“It’s about the only thing he does spend,” I said. “I’ve seen that fellow before, I think he’s staying in Brookside. He goes to the dances in Leeds and Catskills and Athens; I’ve seen him all over. He stands in front of Bartlett’s store down in Catskill. He’s a he-hopper. Those fellows let girls pay their own carfare.” Brent said, “They allow them on street cars then?” “Let’s row in and speak to him,” Warde said; “they’re tame, most of them; they’re harmless except when you feed them cake.” “Sure,” I said; “let’s row in. He’ll talk to us. Why shouldn’t he? Talk is cheap.” CHAPTER XX A RARE SPECIES We rowed close in shore near the outlet and the sharpy spoke to us first. We rested on our oars a minute to talk with him. He had a funny kind of a lisp in the way he talked. Not exactly a lisp, but sort of like it. He said, “Are there any eels around here?” I suppose he wanted to be introduced to them. Warde said, “I guess there are, but I don’t know whether they dance or not.” He didn’t seem to mind that. He just said, “I heard there were eels in here. It’s deep farther out from shore, isn’t it?” I said, “Sure it is, it’s what they call the perch-hole right out there. I guess there are eels, too, but we never bother with them.” He kind of waited a minute, then he said, “That’s about where the accident was, isn’t it? When the man got drowned?” “Good night,” I said to myself, “the cat is out of the bag.” Hervey said, “There have been four or five accidents.” By that I knew he wasn’t thinking especially about any particular one. Brent said, “Yes, out there somewhere. There have been several drownings in the lake.” We were just going to start to row away when the fellow said, “They ever find the tin box?” “Not as I know of,” Brent said. “A chap in Brookside was telling me about it,” the sharpy said. “’Bout three hundred bucks, I hear. They ever take any steps to get it?” “Can you beat that?” I whispered to Brent. “Right away he’s thinking of new steps to take.” I said out loud, “Why don’t you go to the dance in Leeds to-night? They take lots of steps there.” He didn’t get mad. He just said, “I should think you chaps would have found it.” I said, “We should fret our young lives about it. I guess the eels have spent it all by now.” He said, “You chaps must be a pretty slow crowd. I hear there’s a map telling just where it is and everything. Why don’t you try your luck some time or other? It wouldn’t cost you anything.” I whispered to Brent, “That’s why it appeals to him. Those fellows are so cheap they won’t live anywhere except in a free country.” Brent gave me a look to say I should keep still. Then he said, “Who’s been telling you fairy tales?” “What do you mean, fairy tales?” the strange fellow asked. “Oh, about maps and all that,” Brent said.