Of course, having one foot out, Oliver in another moment had both feet on the running board and from there jumped to the sidewalk.
"Daddy said to stay in the car," insisted Sunny Boy.
"He only meant not to go away," said Oliver. "Oh, look at the crowd coming!"
The children stood up in the car and stared in the direction Oliver was pointing. On the next block they could see a man running swiftly, followed by a crowd of people, and back of them two policemen.
"Come back, Oliver!" screamed Ruth, jumping up and down with excitement. "Make him come back, Sunny."
But before Oliver could run over to the car, if he had wanted to, the man, the crowd close upon his heels, had reached the spot where Oliver stood. He caught hold of him, whirled him about, and dropped something into his hands, all without stopping his headlong flight. The crowd immediately closed in around Oliver just as Mr. Horton, attracted by the noise and the shouting, came out of the store. One of the policemen continued to run after the man.
"Oh, Daddy, get Oliver," Sunny Boy almost sobbed, as his father came over to the car.
"Why, where is he?" asked Mr. Horton, surprised. "Aren't you all here?"
"Oliver isn't. He's in there." Sunny Boy pointed to the crowd which was growing larger every minute as more and more people pressed in, eager to know what the excitement was about. "Oh, gee!"
Sunny Boy's eyes grew wide with wonder and terror. The other boys in the car looked frightened. Ruth began to cry.