“Nor I,” said Charlie.
“Nor I,” said Billy.
Others declared the same. They all stood their ground, or floor, rather. The noise on the stairs was continued, and soon a seed-strewn hat appeared in sight, and then a big head of hair, and then a man’s body. The boys clustered closely together, and when the man turned toward them, they saw that the roughly-dressed man had a roughly featured face, but its expression was kindly.
“He will eat uth up,” whispered Pip, trying to get behind Billy Grimes. The stranger was not a cannibal though. He took off his hat, shook it, and said, “If that was an accident, it’s all right. If any one did it, meaning to do it, was it just the thing?”
The boys felt the appeal and shook their heads.
“We don’t justify it, and I’m the president,” said Sid, with a look of importance, “and no one of us that you see did it.”
“I hope not. Sometimes folks are not lucky, and if any of your fathers went trampin’ round and couldn’t get work, you wouldn’t like to have any body throw hay-seed on him.”
“No, that’s so,” said Charlie. “It’s too bad!”
The man turned to go down stairs.
“I—I guess my aunt could give you a job. She wanted somebody this morning to saw her wood.”