The sound of the talking had brought the others from the table to the hall below, and now Mrs. Hazard came up the stairs to inquire anxiously: “What is it, Jim? Is anything wrong?” “This fellow says he engaged this room last spring and means to have it,” replied Jim.
“Engaged this room? But—but how could you?” Mrs. Hazard observed Brandon Gary bewilderedly. “We only took the house last month!”
The claimant had snatched off his crimson cap at Mrs. Hazard’s appearance on the scene and when he replied his tone was much more respectful. “I engaged it from the lady who had it last year, ma’am, and it’s always been a rule here that when a house changes hands the—the new landlady takes it—er—subject to—to—”
[37]
 
“What is it, Jim? Is anything wrong?” inquired Mrs. Hazard.
[38-
39]
“I understand,” said Mrs. Hazard helpfully, smiling her sweetest, “but I knew nothing about any reservations. You see, Mrs. Timberlake left early in the summer and I took the house from an agent. And he said nothing at all about any of the rooms being taken. I’m awfully sorry. But there are three other very nice rooms for rent—” She paused and looked at Jim with a look of comical despair. “Unless they are engaged too!”
“Don’t believe so,” said Gary. He had set his bag down, thrust his hands into his pockets and dropped some of his aggressiveness, although it was plain to be seen that he meant to have his rights. “You see, ma’am, the fellows never liked Mother Timberlake much. I didn’t either, but I’d always had my heart set on this room, and so, when Kidder graduated last June, I made a streak over here and nabbed it. I had a chance at living in hall, too, this year. I’m sorry you didn’t know about it, but I guess you can’t expect me to give it up. This chap”—nodding at Jim—“says you’ve rented the room to some one else. Well, all he’s got to do is take one of the other rooms. That’s easy.”
Gary picked up his bag, walked through the door and took formal possession. Jim and Mrs.[40] Hazard looked at each other at a loss. Jim was angry clear through, and yet the newcomer seemed to have the law on his side. “I suppose,” faltered Mrs. Hazard, “we might let Mr. Gordon decide.” Jim frowned. Gary had set his bag on the table, opened it and was now unpacking. “I’d like to chuck him out the window!” muttered Jim.
“Perhaps Jeffrey would just as soon have one of the other rooms,” suggested his mother weakly. “What do you think?”
“I guess he’d take one and be decent about it,” answered Jim, eying the intruder with strong distaste, “only I don’t think it’s fair to ask him to. I don’t care what the—the custom is here; no one told us about this room being engaged, and I don’t believe that fellow has any right to it.”
At the back of the house a bell pealed and Mrs. Hazard went and leaned over the banisters. Jim followed slowly.
“Have you any rooms left?” asked a voice at the doorway.
“Yes,” replied Hope. “If you’ll wait a moment I will call my brother. Will you come inside?”
“Will you see them?” asked Mrs. Hazard.[41] Jim nodded and went down. Hope rejoined Jeffrey in the dining-room. Near the front door stood two boys talking together softly. They had no bags with them, nor was there any conveyance to be seen outside.
“You wanted to look at a room?” asked Jim gloomily.
“Please,” replied the taller of the two.
“This way, then. There’s a back room on this floor to rent and one or two upstairs.” Jim threw open the door of the chamber opposite the dining-room and they looked in. It was not a very attractive apartment, however, and they didn’t enter.
“I think something upstairs would be nicer,” said one. He turned, crossed the hall and looked into the dining-room. “Oh, I beg your pardon,” he said, “that’s not a bedroom, is it?” But in spite of his apology he seemed in no hurry to withdraw.
“That’s the dining-room,” said Jim shortly.
“I see.” The boy gave a final look at the room—and its occupants—and followed toward the stairway. “Is the corner room on that side rented?” he asked.
“Yes,” replied Jim grimly. “Very much rented!” Then he stopped on the landing and[42] faced the two boys. “Say, you fellows aren’t new here, are you?”
“No,” replied the elder, “why?”
“I want to know something. We rented a room to a fellow about a week ago and he came to-day. That’s he in the dining-room. Now another chap comes along and says he engaged the same room from the lady who had the house last year. It’s the corner room you asked about. This new chap says we’ve got to stand by what Mrs. Timberlake did. I don’t think that’s sense. We never saw her and didn’t know anything about it. At that rate she may have rented all the rooms, for all we know!”
The two boys looked at each other doubtfully.
“Well, the chap’s right in a way, I guess. It is customary. But if he’s a new boy how does he know so much about it?” This from the taller of the two.
