Bobby Blake on the School Nine; Or, The Champions of the Monatook Lake League

the boys hardly saw what they could do but accept the invitation

nd on the table there was a bottle of liquor. There seemed to be no other furniture in the miserable room, except a rusty

The unshaven faces of the men were flushed, their eyes red and bleared, and

to Fred, who was nearest

Fred, as he made a m

closed door, looking at them with an ugly grin on his face, a face w

the men at the table, rising and coming toward them

he right road to the station," said Bobby in a ton

man. "Well, just wait a

a few moments there was a whispered conversation. Then the man with

right road all

Bobby. "Then I guess

laughed

oung feller," s

hurry?" asked

in to keep us company," sneered the man with

of the evil intentions of the men who held them virtu

erate attempt to bluff the matter through, "and i

aughed up

s!" croaked one of them. "We'l

as blazing with anger. "Don't forget that there are

anded the scar-faced man

r passed and was repla

s," he commanded, "and turn your pockets inside

tone. He was in deadly earnest and his

They were only eleven year old boys, and were no match physically even for o

t of money-only a few dollars for spending allowance. But taken altogether it made quite a respectable sum, over which the rob

Pee Wee's gold sleeve buttons went to swell the pile. They even carried their meanness so far as to rob the lads of t

d thank your lucky stars that

eft in such high spirits a few minutes before. They had been stripped clean. If their outer clothing had f

eir age and size, there would at least have been the exhilaration of the fight. But even that p

other. When they attempted to find words th

red managed to

n brutes," g

e. "And those sleeve buttons were

my father gave me on my last bi

us our railroad tic

understand why they took the money and jewelry. But they pro

ve torn them up and thrown them i

f we hadn't seen the light of it through the w

ed. "What a fool stunt it was of

aid, "I told you so," but

our hard luck. We might have done it a thousand t

morning anyway," grunted Fred. "That

ke into laughter. It was the one thing needed to relie

the bright side of th

a little cheerer-u

instead of seeing only the hole

thieves might have beaten them up or tied th

. "The money didn't amount to so much after all, and our folks will send us more. And we may be able

stopped shor

enough to pay for the

on man will trust

es so that the folks who get them pay on

clear on this point, but

lks might be away and there might be some delay in getting to them. But I know that my father is at home and I'll

nd the walking had become easier. They quickened

d Fred, and the boy