“And if we catch any fellow trying to litter up the town, what’s going to happen to him?” asked Alec Sands grimly.
“I want to get the sentiment of the troop on that subject,” said Hugh. “Don’t all talk at once, but tell me what you think we ought to do. You know the mayor hasn’t exactly ordered us to do it, but probably he expects that if we catch any of that crowd doing what the proclamation forbids, we ought to hand the fellow over to one of the police force, to be taken to the lock-up.”
The scouts did not seem to favor this idea very much. All sorts of dissenting notes arose.
“Huh! and if we did that how many of you expect he’d reach the cooler?” demanded Dick Bellamy, who was of a skeptical turn when it came to believing any good of the police.
“Chances are they’d let the fellow slip through their fingers and then say it was an accident that couldn’t be helped,” added Monkey Stallings, the boy who was so agile that he could perform all manner of circus tricks as though born to the spangles and the sawdust arena.
“Hugh, don’t make us take that bitter medicine,” urged Spike Welling. “Make up some other scheme of your own. Seems to me we ought to take the case into our hands if we manage to make a capture. Somebody might carry a whip along, and we’d give him a taste of strap oil that’d cure him from prowling around nights, spoiling the looks of things.”
Hugh shook his head at this ferocious suggestion.
“I don’t think that would do at all,” he said at once. “It might get us into trouble. We’re not in the White Cap business, you see. But it might do to give the prisoner his choice between being handed over to the police or taking a ducking.”
“That’s the ticket!” cried Cooper Fennimore with enthusiasm. “Cool him off by dipping him in the river a few times, clothes and all. My stars! After he found the scouts meant business from the word go and wouldn’t stand for any foolishness, I guess he’d quit his funny work and behave. Talking won’t go with that crowd; you’ve just got to do things. That’s the only kind of lesson they’ll learn.”
Others made suggestions along various lines. Some of these were comical, and others seemed too barbarous to think of entertaining for a minute. After all was said and done, it appeared to be the consensus of opinion that in case they did make a capture the plan outlined by Hugh had better be put into execution. If the fellow was stubborn and would not make a choice between two evils, then the scouts could do it for him, and every one knew what would happen then, for the police must find their own prisoners.