"Well, I declare—where did you fellows drop from? Where's old sleepy-head?"
"Street-cars and trucks, so we meet again, eh?"
Nat Wingate and Kirk Talbot uttered these exclamations, as the two encountered Bob Somers, accompanied by Sam Randall, on the following morning.
"Having any further trouble with your old tub?" asked Nat.
"Not much," answered Bob, dryly; "don't expect to, either. It's at the bottom of Wolf River."
"What?—Say, where does the joke come in, Somers? I don't catch on."
"The 'Rambler' was set on fire and blown into bits yesterday by some mean scoundrel."
"Come now, what are you trying to give us?" protested Nat, incredulously, while Kirk Talbot fairly gasped with astonishment.
"You don't expect me to believe a fishy yarn like that, do you?"
For an answer, Bob told the two Nimrods all about the destruction of the "Rambler," and their long tramp to the railroad station.