“Hey, what’s all this going on here?” asked Josh, just then coming on the scene, no doubt attracted by the sound of a strange voice.
“Here’s a poor tramp of a boy who gives me to understand he’s half dead with hunger,” Jack went on to explain; “and as we can’t turn him away in that condition, we’ll have to let him stay to supper with us, I suppose.”
Josh, of course, was exceedingly surprised. He looked the strange boy over and saw that he undoubtedly had a hungry appearance.
“Sure we’ll share our supper with him, Jack,” he hastened to say, being one of those fellows who could never see any one suffer when he had a chance to offer assistance; “who knows but what we may be entertaining an angel unawares, like we read about. Tell him to come along up to the fire right away.”
Buster and George were also somewhat astonished at this increase to their number. Still the poor chap looked so woebegone that Buster immediately saw to it that an extra portion of food was prepared. George, too, did not have the heart to show his objecting nature. He thought this to be a real case of necessity.
The strange boy was fairly well grown, though slender. His face was dark and he had a mass of heavy black hair. His eyes were dazzlingly bright, and, although there was an uneasy look on his face, he could smile cheerily when he saw that any of them were looking at him.
Josh watched him from time to time, as though some notion had come into that shrewd head of his. Supper was getting along nicely when Jack saw Josh beckoning to him cautiously at a time the stranger happened to be looking another way.
Then Josh strolled off a short distance and seemed to be bending down, as if looking at something that interested him.
“What’s in the wind?” asked Jack softly, as he joined the other.
“I don’t know exactly, to tell you the truth, but I’m uneasy over something, and wanted to have a little chin with you,” came the reply.