THE OUTLAW
Yes, it was fine candy! Tom thought he had never tasted anything half
so good, as he took the first nibble. For Mr. Smith kept his promise,
and the candy came safely in Captain Sackett’s care. Five pounds in a
beautiful pink box tied with gold string!
Tom was eager to share it with his brothers and sisters and with the
other pirates; for he was a generous boy.
“I’ll give them a surprise!” he said, chuckling to himself as he rowed
home from the hotel. He knew where he should find the band, for Mary
had said that they were all going that morning to play in the pirate
cave. So he did not go straight home, but rowed on around the Point. He
beached his boat before any one heard him, and ran up towards the cave,
giving a loud war-whoop.
“Hello! where is everybody?” he cried.
The pirates came running from every direction. “Here’s Tom!” cried
Mary. “Oh, Tom! Where have you been?”
“Welcome, Slippery Joe,” said the chief. “Have you had an adventure?”
“I have captured some treasure,” said Tom, grinning. “Look here!” and
he held up the box of candy.
“Candy!” A shout of joy arose, and the pirates surrounded him eagerly.
“It’s share alike,” said Tom. “I have eaten only one piece so far.”
“Oh, Tom! how good of you!” cried Rose. “It is real city candy and must
have cost a lot of money. Did you buy it with your five dollars?”
“I know! I know!” shouted Kenneth. “He found the mosquito; didn’t you,
Tom?”
Tom nodded. “Yes, I found him and got the prize.”
“What do you mean about a mosquito?” “Tell us about it!” begged
the pirates. So they all sat down in a circle, each one munching a
delicious bit of candy, while Tom told about Mr. Smith’s offer, which
Charlie and Kenneth knew already.
“I believed that there wasn’t any use in trying,” said Kenneth. “You
thought yourself that there wasn’t a single mosquito on the Island;
didn’t you, Tom?”
“I know I thought so,” began Tom, “but”--He was interrupted by Susan.
“Oh, I know where he found it!” she said. “He went over to Mouse Island
the other day. There are lots of mosquitoes there. He was all covered
with bites when he came back.”
“Oh, but that wasn’t fair!” cried Rose; “that was cheating. Oh, Tom!”
She put back the piece of candy which she had taken as the box was
passed around the circle for the second time.
There was a long silence. Tom turned red and looked sulky. “What’s the
use of being fussy? I’m a pirate, anyway,” he said. “Aren’t we all
pirates?”
Charlie and Kenneth looked at each other, then Charlie spoke like the
chief of the band: “That wasn’t playing, Tom,” he said; “that was a
_real_ lie. We aren’t going to play that way, if I am captain. We
aren’t going to tell any lies. Here! take your old candy. We don’t want
any of it. Put it back!” he commanded the others. And reluctantly they
all did as Rose had done.
“Ho! all right!” said Tom, jumping to his feet angrily. “If you don’t
want any, I guess I can manage to worry it down. But you are awful
sillies. I won’t belong to your old band!” and he flounced out of the
cave with the box of candy under his arm. So Tom became an outlaw.
Tom munched away at his candy all by himself, and tried to pretend
that he enjoyed it very much. But somehow it was not as good as he had
expected. The emptier the box became the less he cared for the candy,
which was a very odd thing. Usually, as every one knows, unless one
gobbles it all at once like a little pig, the candy grows better and
better, until when there are only a few pieces left it is so perfectly
delicious that one cannot bear to think of its disappearing altogether.
Before the box was half finished Tom was heartily tired of it. When
the last piece was gone he took the box out in his dory, threw it
overboard, and smashed it viciously with his oar.
“I don’t want to see any more candy as long as I live!” he said. But
this was a week later.
All this time Tom had been an outlaw. He would not play with the other
children, not even with his brothers and sisters; for he thought that
they were all in league against him. He thought they were all disloyal.
He had meant to be generous, and share his candy with them; but they
had looked at it in a different way. How silly it was to pretend that
he was not playing pirate fairly! Why, pirates did much worse things
than that! He had never thought till now that it was mean to tell a
lie; but when he remembered how shocked Rose had looked, Tom turned
very red. That was hardest of all to bear,--that Rose should think him
mean.
Tom wondered if any one would tell his father and mother. But no
one did. The pirate captain had made his band promise not to be
“telltales.” Tom did not know this, however, and at every meal-time he
eyed his brothers and sisters suspiciously, waiting to see what would
happen.
His mother said sometimes, “How queer you act nowadays, Tom! What is
the matter with you?”
“Nothing,” Tom would answer sulkily; and as soon as he could leave the
table he would go off by himself.
The pirate band was sadly broken. Mary felt so sorry about Tom, who
would not let her talk to him, that she stayed at home and cried a good
deal. Except Sue, the other little Prouts would not go anywhere without
Mary. Sue was the only one who went to Sweetbrier Cottage. But Charlie
and Kenneth said it was no fun playing pirate without more boys. So
they went off by themselves, while Sue and Rose played dolls in Beech
House. Nobody was so happy as before that unlucky mosquito had spoiled
everything.
All this while Tom had plenty of time to think. Somehow things looked
different to him now. Gradually he had been making up his mind.
One day he got into his dory and rowed around the Island to the end
where the hotel stood. As usual there was a crowd upon the piazza, with
Mr. Smith in the midst. Tom thought it was the largest crowd he had
ever seen. He hung back and hesitated at first, but finally he screwed
up his courage. He went straight to the hotel man and stood twirling
his cap uneasily. Then he spoke quickly:--
“I have come to tell you, sir, that I didn’t play fair about that
mosquito. I knew what you said was true, and that there wasn’t one on
the Island; so I went over to Mouse, where there are a plenty, and
I caught one there. It was a lie, and I am sorry. I have just five
dollars,--I guess that will pay for the candy. Here it is, sir.” And
he thrust into the hand of the amazed Mr. Smith the bill which Mr.
Thornton had given him to pay for his share in the pirate treasure.
“Hold on! Stop!” cried Mr. Smith, as Tom darted away. But he soon saw
that it was no use for a little fat man like him to try to catch Tom,
who had the start. So he sat down again, shaking his head.
“I don’t even know his name!” he said, looking helplessly at the
bill in his hand. “But this relieves my mind very much. I am greatly
pleased, ladies, that you have this assurance that our Island is
without mosquitoes.”
“He was a brave boy to confess before us all,” said one of the ladies.
“I like his face. I wish we knew who he is.”
“So do I,” said Mr. Smith. “I must find out.”