As this thought occurred to him, Bob stopped still. However, his having thrown himself upon his own resources was sharpening his wits, and he suddenly exclaimed:
"I can find out at the police station. Perhaps he'll be there."
And though the boy was fully three miles away from the place where he had suffered such outrageous treatment, he turned his steps to retrace the distance.
When at length he was within sight of the grim building, the same fear of entering it that had made him refuse his guardian's command to fetch the basket of groceries, again seized him, and he paused.
"I won't go in," said Bob, shaking his head decidedly, "but I'll wait over by that pile of boxes on the opposite side of the street. Probably he'll be coming out before long."
Though this plan of Bob's would ordinarily have been effective, it happened that Foster had finished his work for the day even before he had paid his visit to the closed store of Len Dardus, and thus the boy was doomed to disappointment, although he stayed at his post of observation until dark began to fall.
With the garish flarings of the street lamps, Bob for the first time realized the true meaning of the step he had taken. Heretofore he had
