The Cubs apologized again for having trespassed upon her property.
“Now you boys just come here whenever you like,” she invited cordially. “Next time maybe I’ll have some cookies handy in my jar. Growing boys always are hungry. I know, because I had three of ’em. They’re grown men now.”
A lonely soul, Mrs. Jones would have chatted on and on. The Cubs, however, already were late. So they edged away, waved a final goodbye, and trudged back to the main road.
“That should cure us of peeking into windows,” Brad lectured Babe. “She was mighty nice about it, but she could have jumped all over us.”
“How was I to know anyone lived there?” Babe defended himself. “You thought yourself the house was empty.”
“That’s so,” Brad admitted honestly. “Mrs. Jones must be as poor as a church mouse. She needs that board money badly.”
“And Jack needs someone like Mrs. Jones to take an interest in him,” added Mr. Hatfield. “She is firm but kind.”
“Imagine living in a place like that!” Chips commented with distaste. “It’s a dump.”
“The inside is clean and not badly furnished,” informed the Cub leader. “I noticed when she had the door open. As for the outside, the windows could be washed and the rubbish cleaned up in a few hours.”
“Say, maybe that’s a job for the Cubs!” proposed Brad. “We’re supposed to give neighborhood good will. What better way?”