THE BOX OF CANDY
Although the boys had been disappointed in the kind of treasure which
they had found, the Indian relics proved a real treasure, after all.
The next day Mr. Thornton went over to the island with them, and they
brought back a few more stone things from the mound, but nothing so
fine as Tom’s plow. However, Mr. Thornton said that there might be
other interesting things there which they could dig up when they chose.
Mr. Thornton was so pleased with the boys’ discovery that he paid
Kenneth and Charlie each two dollars for their share of the treasure.
But he gave Tom five dollars to pay for his plow and for first
discovering the mound, which had once been an Indian picnic-place. He
said these relics should be used to start an Island museum, to match
the Island library. And perhaps some day they would find other things
to make the collection more complete.
Tom felt very rich indeed. He had never owned so much money in all his
life, and he could not decide what to do with it. There are so many
things which one can do with five dollars, especially if one is a boy.
But he resolved not to be in a hurry to spend it.
There was a famous professor staying at the hotel on the other end of
the Island, and one day Mr. Thornton said to Kenneth and Charlie:--
“Boys, I want to take your Indian relics over to the hotel and show
them to the Professor. I should like to know what he thinks of them.
Shall we get Tom and row around there?”
Of course, the boys were delighted to go. They had not been to the
hotel that summer, and usually there were some interesting puppies in
the stable. They found Tom and his dory, and presently they were on
their way. When they reached the hotel Mr. Thornton went to find the
Professor, while the boys started to look for the puppies. But as they
went past the piazza they heard the hotel keeper talking to a group of
ladies.
“No, there is not a mosquito on the Island,” he asserted. “That is one
of the things of which we are most proud. I will give a five-pound box
of the very best candy to any one who will find a mosquito on this
Island.”
The three boys smacked their lips. “Did you hear that? Um! I’d like
that box of candy,” sighed Charlie. “I haven’t had any for weeks.”
“Five pounds of candy all at once!” cried Tom. “I never had so much in
all my life.”
“Oh, I have,” said Kenneth, “at Christmas time. My! Isn’t it good! I
wish I could find that mosquito; but I suppose no one will. There isn’t
one on the Island, is there, Tom? You ought to know.”
“No,” said Tom. “I never saw one here. I am sure there isn’t one”--He
stopped short with a sudden wicked idea. “There might be, though,” he
added under his breath.
“I couldn’t buy five pounds of very best candy with my two dollars,
could I, Charlie?” asked Kenneth.
“No; but Tom could with his five, if he wanted to spend the money so,”
said Charlie.
“I don’t want to spend the money so,” said Tom almost crossly. But how
he did long for that candy! The boys did not understand what made him
act so queer. He paid very little attention to the five lovely puppies
in the stable. Even when Mr. Thornton came with the Professor, who
told them how proud they ought to feel because they had found such an
interesting shell-mound, praising Tom especially, he did not seem to
care. All the way home he spoke scarcely a word. He was thinking of
something very different from what the others were saying.
When they reached the Cove the boys asked Tom to come and play pirate
after dinner. But Tom said:--
“No, I’m going to be busy this afternoon.”
“Are you going to hunt for more treasure?” asked Mr. Thornton,
laughing. Tom looked queer, but shook his head.
“No,” he said. “I’ve--I’ve got an errand to attend to.” And that was
all he had to say.
After dinner Tom rowed away all alone out into the bay, and he was gone
until supper time. When he came back he pulled his boat up on the beach
and fumbled in his pocket. He was looking for something so very small
that at first he thought he had lost it. But no,--there it was, all
right. It was a tiny pill box. Tom took off the cover and looked in,
grinning to himself. He seemed pleased with his day’s work.
At the supper table Tom’s mother suddenly bent forward and looked at
his face sharply. “Why, Tom!” she said. “Where have you been to get all
bitten up so? You are covered with mosquito bites! You never got them
around here. You must have been over to Mouse Island. There are lots
of mosquitoes in the swamp there.”
Tom turned very red. “Yes, I rowed over to Mouse--this morning. There
were two young fish-hawks in the nest on the old pine tree,” he said
briefly.
“Did the other boys go with you?” asked his mother.
“No; I went all alone,” he answered, bending his face low over his
plate. And then the children began to chatter about something else, for
which Tom was glad.
The next morning Tom took his dory and rowed around the Island to the
hotel. When he came up to the piazza he found Mr. Smith, the hotel man,
talking to a group of ladies, just as he had been doing the day before.
Tom took off his cap politely, and said:--
“Good-morning, sir. I’d like to speak with you.”
“Hello!” said Mr. Smith. “You are one of the Island boys, aren’t you?
Well, what do you want with me, my hearty?”
Tom drew something out of his pocket and handed it to Mr. Smith.
“What’s this? A pill box!” said Mr. Smith, greatly puzzled. “I don’t
want any pills!” All the ladies smiled.
“There’s a mosquito inside, sir,” said Tom. “I heard what you said
yesterday: that you’d give a box of candy to any one who would bring
you a mosquito; so I found one for you. He’s dead, sir,” he added
reassuringly, as Mr. Smith hesitated about taking off the cover of the
pill box.
There was a chorus of laughs at the expression on Mr. Smith’s face;
but finally he decided to smile. “Well, I am surprised and shocked,”
he said. “I could have declared solemnly that there was not a wicked
mosquito on this island. But I will wager that this is the only one.”
“Better not make any more rash offers, Mr. Smith,” said one of the
girls. “You may have to pay for more candy than you bargain for. We
will all set out to hunt.”
“No, I don’t repeat my offer,” said Mr. Smith hastily. “But I suppose I
must pay my debt to our friend here. You come around to-morrow morning,
Sonny,” he said to Tom, “and get your candy. I’ll send to the city for
it by Captain Sackett.”
“Smart boy, isn’t he?” said one lady to another, as Tom went away. “He
has such an honest face.”
Tom heard her words, and his ears turned red. But as he rowed home he
thought triumphantly, “How good that candy will be!” and he smacked his
lips.