I did not understand why I was so very great a coward, but he did not explain, and I trudged on by him.
“I say, what would you have done if I hadn’t come?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “I suppose they would have let me go at last. They got all my money.”
“They did?”
“Yes,” I said dolefully; “and then there’s the rope. What will Mr Brownsmith say?”
“Nothin’ at all,” said Ike.
“But he will,” I cried again.
“No he won’t, because we’ll buy a new one ’fore we goes back.”
“I thought of that,” I said, “but I’ve no money now.”
“Oh, all right! I have,” he said. “We may think ourselves well out of a bad mess, my lad; and I don’t know as we oughtn’t to go to the police, but we haven’t no time for that. There’ll be another load o’ strawb’ys ready by the time we get back, and I shall have to come up again to-night. Strawb’ys sold well to-day. No: we’ve no time for the police.”