"Of course not; there's nothin' for me to do till the folks begin to come in to see how well I can row a boat. What did the old duffer do?"
"Do you mean Uncle Nathan?"
"Of course."
"He hasn't had anybody arrested yet; but there's no knowin' how soon he'll begin."
"He'd better not try it on me," Sam said, with an assumption of boldness. "I've found a feller here that's goin' to show off rifles, an' I can borrow as many as I want if he does any funny business."
"Would you shoot anybody?"
"You jest stay till an old lunatic comes along sayin' I've helped to rob him when your mother knows where I was, an' see what I'll do," Sam replied, in a really bloodthirsty tone as he turned to walk away, and then, as if reconsidering the matter, he stopped long enough to say, "Wait here a minute, an' I'll show you a feller what knows a thing or two."
Inasmuch as Teddy had no idea of moving from the position he had taken up near the gate it was not irksome to do as the exhibitor of boats requested, and without troubling his head as to who this very important person might be, he remained at the precise spot until Sam returned with a boy who appeared to be a year or two older than himself.
"This is Dan Summers, an' he's here to help show off a dandy rifle made in Chicopee Falls down in Massachusetts, or some such place. He'll help us out of the scrape if anybody can."
Dan looked as if this introduction was disagreeable to him rather than otherwise, and after nodding to Teddy, he said, in an explanatory tone: