human
Lo--lo--look at Purt! burst out Jess, unable to hold in her laughter any longer.
gpt
What-what will his mo-mo-mother say when he gets home?
human
in Central High. And even when he went motor-boating he was the very
gpt
His fancy waistcoat would never be seen in its pristine lustre again, and as for the gaudy striped shirt and cuffs he had worn, the stripes were surely
human
I--I do-do-don't care, chattered Purt.
gpt
What are clothes, anyway? I'm dying of cold!
human
And in June,
gpt
Let's build a campfire and warm him,
human
Haven't a dry match,
gpt
I have. Don't catch me canoeing without a tightly corked bottle of matches. I've been upset too many times,
human
And I bet this settles Purt's motor-boating for all time, scoffed Jess Morse.
gpt
Got enough, haven't you, Pretty?
human
Weally, Miss Morse, I am too exhausted to speak about it--weally!
gpt
And it was the only sport Purt would go into, grunted Chet.
human
He could get somebody to run his boat for him, you see. All he had to do was to sit tight and hold his ears on.
gpt
What were you two boys doing out in the _Duchess_ this afternoon, anyway? demanded Laura.
human
I thought you were going to see the game between Lumberport and the East High team?
gpt
Why, said Chet, hesitating, looking at Lance,
human
Of course,
gpt
All of you, I mean, said Chet, earnestly.
human
No passing it around with the usual platter of gossip on the athletic field this evening.
gpt
How horrid of you, Chet!
human
We can keep a secret as well as any crowd of boys--and he knows it,
gpt
Well, said her brother, squatting before the campfire, that was now burning briskly, and spreading out his jacket to the blaze, while the legs of his trousers began to steam.
human
Well, it's about Short and Long.
gpt
Billy Long!
human
Poor Billy! added Laura.
gpt
What about him?
human
He's missing,
gpt
Missing: The Short and Long of It, eh?
human
This is no laughing matter, Jess, declared Launcelot Darby, sharply.
gpt
Haven't you heard of the robbery?
human
At Stresch & Potter's department store? cried Jess.
gpt
Of course. What's that got to do with Short and Long?
human
Nothing!
gpt
Anybody who says that Billy Long helped in that robbery deserves to be kicked. He's not that kind of a fellow.
human
But he's accused,
gpt
Somebody said they saw him hanging about the rear of the store with some men Tuesday afternoon. The men appeared to be surveyors. They are supposed to be the robbers, for nobody seems to know anything about them at the city engineer's office,
human
A small boy had to be put through the little basement window where a screen was cut out. No man could have slipped through it and then opened that door for the men. Short and Long is accused--at least, he is suspected. A policeman went to his house Friday morning; but Billy had gone away over night.
gpt
That looks suspicious,
human
No, it doesn't. It looks as if Billy was scared--as of course he was, exclaimed Chet.
gpt
Who wouldn't be?
human
That is so,
gpt
Well, sighed Chet,
human
And a bath, it seems,
gpt
We came over this way, looking into the coves and inlets for the boat Billy is said to have borrowed. But we didn't see any sign of it, nor any sign of poor Billy. Of course he is innocent; but he's scared, and his folks are poor, and Billy was afraid to remain at home, I suppose, thinking he would get his father into trouble, too.
human
It's a mean shame, said Lance.
gpt
What if Stresch & Potter were robbed of ten thousand dollars? They oughtn't to have accused a perfectly innocent boy of helping in the robbery.
human
But that's it! exclaimed Laura.
gpt
How is Billy to disprove the accusation if he runs away and makes it appear that he is guilty?
human
Don't we see that? demanded her brother.
gpt
That's what we want to get at Billy for. We want to catch and bring him back and make him face the music. Then we'll all prove him innocent and make these Smart Alecks take back what they've been saying about him. It's a shame!
human
It _is_ a shame,
gpt
Maybe he _did_ come over to the island.
human
Huh! What for? To hide?
gpt
Perhaps,
human
Maybe to find the robbers himself. Perhaps they are hiding here,
gpt
Likely,
human
We saw somebody hiding back yonder at the foot of Boulder Head,
gpt
So we did! The lone pirate!
human
repeated Laura and Jess, in unison.
gpt
Who's that?