epartment within a few
months, adding in support of such belief:

"When that feller tackles anythin' he goes right through with it, an' if
he ain't big enough now he's got the nerve in him to grow terribly. It
seems like he does everythin' he starts for."

Now that Seth appeared despondent his comrades believed it their duty to
cheer him, and during half an hour or more they set about such task in
earnest.

It seemed to them as if he was already growing more cheerful when the
shrill whistling of a peculiar note was heard several times repeated,
apparently on the sidewalk in front of the dwelling.

"That's Teddy Bowser!" Bill Dean exclaimed as he leaped to his feet. "He
wanted to come up here to-night, but I told him he mustn't, 'cause if
the fellers hung 'round I'd lose my show for a tony lodgin'."

"Go down and see what he wants," Dan suggested. "I don't believe we'd
better let him come in, for there are three of us here now, an' Miss
Hanson might think she was havin' too many fellers 'round for sixty
cents a week."

Bill descended the stairs swiftly but noiselessly, returning in less
than five minutes with a look of consternation upon his face.

"Say, Sam Barney's got back!"

"Got back!" Seth cried in astonishment and dismay. "Why, how'd he raise
the money?"

"That's what Teddy didn't know. He said Sam flashed up 'bout an hour ago
lookin' as chipper as you please, an' with cash in his pocket. He's
tumbled to our racket, an' is promenadin' 'round town sayin' he'll catch
Jip Collins before to-morrow night."

The three boys gazed at each other in perplexity, and fully a moment
elapsed before the almost painful silence was broken.

Then Seth said interrogatively:

"Of course Teddy knew what he was talkin' 'bout?"

"Oh yes, he hasn't made any mistake, 'cause he saw Sam and heard him
blow 'bout what a swell time he had in Philadelphy."

"He couldn't have been there very long."

"I don't understand it," and Bill plunged his hands deep in his pocket
as he looked gloomily around. "I thought when we shipped him off that
we'd settled the detective business, an' now it ain't any dead certain
thing he won't run right across Jip Collins, 'cause the poor feller
thinks Sam's so far away there's no danger of meetin' him."

"Where's Teddy?" Dan asked.

"Down on the sidewalk."

"What's he waitin' for?"

"I told him he'd better hold on a spell, 'cause we've got to do
_somethin'_, fellers, an' perhaps he can help