At eleven o’clock, agreeably to the appointment made by Ben, all the partners, except Paul, met at Mrs. Green’s fruit-stand, wondering not a little as to why they had been summoned. Ben was there, almost bursting with importance; and when he found that all, including Mrs. Green and Nelly, were ready to listen to him, he said, as if he were again on the stage:
“I’ve got a big plan, an’ I hope you’ll all think jest the same about it that I do. You know how bad Polly feels ’cause he can’t git back to his folks, for you see how he moped round yesterday when we was all feelin’ so good. Now, I jest come from a place where they sell railroad tickets, an’ I found out that a little feller like him can get to Chicager for fourteen dollars.”
“It won’t be long before he gets that much, if nothin’ happens to the theatre,” said Mopsey, much as if he had been speaking of a gold-mine.
“Not long!” echoed Ben, almost contemptuously; “it’ll take him longer than you think for if he depends on that. I asked him yesterday to figger up an’ see how much every one would have after payin’ Mother Green, an’ he made it a dollar’n seventy cents. Now that’s a healthy pile ter go to Chicager on, ain’t it?”
“Well, how can he fix it any other way?” asked Dickey, in considerable surprise, not understanding what Ben was trying to get at.
“I’ll tell you how we can. We can all turn to, Mother Green an’ all, an’ give him the whole of the money. Then he won’t have to git only a little over two dollars to fix him right, an’ I reckon me an’ Johnny can fix him out on that.”
The partners looked at each other in surprise as this startling proposition of Ben’s was understood by them. For some moments no one spoke, and then Dickey said, as if his mind was made up so firmly that it would be impossible for any one to try to change it,
“He can have my share, an’ I’ll ’gree to put in enough more to make up as much as he’s got to have jest as soon as I kin earn it.”
“Good for you, Dickey,” said Nelly, admiringly, knowing that the ruined merchant’s offer meant a great deal, coming at a time when he was almost penniless. “Mother an’ I’ll put in our share, won’t we, mother?”
“Indeed we will,” replied Mrs. Green; and before she could say any more Johnny spoke up,