So Dave trailed swiftly in the rear.
Thus it was that Darrin drew back just in time to see Bill Stevens slipping away from a hiding place at the head of that alleyway.
"That does for Prescott," chuckled Stevens, half aloud.
"Oh, it does, does it ?" silently murmured alert Dave, and now he intently followed Stevens to the drug store, and thence back to the junk shop.

Dave's next swift move was to rush back to Kahn's with the result already known.
"Well, did you think the folks of Gridley would continue to believe such a charge against young Prescott ?" demanded Chief Simmons of the sneak.
"I knew some wouldn't, but I thought the whole affair would make such a row that Prescott would never be quite able to hold up his head in Gridley again," declared Drayne huskily.

"But I thought that it would stop his thinking of going to West Point, anyway." "Instead of which," muttered Simmons dryly, "you'll get four years---or more, Drayne at some place that won't be West Point." "Oh, my father won't quite stand for that," returned Phin, a bit more loftily.

"He has money and some family pride." "Money doesn't help much for confessed burglars," rejoined Chief Simmons.
At that moment Heathcote Drayne, who had been roused out of bed by a policeman, came in, so white faced that Dick and Dave felt sorry indeed for the unhappy parent.
But Dick didn't remain to see the meeting between father and son.
Prescott and his chum hastened around to "The Blade" office.
Gladly enough would both boys have kept Phin's disgrace from going before the public, but it was too big a story, locally, and was bound to come out.

So Dick wrote a straight account, after which he and Dave hurried home to get the fag end of a night's rest.
Gridley merchants lost but little, in the end, through the series of burglaries.