“Look out, Greg!” called Dick suddenly, as the tramps, gaining the opposite shore, made a sudden rush at Holmes, who stood alone.

“I can take care of myself!” chuckled Greg gleefully, as dodging backward, he poised his right hand to throw a stone.  “Look out, friends, unless you want to get hurt!”

Both tramps halted in a good deal of uncertainty.  They wanted to thrash this high school boy, but they didn’t like the risk of having their heads hurt by flying stones.

Two splashes on the other side of the river heralded the fact that Dan and Harry had started to Greg’s aid.  The instant they saw this, both men turned away from Greg, making a dash for the highway.

Laughing, young Holmes followed them up with all the missiles he had left.  Not one dropped further than three feet from the flying heels of the fugitives, yet not one struck either of the tramps or was meant to do so.

“Come across, you three fellows,” laughed young Prescott, when the enemy had vanished in flight.  You’ve all earned your breakfast now, and you shall have it.”

“As for me,” spoke Tom from the wagon, as he drove into the forest path, “I’m strong for putting on my clothes before I sit down to dally with food.”

Reade did not wait until he had driven the wagon where he and his friends could dress away from the view of people on the road.

“The cast-iron cheek of those scoundrels!” vented Dave Darrin indignantly.

“I rather think we are their debtors,” smiled Dick quietly, as he drew his shirt over his head.

“You do!” demanded Darry incredulously.

“Yes; just think of all the zest they’ve put into our morning, and they didn’t harm us, either.”

“But just think of what it would have been like if we hadn’t stopped ’em!” gasped Danny Grin solemnly.  “We couldn’t have chased ’em.  It wouldn’t have been decent for us to go along the road, making four miles to every five covered by the horse.  No, sir!  We’d have had to remain hidden in the forest until we could signal some farmer to send to our folks for clothes to put on.  Wouldn’t it have been great, staying in the woods two or three days, with nothing to eat, waiting for the proper clothing to enable us to go out into the world again!”

“It was a mean trick!” cried Darry hotly; and then he began to laugh as the ridiculous features of the situation appealed to him.

“But nothing serious happened,” laughed Dick, “so we owe that pair of tramps for a pleasant touch to the morning’s sport.”

“I wonder how many years since either of them has had a bath, until this morning,” grinned Reade, as he began to lace his shoes.

As Reade was dressed first, Dick called to him:  “Take the horse out of the shafts, Tom, and let him feed in comfort.”

“You may,” laughed Reade.  “As for me, I’ve flirted with my breakfast so long this morning, and have taken so many chances of not having any, that now I’m going to make sure of that first of all.”