"Don't tell Miss Bess or Miss Belle," cautioned Nettie. "They are so nervous now, I think they would not stay in the house another night if they knew about the bottle."
"All right," agreed Cora, "but it will be well for the boys to know about it. It shows that the man went to the Spray drug store, and that he must belong about here some place."
Meanwhile, Ed, Jack and Walter had done considerable searching. They followed what they took to be a trail, down over the railroad tracks, through swamps, and they finally brought up at an abandoned gypsy camp!
"They left in a hurry," declared Ed. "See, they had a meal here last night, at least."
The remains of food and of a campfire showed that his surmise was correct, and Jack made bold enough to pull down an old horse blanket that hung to the ground from the low limbs of a tree. "Hello! Who are you?" exclaimed Jack, for back of the improvised curtain lay a man asleep!
The other boys ran to the spot.
"That's him," whispered Ed, ignoring his education. "Look at the bandaged foot!"
The man turned over and growled. He was not asleep, but pretended to be, or wanted to be.
"Here!" exclaimed Ed, giving him a shove, "wake up! We want those spoons you borrowed last night!"
The fellow pulled himself up on his arms and made a move as if to get something in his pocket, but the boys were too many and too quick for him.