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DC Comics Presents
A Little Boy Blue ChristmasWith his mind racing even amidst the somnolent drone of fifteen typewriters click clacking away in unison, a young boy named Tommy Rogers had better things on his mind one December morning in 1942.
Tommy was a handsome, quick witted, brave youngster with a keen intellect. He was resourceful and capable and these traits allowed him to perform many tasks beyond the scope of a typical boy of his age; however, Tommy's typing skills revolved almost entirely around possessing unique speed and accuracy in typing one name: Debbie Roberts!
Tommy smiled in a slightly dreamy manner as he glanced down at his paper as it slowly rose out of the typewriter.
"Debbie Rogers. Mrs. Debbie Rogers. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Rogers."
His smile was swiftly replaced by a look of stolid concentration as he caught the eye of the small elderly woman who stood at the front of the class room in Big City Middle School. Mrs. Woofentweeter was benign but he didn't want his typing teacher to discover that his typing exercises consisting entirely of variations of the name of the young woman he had a crush on!
Thus, Tommy swiftly removed his paper and thrust it into his notebook.
"Tommy! Gently, gently!" cautioned the smiling old woman as she peered at the boy through bifocal glasses.
Tommy nodded politely and replied, "Sorry, Mrs. Woofentweeter!"
He spotted the wall clock and gulped.
"Three minutes until the bell that ends this period! I can't go just yet. I have to time this just right."
He calmly gathered his notebooks and pencils and tried to adopt a casual air as he stood up and walked to the front of the class and stepped over to the small pencil sharpener by the door.
"Broke my lead!" he murmured as he placed the pencil in the device and slowly turned the handle.
"Hey, Rogers, sit back down! Why've you taken your books with you?" said a smirking boy with nearly white blond hair and a rather coarse and cocky demeanor.
"Shut up, Dinford!" thought Tommy as he mentally winced at the loud words of his nemesis and their possible consequences. All he needed was for that bullying jerk to call Woofentweeter's attention to what Tommy hoped to be a smooth ploy.
The bell rang and Tommy darted out the door.
If he dropped his pencil, he didn't know or care! He hurried down the still empty hall and rounded the corner!
As he made his way down, he moved with the agility of an athlete as he deliberately chose a path that arched away from the rapidly opening doors of the classrooms lining the long hallway. He knew the exiting pupils would emerge and delay him unless he avoided the proximity of the opening doors.
He sidestepped around a tall girl who thought she looked like actress and sweater girl Lola Warner!
She sniffed dismissively as Tommy bounded by with a muttered, "Cuse me!"
He drew closer to the third classroom from the end of the hall and his heart beat a bit faster.
"The class has left...except for that weasel Harrington!" he thought as his excited expression became clouded.
He entered and saw the rows of now empty chairs with their attached and worn desks.
Tommy walked to the front after quickly smoothing down his hair.
He frowned as he saw a rail thin boy with dirty red hair and freckles moving away from the front of the room where the teacher was packing up her materials.
"Have a good day, Mike!" she said.
Mike Harrington -the Weasel nodded and walked by Tommy in a smug manner.
"That creep! Look at him smirk! He likes her too! I just know it! Boy, I'd like to get him alone in gym class for just five minutes!" thought Tommy as Mike stuck out his tongue and exited.
Tommy hurried to a desk near the front and said, "Good morning, Miss Roberts!"
Debbie Roberts looked up and smiled a warm and welcoming smile as she greeted the boy. She was twenty-two, petite, perky, and had light brown hair worn in a short pixie cut. She wore a pale yellow turtleneck sweater with a light brown skirt. To Tommy she was simply adorable!
"Hello, Tommy! How are you today?" she said.
"Fine! How are you?" he said eagerly.
"I'm okay. It's chilly today isn't it? Well, it is only 17 days until Christmas!" she said.
Tommy smiled in a slightly dazed way and said, "How are you?"
She smiled and said, "I'll be seeing you, Tom!"
He grinned foolishly and sat down.
He sat down and then seconds after the English teacher left to head for her next classroom for the third period, Tommy frowned.
"Chilly! Why didn't I say something like it's never chilly with your sunny smile around! I'm such a dummy!" he thought.
