“Spud! Oh, Spud!” he called cannily; and as the group turned, he left the cellarway and ran across the street.
“Oh, lookut who got fired!” began the volley of greetings. “Gysh, kid! Whatcha been doin’? Whatja dad haveta say? I’ll betcha ye got yours, all right, all right! Say, boy, you sure stood up to Ole Hothatchet! Gysh!”
“Listen, Spud!” said Joshua, grasping his friend’s shirt and interrupting the general clatter of admiration. “Do somethin’ f’r me?”
“Sure,” said Spud readily. “Whatcha want, Cole?”
“Les, he backed out, I think—he quit me down at the rink. We was goin’ West—had everythin’ fixed. And then he turned me down. That’s what I think, anyway. But I wanta know f’r sure. You go to the house an’ ring the bell and ast if he’s there. Just pretend like you don’t know nothin’—see? Don’t let on or anythin’. Just say: ‘Mrs. Cole, I’d like to see Les a minute, if he’s home.’ And if he’s there she’ll tell ye. Go on—do that f’r me, Spud! Won’tcha? Aw, gwan an’ do it. I’ll do somethin’ f’r you sometime.”
Spud hesitated a little, assailed by a boy’s natural dislike for approaching the parent of one of his friends on a delicate matter. But in the end he gave in; and the rest went around the corner and peeked out while he importantly retraced his steps down the street and crossed to the Cole house.
The watchers saw him reach out his hand to press the bell button beside the front door. They saw him standing there in a waiting attitude, and knew by his uneasiness as displayed by leg movements the moment that the door was opened. They were unable to see Mrs. Cole, and did not know whether she or Zida had answered the bell until Spud scraped off his disreputable cap and came clattering down the stairs. He ran up the street and rounded the corner, where the eager gang awaited him.
“He’s home, all right, all right,” he announced. “All’t yer mother’d say was: ‘Yes, he’s home, but he can’t come out.’ You fellas know what that means. He’s locked up. Say, he’ll get his!”
CHAPTER V
THE GYPO CAMP
HALF an hour after learning that Lester preferred a ducking to life in the boundless West, Joshua, a David bereft of his Jonathan, entered the Crescent Rink and put on his skates again. He had earned twenty-five cents that afternoon, and there was the possibility of earning more when the evening crowd came in. He looked all about for Madge Mundy, but caught no sight of her. His heart was bitter against Lester, but finally he decided that, after all, his brother had acted wisely. It was barely possible that, when news reached home of his own expulsion, the upheaval would be so great that Lester’s minor infraction would be forgotten. Anyway, Lester was not old enough to go West with him—he lacked nerve. But Joshua missed his companionship, and, now all alone on his great adventure, felt lonely and downcast beyond all words.