The High School Pitcher | Page 3

to bring fifteen pennies."
"Yes, I remember," laughed Dick.
"Now, we couldn't have held that mob when school let out," pursued Dan. "And now it's too late. But say, if the Prin. had only sprung that on us before recess-----"
"Well, suppose he had?" interrupted Greg Holmes, a trifle impatiently.
"Why, then," retorted Dan, mournfully, "we could have passed word around, at recess, to have everybody bring just what the Prin. called for---pennies!"
"Hm!" grinned Dave Darrin, who was never slow to see the point of anything. "Then you had a vision of the unpopular Prin. being swamped under a deluge of pennies---plain, individual little copper cents?"
"That's it!" agreed Dan. "But now, we won't see more than a few before we go to school again Monday. Oh---wow! What a chance that takes away from us. Just imagine the Prin. industriously counting away at thousands of pennies, and a long line of boy and girl students in line, each one waiting to pass him another handful of pennies! Say, can you see the Prin.---just turning white and muttering to himself? But there's no chance to get the word around, now!"
"We don't need to get the word around," smiled Dick. "If we passed the word around, it might get to the Prin.'s ears before Monday, and he'd hatch up some way to head us off."
"If you can see how to work the trick at this late hour, you can see further than I can," muttered Dan, rather enviously.
"Oh, Dick has the scheme hatching, or he wouldn't talk about it," declared Dave Darrin, confidently.
"Why, if all you want is to send the whole student body on Monday morning, each with fifteen copper cents to hand the Prin., that can be fixed up easily enough," Dick pronounced, judicially.
"How are we going to do it?" asked Dalzell, dubiously.
"Well, let us see how many pennies would be needed? There are close to two hundred and fifty students, but a few might refuse to go into the trick. Let us say two hundred and forty times fifteen. That's thirty-six hundred, isn't it? That means we want to get thirty-six dollars' worth of pennies. Well, we'll get them!"
"We will?" demanded Dan, with a snort. "Dick, unless you've got more cash on hand than the rest of us then I don't believe a dragnet search of this crowd would turn up two dollars. Thirty-six? That's going some and halfway back!"
"There are three principal ways of buying goods of any kind," Dick continued. "One way is with cash-----"
"That's the street we live on!" broke in Harry Hazelton, with a laugh.
"The second way," Dick went on, "is to pay with a check. But you must have cash at the bank behind the check, or you get into trouble. Now the third way is to buy goods on credit."
"That's just as bad," protested Dan. "Where, in the whole town, could a bunch of youngsters like us, get thirty-six dollars' worth of real credit?"
"I can," declared Dick, coolly.
"You? Where? With your father?"
"No; Dad rarely takes in much in the way of pennies. I don't suppose he has two dollars' worth of pennies on hand at any time. But, fellows, you know that 'The Morning Blade' is a one cent paper. Now, the publisher of 'The Blade' must bank a keg of pennies every day in the week. I can see Mr. Pollock, the editor, this afternoon, right after luncheon. He has probably sent most of the pennies to bank today, but I'll ask him if he'll have to-morrow's pennies saved for us."
"Say, if he'll only do that!" glowed Dan, his eyes flashing.
"He will," declared Dave Darrin. "Mr. Pollock will do anything, within reason, that Dick asks."
"Now, fellows, if I can put this thing through, we can meet in my room to-morrow afternoon at one o'clock. Pennies come in rolls of fifty each, you know. We'll have to break up the rolls, and make new ones, each containing fifteen pennies."
Dave Darrin stopped where he was, and began to laugh. Tom Reade quickly joined in. The others were grinning.
"Oh, say, just for one look at Prin.'s face, if we can spring that job on him!" chuckled Harry Hazelton.
"We can," announced Dick, gravely. "So go home and enjoy your dinners, fellows. If you want to meet on the same old corner on Main Street, at half-past two to-day, we'll go in a body to 'The Blade' office and learn what Mr. Pollock has to say about our credit."
"Your credit, you mean," corrected Dave.
After dinner Dick & Co. met as agreed. Arrived at "The Blade" office it was decided that Dick Prescott should go in alone to carry on the negotiation. He soon came out again, wearing a satisfied smile and carrying a package under one arm.
"If I'm any good at guessing," suggested Dave, "you put the deal over."
"Mr. Pollock agreed, all