“’Most one.”
Well, it was the first time I ever did it. I didn’t like to go sneaking off without telling my folks, but I judged the circumstances kind of demanded something special, so I got into my clothes and slid out on the porch. It wasn’t any trick to get down the trellis to the ground. It was cold, and my teeth chattered.
“What we goin’ to do now?” I asked.
He didn’t say a word, but just set off walking away into the dark, and I followed after.
CHAPTER XI
One o’clock in the morning is a creepy time, even if the moon is shining, and it’s a good sight more creepy when you know something has happened. I hurried up to walk beside Mark because it was lonesome behind. He was heading straight for his house.
“Is it gone?” I asked. “Are you sure?”
“The padlock’s pried off, and the turbine ain’t in the shed.”
“How’d you come to find out about it at this time of night?”
“They waked me up. I ran to the window just in time to see ’em drive off l-l-licketty split. Then I went down, and the turbine was gone.”