“I’m glad to hear you say that, Ralph,” he remarked. “A thing like this makes a good impression. Peleg has acted like any honest boy would.”
“Y—es, it would seem so,” the other went on to say, with a touch of hesitation in his speech. “I was just wondering if there could be a method in his madness. You see, for anything we know, he may have suspected that the pocketbook had been purposely dropped as a trap; or even seen us hiding where we did, and on that account guessed what was doing.”
“That thought never came to me,” Rob replied, looking grave. “While there’s a chance that it might be so, I don’t believe it, Ralph. I think you gave him a severe test, and that the boy came out of it without being scorched a whit. Still, if you have the least doubt left, and I can’t blame you for it, either, keep tabs of Peleg, and prove the case, one way or the other.”
“Oh! I mean to, Rob. I don’t consider it’s quite fair to keep suspecting a fellow and never openly accuse him. I own up this affair has upset some of my opinions. I’m more inclined than ever to believe I was mistaken.”
“Let’s forget it for the present,” suggested Rob.
To this the other only too readily agreed, for Ralph was evidently a fair minded fellow, who believed in the good old motto of “live, and let live.”
Supper was to be at an unusually early hour because they meant to start to town afterwards. The Southern “mammy” who served as cook evidently knew how to serve up “turtle fries” to equal anything a Delmonico could boast; at least, that was the verdict of the boys after they had tasted the dish set before them.
It was noticed, however, that Tubby, the provider of the leading article on the bill of fare, did not seem to care particularly for turtle; which seemed strange to some of the others, knowing his customary tastes as they did.
“What ails you, Tubby?” demanded Sim. “Seems to me you only toy with that helping on your plate. If you love frogs’ legs, and such things as spring chicken, you ought to just smack your lips over such a dish as this, fit for a crowned head.”
Tubby grinned as he went on to reply.