“There’s no other place but the poorhouse, if it so be he hasn’t any relatives.”
“He sha’n’t go there, if I have to pay for his keeping out of my own pocket,” Sam Hardy said decidedly, whereat the other members of the crew applauded, taking care to make but little noise lest the sleeper in the chamber above should be awakened.
Then Keeper Downey continued, much as if some motion had been put, seconded, and carried:
“Since we are all agreed that Benny and Fluff are on our hands until a better home can be found for ’em, the question comes as to how we’ll divide the expense.”
“Let the cost be put equally among the crew,” Joe Cushing suggested. “It can’t take such a terrible amount of money to keep this little shaver and his toy dog.”
“We’ll let every man contribute according to his wages,” Keeper Downey said, in the tone of one who has finally settled the question. “That will be the fairest way, and, as Joe says, we never shall miss it in the long run. It’s where we can keep him that is going to be the hardest thing to settle on.”
“If we pay his bills and he don’t cost the Government a cent, what’s to prevent having him with us all the time?” Dick Sawyer asked. “I’ll guarantee that if we fix up a letter to the General Superintendent of the Life-Saving Service, giving the particulars, and explaining that the boy can help us a good bit in the way of washing dishes, trimming lanterns, and that sort of work, there won’t be a question raised as to his sharing a bed with one of us. I’ll take him in with me, when it comes to that.”
“But would it be right to keep the lad out here?”—and it was as if Tom Downey asked the question of himself. “According to his own story, he hasn’t had over much schooling, and nowadays a boy who ain’t considerable of a scholar cuts a pretty poor figure.”
“It won’t do any harm if that sort of business is held off for another year,”—and Joe Cushing leaned forward eagerly as if fearing lest his companions might disagree with him. “I think on these long winter days it will be mighty pleasant to have a little shaver like him toddling round here with his dog, and now the spring is so near at hand he wouldn’t get much of a whack at schoolin’ before vacation-time comes. Besides, it would be cruel to send him off just now, for he’s beginning to get acquainted with us, and if you put him among strangers suddenly all of last night’s business would come back to him harder than ever.”
It could readily be seen that every member of the crew was as eager to keep Benny and Fluff with them, for a time at least, as was Joe Cushing, but Tom Downey insisted that they had no right to thus deprive the boy of the opportunity to attend school, and a long discussion followed, the result of which was extremely satisfying to Joe Cushing.