s a real nice thing to do!" declared Jessie, and gave him
a bright look.

"He must have felt awfully small, for you to be so generous after the
way he acted," was Laura's comment.

"Maybe it will be a lesson to him, to do what is square in the future,"
said Belle.

They were soon in the town of Lester, and there stopped at the main drug
store, where the boys treated the girls to ice-cream "sundaes," as they
are sometimes called. Then they took a round-about way back to
Crumville, arriving there at sundown.

"Oh, what a nice day we have had, in spite of the drawbacks!" cried
Jessie, dancing into the mansion.

"Drawbacks?" queried her mother. "Did you get a puncture, or a
breakdown?"

"Oh, no; nothing happened to the cars," answered the curly-haired miss.
And then she turned to the boys, to let them tell the story. While they
were doing this, Mr. Wadsworth came in, followed by Dave's father and
his uncle, and Caspar Potts.

"That is just on a par with Aaron Poole's actions in general," said Mr.
Wadsworth. "He would claim the earth, if he dared. I think the other
property owners along that road will have something to say if he tries
to close it up."

"I heard about the new paper company this morning," said Dave's father.
"Some of the stockholders are not in sympathy with the way Mr. Poole is
managing affairs, and they talk of putting him out."

"I hope they do put him out!" cried Dave. "He tries to carry things with
too high a hand altogether."

"I am glad people are finding out what sort of folks the Pooles are,"
said Caspar Potts. He had not forgotten how in the past Aaron Poole had
driven him to the wall, and tried to get his little farm away from him.

After the automobile outing, Phil, Roger, and Sam left Crumville to pay
their folks a brief visit before departing for Oak Hall. This left Dave
and Ben to get ready by themselves, and to take out the girls, which
they did on several occasions. They thought they might meet Nick Jasniff
and Link Merwell, but did not do so, and later on heard that the pair
had departed for Rockville Military Academy. They saw Nat Poole, but he
kept out of speaking distance.

"I wish Nat was going to Rockville, too," said Ben. "He'd never be
missed at Oak Hall."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that, Ben," returned Dave. "Nat spends considerable
money--although how he gets it from that miserly father of his I don't
know--and that makes him some friends. But I, too, wish he wasn't going