"Go on quickly, Sam, before a crowd gathers."
Fred gazed after the accused until he was lost to view in the distance, and then turned away with a heavy heart.
The cashier had nothing more to say about the robbery, but he found plenty of work for the boy to do, much as if wishing to keep him in sight until Mr. Wright came home.
It was half-past eight when the last train arrived and the superintendent was not on it.
Fred should have been home two hours before, and his mother, always in fear of an accident since the explosion, came in search of him.
To her the story of Sam's misfortune was told, and she at once demanded a private interview with the cashier.
"Don't tell him why we wanted to buy land," Fred whispered, and his mother promised to keep the secret for a short time at least.
Ten minutes' conversation with the angry official sufficed, and then the two went to Sam's home, where the sad news was told.
Not until ten o'clock did Fred and his mother reach the little cottage where Bill and Joe were impatiently awaiting their arrival.
"We've heard something about the trouble," the former said, "and want to know all the perticlars."