"No, I haven't."
"'Cause, if you've got three cents about you, I will tell you something."
"What?" inquired Tommy, without thinking of the price which the bad boy asked for his important information.
"That's telling," replied Joe, winking at his companion.
"Won't you tell me?"
"Give me three cents, and I will."
"I haven't got three cents; but I will give them to you some time."
"I won't trust you. Give me the money now, and I will tell you all about it," added Joe.
"How can I give it to you when I haven't got it?"
The two bad boys saw that he was willing enough to pay them for what they had to tell him, and they had only to devise a plan by which he could raise the funds.