Page:Castlemon--Joe Wayring at Home.djvu/213

 evil-minded and envious persons, who were never so happy as when they were listening to the story of some one's bad luck. George Prime and the boys who made their head-quarters in his father's store were delighted to hear that the squatter had begun operations against Joe and his chums, and hoped he would "keep it up" until he had stolen or destroyed every thing they possessed. They declared that they were sorry for Tom and his cousins, but when they came to say that much to them by word of mouth, as they did the next afternoon when Tom, Ralph and Loren dropped into the drug-store on their way to the post-office, they did it in such a way that Tom became disgusted, and left without buying the cigar he had intended to ask for.

"The more I see of those fellows, the less I like them," said Tom; and then he was about to open his battery of abuse upon Prime and his friends, when he discovered several of the Toxophilites coming down the side-walk. "I'll tell you what's a fact, boys," Tom added in a lower tone. "It's a lucky thing for us that we didn't buy those cigars. Here comes Miss