"As the Captain said, he 'sure has got suthin' on his mind'!" laughed Merritt.
After traversing about a mile of beach, the dog suddenly bounded into a thicket overhanging the shore and began barking furiously.
"He's treed something, all right," remarked Rob, pushing the branches aside.
The next minute he gave a loud shout of triumph.
"Look there, boys! Old Skipper sure did 'have suthin' on his mind'!"
Peering over Rob's shoulder, the other two were able to make out two hidden sacks, the mouth of one of which had been torn open, evidently by the investigating Skipper.
From the aperture appeared the torn sleeve of a Boy Scout's uniform, and a brief searching of the sacks after they had been lugged out on the beach revealed the entire stolen equipment.
"Bones for you, Skipper, for the rest of your life!" promised Tubby, as the dog, evidently well pleased with the petting he received and the admiration showered upon him, pranced about on the beach and indulged in a hundred antics.
The only one of the uniforms damaged was the one that Skipper had torn. The others were all intact, but badly crumpled, having been hastily thrust into the sacks, and, as it appeared, tamped down to make them fit more compactly.
"Well, what do you know about that?" was Merritt's astonished exclamation, as one by one Rob drew forth the regimentals and laid them on the beach.