“Down to Bony's father's to get that fifty dollars,” Swatty said. So we went.
Well, I guess we forgot to tell Bony's father about Bony being drowned and pumped out. We just told him we had the burglar up at his house and that we wanted the fifty dollars, and he rushed out and up the street and got a policeman and hurried to his house. Lazy Joe was there yet, telling Bony's mother how he had pumped Bony out, but the farmer kid was n't there, because Bony's mother had sent him down to get Bony's father. She wanted Bony's father to give Lazy Joe five dollars or something for pumping Bony out.
Then me and Swatty and Bony's father and the policeman came in and Bony's father was saying: “Officer, arrest him! He's the man that stole my property,” while Bony's mother was saying: “Edward, give him five dollars or something! He's the man that saved your son's life.”
“How is that?” asked Bony's father, and he was pretty much mixed; “I thought this was the burglar.”
“He is the burglar,” said Swatty. “He's got the cardinal's ring in his pocket right now. I seen it, and Georgie seen it, and Bony seen it.”
Then Lazy Joe didn't know what to say. Then he said:
“I'll give everything back.”
So that was how they fixed it. Bony's father saved fifty-five dollars. He saved the five dollars he ought to have given Lazy Joe for saving Bony's life and he saved the fifty dollars he ought to have given Swatty. So all me and Swatty knew next was that we were out on the street and we didn't have anything to show for catching the burglar. All we had was what Bony's father said. What he said was:
“Get out of here, you little rats! Be thankful you haven't my child's death on your shoulders!”
Well, I was going, but Swatty stood right there.