"Where'd you pick him up, Mike?"

"Never mind! He's one of us. How much money have you got in your pocket
Rodney?"

"Thirty two cents."

"He can't put on no frills wid dat money."

"That's so. I take it all back," and Patsy offered a begrimed hand to
Rodney, which the latter shook heartily with a pleasant smile.

That turned the tide in favor of Rodney, the boys gathered around him
and he told his story in a few words.

"I used to be rich, boys," he said, "but my guardian spent all my money,
and now I am as poor as any of you."

"You'd ought to have had me for your guardian, Rodney," observed Mike.

"I wish you had. You wouldn't have lost my money for me."

"True for you! I say so, boys, if we can find Rodney's guardian, what'll
we do to him?"

"Give him de grand bounce," suggested Patsy.

"Drop him out of a high winder," said another.