This information disturbed Dan Fernald not a little. Although quite positive he was a match for any detective or policeman in the city, Dan would have preferred to work on a case where there appeared to be less danger. This affair of Joe's was growing more serious each moment, and he who meddled with it might come to grief, but yet never for a moment did Master Fernald think of abandoning his friend. "I'll do jest as I told him I would, no matter what kind of a scrape I get into," he said, confidentially, to Tim and Jerry. "You fellers must hang 'round here so's to find out all that's goin' on, an' be sure to let me know if any more men come here searchin' for Joe." "But you ain't goin' to stay in Weehawken?" "Well, I guess not." "Then how shall we know where to find you?" "Look here, Jerry Hayes, if you ain't smart enough to find us three when you know we're somewhere in Jersey, it ain't any kind of use for you to try to be a detective, 'cause you'll never make one. You must come over to Weehawken, an' get on our trail; then the rest of it will be easy enough." "I'd like to know how we're goin' to do that?" "If I've got to explain every little thing, I might jest as well run this case all by myself. Findin' a man when you don't know where he is, is the first thing a detective has to learn, an' you'd better put in a good part of your time studyin' it up. Now I'm goin' to see how much money I can raise, an' 'long 'bout five o'clock you can count on my sneakin' out of town." While his friends were thus speculating, and working in what they believed to be his behalf, Joe was spending a most wretched day. Immediately after landing from the ferry-boat, he, carrying the princess and followed by Plums, walked directly away from the river, believing that by such a course he would the sooner arrive at the open country. Now that he was really running away, his fears increased momentarily. While in the city, it had seemed to him as if he could summon up sufficient courage to surrender himself to those people, who most likely wanted to commit him to prison; but having once begun the flight, all his courage vanished,--he no longer even so much as dreamed of facing the trouble. The princess, well content with this morning stroll and the cake Joe had given her, appeared willing to continue such form of amusement indefinitely. She laughed and crowed until the young guardian trembled lest she should attract undue attention to him, and when, ceasing this, the little maid poured some wondrous tale in his ear, his heart smote him, for he believed she was urging to be taken home. "I'll find your mother, baby darling, the very first thing after I get out of this scrape; but there couldn't any one blame me for runnin' away when the perlice are after me."