"Have hard work gettin' away from her, Maurice?" he asked.
"Not very. Gee! Bill, it's good to see you ag'in."
"It's good to see you too, Maurice. You got my code message, didn't you?"
"Yep. Have you found the stuff they stole from the store, Bill?"
"You bet. Me an' old Harry know right where it is. We ain't told another soul but you and teacher Stanhope 'bout it yet, but we're goin' to soon. Come on an' I'll show you where it's buried."
"I can't," said Maurice miserably. "Your Ma's goin' to send Anse out to keep tabs on me. If he wasn't such a tattletale we might work it but you know him."
Billy pursed up his lips in thought. "Say!" he cried, "I've got it. You go on back there where you played possum, an' wait fer Anse. When he comes he's goin' to beg a favor of you, sure as shootin'. He played a dirty trick on me not long ago an' he's been keepin' out of my way ever since. Lied to me so's to get me to thrash a feller that licked him. I'll tell you all about it later. Anse is goin' to ask you to square it with me; he's jest that kind. You promise to get him off this time if he goes away an' leaves you by yourself. Then you come back here, see?"
"Yes, but if he goes an' tells your Ma, what then?"
"But he won't. If he does she'll tan him good fer goin' off an' leavin' you by yourself. You tell him he'll have to wait around here till you get back. He'll do it, all right. There he comes through the grove now. Better crawl back to where Ma left you."
Maurice dropped on all fours and started wriggling through the rough stubble, sighing in relief as he reached the desired spot.