Tugs reached to push open the door, then stopped. Harvey Moore and the Rowdies were just passing. She stepped backward into the lobby. She read all the notices and Wanted posters on the wall. Then she read them again. She stood at the window and looked down the street. Life outside was going on like normal, people going about their business, while her world was one knotted mess.

“Anything wrong, young lady?” the clerk said.

Tugs hesitated. “No.”

“Well, then, you’d better get along. Your mother is probably expecting you.”

“Yes,” said Tugs. “I just . . . Yes.” She pushed open the heavy door and felt the hot air hit her face. She walked slowly down the steps.

“Tugs,” came a voice from behind her. She jumped. It was G.O.

“Hold up!” he said. “I’m not after you.”

G.O. slouched toward Tugs, his hands in his pockets.

“Thanks for sticking up for me back there,” said Tugs. “But . . .”

“You don’t have to worry about them. They’re on their way to the pool hall with Mr. Moore. He’s got some tricks to teach them. I’ll walk with you if you want.”

“Why aren’t you with them?”

G.O. was quiet.

“Oh,” said Tugs. “You shouldn’t have said anything.”

“Yep,” he said. “Mr. Moore doesn’t like people messing in his business.”

“Why did you?”

“You saved me at the three-legged when you hollered at Lester. My dad says pay back a bad deed once, a good deed twice. I guess I still owe you one.”

“There is one thing,” Tugs said, thinking about the Lindholms and their scavenging ways. “Do you think my camera box could be at your house? I left it at the park on the Fourth of July.”

G.O. looked at the ground. His ears reddened.

“Probably it is,” he said. “I’ll see.”

“OK,” said Tugs. “But about Luther and them, I thought you wanted to be a Rowdy. You can’t stir the pot like that if you want them to let you hang on.”

“Yep, I know. But funning around is one thing. I just want to hang out with Luther and them. Have a smoke. Pal around. So I followed them to the alley today. But Mr. Moore was talking about doing some kind of work, anyhow, and that’s not for me. Going to people’s houses. My ma says to stay out of other people’s houses or else. Though earning some coin is tempting. Finn and Frankie said maybe they’d come by for me tomorrow, and maybe they’ll let me help. I don’t know.”

“What kind of work was he talking about? Did he want them to do a crime?”

“Nah. Doesn’t sound illegal. People said they’d give Mr. Moore money for the paper. Now he’s got to collect it. But he’s got to hustle back to Chicago in a couple of days, he says. And it’s too much to do all on his own.”

Tugs studied the pavement as they walked. Collecting money at people’s houses. The Rowdies didn’t know that the money wasn’t really for the newspaper, and she was pretty sure Mr. Moore would find a way out of paying them, too. She nearly felt sorry for the Rowdies. They didn’t know a please from a thank-you. Most people probably wouldn’t even open their doors.

“G.O.,” said Tugs, “I don’t think that money is for the newspaper at all.”

“Then what’s it for?”

“I think he is going to steal it.”

G.O. whistled. “Try telling that to anyone in this town. No one will believe you. Everyone thinks Mr. Moore is the king’s pajamas.”

“My granddaddy Ike says that,” said Tugs.

“Says what?”

“The king’s pajamas.”

“So does my dad,” said G.O.

“But we have to tell someone,” said Tugs. “If Mr. Moore is hustling back to Chicago, everyone will lose their money.”

“Who are you going to tell?” asked G.O.

Tugs thought about the people she knew who could solve a problem. Aggie was the main one, and she’d written to Aggie. Thinking about Aggie made her think about her Fourth of July ribbons, which made her think about Miss Lucy and the display case. Miss Lucy was just the person. And she could watch out for the Thompson twins.

“We could tell Miss Lucy, at the library,” said Tugs.

“I don’t have a card,” said G.O.

“That doesn’t matter,” said Tugs. “Come on!” Tugs turned to start for the library, then stopped abruptly. “But if it is too late to mail a letter, it’s too late to go to the library today.”

“It’s probably all right,” said G.O. “Who is going to hand over money to the Rowdies anyhow?”

“I was thinking that, too,” said Tugs. “I guess it’s OK. I’ll tell my parents about Mr. Moore tonight. Just stay home tomorrow. Don’t go out with the Rowdies.”

“I don’t know,” said G.O. He turned to walk toward his house. “See you.”

“And stay away from Mr. Moore,” Tugs called after him.