"It was mighty good of you men to come down and help us out," murmured Dick Prescott gratefully. "We would have had a pretty tough time if we had been left to ourselves."
"We'd go further than we've traveled tonight, to help out boys like you," declared another man present. "Prescott, that was a fine thing you did to Miller to-night, and Tom Drake will be grateful as long as he lives."
"If Drake keeps away from drink in the future," Dick answered, "he will have reason to congratulate himself."
"Oh, Drake will keep away from the stuff after this," said one of the citizens. "Young Drake has a head of his own, and we'll see that he uses it. We'll keep a friendly eye over him. Don't worry. Young Tom Drake will never associate with any of Miller's kind again."
"Whenever any of you boys want to go to sleep, just say so," urged
Mr. Hartshorn, "and we'll run along."
"Why, I believe we're a bit waked up, at present," smiled young Prescott, as he turned to glance at the others in the light thrown by the automobile lamps.
"I don't feel as though I needed any more sleep," laughed Tom
Reade.
"If you boys are thinking of sitting up to watch against another surprise, don't bother about it," advised Mr. Hartshorn. "You've seen the very last that you'll see of those rascals. Men of that sort never have nerve enough to attempt a risky thing twice."
"I'm going to put some wood in the stove and make coffee," Danny
Grin announced.
"Can't we offer you a cup of coffee, gentlemen?" proposed Prescott.
"And sandwiches? We have plenty of the fixings for sandwiches."