Page:Castlemon--Joe Wayring at Home.djvu/136

 "Not directly. Look here," said Tom, suddenly stopping in the middle of the sidewalk and facing his cousins. "We've got our choice between two cliques, both of which have showed a disposition to make us do as they say. Now which one shall we take up with? I prefer Joe's. He and his friends are in the majority, and they are not one bit more overbearing than Prime and his friends. Besides, they will let us win a race if we can do it fairly, but the crowd we have just left want all the honors themselves."

"If you try to carry water on both shoulders you will be sure to spill some of it," observed Loren.

"I'll risk that," replied Tom, confidently. "I didn't ask Joe to take our names in to the club, but I'm going to before I am ten minutes older."

"Why didn't you ask Prime or Noble to take them in?" inquired Ralph.

"Because I didn't want Joe to know that we had become intimate enough with those two boys to ask favors of them. Now, then, here we are. You know Joe invited us to call as