dy.

"That's neither here nur there," said Jed hastily. "The nub of the hull
thing is that if it hadn't been fer me, yer might be doin' the lock step
in Atlanta or Leavenworth, or some other of them gover'ment jails. How
would yer like that, eh? And wearin' stripes, an' nuthin' but mush and
merlasses fer breakfast, an' guards standin' around with guns, an'----"

But what other dismal horrors might have been conjured up by Jed will
never be known, as at that moment they came up alongside the railroad
station at Carlette, and more pressing things demanded his attention.

"Great Scott, Teddy!" exclaimed Fred, as they jumped down, "the whole
gang is here!"

Sure enough, it seemed as though all the juvenile population of Oldtown
had turned out to give them a royal send-off.

They ran up to the boys with a shout.

"It's bully of you fellows to walk all this distance to say good-by,"
said Fred, and Teddy echoed him.

"We'd have come up to the house," explained Bob Ellis, "but we knew
you'd have a whole lot to say to your own folks, and we didn't want to
butt in."

"We're all dead sore at your leaving the town," said Jim. "It won't seem
like the same old place with you fellows out of it."

There was a general chorus of assent to this from the other boys.

"We hate to leave the old crowd, too," said Fred. "But, of course, we'll
be back at holidays and vacation times. I only wish you fellows were
going along with us."

"That would be great," agreed Jack. "But no such luck for us."

"I don't know how we're going to fill your place on the football and
baseball teams," mourned Tom Barrett. "We'll be dead easy for the other
teams now."

"Don't you believe it!" said Fred heartily. "You'll find fellows to take
our places that will be better players than we ever dared to be."

"Nix on that stuff!" said Jim. "You know well enough that you put it all
over every other fellow in town."

The locomotive whistled at the nearest crossing, and a moment later the
train came into sight.

There was a perfect hubbub of farewells, and amid a chorus of good
wishes that fairly warmed their hearts, the boys swung aboard. Even Jed
thawed out enough to wave his hand at them in semi-friendly fashion.

"I'll keep it dark," he called after them, "that is unless the
gover'ment gits after me, on account of----"

But the rest was lost in the rattle of the train.

The Rushton boys were off at last.

CHAPTER XIII

ANDY SHANKS, BUL