“We are both in for it, but I guess we are prepared.  I don’t know what Margaret will say, but I’m going to take Billy home and see.  Maybe he can win with her, as he did with us.”

Elnora had doubts, but she did not say anything more.  When they started home Billy sat on the front seat.  He drove with the hitching strap tied to the railing of the dash-board, flourished the whip, and yelled with delight.  At first Sinton laughed with him, but by the time he left Elnora with several packages at her gate, he was looking serious enough.

Margaret was at the door as they drove up the lane.  Wesley left Billy in the carriage, hitched the horses and went to explain to her.  He had not reached her before she cried, “Look, Wesley, that child!  You’ll have a runaway!”

Wesley looked and ran.  Billy was standing in the carriage slashing the mettlesome horses with the whip.

“See me make ’em go!” he shouted as the whip fell a second time.

He did make them go.  They took the hitching post and a few fence palings, which scraped the paint from a wheel.  Sinton missed the lines at the first effort, but the dragging post impeded the horses, and he soon caught them.  He led them to the barn, and ordered Billy to remain in the carriage while he unhitched.  Then leading Billy and carrying his packages he entered the yard.

“You run play a few minutes, Billy,” he said.  “I want to talk to the nice lady.”

The nice lady was looking rather stupefied as Wesley approached her.

“Where in the name of sense did you get that awful child?” she demanded.

“He is a young gentleman who has been stopping Elnora and eating her lunch every day, part of the time with the assistance of his brother and sister, while our girl went hungry.  Brownlee told me about it at the store.  It’s happened three days running.  The first time she went without anything, the second time Brownlee’s girl took her to lunch, and the third a crowd of high school girls bought a lot of stuff and met them at the bridge.  The youngsters seemed to think they could rob her every day, so I went to see their father about having it stopped.”

“Well, I should think so!” cried Margaret.

“There were three of them, Margaret,” said Wesley, “that little fellow——­”

“Hyena, you mean,” interpolated Margaret.

“Hyena,” corrected Wesley gravely, “and another boy and a girl, all equally dirty and hungry.  The man was dead.  They thought he was in a drunken sleep, but he was stone dead.  I brought the little boy with me, and sent the officers and other help to the house.  He’s half starved.  I want to wash him, and put clean clothes on him, and give him some supper.”

“Have you got anything to put on him?”

“Yes.”

“Where did you get it?”

“Bought it.  It ain’t much.  All I got didn’t cost a dollar.”

“A dollar is a good deal when you work and save for it the way we do.”