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.

[92]“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?”[93] “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[94] 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[95] 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[96] 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[97] 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[98] 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.”