behind the motor car.

Next he addressed himself to the business of eating the apple. He rubbed
it shiny against his patched trousers, carefully hunted out the reddest
spot on it, and took a big, luscious bite. Instead of chewing the morsel
at once, he crushed it against his palate just to feel the mellowness
of it and to get the full flavor of the first taste of juice. Then he
chewed vigorously.

He started on to Mother 'Larkey's where he had made his home for nearly
three years, ever since Mr. Mullarkey, dead this year now, had found him
by the roadside one dark night. He had just started to take a second
bite when a shout stopped him.

"Hi, Jerry! What you got?"

Instinctively Jerry hid the apple behind him, for it was Danny
Mullarkey's voice that he had heard.

"Jerry's got something to eat!" Danny called over his shoulder to some
one out of sight. "Come on, kids!"

Jerry hastily swallowed the piece of apple in his mouth and bit off the
very largest chunk he could. He knew by long and bitter experience how
little would be left for him after the Mullarkey brood had all nibbled
at it.

Danny, who was past nine, reached him before Jerry could gulp down that
mouthful and take another bite, as he had intended to do. Chris and Nora
followed at Danny's heels, with Celia Jane, as usual, far in the rear.

"Save me a bite, Jerry!" called Celia Jane.

"Give me a bite of your apple, Jerry," coaxed Danny.

"Me, too," echoed Chris.

"It looks awful nice," observed Nora. "Where'd you get it?"

Jerry explained and handed her the apple first because she had not asked
for a bite. Nora bit off a small piece and was passing it on to Celia
Jane, who ran panting up to them, when Jerry stopped her by urging:

"Take a bigger bite than that, Nora. I want you to."

"Not till after you've had your turn again," replied Nora, who was
nearly eight and was celebrated in the Mullarkey household for a finer
sense of fair play than any of the others possessed.

Celia Jane was greedy and bit off so big a chunk that she could not cram
it into her mouth, despite her heroic efforts to accomplish that feat.

"That ain't fair, Celia Jane," reproved Nora. "Mother told you never to
do that again."

"That's _two_ bites!" cried Danny. "Take it out and bite it in two."

Celia Jane's mouth was too full for utterance. She held out the apple to
Danny, then freed her mouth of its embarrassment of riches and proceeded
to bite it in two.

"He