the forms of the peacefully sleeping
lads he continued: "And wasn't it funny to see how they appreciated the
breakfasts we bought for them, the new store suits we paid for, and how
eagerly they accepted our offer to permit them to hobo with us to
Chicago, and how now they are blindly devoted to us, willing to follow
us through Hades?" Here Kansas Shorty paused and added in a whisper,
"And wouldn't they be surprised if they knew the truth, that they had
paid for their own as well as our meals, their new suits, their railroad
tickets, and even the mulligan with their own money, as we are the ones
who, during the darkness of the night robbed their bunks at the Golden
Rule Hotel?" Then the two rascals broke into hearty laughter, as they
recalled how, amongst the hundreds of the homeless wretches who lodged
at the Golden Rule Hotel, they were the ones guilty of having stolen
everything the twins possessed in the world, and when Kansas Shorty
repeated: "First we stole their clothes, then we found their well-filled
purses, and now, to finish our streak of luck we have them thrown into
the bargain," they renewed their laughter, which was abruptly stopped
when Kansas Shorty suddenly asked his pal what he intended to do with
the lads. "Of course we can take them to Chicago with us and find them
some sort of a job, and thus rid ourselves of their presence," answered
Slippery, intending to shed himself of their useless company, and ever
wary of trouble he wisely added, "Kansas Shorty, you well know the trite
saying: 'Two is company; three is a crowd; four is the road to
disaster,' so let us give the lads a square deal and take them with us
to Chicago and 'drop' them there after finding employment for them." But
hardly had he finished this well-meant suggestion, than Kansas Shorty
almost in a rage retorted: "Slippery, you are proving yourself to be a
regular yegg by the soft talk you have just been giving me. You belong
to the class of men who steal and rob, while I am a "plinger", and beg
for a living. To your kind a boy is a handicap, while to our class a
good-looking boy is a most decided asset as a boy to us means a heavy
increase of our incomes and of our comforts, and now you tell me that
you are anxious to find jobs for these lads whom I could easily train
into first-class Road Kids." Slippery, dumfounded at the almost
monstrous proposition his comrade made, who was ready and willing to
spoil the youngsters' futures by transfo