CHAPTER VIII
TIMMY
Even from the outside one could sense the desolation of the house. Ittook little imagination to visualize the large, sprawling roomsdownstairs and the small, stuffy rooms upstairs weighted down to apoint of suffocation by the flat tin roof. Cobwebs, slugs, everyscurrying, every crawling thing that thrived in dampness and gloom mustthrive in such a place, Skippy thought.
He was glad of Nickie Fallon's friendly hand on his arm as theyascended the high stoop. And he was considerably cheered by the oily,smiling faces of Shorty and Biff as they all followed in the wake ofthe two men. He had somehow forgotten that these three lawless boyswould have been repugnant to him under other conditions. Now hewelcomed them as old companions, and their nearness was comforting inthis chill, lonely moment.
"Metal doors 'n everythin'," Nickie whispered in his ear. "Locksoutside too, hah? What's out is out an' what's in is in!"
They entered a stuffy vestibule and passed into a long, dark hall. Atthe far end of it beside the stairway was a lantern standing on abroken stool. It gave a feeble light at best, but now it sputtered andflickered like some dying thing and sent out weird shadows that stoleup and down the dirty walls.
Barker stood a moment as if listening. Then he turned his grave face toFrost and said, "No sound from upstairs. Timmy must be asleep. Go upand get him. We'll make some coffee and have something to eat. When youcome down put some oil in that lantern."
Skippy wondered who Timmy was, but soon dismissed the thought in hisjoy at hearing that they would get something to eat. Nickie, too,brightened up at this announcement and Shorty and Biff made no secretof their delight, but gave vent to several nasal grunts.
Frost hurried back and ascended the narrow, rickety stairway two stepsat a time. Barker motioned the boys into a room at his right where healready had a lantern lighted.
"Sit down," he said abruptly. "I'm going out to the kitchen to makecoffee." Then, without having really looked at them, he stepped intothe hall. There was the sound of a key turning in the door outside andsuddenly he was back again, passing through the room and toward anotherdoor as if he didn't know the boys were there. When that door hadclosed behind him, his footsteps could be heard echoing over bareboards, until, after other doors slammed, there ensued a few moments ofsilence.
Skippy had taken a chair like the rest and now he glanced around thebig room. Besides the chairs they were occupying there were two otherchairs standing, battered and forlorn, against the shuttered andheavily barred windows. The room boasted no other furniture and norugs; the floor was thick with dust.
"Well, it's good there ain't no more furniture to catch the dust, hah?"Fallon commented humorously as he took note of their surroundings."Say, I wonder what's the big idea, barrin' windows--I ain't keen onbars. Makes me think we're in Delafield almost."
Shorty got up softly and moved his chair close to the others. When hispudgy body was seated, he leaned over confidentially and said, "Mebbewe better in Delafield, eh Neecky?" He shook his round head at hisfriend Biff, then nodded back at Fallon. "Eet look what ya call phoneythe way thees Barker don' look at us an' how he bring us here to theesspooky, dirty place, eh?"
"Just what I teenck!" Biff agreed in an undertone. "I get demcreeps--you know? Ever'ting eet should be fun eef Barker an' Frost fooldem bulls an' take us keeds from de school--eet should be fun eef theydo it because they no want us to do the stretch and feel dis seempathy,eh? But no--they act like we was goin' to funeral, yes Neecky?"
"Aw, forget it!" Nicky answered. "I'll admit I ain't got no yen forthis joint myself. But we ain't where we can say we'd like a niceup-to-date apartment. We gotta be glad we ain't startin' no longstretch at Delafield. I got a hunch Frost's kinda slippery an' Barker'sa queer bird all right, but what's that when they're keepin' us outathe hoosegow!"
"An' for thees, Neecky--what we do, eh?" Biff asked, squinting hissmall, brown eyes.
"I think," Nicky whispered, "they got a small job for us guys todo--see? Ain't we all done a job or two for ourselves, hah? So we cando a job for them if they ast us--see?" He turned to Skippy suddenlyand asked, "Ain't that right, kid?"
"Sure!" Skippy answered, conscious of an inward tremor as he said it.
"That's the kind of talk I like to hear, boys!" came a sepulchral voicefrom the doorway where Barker stood watching them. He was grave andunsmiling, and save for a certain steely glint in his staring eyes, hisface looked not unlike a cold, clay mask.
Nickie Fallon broke the tension with a forced, husky laugh. "You'nFrost give us a break, Mr. Barker," he said nervously, "we'd be shortskates if we didn't try an' square it."
"Of course," Barker agreed without any enthusiasm.
A silence ensued that to Skippy was tense. Barker continued to standthere and stare, and the boys sat rigid in their chairs until thewelcome sound of footsteps was heard coming down the stairs and alongthe hall.
Frost strode into the big room and in his wake was a tall, fair-hairedboy of about sixteen whose appearance was somewhat disheveled. He had awild expression in his light blue eyes and at sight of Barker a shadowcrossed his face.
"I been most crazy barred up in that dark hole since daylight!" hecried. "I thought you'n Frost would never come! Honest, I'll go nuts ifI ain't let out soon. Over a month an' two kids're gone an' I'm stillhere! Barker, it's givin' me the creeps--honest! It's worse'n if Istayed in the pen up in Al...."
"I've arranged for you to go tomorrow night, Timmy," Barker interposedhastily. And, nodding his long head toward the new arrivals, he added:"You'll have these boys to keep you company till then."
Timmy wheeled about, obviously unaware of the boys' presence in theroom until that moment. He drew a hand across his forehead as if dazed.Then suddenly, in a trembling voice, he said, "More!"
Skippy felt himself trembling too.