"John D. Fitzgerald - The Great Brain At the AcademyUC - 4" - читать интересную книгу автора (Fitzgerald John D)

"Don't worry about it," Tom said. "My great brain
will figure out a way for us to have all the candy we want."

"You get caught smuggling candy into the academy
and you'll get demerits and punishment," Sweyn said.
"And if you get twenty demerits in one month you can be
expelled."

"What kind of punishment?" Tom asked.

"Peeling potatoes in the kitchen, cleaning the wash-
rooms, mopping and waxing the floors, and things like
that," Sweyn answered.

"They've got to catch you first," Tom said confi-
dently. "I'm getting hungry. Let's eat."

They got down from the rack the shoe box containing
the lunch Mamma had made for them. When Mamma
prepared a lunch she always made sure nobody went hun-
gry. There was enough for six people. Tom and Sweyn

14

ate their fill. There were still five pieces of fried chicken,
four hard-boiled eggs, five bread-and-butter sandwiches,
and three pieces of chocolate cake left.

The traveling salesman across the aisle spoke to Tom.
"The train doesn't stop for passengers to eat until we get
to Provo," he said. "I'll give you a dime for one of those
drumsticks and a bread-and-butter sandwich."

"How about a hard-boiled egg and a piece of cake
too?" Tom asked. The smell of money to him was just like
the smell of food to a hungry man. "It will only cost you
another dime."

"Sold," the salesman said.

Sweyn was shaking his head as Tom pocketed the
twenty cents. "You can't even ride on a train without turn-
ing conniver," he said. "Mom would have a fit if she knew
what you just did."

"The customer is perfectly satisfied," Tom said. "And
that gives me an idea. There must be other hungry passen-
gers on this train. I'm going to sell the rest of this stuff."

"You can't do that," Sweyn protested. "Only the candy