The mother was beyond speech when they brought her baby to her; but the father, who had been summoned from the city and had spent the night in vain search, coming now from his dismal task on the lake, had more than words for two. He praised the boys, begged them to stop all night, tried to reward them, and failing that, ordered his wife to cook the best dinner “ever spread in the shack.”
With difficulty Billy explained that they had no time to wait for dinners, that they must get back to the city by sunset.
The Swedish farmer frowned at this speech, and tried to dissuade them. Failing that, he made a welcome proposition. “I have a good team and carriage, my neighbor also; we’ll drive you to town in two hours. To that you shall not say no.”
They were glad to accept this offer, and none knew how tired they were till they were jogging on their way home. Billy’s pedometer recorded forty-one miles.
They arrived in town with no adventure; and after reporting by telephone to Mr. Streeter, Billy went home to find his mother keeping dinner warm for him.
Mrs. Bennett waited on him, and listened to as much of his story as he felt like telling; he found it hard to repeat from sheer fatigue. When he had left the table she handed him a note.
“Bess brought that to-day, and said you were to read it the minute you arrived; but I thought something to eat might prepare you. She seemed to think it of great importance.” Mrs. Bennett smiled and began to clear the table; but Billy, with a prompting he could not understand, took it to his room to read.
What he saw in the printed slip, a circular in form, banished sleep, fatigue, every emotion but anger.
“Weren’t you afraid?” Redtop asked when the first busy part of the meal was over