Read Ebook: Three Young Knights by Donnell Annie Hamilton

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Ebook has 449 lines and 16713 words, and 9 pages

"Wheels!" announced Jot, deliberately. "You chaps had 'em in your head, and that put 'em into mine. Yes, sir, we'll celebrate on wheels!"

"Why, of course! Good for you!" shouted Kent. But Old Tilly weighed things first in his mind.

"That would be a go if we had enough to 'go' round. But you twinnies wouid have to ride double, or spell each other, or something."

"Spell nobody!" scornfully cried Jot.

"N-o, no, b-o-d--"

"Shut up, Kent! That's all right, Old Till. Benny Tweed'll lend me his bike just like a book--I know Ben! Besides, he owes me a dollar and I'll call it square. There!"

Old Tilly nodded approvingly. "Good!" he said. "Then we'll take a trip off somewhere. That what you meant?"

"Sure! We'll go Columbus-ing--discovering things, you know."

"Like those fellows--what's their names?--who did errands for people, and had wonderful things happen to them while doing them!" put in Kent, enthusiastically.

"Errands? What in the world--knights? He means knight-errants!" exclaimed Old Till, laughing.

"That's a good one--'Did errands for folks!'" Jot mocked.

"Well, what did they do then, Jotham Eddy?"

"Why, they--er--they--they rode round on splendid horses, all armed-- er--aaple-pie--and--"

"Apple-pie--armed with apple-pie!"

Old Tilly came briskly to the rescue.

"Never mind the errands or the pie!" laughed he. "We'll be reg'lar knights and hunt up distressed folks to relieve, and have reg'lar adventures. It will be great--good for Jot! We won't decide where we're going or anything--just keep a-going. We'll start to-morrow morning at sunrise."

"Hoo-ray for to-morrow morning!"

"Hoo-ray for sunrise!"

"Hoo-ray for Jot!" finished Kent, generously forgetting mockeries.

The plan promised gloriously. When father and mother came home from the mill they fell in with it heartily, and mother rolled up her sleeves at once to make cakes to fill the boys' bundle racks. They would buy other things as they went along--that would be part of the fun.

In the middle of the night Jot got out of bed softly and padded his way across to the bureau, to feel of the three five-dollar bills they had left together under the pincushion for a paper weight. He slid his fingers under carefully. What! He lifted the cushion. Then he struck a match--two matches--three, in agitated succession.

The money was gone!

Jot gasped with horror. The last match went out and left him standing there in the dark. After one instant's hesitation he made a bound for the bed. "Kent! Kent! Wake up!" he whispered shrilly. He shook the limp figure hard.

"Thieves! Murder! Wake up, I tell you, Kent! We're robbed!"

"M-m--who's rob--Oh, say, lemme alone!" murmured poor Kent, drowsily.

Jot shook him again.

"I tell you thieves!" he hissed in his ear. "The money's gone! Do you hear? It isn't under the pin-cushion where we left it! It's gone! We've been robbed, Kent Eddy!"

The limp figure strengthened as if electrified and rose to a sitting position. Kent's eyes flew open.

"What?" he cried.

"Get up quick, Kentie, and we'll wake Old Tilly up! Maybe we can catch 'em!"

"Catch who? I wish you'd talk English, Jot Eddy!"

Old Tilly was slumbering peacefully, oblivious to thieves and five-dollar bills alike. It took a long time to wake him and longer yet to make him understand the dire thing that had happened.

"Get up! Get up! We've got to catch 'em!" concluded Jot.

"Yes, the thieves--catch the thieves, you know!" Kent explained. "I don't s'pose you'll lie there all night and let 'em cut off with our money, if you are Old Tilly!"

Then something funny happened. Anyway, it seemed funny to Old Tilly. He buried his face in the pillow and choked with laughter.

"It's gone to his head!" whispered Jot, in alarm.

"No, to his t-toe!" giggled Old Tilly, purple in the face.

"Yes, sir, he's crazy as a loon. Let's call father, Jot!"

"Hold on!--wait! It's all right, boys! The money is, and I am, and everybody is! Just wait till I get my laugh out, won't you?"

"No, sir, but we'll wait till you get out o' bed and that's this very minute!" Jot exclaimed wrathfully. He was dancing up and down with impatience.

Old Tilly slowly brought a lean, shapely leg into view from beneath the sheet. To the boys' amazement it was covered with a long black stocking. Old Tilly, like the other boys, had been barefooted all day.

"Thought I might as well get a good start in dressing!" he chuckled. "Nothing like being read--"

"Oh, come off!"

"Well, I wish it would; there's something in the toe that hurts. Ow!"

He drew off the stocking and gravely examined the snug little wad in the toe.

"The money!" cried Kent.

"Yes, sir, the money!" Jot echoed in astonishment.

"Why, so it is!" Old Tilly said in evident surprise. "Then the thieves didn't get away with it, after all! I call that a lucky stroke--my getting partly dressed overnight! No, hold on, you little chaps--don't get uppy! I'll explain, honest I will! You see, I got up after a while and put the money there for safe-keeping. I'd like to see the thief that would look there for it! He'd get a good kick if he did!"

It was half an hour later when the trio settled back into sleep again. In the east already there were dim outriders of day trailing across the darkness.

Without further incident the three knights-errant got under way next day. In a glare of July sunshine they rode away in search of adventures, while Father and Mother Eddy in the kitchen doorway looked after them a little wistfully.

"Bless their hearts!" mother murmured tender-wise.

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