“Let’s take up a collection to help out,” suggested Skeets sarcastically.
“You fellows shut up,” cried Hicksley, turning on them fiercely.
“We know how he earned it,” returned Bobby undauntedly.
“You don’t know anything of the kind,” snarled the bully, but his eyes wavered as they met Bobby’s fixed upon them.
“It was pretty hard work carting ashes all that way to spoil our coast,” went on Bobby. “You’d better pony up, Hicksley.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” growled Hicksley.
But as he did not like the way the boys were gathering around him, he put his hand in his pocket, drew out the dollar and a half that he had promised to pay when the work should be finished and which he had ever since been trying to cheat Joe out of, and slunk away, glad to escape the contempt that he felt in the eyes and manner of the boys.
“Caught with the goods!” cried Fred jubilantly, throwing his cap into the air.
“Couldn’t have been nicer if we’d planned it ourselves,” exulted Sparrow.
“Well, now that we’re sure that he did it, what are we going to do about it?” asked Skeets.