Skippy looked at the decrepit bed in which he and Nickie were to sleep and his heart sank. There wasn't a breath of air save the occasional wisps of breeze that mysteriously found their way through the chinks in the shutters. He walked to the window and by stooping could look through the bars and see a rising moon casting a flickering gleam of light on water.
"Lake, me eye!" Timmy answered. "It's a swamp, that's what. You'll see how much when the moon comes up good. There's only a little back yard an' then the swamp begins."
"Say," Nickie whispered inquiringly, "you got somepin' on Barker an' Frost? What's the matter, anyways?"
Timmy got up and walked over to Fallon. "They got me scared, that's what! Barker's terrible--he's got me scared skinny an' I'll tell you guys why!" He tiptoed to the door, listened a moment and then came back. "Did _he_ help you guys crash outa reform?"
Nickie explained that they had not got that far before Barker had reached out a helping hand and gathered them in. While he was speaking they all moved toward the bed and sat down, there being no chairs in the room.
"So he kinda switched the deck with you guys for a change, hah?" Timmy commented after Fallon finished. "That proves what I say about him bein' a pretty foxy guy, turnin' a trick that maybe ain't gonna be so healthy for us in the end."
"It's a long story, an' if you guys ain't sleepy..." Timmy began.
"Say, lissen," Nickie interposed, "the kid'n me don't mind bein' put hip. I didn't like the way Barker bore down on you downstairs an' it give me the hunch mebbe he's too phoney even for us--see! So come across an' mebbe we won't get the short enda the stick."
"Sure I'll spiel, but that's all the good it'll do," Timmy said dismally. "We'll never get nowheres together, take it from me--Barker ain't lettin' us! He'll take us away from here, one by one, and so far the two guys that have gone from here ... anyways, I'll tell you what I think--Barker's a _killer_!"
They heard the scraping of a lock and suddenly the door swung open. A breeze from the hall blew out the feeble lantern light and they were in total darkness.
Skippy felt Nickie's hand on his arm and Timmy crowded up close to both of them. For a second there was no sound, then they heard someone move in the doorway and presently Barker's voice pierced the darkness.