' Billy Keezer an' Tom Oakes last night, an' breakin' their heads with a stick. They're all used up, an' Tom swears that you stole his coat."
Douglas leaned back in his chair and laughed so heartily that Jake and his wife looked at him in astonishment.
"So Billy and Tom are sick, are they?" he chuckled. "Well, I hope they have learned a lesson and will mind their own affairs after this."
He then told the story of the fight the night before, and when he had finished he went to his room and brought down the captured coat, and read the note he had found in the pocket.
"Great punkins!" Jake exclaimed, as he hit the table with his fist and made the dishes rattle. "I'm mighty glad ye've got that letter. It's sure proof that Ben was back of the hull affair. And so ye knocked 'em both out with the pick-handle, did ye? Bully fer you! I wish ye'd got a tap at Ben while ye was about it."
"Did you see Billy and Tom?" Douglas asked.
"No. They're in bed. The doctor's been to see 'em, so I learned."
"And Si is going to have me arrested, eh?"
"So I heard. He was rampin' around like a lion."
"I wish he would," Douglas quietly remarked. "It would clear the air somewhat, and give me a chance to say something. But Si will never come out in the open like that, mark my word. He and Ben are back of that attack last night, if I'm not greatly mistaken, and they would not dare to face an investigation."