He stopped speaking and stopped getting up at the same time. A glint of
silver on the sidewalk back of Mr. Barton caught his eye. It was a
half-dollar! Jerry sank to a sitting posture and gazed in rapt wonder at
this answer to an unsaid prayer.

"You _are_ hurt!" cried Mr. Barton solicitously and stooped to help
Jerry up. "Where does it pain you?"

"It's fifty cents!" cried Jerry, his lips unsealed at last, and he
scrambled eagerly for the coin.

"Well, there's nothing very painful in that, is there?" laughed Mr.
Barton.

Jerry rose, clutching the dirty half-dollar tightly, a light of joyful
anticipation in his eyes.

"There's not much need of asking what you will spend it for," observed
the drug clerk.

"For a ticket to the circus!" cried Jerry, his eyes sparkling at the
thought of future delights.

"I guessed it the first time," said Mr. Barton. "I thought I heard
something metallic fall on the sidewalk when you ran into me, but I had
such hard work getting my breath back that I forgot all about it."

Such a harrowing thought now popped into Jerry's mind that unconsciously
he closed his fingers entirely around the precious half-dollar. What if
it were Mr. Barton's! Perhaps he had knocked it out of Mr. Barton's
pocket when he ran into him. He had heard the clink of its fall just
after the collision, as he lay on the ground.

After a short but sharp struggle with himself, Jerry looked up and held
out the money to Mr. Barton. He tried to smile, but was conscious that
the twisting of his lips didn't look much like a smile.

"It's yours, I guess, Mr. Barton."

"Mine!" exclaimed the surprised drug clerk. "You saw it first."

"Yes, but I heard it fall just after I ran into you. I must of knocked
it out of your pocket. I didn't have no half-dollar."

"No more did I," replied Mr. Barton.

"You didn't!" exclaimed Jerry, and joy came unbidden back into his eyes
and there was a very different feel to his lips. He knew that it was a
real smile this time.

"Not this late in the week," Mr. Barton informed him. "It's too long
after pay day for me to have that much money. I've got just thirty-five
cents."

He drew some small coins out of his pocket.

"Yes, it's all here. The half-dollar must have been lying on one of the
boards that you struck in falling. Let's see it."

He took the money and examined it.

"It was almost covered with dirt," he said. "So was one end of both
boards. Hello! That's a funny blac