"Then the only one who did get hurt," Tom added, "was the man who was very soon able to take mighty good care of himself."
"So we don't need to bother about the matter any more," Greg hinted.
"And, gracious! I hope mother has saved some supper for me."
"It'll be a cold hand-out for me," groaned Hazelton.
The Grammar School boys were soon on Main Street now. They hurried along, as they had not yet come to the point of parting.
"Look at that crowd down the street," called Dave. "There's some excitement in the wind."
"I'm not nosey," observed Tom.
"No," scoffed Darrin; "you're too hungry."
"I'm going to see what the excitement is about, anyway," muttered
Hazelton, starting forward off a run.
One by one the other boys yielded to curiosity and started at a jog-trot for the corner where the crowd was gathered.
"No; the poor fellow isn't crazy in the ordinary sense of the word," Dick heard a tall man, finely dressed in black, say to some of the bystanders. "He's harmless enough, and his mind isn't permanently astray, if only he can have prompt and good care. But he's inclined to get away by himself and ponder over his inventions. If he leads a too solitary life long enough he may be past the possibility of a cure one of these days. That is why Colonel Garwood is so anxious to find his son, and offers such a handsome reward for information."