Mark Tidd, Editor Part 27

"There," says Mark when we were out of hearing. "Now what you got to say?"

"Same's ever," says I. "What's a missin' pie got to do with Rock?"

"Rock et that pie," says Mark.

"Fiddle-de-dee," says I, but I wasn't so sure about it. Mark he acted so _certain_.

"Now," says he, "we'll go and g-get him."

He started off like he knew exactly where he was going, and we followed.

He led us along the bluff above the river for a spell, and then started down. In a minute I saw where we were. We were just across from b.u.t.ternut Island, and right above our old cave-the cave where Mark and Tallow hid Mr. Tidd's turbine a long while back, and where Sammy, the half-breed Injun, used to live.

"Bet he hain't there," says I. "He couldn't ever find it."

"He must 'a' found it," says Mark, "because he's in it right now."

"How d'you know?" says I.

"Because," says he, with another aggravating grin, "there hain't no other place for him to be."

Well, down we went, quiet-like, and peeked in the cave. It was pretty dark there, but all the same we could see something. It looked like somebody asleep, and Mark he grinned at me again.

"You sneaked up here and found him," says I.

"Didn't," says he; "jest figgered it out-and there he is."

He was that proud of himself just then that you couldn't touch him with a giraffe's neck.

"Rock," he called, soft-like, "Rock."

Rock jumped up so sudden he was like to have busted his head against the cave roof, and looked around scared.

"It's Mark Tidd and the f-f-fellers," says Mark. "Come on out."

"How'd you find me?" says Rock, after he'd got over being scared and surprised.

"Well," says Mark, "I knew you must be somewheres around, because you couldn't of got away. You'd be seen or somethin'. We followed you to the river and then lost your tracks, so I knew you were perty clost to here, hidin'. This is the only good hidin'-place for a long ways, so I f-figgered you _had_ to be here-and here you are."

"Glad Jethro hasn't as much brains as you have, Mark."

"Why?"

"Because he'd have found me, instead of you."

"But," says Mark, "we're a-goin' to take you back to him."

Rock just looked at him.

"L-look here," says Mark, "you got to trust us if we're goin' to do you any good. And I'll tell you this, that with you gone there hain't the least chance of ever findin' out about you. You got to _be_ there.... I shouldn't wonder if the Man With the Black Gloves would be t-tickled to death, when he got to thinkin' it over, if you was to run away and he never heard of you again. You're a-goin' back there because that's where you can do yourself the most good and those f-fellers the most harm. See it?"

"I see your idea," says Rock, "but it don't look very pleasant."

"Neither does l-livin' in a cave and eat'n' stolen pie look very good,"

says Mark.

"But-" says Rock.

"Either you go back with us or we quit the whole b-b-business," says Mark. "We're goin' to let on to Jethro that we captured you, and he'll pay us money. And he'll think you hate us, if you act right, and he'll trust us so's we'll get a chance to nose around a little. I'm mighty curious," says he, "about that cat that Mr. Wigglesworth wrote about, and where it's lookin', and why; and I'd like a chance to l-l-look for it."

"Maybe you're right," says Rock.

"Course I am," says Mark.

"All right," says Rock, "but it isn't very pleasant being shut up and watched and treated like they've treated me."

"It won't l-l-last long," says Mark. "Come on."

We started back, with Rock looking pretty dubious over his prospects. If he had known Mark Tidd as well as we did he wouldn't have felt so much that way, though I'll admit _I_ wouldn't have been tickled to death if I'd been in his place.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Jethro just rushed at us and grabbed a-holt of Rock, rough-like.]

It didn't take us a great while to get back to the farm with Rock, and there was Jethro walking up and down and growling and acting pretty anxious. When he saw us turn in the yard with Rock he just _rushed_ at us and grabbed a-holt of Rock, rough-like.

"Hey, there!" says Mark. "G-go easy."

Jethro looked at him a second and let right go, and then began to grin.

"I guess," says he, "that you kids have earned your money," and he pa.s.sed it over.

"Now," says he to Rock, "what you mean by runnin' off, eh? Had a perty time of it, hain't you? Well, you let me ketch you tryin' it again, and you'll wisht you'd been shut up in a cage like a monkey in a circus. You bet you will."

"G-got anythin' to eat around this p-place?" says Mark.

Jethro looked Mark over and laughed right out. Not the kind of laugh a fellow likes, but a noisy, bossy kind of a laugh. "You look like you gen'ally got plenty," says he.

"I do," says Mark, short as could be, because he don't like to have folks talking about his weight. Then he winked at Jethro and got him off to one side.

"Say," he says, "that kid's goin' to slip away s-s-sure," says he, "if he hain't watched. _You_ can't do it right, but us fellers can. What you say to givin' us a job guardin' him? We'll see he's kept here till it's time for him to go somewheres else."

Jethro scratched his chin and thought it over.

"How much?" says he.

"Fifty c-cents a day," says Mark. "One of us'll be here all the t-time."

"Good," says Jethro. "I'll jest take you up on that. Keep your eye on him clost. Don't let him git out of this yard."

"Don't worry," says Mark. "Now how about s-s-somethin' to eat?"

Jethro went in and brought us out some pie and a fried-cake apiece-the bakery kind. They weren't very good, but we managed to get away with them, and then Jethro went about his business, having been fooled good by Mark, and depending on him to keep his eye on Rock.