Then they seated themselves on top of the load and Joe clucked to the horses.
"So you boys ran across the fit thrower out in the woods, and he gave you plenty of excitement ?" queried Joe, after the start homeward had been made.
"Yes," nodded Dick, "and we were afraid he'd show up again before we got through in the woods." "Why ?" asked Joe, bringing the whip down lazily on the flanks of the horses.
"Because," Dick answered, "we found his loot, and he knew we had found it.

We feared that he'd make another big effort to get back the stuff, which was valuable." "But the police have the stuff," Joe went on.
"How do you know that ?" "Why, Ripley's crowd knew it when they got back to Gridley, and the newspapers got the fact from the Gridley police." "If Mr.Fits read the Gridley papers," remarked Prescott, thoughtfully, "then of course he knew he couldn't recover any of his plunder by paying us a visit.

That, I guess, was the only reason why he didn't pay the cabin another visit." "That, and the other fact, perhaps," Joe went on, "that the Gridley papers hinted that the cabin was being shadowed by the police." "But it wasn't." "No matter; if your fit throwing gentleman thought he was going to take any chances of running into police out in these woods, then he wasn't going to slip his neck into a noose." "I'm glad he kept away," muttered Tom Reade.
"Unless we could have had the pleasure of jumping on the rascal and getting the glory of capturing him," flashed Dave Darrin.
"I feel a bit blue over leaving the good old cabin," complained Greg Holmes.
"So would I," returned Dick, "if it weren't for the fact that Lawyer Ripley told us we could use the place whenever we choose.

That means that we can go camping there again." "Maybe Lawyer Ripley will take back what he said when he hears about the cook shack being burned to the ground," suggested Harry solemnly.
"But we didn't burn it down, anyway," retorted Dick.
"Who did, then ?" asked Joe curiously.
None of Dick & Co., however, offered an answer.
After glancing at the boys in turn, Joe decided to hold his peace on that topic.
It was well after dark when the outfit arrived in Gridley.

Joe drove to Dick's first, with that youngster's belongings.