“Hum!” says Mark. “Jethro’s out in the yard. Easy to g-g-git to see this Pekoe. Easy l-like turnin’ three summersets in the air without a spring-board.”
“I guess he don’t want us messin’ around,” says I.
“Didn’t judge he would,” says Mark, “so it must be there’s s-somethin’ to find out. As soon as you see a f-f-feller tryin’ to keep somethin’ away from you, why, you want to git to work to find out what it is. ’Cause, m-m-most gen’ally it’s somethin’ you’ll be glad to know.”
“What room was he shut up in?” says I.
“Somewhere on the third floor,” says Rock. “It sounded almost over my head.”
“Where’s your room?” says Mark.
“Other side of the house,” says Rock. “I’ll show you.”
“Not too s-s-sudden,” says Mark. “We don’t want to let on to Jethro we’re up to anythin’, or suspect anythin’. Let’s go to the other side of the house and p-play around awhile first.”
So we did. We played tag, which wasn’t much of a game for Mark Tidd, though he moved a lot faster than you’d have thought. But when he ran he looked like it was going to bust him all to pieces, and the sight of it generally made you laugh so you couldn’t run yourself. That kind of evened things up.
After a while Mark says, “N-now, Rock, you run like the d-dickens, around the other side of the house, with Binney chasin’ you. Go over by that l-little grape-arbor where we used to m-meet you, and then l-lay down like you was tired out. We’ll come along behind.”