They did the two miles to Corbin in quick time, the current aiding, and tied up at the dock where they had stopped before. To Pud was delegated the not altogether pleasant task of communicating by telephone with Millville, and he set off with little relish for the nearest drug-store. Fortunately, Lank and Cocker had not found the small cardboard box in which Pud kept his money. Probably they would have made a thorough search of the launch in the course of time, had it remained with them, but, as it was, they seemed not to have even looked into the lockers. Anyhow, the money was safe, and the fact made it possible for Pud to telephone without the necessity of reversing charges. Even so, it required all of ten minutes to get his house in Millville. Then his mother’s voice came to him, quite as if she were just around the corner of the prescription counter, instead of thirty-odd miles away as the crow flies! ‘Pud, dear, is that you? Are you sure you’re all right? Your father just telephoned that they’d found you. Where _have_ you been? Didn’t you know we’d be worried to death at not hearing a single word from you?’ ‘Well, but, Mother, I _did_ write! I――’ ‘Yes, I know, dear. It just came this morning, that letter. It had been missent to some other place. You know, dear, you don’t write very carefully sometimes. And there was a letter from your Great-Aunt Sabrina, too, telling how you caught the robber that night. She wrote quite a lengthy letter, and sent a piece from the Livermore paper that praises you up wonderfully! I think it was most heroic, Pud, dear, and you must tell me all about it when you get back. Are you coming home to-night?’ ‘Gee, ma, I don’t see how we can! We’ve got to stop in Livermore and see the sheriff there. Say, was Aunt Sabrina mad about us staying in her house that night?’ ‘Why, no, of course she wasn’t! She was just awfully thankful, I suspect, that you were there. My, she’d have been heartbroken if the thief had taken her silver, Pud!’ ‘Well, he was going to take it, all right,’ responded Pud. ‘He had it all dumped in a bag and――’ Just then a voice broke in to remind him that he had talked three minutes and he ended hurriedly. ‘Back to-morrow afternoon, sure, Ma! Sorry you were worried. Yes’m! Yes’m! Good-bye!’ Well, that hadn’t been so bad, after all, he reflected, mopping his perspiring brow as he backed from the booth. And the Livermore paper had had a piece about them catching the robber! Gee, that was great! He hurried back to spread the news to Tim and Harmon. Tim said they could maybe buy a copy of the paper when they got to Livermore. They bought enough gasoline to get them back to Millville and enough food to last them much farther! But they had missed two meals, and none of them were quite certain that they’d ever get thoroughly caught up!