nearing voices of the returning swimmers warned him.

"They can't see me," chuckled Ted. "If any of 'em chase me, I
can make a quick dash for the road and they won't dare follow
me there. They'd be afraid of running into other people."

So Ted even dallied for a while. Some of the angry words uttered
reached his ears and delighted him.

"Hi Martin is hot with wrath, and I'm glad of it," chuckled Ted
to himself. "So he thought I'd spare him, did he! Huh! The
next time he'd better be a little more careful over his remarks
about 'mucker' schools!"

Then Ted walked on again leisurely.

"I believe I'll let these fellows stay here until about dark,
hunting for their clothes, and not finding 'em," reflected Teall.
"Then I'll have Ed Payne drop around and tell 'em just where
to look. They can't thump Payne, for he won't be guilty of anything
but helping 'em. Then maybe Dick Prescott will pitch dynamite
again for me to bat at!"

Teall gained the thicket that concealed the other clothing. Just
as he was about to cast Martin's belongings after the other wardrobes,
he was disturbed by a sound close at hand.

With a start Ted looked up. Then he felt uneasy; frightened,
in fact. At his side stood a shabbily dressed man of middle age.
The man's cheeks were sunken, though they burned with an unhealthy