“Why not?” demanded Teddy.
“I’ve got to go straight home. Mother will be waiting for me. She’ll want to know how I made out to-day. Your mother will probably want to know, too.”
“Oh, she won’t care,” retorted Ted. “She’s too busy goin’ to a club she belongs to, to care what I do. If I ain’t there at supper time she leaves my supper on the table or in the oven for me and beats it off to her old club. They’re always havin’ meetin’s and parties and things.”
Harry cast a quick glance of sympathy at his companion. He could not imagine life without his mother’s interest in all he did. He made a secret resolve to take Teddy home with him as often as he would go. Teddy should share his mother. Then a bright idea came to him. “Why don’t you tell your mother what you do and where you go?” he proposed. “If she got used to hearing about it she might want to know. My mother always likes to know all I do. It helps a fellow a lot if his mother’s that way.”
“I s’pose it does,” returned Teddy soberly.
“My goodness, I forgot to buy my dinner!” exclaimed Harry. “Have you eaten yours?”
“Yep. It’s time for me to go back to my department. I had a lot to tell you, but it’ll have to keep till to-night. Wait for me on the corner.”
“I will. I’ve a lot to tell you, too.”
“So long,” nodded Teddy.
The two boys separated. Teddy left the room, while Harry went over to buy his dinner. Twenty minutes of his precious time had already gone. He carried his tray of food to a nearby table and sat down to eat it. But he had hardly settled himself when he heard a surly voice in his ear, “You think you’re pretty smart, don’t you? Well, next time you butt in where it ain’t any of your business you’ll be sorry.”