“Let’s take it back on the porch,” said a third.
“No! I tell you, no!” exclaimed Ben. “We can’t leave it here now. We’ve got to take it away.”
He stooped and picked up the fragment nearest to him as he spoke. “Can you handle that other end alone, Bob?” he asked. “I’ve got this one; come on!”
Leading the way, he started off into the darkness, and his fellows followed him. There was little attempt now to soften their footsteps. It was primarily a question of haste.
At the corner of the street the boy with the shrill voice asked where they were going.
“To Hal McCormack’s, you simpleton!” answered Ben impatiently. “Isn’t that where you said you wanted to go?”
“Yes.”
“Then come along, and don’t stop to ask fool questions.”
The accident, and the thought of its possible consequences, had irritated him beyond measure, though he alone had been responsible for the breaking of the marble.