"Where's the other one, Dick?" gasped Dave, as he saw young Prescott
coming back alone.
"He got away," muttered Dick. "He hit me over the head, and stunned
me for a moment, or I'd be holding onto him yet."
"Who was he?" demanded Greg, breathlessly.
"I don't know," Dick admitted. "I'd give a small part of the earth
to know and be sure about it."
That admission of ignorance was a most unfortunate one. Tip Scammon
heard it, and the fellow grinned inwardly over knowing that his
late companion had not been recognized.
"What are we going to do with this fellow, Dick?" asked Dave.
"I'm wondering whether he ought to be arrested or not," Dick replied.
"Fellows, I feel mighty sorry for Tip's father."
And well might all three feel sorry. So, far as was known, this
crime against Dick was the first offense Tip had committed against
the law. He was a tough character, and regarded as one of the
worse than worthless young men of Gridley. Tip was a handy fellow,
a jack-of-all-trades, with several at which he might have made
an honest living---but he wouldn't. Yet Tip's father was old
John Scammon, the highly respected janitor at the High School,
where he had served for some forty years.
"I say, fellows, I wonder if we can let Tip go---now that we know
the whole story?" breathed Dick.
"Say, I'll make it worth yer while," proposed Tip, eagerly.
"How about the law?" asked Dave Darrin, seriously. "Have we any
right to let the fellow go, when we know he has committed a serious
crime?"
"I don't know," replied Prescott.
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