skippy had two things to show his delighted father when they met at the railroad station a few weeks later, by which time skinner had confessed murdering josiah flint when mad with rage at having been caught stealing, and skippy’s grief over big joe’s death had become less poignant. one was the gawky mugs and the other a little satchel which he carried under his arm with the greatest care.
“what’s in there, skippy son?” toby asked after their outstretched arms had clung in an awkward embrace.
skippy winked at his father mysteriously.
“i waited to tell you now, pop—sort of as a surprise. it’s what buck flint calls redress money—money that old flint should have paid you and didn’t. and he says it’s for the price of the minnie m. baxter too. altogether he said he figured old flint owed you a thousand dollars with interest—see pop?”
196
toby was overwhelmed.
“what we a-goin’ ter do with it, son?” he wanted to know.
“whatever you say, pop. there’s enough to buy another minnie m. baxter and more besides, huh? an’ there’s enough to buy a nice hot dog stand somewheres up in the mountains where the doctor said i wouldn’t have no more bad throats. so what do you say, pop?”
“mountains, skippy boy,” said toby with shining eyes. “we’ll call our stand the minnie baxter jest the same, hey? ’cause didn’t she sort uv bring us luck in the end, after all? how’d we got all this money if she hadn’t uv burned up and that helped ter show up skinner and made buck flint feel sorry and that he ought ter make good. yessir we’ll call her that.”
a train announcer sauntered out of the big iron gates and in his sonorous voice called out, “mountain express on track number four ... cold glen ... pine ridge ... baxter....”
“did yer hear that, skippy?” asked toby excitedly. “there’s a place in them mountains what’s called baxter! seems like as if it was fate or somethin’! s’pose we jest try her fer luck. what do you say?”
197
“i’m on, pop,” skippy cried joyfully. “baxter for luck!”
and arm in arm, skippy and toby, with mugs sniffing at their heels, darted through the big iron gates on their great adventure.
