They fell to talking about their parents proudly. Nickie did some reminiscing about his aunt’s kindly care of him and it seemed that Timmy had somewhat the same story to tell. Skippy was listening intently, but at the same time his mind was going back to the night before when he had heard Devlin denouncing Frost for having brought the two Greeks along.
“Say, fellers,” he said suddenly. “Shorty an’ Biff got parents, huh? You, Nickie, an’ Timmy an’ me—we ain’t got none. I heard Devlin an’ Frost talkin’ last night—I couldn’t sleep so I heard what they said. One thing I know was that Devlin was burnin’ up, ’cause he asked Frost what was he gonna do bout Shorty and Biff ’cause they’re Greek’n’ he couldn’t pass ’em off for his sons. So Frost says he’ll take ’em himself—one he’ll take to Pittsburgh an’ the other to Maine. Anyway, Devlin was mad that they came ’cause he said he didn’t expect ’em. So you know what I think, fellers?”
“Spill it, kid,” Nickie said.
“That Devlin picks on orphans a-purpose!”
“Say,” Nickie said, admiringly, “that’s brains, kid, an’ I don’t mean maybe. That’s callin’ the turn. Holy Smoke, if that don’t seem like what he’s doin’—the orphan racket, hah?” Nickie said as if to himself. “I wonder why, hah?”
Skippy grinned. “I doped out a little about him—maybe I can dope out the rest, huh?”
“Here’s hopin’, kid,” Timmy said smiling. “Anyways, even if you don’t, maybe when I find what’s what an’ get shipped west—maybe I can tip off the bulls so’s you guys won’t have no killin’ jobs to do when Devlin puts the bee on you. It’d be better to go to Delafield an’ get a couple years off on good behavior than be in the spot I’m in tonight.”
“Yeah,” said Nickie thoughtfully, “that’s callin’ the shot, Timmy. Even my full stretch’d be better’n what I’d get for goin’ along with Devlin. Anyways, it ain’t no bad idea to tip off the dicks if you can.”
“You speak crazy!” Biff interrupted. “Timmy teep off, yes, but where he tell them deecks to find us, eh? Do we know where we are, eh?”
The looks they exchanged were an admission of defeat. After all, did Timmy know where he had been this past month and a half—did any of them in that damp, shadowy room have the slightest idea where the lonely house was situated? New York State? New Jersey? Pennsylvania? They might have been in the vast, trackless wilderness of Africa, so cleverly had Devlin concealed from them the location of that dismal house.