"H'm! the father of that bad boy, Max Ramsay," exclaimed Merritt, with a wise nod of the head, as though he already knew what was coming.
"Of course," continued Tubby, "that interested me a heap, and I wondered why he was carrying a brace with him. Then he went into the hardware store. That made me think quick, and so I hurried after him. Just as I got inside, I heard him saying something to the dealer about his largest bit having been badly nicked some months ago when he was cutting into a heavy plank that had a lot of rusty nails in it, and that he wanted a duplicate; also, that he'd fetched the bit along so as to make sure the new one fitted."
"Fine, Tubby!" exclaimed Rob laughingly. "You'd surely make a pretty good detective. Wouldn't he, fellows?"
"Well, I know that he's got a splendid detector for any kind of grub that is lying around," Andy declared; "but I never before thought he could follow up a clew that didn't have the odor of cooking about it."
"And here's the broken bit!" Tubby said triumphantly, as he drew something out of his pocket and held it up. "Mr. Ramsay got his new one, and never bothered taking the old bit off the counter, because it could never be fixed again. And I asked the hardware man if he cared to let me have it, which he said was all right. And now, Rob, here's that shaving I've been lugging around with me ever so long; just make a try, and see if that raised ridge fits the nicks in the cutting edges, will you?"
"Surely I will, Tubby," replied the scout master, reaching out his hand for the two articles, and all the others bent their heads closer to watch the result.
After Rob had made repeated trials it was manifest to everyone that they were positively looking on the identical bit used in boring that hole through the bottom of Rob's boat. The circumstantial evidence was as complete as any that ever sent a criminal to the gallows or the electric chair.
"Well, what d'ye say, Rob?" demanded the fat scout eagerly.
"Shake hands on it, Tubby," remarked Rob. "You've proved your case as clean as a whistle, hasn't he, boys?"
"No question about it," replied Merritt, also grasping the pudgy fist of Tubby and giving it a squeeze that made the tears come to the boy's eyes.
"Looks as though you'd hit on the right borer of holes," admitted Andy, "but now, what are you going to do about it, Tubby? The boat wasn't lost, so you couldn't have Max arrested, charged with malicious destruction of property. And I don't think you're contemplating giving him a licking for being so mean, because that isn't in your line very much--even if you weren't a scout and dassent!"
"I'll tell you what I thought," said Tubby. "Rob, your boat had the mischief done to it, not mine; I've only been the means of finding out who played that low-down trick on you that might have cost us dear.
Suppose now you take this bit and curl of shaving, and confront Max.
Let him know you'll tell his father all about it unless he says he's sorry and promises never to try such a contemptible thing again. I reckon that is what a scout's duty would be in a case like this."
"And you're right about that, Tubby," said Rob, secretly pleased to see how seriously the other took the affair. "I'll accept the mission, with many thanks to you for finding out what you did. It was a clever job all around. Lots of fellows would have forgotten all about that shaving weeks ago, but you've been keeping it on your mind right along. I even saw you looking at it away down in Mexico, and I had a pretty good hunch you'd run that rascal down sooner or later."
Rob was as good as his word, and did astonish Max Ramsay one fine day by confronting him with the evidence of his rascality, to the utter consternation of the boy. Finding himself cornered, Max confessed that he had done the deed, but he stoutly declared that he had not dreamed that anything like danger would result. He knew that, if the water suddenly poured into the boat when the plug was dislodged, no harm would follow, because Rob could swim like a fish.
He professed to be sorry, but Rob fancied that this was assumed more in order to keep the other from informing his father, who was already angry because of his many pranks about town, than from any compunction that he felt.
All the same there was considerable satisfaction to Tubby, Rob and the other two scouts, because the mystery had been cleared up. It was noticeable in the future, however, that none of those fellows would ever go out sailing without first carefully inspecting the bottom of the boat, to make sure that it had not been tampered with.
Tubby still keeps that nicked bit, as well as the shaving and the plug that filled the hole in the bottom of the sailboat, to remind him of what happened that dull November afternoon when, with his three chums, he was wrecked three miles up the bay from Hampton town.
The roof of the Academy having been properly repaired and the interior put in shape again, school was resumed, and in the pursuit of their studies Rob and his friends did not find many opportunities to get outdoors while the winter lasted, save on Saturdays and holidays, when the sports of the season claimed their undivided attention.
But the weekly meetings of Hampton Troop, led by the Eagle Patrol, continued to be held in their old quarters; and frequently on other nights Tubby, Rob, Andy and Merritt would get together in one of their homes and talk of the great adventure that had come to them when favoring circumstances allowed them to go all the way to Mexico. They read of the rebel chieftain, whose name figured daily in the papers, with far deeper interest than ever before, since they now had a personal knowledge of the man whose warlike doings kept several nations on the anxious seat.
"That was a great experience, fellers," Tubby often sighed, after they had gone over the familiar scenes again and again, always finding something new to discuss; "and I'm afraid we'll never meet with such a heap of good times again. It doesn't stand to reason that we'd ever be that lucky, does it, now?"
And, while the other three reluctantly conceded that Tubby might be right, events proved just the contrary. The scouts of the Eagle Patrol were fated to come across other still more unexpected adventures, such as were calculated to call heavily upon their knowledge of scoutcraft, in order that puzzles might be solved and dangers avoided. What these experiences were the future only has the power to disclose.
The boys often wondered what had become of Jared Applegate, whether he really did make an effort to reform, or whether he fell back into his old mean ways that seemed bound to get him into serious trouble continually. So far as they knew, his father and mother had heard nothing from him, though Rob thought it his duty to let the old people know that they had seen Jared while down in Mexico, and that he was in Texas when they came away, bent on seeking work on some cattle ranch.
They did have a letter from Lopez, telling them that he had heard the "call" and was about to enlist in the army under the wonderful Villa, meaning to march with the general to take the City of Mexico later on.
Uncle Mark grew steadily better after he knew that a part of his once large fortune had been saved to him through the gratitude of the man whose life he had once been enabled to keep from slipping away. But he feared that never again would he be able to endure the severe labor and perils of penetrating dense jungles and tropical forests in search of rare orchids, or of exploring unknown countries.
In the future the old traveler would have to be content to sit quietly and take his pleasure in reading of the achievements of other daring souls, who were still in the heyday of their vigorous manhood and capable of enduring privations.
He was deeply interested in all the doings of the Boy Scouts, seeing that the movement was the greatest thing that had ever come to pass for developing the finest American characteristics in the future men of the republic.
Hampton Troop never had a more enthusiastic admirer than Uncle Mark became, and indeed, in all quarters now, the scouts gained a fine reputation for courage, true manliness, and knowledge of the thousand-and-one things a boy ought to know, if he expects to climb up the ladder of advancement. At the time we take leave of our young friends, the prospects of the scouts never looked so bright, and we shall hear more of their adventures in the succeeding volume, entitled "The Boy Scouts on Belgian Battlefields."
THE END.