"And so the sheriff is hunting that escaped convict, and you believe he must be the father of poor Andy? Say! I feel sorry for him now. Never did before, you understand; but a fellow with his dad in prison has got a load on his shoulders. As Jerry says, that may account for some of his badness," Bluff went on.
"What are we going to do if the sheriff pops in on us?" questioned Jerry.
"Perhaps he'll want us to lend him a hand in rounding up his game," said Frank, just to ascertain the feelings of his chums on the subject.
"Not for me, he won't!" was the emphatic protest of Bluff.
"I'm up here for a quiet outing, and don't calculate to join with a sheriff's posse to hunt down a wretched escaped convict," avowed Will.
Whereupon Jerry solemnly shook each of them by the hand.
"Thank you, fellows. But I ought to have known that you'd say just that. Pards of mine wouldn't look at the matter any other way. If this runaway from the penitentiary happened to be a bloodthirsty wretch, now, it might be different; but he was sent up purely on circumstantial evidence, and has always declared that he was innocent. Thank you again, both of you," he said with feeling.
"Then it is agreed that while we don't expect to throw any obstacles in the way of our good friend, Mr. Dodd, the sheriff, who is only doing his duty by the State, none of us will raise a hand to assist him—is that your sentiment, boys?" asked Frank, who wanted to have the important matter settled one way or the other.
"It is, unanimously. Perhaps later on we may learn just why Thaddeus Lasher wants to keep people away from this region while he lingers here. That is a mystery just at present, it seems, and we can only amuse ourselves guessing at it."
"Jerry speaks our mind, eh, Will?" said Bluff.