Chapter 20 - The Five Finger Discount
Maggie had to travel into town and decided to collect the boys from school. The older children had gone to play together, so it was just the three of them.
Her errand was at the Mercantile, so the boys followed her inside and waited while she found her purse.
The owner's wife, a sour faced woman by the name of Mrs. Collins - no-one had ever been told her first name - scowled as she saw the boys. She had heard about Han and, like most people, felt the boy must be trouble.
Han stood gazing around at the bottles and jars when he felt her sharp tap on his shoulder. "I'm watching you boy, you understand? You better be touching nothing in here, 'cause I'm watching you!"
Mr. Collins came out just as she was speaking. He offered a silent apology to Maggie and she nodded. He couldn't be held responsible for his wife's rudeness, and if he said anything to Maggie in her presence, the shrewish Mrs. Collins would make his life miserable.
Maggie started to talk to Mr. Collins about her order, while Mrs. Collins turned away to talk to some fellow gossips that had just arrived.
Han and Jed stood waiting, uncomfortable now. As Han's eyes ranged over the store, he saw a jar of sweets sitting on the counter. The lid had been left off.
He eyes moved around the store. No-one was watching. Like all children, he liked sweets, and he felt angry at Mrs. Collins for her rudeness. He wanted to get back at her somehow.
Jed was distracted looking at a display of new guns that had just arrived. Han moved away from him, closer to the jar.
Mrs. Collins and her friends were deeply involved in their gossip. Mr. Collins was looking up the price of Maggie's order.
Han was next to the jar. He turned slightly, making it look like he was reading the labels of the jars in front of him. Checking one more time to make sure he wasn't being observed, he quickly thrust his hand into the jar and pulled out a handful of candies, thrusting them quickly in his pocket. His eyes darted around the room one more time as he moved away. He saw Maggie watching him and he colored.
She turned back to Mr. Collins as he finished writing out her receipt. "Well, that's all for now, Mr. Collins. Just let me know when it comes in. Thank you."
She turned back to the boys, her expression unreadable. "Into the wagon, boys. Let's go."
They climbed up and drove away in silence. Jed could sense an atmosphere but he didn't know why.
When they reached the house, Maggie turned to Jed. "Jed, would you go inside and give us a minute?"
Jed walked slowly into the house, wondering what could have happened.
"Han, come with me." She led him to the barn and sat down on a bale of hay. As Han began to sit, she said, "No, you can stand."
He did as he was told.
"What did you think you were doing in there? After Mrs. Collins told you that she was watching you!"
Han flared up. "She had no right to say that, I wasn't doin' nothin'!"
"But you did do something. You did exactly what she suspected you were going to do. You proved her right about you."
Han flushed. "I didn't…"
"You proved that you were every bit as untrustworthy as she thought you were."
"But…" Han struggled to explain. Back there in the store, stealing the candy had seemed an obvious thing to do. He'd wanted to make her pay for her nastiness. Now he realized that Maggie was right. Mrs. Collins had suspected him of being a thief and she'd been right.
Maggie continued. "What if someone had seen you? Someone other than me, that is."
"No-one was watching me, I checked!"
"I was watching you. You didn't see that. And anyone could have looked up and seen what you were doing. Someone might have been looking through the window, did you think of that?"
Han hung his head. He hadn't thought about the window.
"What if they'd caught you? Can you imagine what it would do to David to have you exposed as a thief? He took a big chance on you when he adopted you, especially considering how you met! I'm sure he thought your criminal days were over when he brought you home, not that you'd be exposing him to public disgrace!"
Tears welled up in Han's eyes as he thought of his pa, and what people would think of David if his son was caught stealing.
Maggie watched him sadly. She didn't like doing this, but she needed to make sure he never tried to do such a thing again. "It's all very well to play at these games when you're here with Grandpa Curry, but that's all they should be, games. You've been hearing all the grand stories of fun and adventure, but he hasn't told you about the times when they had to hide out till the fuss died down, or the times when they got caught and took a beating for what they'd done. You could have ruined everything with your tricks today."
She had to make sure that he understood the seriousness of what she was saying, and she played her last card. "You were worried that Elizabeth might want to send you back when you got dirty - think how she would feel if you were caught stealing? And what would her parents say?"
Tears began to run down Han's face as he thought of what he might have lost.
"Do I have your word that you'll never do such a thing again?"
He nodded, his chest hitching with sobs.
"Your word, Hannibal Heyes."
"Yes, ma'am!" He broke down and started to sob.
She put her arms around him and held him tightly. When his crying stopped, she lifted his chin and wiped his tears. "Better?"
He nodded.
"Good. Give me the candy you stole."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the handful of sweets. He was glad to get rid of them. He thought that if he tried to eat them, they would choke him. He never wanted to see them again. He couldn't believe that he'd risked everything for a few stupid candies.