"What's wrong? Has Joe been tellin' her not to take me in?" "Look here, Dan, I may not like his threatenin' to leave 'cause you was comin', an' perhaps I said a good many hard things against him, when I talked with you yesterday; but I won't let anybody accuse him of lyin'. When Joe promised not to tell aunt Dorcas anything 'bout you, he meant to keep his word, an' he'll do it. I told her he'd paid you seventy-five cents to stay away till this afternoon." "What did you do that for? Are you turnin' sneak, Plums? 'Cause if you are, I'll break your jaw!" "Perhaps you could do it; but I ain't so certain. Anyway, I told the story, 'cause Joe gave the advertisement business dead away last night, when he got thumped." "Did he have a row?" "He tackled a burglar, an' got the best of him, that's what Joe Potter did. A feller has got nerve what'll jump on to a man in the dark, an' don't you make any mistake." "Was there a real burglar in the house?" Dan asked, incredulously. "Course there was, an' Joe knocked him silly. The feller come in through the kitchen window, an'--" "I'd made up my mind that 'most everybody knew I was out here on your case," the amateur detective said, as if speaking to himself, and Plums asked, in surprise: "What's that got to do with it?" "Nothin'; only it shows that some folks don't know it, else the burglar never'd dared to show his nose 'round here." "'Cause he'd be afraid of you?" "He wouldn't run the risk of my gettin' on his trail," Master Fernald replied, with dignity, and Plums could not repress a smile, for he had already begun to question his friend's detective ability. Dan pretended not to see this evidence of incredulity, for it did not suit his purpose to have hard words with Plums now, when he was, as he believed, about to become his roommate. "See here, you've got to come right up to the house, 'cause aunt Dorcas wants to see that paper," Master Plummer cried, as if but just reminded of his mission. "What for?" "She wants to read the advertisement." "Oh, she does, eh? Well, if the old woman is willin' to promise that I can come here to live, I'll let her take the paper; that's the only way she'll get it." Plums looked at his friend, as if believing he had not heard him aright. "I mean what I say. I've got the chance now to have things my way, in spite of all Joe Potter may do. Go up an' tell her so; if she agrees, whistle, an' I'll be there before she can wink." "Come with me, an' tell her yourself; I won't carry a message like that to aunt Dorcas," Plums replied, indignantly. "All right; then she can go without the paper. It don't make any difference to me." "She won't go without it, 'cause one of us will walk over to Weehawken, an' perhaps that would be cheaper for her than to feed you."