"It'll make Skip worse'n ever, I'm afraid," he said, in a low tone, and Teddy replied:
"It won't do for him to get very fresh now, 'cause after he strikes the first blow I'm goin' to pitch in, an' if there ain't too many of his gang 'round, you'll see me lug him into the station-house. I don't b'lieve in fightin' where there are officers to 'rest you; but I wouldn't let any fellow get the best of me if I could help it, no matter who was in the way. Now we've fixed ourselves, an' the sooner Skip Jellison begins, the better I'll like it."
Carrots gazed with admiration upon his partner.
He realized that, by thus stating his case to the policeman, Teddy had put himself in a position where it would be safe to defend himself against any attack which might be made; and this was certainly much better than Carrots's plan of the previous evening, which, fortunately, had not been carried into effect.
"Now get to work, Carrots; we mustn't let them fellers knock us out of business, for we've got to make more than a dollar to-day."
Carrots did set to work most vigorously.
His fear of Skip was quieted to a certain degree, and he darted here and there without reference to his partner's whereabouts, getting very much more trade than he would otherwise have done, because of the fact that his brother bootblacks, and many of their acquaintances in the newspaper line, were so busily engaged discussing the plan adopted by the boy from Saranac that they had no time to attend to the details of business.
For at least half an hour, Teddy and Carrots were the only boys in the immediate vicinity who attempted to do any very great amount of work, and the result was that, before the clock had struck ten, their profits amounted to nearly as much as Teddy had expected that they would earn during the entire day.