"Not a crumb. Will you go and get the supper, or shall I?"
"I'll go while you put the money away," and Carrots was out of the dwelling like a flash; but he did not return as soon as Teddy expected from his hurried departure.
More than once Teddy went to the gate to listen for him; and at last it seemed certain Carrots must have met with an accident.
"I ought to have gone with him," Teddy muttered to himself, "'cause the chances are that Skip has turned up, an' is thumpin' him."
After waiting ten minutes more, Teddy decided that it would be necessary to go in search of his partner, who might be hurt and unable to get home; but just as he was about to climb the fence, the sound of hurried footsteps in the alleyway told that Carrots was returning.
"Did you think I was never comin' back?" the young gentleman asked, as he arrived.
"Well, it did begin to look that way. What kept you so long?"
"Wait till I get in the box, an' I'll tell you all about it," Carrots replied, breathlessly; and, when they were once more inside the improvised dwelling, he began his story, even before unrolling the packages he had bought.
"Say, do you know Ikey Cain, the feller I bought that box and brushes of?"
"No."