“Why, you conceited—” Red began, but Dan checked him with a hard kick in the ankle.
“Maybe we are sort of dumb,” Brad said, falling in with Jack’s mood. “You’re probably right, we don’t know what’s going on around here. That’s because we’re not on the scene much of the time. You’re roaming the woods and the marsh every day. I suppose you’ve seen things we haven’t.”
“You’re darn right I have,” Jack boasted. “I could tell you something about that black dress, if I had a mind to! What’s more, I could tell you about the money box—”
The boy broke off, suddenly aware that he was talking entirely too much.
“What about the money box?” Mr. Hatfield asked quietly.
Jack, however, started off through the woods.
Jack turned around, but his eyes were unfriendly and defiant.
“You won’t get anything out of me!” he taunted the Cubs. “I could tell you a lot if I wanted to. But I won’t! I’m not forgetting that it was the Cubs who took me back to the Child Study Institute!”
Jack Phillip’s hint that he was in possession of vital information relative to the missing money box amazed the Cubs.
Even Mr. Hatfield was so taken by surprise that for the moment he made no attempt to detain the boy.
“Say, are we going to let him get away again?” Brad demanded. “He knows what became of that money box!”
“He took it himself, that’s why!” muttered Chips. “Who does he think he is, anyhow? Someone that doesn’t have to obey the law?”
“Jack does have a few things to explain,” Mr. Hatfield said quietly. “Now, take it easy, boys. He’ll not elude us.”
“He’s heading for the road now!” Red said excitedly. “If we don’t stop him quick, he’ll slip away and we may never see him again!”
“We’ll head him off,” the Cub leader replied, undisturbed. “Brad, you and Dan and Midge start through the hollow which is shorter than the path he’s taken. The rest of us will come up from the rear.”
“Sure!” Brad said eagerly. “We’ll get him!”
“Just circle in and don’t use any force. In fact, don’t try to hold him until I get there. He has a rifle, you know. It may or may not be loaded, but we’re taking no chances.”
“We’ll be careful,” Brad promised, already starting off with Midge and Dan.
At a fast lope, the three boys followed the low ground. For a considerable distance they were unable to see the boy they pursued.