Accustomed to prompt action, the scout leader motioned to Andy and Hiram to hold themselves in readiness to seize upon the fellow’s arms, and in this manner keep him from taking advantage of his newly acquired freedom when Tubby arose.
“Now you can get up, Tubby!” said Rob.
Tubby thereupon gave one of his satisfied grunts and commenced to roll off his human cushion for, as a rule, when he wished to gain his feet, like the elephant he resembled in many ways, the fat boy had to get upon his knees first of all, and then make a further effort.
“Turn him over, Andy, Hiram; and if he tries any funny business he’ll wish he hadn’t, that’s all!” Rob told the others, who immediately started to obey.
“Oh, believe me, I’ve had enough as it is, Rob! I hope you won’t be too hard on me this time! I was wild to get back home, and that’s the truth,” the fellow was crying as Andy and Hiram turned him on his back.
The former bent down to stare into the thief’s face. Rob fairly held his breath, awaiting the explosion something told him was due. Nor was he mistaken, for Andy drew back, uttering exclamations of wonder.
“Why, who d’ye believe it is,” he burst out, “but that sneak of a Jared Applegate who had to skip out of Hampton when things got too hot for him, and who you last ran across when you were down in Mexico? Rob, he’s up to his old tricks of trying to steal what belongs to others. Say, this is one of the biggest surprises that ever came our way. Old Hiram Applegate’s bad boy, and a common hotel thief!”
CHAPTER XIX.
AN ENEMY OF THE PAST.
They all recognized Jared now, although he had grown considerably since last Rob had seen him, and was a husky looking fellow, easily capable of doing a man’s work.
In other days he had been a thorn in the flesh of the newly organized troop of scouts in Hampton, doing every mean thing his wits could devise in order to annoy them. Then, later on, when some of the boys had visited the Panama Canal, in process of being dug at the time, they ran across this same young reprobate, and found him associated with a number of desperate foreigners who were trying to blow up the locks of the canal in order to effect the ruination of the whole grand project to unite the two oceans across the isthmus.