"Thank you, father," said Conrad, as, with much satisfaction, he pocketed the bills. "It was lucky I thought about the strain," he said to himself. "All the same, it is awfully humiliating to be beaten by that beggar."
"How do you think Conrad accounts for his defeat, Andy?" said Valentine the next day.
"I can't tell."
"He says he strained the muscles of his arm."
Andy smiled.
"If it will make him feel any better, I have no objection to that explanation."
"His father has given him ten dollars, so he will not lose any money. But he won't get any of the boys to believe his story."
"The money is very acceptable to me," said Andy. "If I had lost, my father couldn't have made it up to me."
At five o'clock, on his way to the post office, Andy met Mr. Gale.
Walter Gale was a young man about twenty-five. He had a pleasant face, and his manner was genial. He had a strong sympathy with boys, and he was a favorite with them.