“Isn’t that lovely of her!” smiled Doodles, as his brother, with a guilty pang, set the pie on the table.
“Guess she wouldn’t have brought it if she’d known how I’d been achin’ to have her get up and go,” was the soft-toned answer.
“Yes,” responded Doodles with an understanding sigh, “she does generally stay a good while. But I s’pose she means all right, and if folks’ hearts are good it doesn’t make so much difference about the rest of ’em, does it?”
Blue started to make a laughing reply, when the mother’s step was heard on the stairs, and he ran to open the door for her.
“Well!” she began.
“Heard about it?” he grinned.
“It’s on the bulletin board, but I couldn’t believe it!”
“We nabbed ’em all right!” Blue nodded emphatically. “I do’ know anything ’bout the reward ’cept what I hear.”
“The bulletin says it’s—” she hesitated to speak the figures which yet seemed so unwarrantably linked with her boy’s name.
“Three thousand dollars,” finished Blue glibly. It had been in his ears too much that afternoon for him to be shy in voicing it himself. “They say ther’ ’s been lots about it in the papers, but I never see the papers—that is, read ’em. My, but I wish we could have it!”