“He’s not new,” said Jim. “I guess he’s been here two years or so from the looks of him. He said his name was—Gerry, or something like that.”
“Gerry? You don’t mean Gary, do you?”
“Yes, that’s it.”
The two boys exchanged glances and began to chuckle.
[43]
“‘Bull’ Gary! Sounds like him, doesn’t it? Is he here now?”
“Yes, in the room,” answered Jim.
“I think, then, you had better let us talk with him. Hold on, though. Did you rent the house from Mrs. Timberlake?”
“No. She left early in the summer. We rented from an agent, Mr. Simpson.”
“Ah, that simplifies the case, eh, Poke?”
“Like anything,” was the cheerful response. “Lead us to him.”
“Do you fellows know him?” asked Jim doubtfully.
“Rather! We’re very dear friends of his. You leave it all to us.”
They went on up, bowed to Mrs. Hazard, who still waited in the hall, and made for the corner room. Jim dropped back.
“Well, well, if it isn’t Bull!”
Gary turned with a doubtful grin.
“Hello, Poke! Hello, Gil! Where’d you fellows come from? Aren’t living here, are you?”
“No, we’re still at the old place,” answered Gil. “Whose room is this, Bull?”
“Mine, of course. Not bad, is it?”
“No, it’s fine and dandy, but I understood[44] that some one else had taken this. Didn’t that chap downstairs tell us that, Poke?”
“Sure he did. I guess Bull’s spoofing.”
“I dare say he did tell you that,” said Gary. “But I engaged this room last June from Mrs. Timberlake.”
“Oh, I see!” Gil nodded his head. “Well, that explains it. Too bad, too, for it’s a mighty pleasant room. Still, there’s one across the hall that looks pretty decent and I dare say you’ll be just as happy there, Bull.”
“Me? I’m staying here,” said Gary uneasily.
But Gil shook his head gently and firmly. So did Poke.
“No, you can’t do that, you see,” said Gil. “This room belongs to the other chap. You see, Bull, Mrs. Timberlake gave up the house. That canceled everything. Then this Mrs.——Mrs. Whatshername took it from Simpson. Get me, Bull? Your case isn’t good, old scout.”
“That makes no difference!” blustered Gary. “I engaged this room—”
“Tut, tut! Don’t be dense, Bull. Have we got to explain it all over again to you? Honest, Gil, he’s the prize dunce, isn’t he?”
“Oh, he understands all right. He’s just[45] trying to tease us. Let’s have a look at the room opposite, Bull.”
“I don’t want to see the room opposite,” Gary protested with vehemence.
“Then why not have a look at the back rooms? Of course, they aren’t as sunny as this, but I’ve no doubt they’re quite comfortable.”
“I’ll stay just where I am,” growled Gary. But there was a tone of uncertainty in his voice. Gil smiled indulgently. Poke flecked an imaginary speck of dust from his sleeve.
“Strange how dense some folks are, Gil,” said the latter. Gary flushed, and tried bluster.
“You fellows think you can come here and bullyrag me into doing anything you like. Well, you’re mightily mistaken. I know my rights and I intend to stand up for them.”
“Noble youth! But you haven’t any rights in this case, Bull. You’re just making a silly ass of yourself and being disagreeable. Don’t let’s have any bother about it, Bull.” This from Gil.
“I rented this room—”
“S-sh! Remember, please, that there’s a gentleman present,” remonstrated Poke. “Be sensible, Bull. Honest, you’ve got your signals mixed.”
Gary looked from one to the other for a moment,[46] swallowed hard once and yielded. “All right, but I don’t have to give this room up unless I want to.”
“You’re doing it, Bull,” responded Poke sweetly, “because you are the soul of generosity. Ah, we know you, you rascal!”
“We will examine the other apartments,” said Gil.
“Not for me,” growled Gary. “If I can’t have this room I don’t want to stay in this hole. I’ll go back to Sanger’s.” He began to pile his things back in his bag. Gil and Poke eyed each other dubiously.
“I—I don’t believe I’d do that,” said Gil finally. “This is a perfectly good house, Bull, and the landlady hasn’t let many of her rooms—”
“I don’t care if she hasn’t! I hope she won’t! You can make me give up this room, but you can’t make me stay here!”
Gil and Poke recognized the truth of that. Gary slammed his bag shut, seized his cap and strode wrathfully downstairs and out the door with neither a glance nor word for Mrs. Hazard or Jim.
“I’m afraid we’ve lost you a—a tenant,”[47] said Gil to Mrs. Hazard. “We didn’t mean for him to leave the house.”
