“I thought you said you were gonna stay, Mr. Tully?” he said with evident disappointment. “Gee, now you ain’t, huh?”
“’Tis sorry I be, kid,” said Big Joe with a friendly wink. “I did think along thim lines when I come in, but since the coppers been nosin’ ’round here tonight, I’ll be mosyin’ along. They might come back and spot me here so I’d better be takin’ the air.”
“Did they catch you carryin’ stuff?” Skippy asked, interested. “Is that why?”
“Sure and they did that. Somewan tipped off the police—somewan what was jealous I wasn’t carryin’ their stuff.” He laughed lightly. “The coppers hook ye either way, so they do. Look how quick they come after Toby and they knew he was on the up and up! So I says, does it pay?” Then, seeing the shadow on Skippy’s face, he added: “But sure you’ll be seein’ Toby back tomorrow, kid. They can’t be keepin’ him when he didn’t do it.”
“He didn’t do it, so they can’t!” Skippy echoed.
“’Tis a cinch, so ’tis,” said Big Joe Tully with an awkward attempt to sympathize. “Be hittin’ the hay now, kid, an’ ye’ll be seein’ Toby tomorrow or me name ain’t Joe Tully. Now I’ll be swingin’ into me kicker and chug her up the river till daylight. I’ll be layin’ low a while and some day I’ll be seein’ ye and Toby. Be watchin’ the old step. S’long.”
He went out like a breeze and Skippy soon heard the chug of his engine. Another craft muffled so that the ears of the law would not hear its approach! The boy made a mental grimace at the thought of all this muffled life on the river, Big Joe Tully included. His inherent love of clean living and honesty had come to the fore as his father had wanted it to. And honesty and clean living did pay despite what Tully had said. Certainly it would pay his father tomorrow! He lay back on his bunk and closed his burning eyes.
Tomorrow was almost here ... almost....
CHAPTER X
A SUGGESTION
Many tomorrows had come and gone before Skippy saw his father again and then it was under circumstances that the lonely boy had not contemplated. The shadow of prison walls already threatened Toby Dare for the rest of his natural life; conviction was certain.