leaning on his well elbow, johnnie related to mrs. kukor and cis and grandpa the whole story of what had happened to him; and they paid such rapt attention to him that at the most they did not interrupt him more than fifteen or twenty times. "and, oh, didn't everything turn out just fine?" he cried in ending. "t' be found by a cowboy and fetched home in a' auto! and—all?"
mrs. kukor vowed that she dass-ent to deny how everytink about it wass both stylish und grand!
next, he had to hear what had transpired after his departure; how every one had taken his going, especially big tom—now gone out to escort one-eye to the taxi.
"i tells to him, 'sure does chonnie go for sometink'," declared mrs. kukor. but barber had known better, and contradicted her violently. "und so i tells to him over that, 'goot! goot! if he runs away! in dis house so much, it ain't healthy for him!' und i shakes my fingers be-front of hiss big nose!"
mrs. kukor had to go then, remembering with a start that she had a filled fish cooking. she rushed out at a thumping gallop. then the whole adventure was told a second time, johnnie sitting up with grandpa's hat cocked over one eye, and drawling in fine imitation of their late guest.
when barber came back, he was not able to let matters[118] pass without a brief scolding for johnnie, and a threat. "y' go and git yourself laid up," he complained, coming to stand over the pallet on the floor; "so's you can't do your work, and earn your keep. well, a good kick was the right pay for runnin' away. and now let me tell y' this, and i mean it: if y' ever run away again, y' won't git took back. hear me?"
"yes," answered johnnie, almost carelessly.
barber said no more, realizing that if johnnie could run away once he could again. even without grumbling the longshoreman helped cis to put the wash to soak in the round, galvanized tub that stood on its side under the dish cupboard—a sunday night duty that was johnnie's, and was in preparation for the hated laundry work which he always did so badly of a monday.
late that night, in the closet-room, with the door shut and a stub of candle lighted, johnnie heard cis's story of what had happened in the flat following her return from the factory, her lunch still in its neat camera-box.
"i—i just couldn't believe it was so!" she whispered, ready to weep at the mere recollection of her shock and grief. "and, oh, promise me you won't ever go away again!" she begged, brown head on one side and tears in her eyes; "and i'll promise never to leave you—never, never, never, never!"
johnnie would not promise. "i'm goin' to be a cowboy," he declared calmly; "but after i go, why, i'll come back soon's as i can and take you. and maybe, after the prince is married, you'll forget him, and like a cowboy."
cis shook her head. hers was an affection not lightly bestowed nor easily withdrawn from its dear object. "i saw him go into the waldorf-astoria by the floor on the thirty-third street side," she recalled tenderly. recollec[119]tion brought a sweet, far-away look into those violet-blue eyes.
johnnie took this moment to fish from his shirt his five books, laying them one by one on the bed-shelf at cis's feet, from where she caught up the new ones, marveling over them.
"i thought there was something funny about your looks," she declared. "i kept still, though.—oh, johnnie smith, have you been robbing somebody?"
when he had enjoyed her excitement and anxiety to the full, she was told all about the book shop and the millionaire, and the lady, and the book with the dollar bill, after which he again showed those books which he had purchased with the money.
"oh, you silly!" she cried. "you didn't do anything of the kind! they bought 'em for you—all those nice people!"
it was hard to convince him, but at last she did, this by pointing out to him the price marked in each book, a sum that took his breath away. three dollars and a half apiece they were! more than ten altogether! ("und in kesh-money!" mrs. kukor marveled afterward, when she knew.) his eyes got a far-away expression as he thought about the generosity of those strangers. oh, how good strangers were to a person! it almost seemed that the less you knew somebody— but, no, that was not true, because mrs. kukor——
"tell me more about mr. one-eye," whispered cis. "but what a name for a man! he can't be called just that! how could you write him a letter? don't you know the rest of it, johnnie? it's one-eye what?"
"just one-eye," returned johnnie. "that's what they all called him. maybe cowboys don't have two names like common men. what's the good of two names, anyhow?"
cis was shocked. "everybody has to have two names,"[120] she told him, severely. "the first is yours, and is your mother's fav'rite, and the other shows who your father is. or maybe, if you're a second child, your mother allows your father to name you. but it's civilized to have two names, and not a bit nice if you don't—unless you're a dog or a horse."
johnnie lifted an inspired finger, pointing straight at her. "everybody?" he asked. "well, what about the prince of wales? his name is eddie. eddie what?"
"why—why—" she was confused.
"horse or dog!" scoffed johnnie. "don't you b'lieve it? you mean princes and cowboys!"
cis had to admit herself wrong.
"when i heard one-eye speak, that first time," he informed her, "i was afraid he was j. j. hunter, come for aladdin."
they laughed at that, fairly rocking. after which they returned to the more personal aspects of one-eye. "what makes him keep his hat on?" she wanted to know. "that isn't good manners at all. i just know the prince wouldn't do it. why, every time i saw the prince he kept taking his hat off. my!"
"cowboys always keep their hats on," johnnie asserted stoutly. "maybe if they didn't, their horses wouldn't know 'em. anyhow, they all do. don't i know? i saw dozens!"
well, if they did, then cis thought them a strange lot. "and do all of them chew tobacco?" she persisted. "because i'm sure he does."
johnnie was insulted. he denied anything of the kind. he grew heated, resenting this criticism of one who held that cowboys were noble. one-eye smoked—even when signs said he might not. and could any man smoke and chew at the same time? he did not believe it, though he was willing to admit that if any man could perform these[121] two feats simultaneously, that man was certainly the incomparable one-eye.
"anyhow, he's awful homely," continued cis, who could be as irritating as most girls at times.
johnnie rose then, cold and proud. "honest, cis, you make me sick!" he told her. "homely! huh!" he would have liked to cast an aspersion upon a certain royal countenance, just to get even, but feared cis might refuse to hide his books for him. however, he decided that he would never again be as nice as formerly to king george's son. he left the tiny room, nose in air.
she did not follow him with apologies. and presently he stole back to her door and moved the knob softly. "cis!" he whispered. "what's a vallay?"
she peeped out. "what's a what?"
"a v-a-l-l-a-y?"
"oh!—a valley's a scoopy place between two hills."
a scoopy place between two hills! how like a girl's was the answer! her candle was out, her tone sleepy. he did not argue. flat upon his pallet once more, with both hands under his yellow head, he smiled into the black of the kitchen, telling himself that he would not change places with any boy in the whole of the great sleeping city.
