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Page 24
It was very painful, and the boys slipped away as soon as they
could and, followed by Wugs, went down to the edge of the lawn,
and talked things over. Wugs could scarcely leave home at all.
He wanted to enlist; he was nearly old enough, and now that
Lester was sick, why, some one ought to help the country--some
Pomeroy. The boys agreed. But his dad and Elinor needed him,
too; so he supposed he would have to wait yet.
Porky, rolling around on the grass, felt the paper rustle in his
pocket.
"Here, Asy," he said. "You ought to be in on this. I'm going to
let you carry this paper. It is very important indeed."
Asa beamed, but as usual said nothing. It was fine to be in on
things. It made him feel important. He patted his pocket, and
sat straighter. The paper rustled, just as any paper would
rustle. Asa, listening, heard no warning in the sound.
Finishing their talk, Porky decided that it was getting very
late, and they boarded the next car passing. It was nearly
empty, and the boys dozed all the way to town. In fact, they
were so sleepy that the car had reached New York Central Station
before they roused themselves. They had been carried two blocks
too far.
"Well, we are here, anyway," said Beany, "and I'm going inside to
get a stick of gum."
"That's a good stunt," said Porky.
They ran up the steps and entered the great waiting-room. Asa
did not like gum, and, besides, Asa never liked to spend a penny.
He stood looking about him in the middle of the space in front of
the ticket office, while the twins went over to the
penny-in-the-slot machine.
And then it happened--
Asa, turning from his inspection of the ticket window, gazed at a
space over which hung a large sign "INFORMATION." A man who had
been talking turned and started toward Asa.
It was the Wolf.
Now when the Wolf, on his way to the station to enquire about
trains, had reached a certain dark corner just outside the city,
he had stopped long enough to do something by the aid of a
flashlight and a little packet. So when he walked into the
station his face was change. It was no longer long and lean and
smooth. His cheeks stuck out, and a long, heavy mustache covered
his mouth. But he could not hide his peculiar, slight limp, or
the cruel yellow eyes; and when Asa saw those eyes he knew them.
He tried to move; to slide out of the way. His one frantic
desire was to escape unnoticed. But the wildness of the boy's
stare caught the Wolf's eye. He looked at the boy carelessly,
then attentively as he saw that the boy recognized him. He too
recognized the boy as the one who had visited him in the
hospital.
He acted instantly. He stepped forward, and dropped a
steel-fingered hand on Asa's shoulder.
"One single word, and I'll kill you right here," muttered the
Wolf, and Asa felt that it was no idle threat.
Asa did not need to be spoken to again. All the wickedness, all
the blood-curdling threats that he had ever imagined, were in the
Wolf's touch on his collar. He was like a rabbit that suddenly
sees the white fangs of the hound close above him.
He was dumb with fright. He gave his captor one quaking look,
and obedient to the guiding hand, passed out the door into the
street. It was filled with people. The Wolf sought the most
crowded side and mingled with the throngs.
In the meantime Porky and Beany, having secured their
much-wished-for gum, a hard task on account of a penny jamming in
the slot, turned to join their friend.
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