“It was a great pleasure!”
Next thing, the tramps were commanded to “loosen up and come across with the goods.” At first they sullenly refused, but upon Frank threatening to administer another upper cut and the farmers raising their shotguns suggestively, the scoundrels changed their minds and grudgingly led the way into the log hut.
Even then the boys had no real hope of getting back the things that had been stolen from them. The robbery had occurred long enough before to have given the tramps plenty of time to dispose of both watch and money.
But they were agreeably surprised and delighted when, upon a little further persuasion, the fellows revealed a hiding place in one corner of the hut—a hole about a foot deep, lined with stones and covered with several boards which, in turn, were covered with stones and dirt.
With a whoop of joy Will pulled from this hiding place not only his watch and a wallet filled with money—four ten dollar bills which Frank positively identified as his own—but two newly plucked chickens carefully wrapped in newspaper to keep them from the dirt.
Samuel Jones’ eyes shone and his mouth beneath the whiskers was grim as he turned to his companions.
“An’ you were tellin’ me,” he said, in a voice shrill with triumph, “that I didn’t know what I wuz talkin’ about. Them two hens is mine, I’m tellin’ you, stole from me at twelve o’clock last night. Now you’ll believe me, mebbe.”
“Too bad to do the poor hobos out of a good chicken dinner,” Allen suggested, with a twinkle in his eye as Mr. Jones carefully tucked his property under one arm, taking his shotgun in the other. “Just when they had it all prepared, too!”
“Humph!” grunted Jones. “They’ll git their dinner all right—in the county jail. Come along, you two. Forward march, now. An’ make it snappy too. We ain’t in no humorin’ mood.”
“Well,” said Betty, her eyes dancing as she watched the “posse” disappear through the trees, the sullen tramps marching sheepishly along with them, “if that isn’t the snappiest work I ever saw, then I wouldn’t say so. Boys, you deserve a medal.”