“Oh, but that wasn’t fair!” cried Rose; “that was cheating. Oh, Tom!” She put back the piece of candy which she had taken as the box was passed around the circle for the second time.
There was a long silence. Tom turned red and looked sulky. “What’s the use of being fussy? I’m a pirate, anyway,” he said. “Aren’t we all pirates?”
Charlie and Kenneth looked at each other, then Charlie spoke like the chief of the band: “That wasn’t playing, Tom,” he said; “that was a real lie. We aren’t going to play that way, if I am captain. We aren’t going to tell any lies. Here! take your old candy. We don’t want any of it. Put it back!” he commanded the others. And reluctantly they all did as Rose had done.
“Ho! all right!” said Tom, jumping to his feet angrily. “If you don’t want any, I guess I can manage to worry it down. But you are awful sillies. I won’t belong to your old band!” and he flounced out of the cave with the box of candy under his arm. So Tom became an outlaw.
Tom munched away at his candy all by himself, and tried to pretend that he enjoyed it very much. But somehow it was not as good as he had expected. The emptier the box became the less he cared for the candy, which was a very odd thing. Usually, as every one knows, unless one gobbles it all at once like a little pig, the candy grows better and better, until when there are only a few pieces left it is so perfectly delicious that one cannot bear to think of its disappearing altogether. Before the box was half finished Tom was heartily tired of it. When the last piece was gone he took the box out in his dory, threw it overboard, and smashed it viciously with his oar.
“I don’t want to see any more candy as long as I live!” he said. But this was a week later.
All this time Tom had been an outlaw. He would not play with the other children, not even with his brothers and sisters; for he thought that they were all in league against him. He thought they were all disloyal. He had meant to be generous, and share his candy with them; but they had looked at it in a different way. How silly it was to pretend that he was not playing pirate fairly! Why, pirates did much worse things than that! He had never thought till now that it was mean to tell a lie; but when he remembered how shocked Rose had looked, Tom turned very red. That was hardest of all to bear,—that Rose should think him mean.
Tom wondered if any one would tell his father and mother. But no one did. The pirate captain had made his band promise not to be “telltales.” Tom did not know this, however, and at every meal-time he eyed his brothers and sisters suspiciously, waiting to see what would happen.
His mother said sometimes, “How queer you act nowadays, Tom! What is the matter with you?”
“Nothing,” Tom would answer sulkily; and as soon as he could leave the table he would go off by himself.