to
look backward, and I'll use my eyes in front of us."

In this fashion they explored the entire block on both sides. Their
slow, thorough search at last brought them back to Main Street, much
puzzled and not a little discouraged.

"What now?" inquired Dave.

"We've done all we can," Dick replied, "except find a policeman and tell
him that we've seen Fits back in town."

"It's strange that he should come back to Gridley," murmured Darrin.
"You'd think that the fellow would be anxious to give the town a wide
berth."

"Undoubtedly he has his reasons. But--Dave, there's a policeman. Let's
hurry and tell him."

In another moment the two Grammar School boys were engaged in reciting
what had happened to a uniformed member of the night police force of
Gridley.

"There's no time to be lost," declared the policeman. "For a matter as
important as this I'll leave my beat and notify the station house."

"Can we give you any further help?" Dick asked.

"Not a bit, my lad, thank you, unless you see Fitsey again."

As soon as the policeman had gone, Darrin asked rather seriously:

"Dick, are you sure that it really was Fits, and no mistake?"

"Of course I am. Why?"

"Oh, nothing, only it seems so strange to me that the fellow should
really venture back into the one town where the police are really
anxious to land him."

"It was Mr. Fits that I saw," Prescott insisted. "Besides, no one else
would want to knock me down."

"That's so," Dave admitted. "Well, I hope that the police find the
rascal."

"It's a lot more likely that we, or some of our fellows, will do the
finding," laughed Prescott. "We've done all the finding so far."

At this moment a hand smote Dick heavily between the shoulders, while
Tom Reade's laughing voice demanded:

"Fellows, how does home cooking seem again? Isn't it great?"

Harry Hazelton was with Tom.

"We've almost forgotten how good the home cooking is," Dick answered.
"We've just had something else to think about."

Then the story of the latest meeting with Mr. Fits was told.

"Jupiter!" breathed Tom excitedly. "Say, I wish we could run that fellow
down. I'm just aching to pay him back for the night of ghost scare that
he gave us out in the forest!"

"I'd like well enough to see him caught," Dick agreed. "But I can't say
that I want to do it myself."

"Why not?" challenged Tom.

"Well, he's a powerful big brute, and I doubt if we four could handle
Mr. Fits."

"Huh!" retort