"Make it twenty?"
"No."
"All right den, I won't do it."
"I'll give you fifteen cents," said Sidney, and at last Billy said he would undertake the task for that sum and received five cents on account, which he lost no time in spending for candy and a doughnut.
Billy thought that early in the morning would be a good time to visit the carpenter shop, and he was in that vicinity by half-past seven o'clock. He saw Mr. Darrow and two workmen go away to their daily labors. One of the workmen hung the key in the accustomed place, and, watching his chance, the lad procured it without much trouble. Then he hung around until he was certain nobody was looking, and made his way into the building and upstairs to the clubroom.
On a dozen hooks of a side wall hung the uniforms, all ready to be donned on the following Saturday morning, when the club would start up the lake for Brookside. Working with all the haste possible, Billy caught them into a bundle and ran to a rear window of the shop. He let them fall on the ground below and then dropped down gloves, masks and the rest of the club outfit.
As has been mentioned before, there was an old-fashion cistern behind the carpenter shop. It was not used, but Mr. Darrow kept it full of water, thinking that it might be a handy thing in case of fire in the shop. It was surrounded by a low, square box, having a hinged lid on the top.
Sneaking downstairs, Billy locked the door of the shop and put the key where he had found it. Then he ran to the rear of the shop and gathered up the uniforms and other things and carried them over to the cistern.
"I hope nobody ain't seein' me!" he muttered, anxiously. "Dis ain't no little trick ter do, dis ain't!"