Tim came forward unsuspiciously. "Well, what's that you were
saying?" he went on to Tim.
"It's two childer, sir," repeated Tim--"two small childer as has got
strayed away from their home--you may have heard of it?--and I'm
a-taking them back, only I'm not rightly sure of the way, and I
thought--I thought, as it was the best to ax you, seeing as you've maybe
heard----" but here Tim's voice, which had been faltering somewhat, so
keen and hard was the look directed upon him, came altogether to an end;
and he grew so red and looked so uneasy that perhaps it was no wonder if
Superintendent Boyds thought him a suspicious character.
"Ah indeed!--just so--you thought maybe we'd heard something of some
children as had _strayed_--_strayed_; not been decoyed away--oh not at
all--away from their home. And of course, young man, _you'd_ heard
nothing. You, nor those that sent you, didn't know nothing of this here,
I suppose?" and Boyds unfolded a yellow paper lying on the table and
held it up before Tim's face. "This here is new to you, no doubt?"
Tim shook his head. The yellow paper with big black letters told him
nothing. Even the big figures, "L20 Reward," standing alone at the top,
had no meaning for him. "I can't read, sir," he said, growing redder
than before.
Pages:
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185