Part 10 (1/2)

”Because this five dollars will fool Mr. Fits in another way. I can go to-morrow and get mother another fan like the first one.”

Mr. Prescott's eyes flashed proudly for a moment as he answered, a bit huskily.

”You could do that, of course, young man, but your mother would never forgive you for cheating yourself out of the one pleasure you want most.”

”Sometimes,” spoke d.i.c.k gravely, ”there's more fun in doing without a pleasure, when you can find another that is worth more to you.”

The tears stood in Mrs. Prescott's eyes. She rose and dropped both arms around her boy.

”If we absolutely needed your money, d.i.c.k,” she said, ”I know how cheerfully you would do without your pleasure for our sakes. But this is a case where your going camping will be worth more to us all than anything else that five dollars would buy. Besides, think how disappointed your friends would be over not having their leader.”

”I appreciate your mother's feelings so much, lad,” went on Mr.

Prescott, ”that I forbid you to spend your remaining money on anything for your mother. She has had her greatest happiness in knowing that you spent half of the first considerable sum of money you ever had in buying something for her. That is as far as you can go. Illness alone preventing, d.i.c.k, you'll go camping, and you'll pay your full share into the camping fund. Besides, I'm glad to say that the indications are that a much better business year is coming, and that probably we'll soon be able to have all the things within reason that we may want.”

So Christmas, if it ran rather shy on presents in the Prescott household, was at least a season of extremely good feeling among three people whose sympathies ran staunchly together.

”The fellows will be waiting to see me,” laughed d.i.c.k after breakfast.

”So, if I haven't anything to show 'em, at least I've got something to tell them that will make their hair stand up. And I wonder if Mr. Fits visited any of their homes last night?”

Laughing, though doubtless he felt quite unlike it, d.i.c.k Prescott put on coat and hat and went out into the Gridley streets.

CHAPTER V

d.i.c.k TRIES STRATEGY

”Hey! Hear about d.i.c.k Prescott?”

”What?”

”His Christmas got 'pinched'!”

”No!”

”Sure.”

Rapidly indeed did the news travel about. d.i.c.k told it to his own chums first. The news ”leaked” and traveled up and down the streets as Gridley boys began to come forth to compare their Christmas experiences.

Just as certainly, too, the news didn't lose any on its rounds. By the time that the yarn had been carried to the further end of Main Street, d.i.c.k's holiday losses had mounted up to a total of: A gold watch and chain, a diamond stickpin, a twenty dollar gold piece, a suit of clothes, silver plated racing skates, a camera, a cornet and a host of lesser articles.

”Whee! The Prescotts must have been making money this year,” commented Ben Alvord, when he heard the long list of presents named.

”Say,” proposed Dave Darrin indignantly, ”we'll hike all over Gridley and just see if we can't run into Mr. Fits somewhere. If we find him we'll jump him all together, and then holler for the police.”

Quite a bit of searching the six members of d.i.c.k & Co. did that morning, though all without the least success. It presently dawned on these Grammar School boys that Mr. Fits must have left Gridley far behind.

”We'll keep our mind on the camping, anyway,” proposed d.i.c.k. ”We want to start to-morrow morning. We ought to meet at eight o'clock, and then get away together as soon after as we can.”