Carrots, not waiting to make further explanation, ran out from the nest of boxes, clambered over the fence, and soon the sound of footsteps told that he was running down the alley.
Five minutes later an unusual noise warned Teddy that the invalid was approaching, and he took up his stand on the inside of the fence, ready to assist.
"Are you there, Teddy?" Carrots asked in a hoarse whisper.
"Yes; let him come!"
"I'll give him a boost, an you catch hold of his hands," was Carrots's reply.
By moving one of the cases nearer the gate, Teddy was able to reach sufficiently high to grasp the hand of the lame boy; and then, by the aid of Carrots's "boost," the new member of the family was soon inside.
Teddy assisted the stranger to the box which served as a home, and when Carrots had lighted both candles he had an opportunity to see the boy thus introduced to the household.
Ikey could never have been called a prepossessing lad, and his recent hardships had in no wise tended to improve his appearance.
A pair of large black eyes seemed even larger than nature had made them, by contrast with his pallid face and the closely cropped hair, which literally stood on end in every direction, giving him an expression such as one fancies would be proper for some blood-thirsty revolutionist. But, although he looked so thoroughly ferocious, Ikey was by no means a dangerous character. As Carrots had said, he was shorter than Teenie Massey, and the pallor of his thin face was emphasized by the many streaks and spots of dirt, and the ill-fitting, ragged garments gave him the appearance of being several sizes smaller than he really was.
"Jiminy! you've got it swell here," Ikey said, in a tone of admiration, as he gazed around at the snug quarters, and especially at the bottles used as candlesticks. It seemed to him that, if they could afford double the necessary amount of light, their manner of living must certainly border on extravagance.