Meanwhile, the little boy who had been laughed at decided that it was high time to show everybody what was happening. He had already figured out that it couldn't be somebody from town, so he had taken a detour on the way to the town meeting. When he saw the thief, he was glad he hadn't gone straight to the meeting, and glad to know he was right. He knew, however, he would not have any easy time convincing anyone of the truth… but at least he knew.
He had arrived late, but no one noticed, as they were too wound up about the thief. He had tried to make them listen, to get them on the right thinking path, but they just wouldn't, or couldn't. So now all he had to do was to find where the thief was hiding out, so he could prove that he knew what he was talking about. He started searching, in all the normal places, like the old abandoned James' cabin, the cave near the sea, and also the rocks to the east of town. He found the thief's hideout in the rocks east of town.
When he finally found the thief, he laughed and laughed, to think that the whole town was scared of this thief! He headed back, and talked to the man in charge of the town, and told him that he found the thief. The man was skeptical, but then he realized that if the boy was indeed telling the truth, it was something to be rejoiced over, so he called the town together to go and check out the claim of the small boy.
They walked with much laughter and talking, and even singing, as they were so excited to be nearing the end of their ordeal, until the boy told them they were nearing the thief's hideout. They fell silent, and began to get nervous. Then they got scared. They were at the place where the thief was! This was the thief that had put them all in a tizzy and made them fear for their possessions! Was he dangerous? Was he crazy? Would he be so strong that he could beat the men of the town? There was supposed to be safety in numbers, but would there be?
They were so scared they almost turned right around, but the small boy kept going, and they couldn't be shown up by this boy. Especially this particular boy, the one they always made fun of, and the one who always seemed to think he knew more than anyone else. If they weren't able to be brave than he was, he who was the town's joke, that would be simply disgraceful. So they trekked on. Finally, they reached the top of the rocks, and see the thief and his hideout. They saw... but they didn't understand.