“I found him right where you left him, Dan,” said David, who thought it high time his brother should know that some of his mean acts were being brought to light.  “I’ve got him again, you see, and you’ll never have another chance to steal him.”

“What have you got, an’ whar did I leave him?” Dan managed to ask at last.

“O, I wouldn’t try to play off innocent, if I were you.  I know all about it; and I want to tell you now that you had better turn over a new leaf and be quick about it, too.  Mother says that if folks don’t grow better every day, they grow worse, and I can see that it is true in your case and father’s.  You are both going down hill, and the first thing you know you’ll do something that will get you in the calaboose.  Three months ago neither one of you would have been guilty of stealing.”

“Whoop!” yelled Dan, jumping up and knocking his heels together.

“I don’t want to go back on either one of you,” continued David, “and neither do I want to tell mother how bad you are; but I’ll do it sooner than let you swindle Don Gordon or anybody else.  Why don’t you go to work?”

“Kase I’ve got jest as much right to set around an’ do nothin’ as other folks has,” answered Dan, who had had time to recover himself in some measure.  “That’s jest why!”

“Mother and I don’t sit around and do nothing.”

“No, but them Gordons does.”

“No, they don’t.  They all work, Don and Bert as well as the rest.”

“If I hadn’t seed them ridin’ round so much on them circus hosses an’ sailin’ in them painted boats of their’n, mebbe I’d be willin’ to b’lieve that,” said Dan.  “They don’t work, nuther.  They don’t do nothin’, but have good times.  They’ve got good clothes an’ nice things, an’ I’ve got jest as much right to ’em as they have.”

“Those ideas will get you into trouble some day,” replied David, earnestly.  “If you want nice things go to work and earn them; that’s the way to get them.”

While this conversation was going on, David was pulling off his wet clothes and putting on his best suit, the one he wore on Sundays.  It was not just such a suit as the most of us would like to go to church in, but it was whole and neat, and David looked like another boy in it.  He kept the pointer in the house with him all the while, for fear that his brother might attempt to steal him again; but Dan was too much astonished at the turn affairs were taking, and too badly frightened, to make any more efforts to win the ten dollars reward.  He sat on the bench, with his eyes fastened thoughtfully on the ground, and saw David come out with the pointer and lead him down the road toward General Gordon’s, without saying a word.

When David reached the barn he walked straight through it to the shop, and there he found Don and Bert, busy at work building more traps.  They were surprised to see him dressed in his best, and still more surprised, and delighted too, when the pointer bounded in and fawned upon them.