"You mean down Ali Baba's cave," suggested Mercedes laughingly.
"Shall we tell him?" asked Irene, relenting as she glanced back at the lonely figure on the rocks.
"He'll just be bad if we let him come," warned Susie.
"He hasn't been bad for a long time," gentle Irene reminded them.
"Aw, what do you s'pose I care where you are going?" sung out Billiard, more hurt by their manner than he cared to acknowledge. "Keep on to Jericho, if you want to."
"We ain't going to Jericho," said Irene, lagging uncertainly behind the others. "Only just across town to that hill over there where is a—a 'bandoned mine. Toady's never seen what one looks like, so we're taking him along to get a peek at it. Have you ever seen a mine?"
Billiard shook his head.
"Tabitha says if we're real good, she'll see if the superintendent won't take us all through the Silver Legion mine before the summer is over; but to-day we're just going to show Toady how the miners go up and down the shaft. He won't b'lieve they use a bucket. Don't you want to come too?"
"Nope, guess not," Billiard answered promptly, though the wistful look in his eyes belied his words.
"It's int'resting," urged Irene, who somehow seemed to understand that Billiard did not really mean what he said.