A tall, rather pleasant looking man however soon left the group and approached the place where the boys were standing.
“What seems to be the trouble, Peck,” he asked as he drew near.
“Well, Ball,” Peck answered, “we seem to have come upon two boy tramps. They’re harmless enough, I guess.”
“Waiting for our chums to come back with the boat,” answered Case.
“So you’ve got a boat have you?” Hart exclaimed.
At the mention of a boat, Ball leaned forward and eyed the boys critically, a suspicious gleam in his eyes.
“You see,” Jule went on, helping Case to answer the question, “one of the boys went out to catch a fish and a coal tow chased him down. He’ll be back directly. Ought to be here now.”
Ball beckoned Peck and Hall a short distance away and the three stood for some moments in earnest conversation.
“Oh, I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with the boys,” Peck was heard to say. “No use to trouble them.”
“We can’t afford to take any chances,” Hart replied. “Just where did you see that motor boat?” he went on turning to Peck.
“Some distance up the river,” was the reply. “I went out to a bar where several coal barges had stranded to see if the pirates had had anything to do with the trouble, and there I saw a motor boat.”
“Did you talk with the boys?” Peck asked.
“Yes,” Peck answered, “I talked with the boys, and they talked straight enough, but I didn’t like their suspicious actions. They couldn’t give any account of themselves, except that they were going down the river just for the fun of the thing. Besides, I’m certain they heard the men talking and the horses fussing on the bank. I saw them looking that way several times. I’m rather afraid of them!”
“Did they ask you a lot of questions?” demanded Hart.
“Why,” was the reply, “I told them we were out after the river pirates, and they seemed satisfied with that.”
“It seems to me,” Hart insisted, “that we ought not to turn these boys loose. I just believe they’re spies sent here by our enemies. It can’t do any harm to take charge of them for a little while, anyway.”
“Still, this motor boat,” Peck suggested, “is a mighty fine craft, and these boys appear to me to belong to wealthy families. The boat will soon be back here, if what the boys say is true, and then inquiries will be made, and the first thing we know the District Attorney will have every one of our names before the grand jury.”