"Why, how did you know where he was?"
"The fellers told me. I didn't think it was a secret."
"It ought to have been," and Seth looked more distressed than before. "If all hands know, it won't take Sam Barney a great while to find out."
"He was talkin' 'bout it when I left; said there was no need of goin' to the ferry till mornin', 'cause he could put his hands on him when he wanted to. Some of Jip's chums must have gone back on him, an' I wouldn't wonder if I knew who. You see, Denny Macey was tellin' 'round that if Jip didn't ante up the dime he borrowed two weeks ago, he'd make trouble for him."
"Don't let's stand here any longer," and Seth led the way at a rapid pace toward the ferry.
Beyond speculating as to how the would-be detective had been enabled to return from Philadelphia, those who were seeking to do Jip Collins an additional favor indulged in little conversation during the hurried journey across the city.
As they neared the ferry each kept a sharp watch in the hope of meeting the boy whom he sought, but when they stood at the very entrance of the slip no sign of Jip had been seen, and then the difficulty of the search began to be apparent.
Master Collins was a stranger in this section of the city, and they might question a dozen boys without finding one who had so much as heard of him, therefore the quest was likely to be a long if not a vain one.
"It'll soon be too late to do anything if we don't hustle," Seth said when he realized all the possibilities against success. "Let each feller start out alone, and there'll be jest so many more chances of runnin' across him. We'll meet here by the ferry slip in half an hour."
This plan was acted upon without delay, and each member of the searching party did his best to bring the labor to a speedy and final conclusion; but when at the expiration of the time set the four met once more, nothing had been discovered.