However, as they came presently to a rise of ground, they glimpsed him off to the right not far from the main road.
“He’s taking it easy,” Brad said in relief. “I guess he doesn’t suspect we’re following him.”
“No need to yet, Dan. The minute we do, he’ll either defy us or start to run. We’ll just keep him in sight until Mr. Hatfield catches up.”
“Sure, that’s what he told us to do,” Midge said nervously. “No telling how the kid may react.”
Without glancing around, Jack made his way directly to the road. Once he paused to stare at the crotch of a tree which had been split by lightning.
Another time, hearing the crackle of a stick, he looked quickly over his shoulder. Brad, Dan and Midge froze in their positions and the boy did not see them.
“He’s heading for the road all right,” Brad observed. “We’ve got to beat him to it.”
Dropping back into the hollow, the three Cubs hastened on. Presently, they emerged at a point where they had calculated Jack would come out of the woods.
Nor were they mistaken. In a moment, before they fully had caught their breath, they saw him coming.
Jack was whistling a slightly off-key tune. Seeing the three boys in front of him, he broke off and stopped dead in his tracks.
The moment was a tense one for the three Cubs. They were relieved though that Jack made no attempt to draw his rifle.
“What’s the idea?” he demanded, trying to shove past them.
“Mr. Hatfield wants to talk to you,” Brad said pleasantly. “You raised a few points.”
“You’ll learn nothing more from me!” Jack retorted. “I told you that! Let me past!”
Brad, Dan and Midge refused to move. Jack glared at them, and then whirled, evidently intending to run.
During the brief conversation, Mr. Hatfield, his son, Fred, Chips, Red and Babe quietly had come up from the rear.
“What’s the big idea?” Jack repeated furiously. “You got nothing on me!”
At a signal from Mr. Hatfield, the Cubs closed about the boy in a tight circle.
“Hand over the rifle, Jack,” the Cub leader ordered. “You handle it very well for a boy of your age, but you shouldn’t have taken it from Mrs. Jones without her permission.”
“Nevertheless, it was her property. The rifle, Jack.”
The boy seemed on the verge of defying the Cub leader. Then, he thought through the matter, and with a gesture of contempt, extended the weapon.