"Is this it?" asked Sammy quickly, holding out the check.
The miser fairly snatched it from the boy's grasp.
"That's it! Where'd you get it? You must have took it from my pocket when you knocked me down!" the peevish man exclaimed.
"We did not!" cried Sammy, in righteous anger. "We found it in the snow where it fell. And knocking you down was an accident."
Perhaps the miser realized this, or perhaps the joy at finding the ten dollar check he thought he had lost made him more humane. At any rate he growled out:
"Well, maybe you couldn't help it. But you boys shouldn't be so rough. I won't have you arrested this time, but I will next. I'm an old man, and I can't stand bein' knocked around rough-like. Here—here's a penny for you for findin' my check," and he fumbled in an old wallet.
"No, thank you!" exclaimed Sammy, turning aside. "We don't want any reward."
"Oh, all right," said the miser, and with a sigh of relief he put the cent back in his purse. "Boys have too much money now-a-days as it is."
He shuffled off, followed by the indignant glances of the lads.
"Isn't he the limit!" murmured Frank.