“If you don’t,” says Mark, “you’re the f-first feller I ever see that didn’t. For instance, Rock, wouldn’t you l-like to be helped to know what you’re here at Wigglesworth’s for? Eh? Don’t suppose that’s been worryin’ you any. From what you say Jethro don’t want f-folks talkin’ to you. Wouldn’t you like to know why? Do you know the Man With the Black Gloves? And did you know him and Jethro met on Center Line Bridge l-last night and t-talked you over? Why d’you s’pose they did that?”
“Where do you come in?” says Rock.
“Well,” says Mark, “there’s a number of r-reasons for my comin’ in. First, I’m in the newspaper b-business, and I want the news. Second, I kind of like m-monkeyin’ around with mysteries. It’s got to be a habit with me.”
“Hum!” says Rock, and sat quiet a spell, sort of thinking it over. Pretty soon he says: “Well, it can’t do any harm if it doesn’t do any good. I”—his voice sort of wabbled for a second and I hoped he wasn’t going to blubber—“I’ve been mighty lonesome—almost always.”
“That’s p-perty rotten, hain’t it?” says Mark.
“You’d think so,” says Rock, “if you hadn’t ever had any folks at all that you knew about, and had lived with folks that kept you just because somebody paid your board, and had been sent off to schools where the fellows thought you were queer because you didn’t know anything about yourself and never made friends with you.”
“I’ll b-bet I would,” says Mark in a way he has when he’s sorry for anybody. Somehow he manages to make you feel some better right off. “And we—there’s f-four of us—would like to be friends with you if you’ll let us. Honest. And we’d l-like to help you out. We ain’t just s-stickin’ our noses into your business out of curiosity.”
“I wish I could get a look at you,” says Rock, sort of dubious.
Mark chuckled and nudged me. You could see he liked Rock saying that, and afterward he said to me that right there he made up his mind the strange boy was all right. “He ain’t anybody’s fool,” says he, “and if you go trustin’ anybody before you get a good l-look into his eyes, why, then you’ll run a fine chance of bein’ a fool.”
He says to Rock, “Come out and take a l-look, then.”