“That doesn’t matter. It was very kind of you to straighten it out about the room. We’re so much obliged to you.”
“I’m glad he’s gone,” declared Jim. “I don’t like him.”
“Jim dear,” remonstrated his mother, “you mustn’t say that. He may be a very nice boy for all we know. Has my son shown you the rooms we have to let?” she added, turning to Gil.
“Er—yes, thanks; that is, he was showing them when—”
“This room over here is quite pleasant,” she said, leading the way to the door across the hall. “It has only one bed in it, but we can set up another one if necessary. Were you both thinking of coming?”
Poke looked a trifle uneasy, but Gil came to the rescue.
“We’ve been rooming in hall, ma’am, and were just sort of looking around to see what there was. We’re not decided yet.” He looked at the room. “I suppose this gets the afternoon sun until quite late.”
[48]
“Yes, indeed,” replied Mrs. Hazard. “It’s quite a warm room in winter, I’m told.”
Poke looked in over Gil’s shoulder. It really was a very jolly-looking room. It was big and square, with two broad windows on the front and a bay on the side. The furnishings were neither new nor elaborate, but there was a roomy bureau, a big library table that had seen better days, two good easy chairs, two straight-backed ones and a washstand. And of course there was a bed, a simple white-enameled iron bed that looked both clean and comfortable. On the walls were hung several pictures, the windows had neat dimity curtains and the floor was covered with a cheerful red and gray carpet which, if it showed wear in some places, was still quite presentable. There was a fireplace and mantel, too, and the fireplace looked as though it could be used.
“It’s a very nice room,” said Poke warmly.
“Dandy,” said Gil. “I suppose we—I suppose whoever had it could have a fire there.”
“Oh, I should think so,” answered Mrs. Hazard. “But I hope that the furnace will keep the house warm enough without having to use the grates.”
“How much would this room be?” asked Gil.
[49]
“Well, I suppose—” Mrs. Hazard turned to Jim for assistance—“I suppose for two it would be ten dollars a week.”
“Eleven,” said Jim firmly. “But we don’t charge for board, of course, when you are away. Then you just pay three dollars for the room.”
“That seems reasonable,” declared Poke.
“Quite,” agreed Gil.
“I dare say if we wanted a fire any time we could have it by paying something extra?” Poke asked.
“Just pay for what you burn,” said Jim.
“I see.” Gil turned to Poke. “What do you think?”
“Why, we—we might think it over a little,” gasped Poke.
“Better let us know pretty soon,” said Jim in businesslike tones. “We couldn’t hold it for you, of course.”
“N-no,” replied Gil, “I suppose not.”
There was a silence. Gil and Poke stared fascinatedly at each other. Finally:
“I guess,” blurted Gil, “we’ll say we’ll take it!”
“But, Gil!” cried Poke. “Don’t you think— Hadn’t we better talk it over a bit first?”
[50]
“Well, maybe we had. We—we’ll let you know in—in an hour.”
“Much obliged,” murmured Poke as they made their escape downstairs.
Once out of sight of the house Gil pulled up and leaned against the fence. “That—that was awful!” he gasped. “In another minute we’d have rented the room!”
“Sure thing,” agreed Poke solemnly. “How the dickens did we get started?”
“How did we get started?” exclaimed the other indignantly. “Why, you insisted on going in there to look at rooms, you idiot!”
“Well, you asked how much it was, didn’t you? It was all safe enough until then.”
“Now, hang it, Poke, I feel as though we’d ought to take it; as though it was our duty! After all, you know, we drove Bull away.”
“How can we take it, you simpleton? Haven’t we got a room already? Honest, Gil, you oughtn’t to be trusted out alone! If it hadn’t been for me we’d been saddled with two rooms now!”
“Well, why didn’t you help me? You could see that I was—was hypnotized!”
“I guess I was too,” laughed Poke. “I never knew before how easy it is to buy something[51] you don’t want! Not that I wouldn’t like to have that room, though. It’s a peach, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s about twice the size of Number 12. I wonder what it would be like to have all the light and sunshine you wanted.”
“I’m crazy about the windows,” said Poke. “We could have a seat built in that bay, Gil.”
“Sure. And with our pictures and stuff to fix up with the room would look dandy.”
“Great!” sighed Poke.
There was a silence. At last:
“I don’t suppose J. G. would let us give up our room now,” observed Gil thoughtfully.
“We might find out,” answered Poke. They turned by common impulse and stared at each other. Then Poke broke into a laugh.
“Let’s do it!” he shouted.
Gil grinned. “All right,” he answered.
They shook hands on it.