elessly.
"That chump detective won't fool 'round us any more, an' we're well
rid of him. Of course he'll do a pile of blowin' an' tellin' how he'll
get square with us; but his talk ain't anythin' more'n wind."

This assurance did not content Seth. Now his only desire was to go home;
but Dan had no idea of curtailing his enjoyment because of the
encounter, therefore the amateur felt in duty bound to do as he wished.

That night Jip's friends were informed of what 'Lish Davis had said, and
while the majority regretted the necessity which kept Master Collins a
prisoner, all agreed that perhaps it might not be well for him to escape
the consequences of his act too easily.

When Seth returned from headquarters on the following evening, with the
report that Mr. Fernald had continued his instruction in gymnastics, he
learned that Dan had, thanks to the lawyer employed by Ninety-four's
men, been allowed to hold a long and private conversation with the
prisoner.

Jip was still very penitent, and declared he deserved all the punishment
which the law might inflict upon him; but at the same time it could
readily be seen, according to Master Roberts's statement, that he was
wonderfully relieved by the hope 'Lish Davis held out.

"From what the lawyer told me," Dan said when detailing to his partner
all that had occurred during the interview, "it'll be quite a spell
before Jip comes up for trial an' so long as he stays in jail I can't
see but he's gettin' the best of it. Three square meals every day, an'
at night a bed better'n he's had since he could remember."

"But he's locked in, an' that's what makes it hard to stand up under,"
Seth suggested, whereupon Dan cried with no little warmth:

"I'd be willin' to let 'em lock me up nights for the sake of havin' it
as easy as it is for Jip. Nothin' to do, an' livin' off the fat of the
land."

"I reckon after one day you'd be willin' to take less, an' have a chance
to go where you pleased," Seth replied so emphatically that Master
Roberts did not consider it wise to continue the argument.

During the three days which followed the amateur fireman worked so hard
to win the approval of his teacher that Mr. Fernald finally told him he
was trying to do too much, and cut down his tasks nearly one half, an
act which won for him the unqualified approval of Ninety-four's crew.

It was on the morning of the fifth day after Jip Collins's arrest, and
just as Josh Fernald was bringing Seth'