ie gave her. His time was come. He held in as
long as the human engine can, then exploded. The force of the explosion
blew the nickel out of his mouth, and, lo, all Margery had to do was
pick it up.

Thus the struggle ended.

Janet and the faithful Rosie, releasing their captive, jumped nimbly
aside, and, amid the jeers of the onlookers, Willie Jones got slowly to
his feet.

"Aw, shucks! You call that fair--three against one?"

Janet answered at once:

"I call anything fair when there's more on the girl's side!"

Turning her back on Willie Jones, Janet put an affectionate arm about
Margery's shoulder.

"Are you going to spend your nickel, Margery?"

Margery thought she was.

"Candy?"

"Yes, I thought I'd get some candy. Do you and Rosie like jaw-breakers?"

Janet and Rosie both adored jaw-breakers.

"Is this a good place?" Margery asked, pointing to the little candy
store near which they were standing.

Janet was horrified.

"I should say not! The jaw-breakers here are the weeniest little things!
No. A little ways up the street there's another candy store that has
jaw-breakers as big as eggs! They last at least an hour, don't they,
Rosie? Come on, and I'll show you."

To their surprise, Willie Jones accompanied them. In spite of all that
had occurred, he seemed still to consider himself an honored member of
the group. Rosie O'Brien stared at him incredulously, and Janet
McFadden, casting long-suffering eyes to the telegraph wires overhead,
snorted out:

"Huh! The cheek of some people, coming along with you whether you ask
them or not!"

The jaw-breakers at the second store were nearly as large as Janet had
reported them. The mere sight of them made your mouth ache in delicious
discomfort. To hold six of them Margery had to make a little basket of
both hands. This basket she carefully carried outside, where she paused,
ready to pass it around. To Janet's indignation, Willie Jones pressed
forward as confident as any one, and Margery did not repulse him. In
fact, in her own mind, Margery had already decided that she could afford
to be magnanimous. So, to show how far she could rise above petty
resentment, she was about to offer the jaw-breakers to Willie first of
all, when suddenly his face took on an expression of overwhelming
horror, and, pointing a startled finger over Margery's shoulder, he
cried out:

"Oh, look!"

Every one, of course, looked, and while they were looking Willie Jones
swoope