He sighed as his thoughts were disturbed by the noise of the rest of the class entering and taking their seats as Mrs. Jones the burly but good natured teacher took her place where only moments before Miss Roberts had stood.
Tommy frowned.
"I always get just a few precious moments with Debbie by rushing out of my second period typing class and getting to her second period room just before she leaves to head to her own third period room. If next semester's schedule puts us at different areas of the building during the day, I might not get to be alone with her at all!" he thought as he rested his chin on his hand.
"It doesn't help any that guys like Harrington the Weasel loiter around her and cut into my time! He's such a worm! How can she wish a guy like that a good day? Doesn't she know he's just a creepy suck-up?"
Class started and Tommy listened after rapidly writing down what Miss Rogers had said to him and how she had looked. His journal of "Debbie moments" was precious to him.
Later, as Tommy sat in the small cafeteria of Big City Middle School, he thumbed through a small but already worn and smudged book.
A good natured plump boy with a slightly unruly shock of blond hair sat across from him. He wore a green V neck sweater vest and brown slacks. He munched down on an apple as he reached into a rather unusually large brown paper lunch bag.
Tubby Watts frowned and said, "Say, Tommy, why do you still carry your yearbook around like that? We got 'em back in October! Surely, you aren't still having kids sign it?"
Tommy blinked and looked up from the page he had been staring at.
He had kept the yearbook tilted up slightly so not even his best friend Tubby could see just what page he had turned to. Had Tubby been much of a sleuth, he might have deduced that the battered book almost automatically flipped up to one page because of its frequent perusal!
Tommy had been looking at the faculty pages where photos of teachers like Miss Roberts, Mrs. Woofentweeter, and Miss Demming filled a few pages.
Tommy enjoyed looking at Debbie's picture and thus, the boy always carried the yearbook to school with him each day. He remembered how eagerly he had asked her to sign it back in October and he still felt warmth wash over him when he read her inscription.
"To Tommy, Keep reading! Best wishes for a bright and sunny future! Love, Debbie Roberts!"
He closed the book swiftly and said, "Oh, uh, well, gee, that is, would you like my pudding Tubby?"
Tubby grinned broadly and said, "Sure thing, Tommy! That would be swell!"
He eagerly scooped up the pale banana pudding from the other boy's lunch tray and forgot all about his curiosity as a contentment swept over him.
Tommy smiled and shook his head.
Later, he and Tubby exited the school and crossed the playground as wind blew across the field and pushed their scarves around with ease.
A loud whistle echoed across the field and Tommy and Tubby glanced up to see a beaming boy with a rather long and sharp nose and dark black eyes peering gleefully at them from atop a wooden fence.
"Hiya, fellas!" cried their pal Toughy Simms as the boy in a battered gray cap and nondescript shirt and pants dropped down with his casual agility and surety.
Toughy was a bit different from the other two boys. He didn't go to school very often. He spent most of his day doing odd jobs around town. The boy was a bit worldlier than his pals but then he had had to take care of himself since he was even younger.
"Hi, Toughy! What's up?" asked Tommy as he received a playful punch in the arm from the grinning boy.
"Well, I was just waitin' on you two bookworms to get paroled so we might knock about a bit unless you got chores or somethin'?" he said.
Tubby said, "I'm free. What do you want to do?"
Toughy said, "We could go to the clubhouse and suit up. Maybe, we could track some some Ratzi spies or mad scientists or just pretend to?"
Tommy said, "No. I sort of have to go home. Mom needs me to run some errands for her!"
Toughy draped one arm over Tubby's shoulders and said, "That's rough. Well, while our fearless leader keeps his Ma happy, the Blue Boys will make sure the clubhouse is free of Bundists!"
They laughed and called out good-byes as they reached a pleasant block of modest but neat houses.
Tommy ran up the steps and threw open a screen door which banged behind him and attracted his mother's attention.
"My goodness, Tommy! Do try to leave it on its hinges! You know your poor father is more like Dagwood than anyone else when it comes to house repairs! It's a good thing he's better in the courtroom than he is in the tool shed!" she said as she reached out to straighten her son's collar.
Tommy agreed as he thought of his father Dan Rogers the town DA. Dan was something of an idol to Tommy. The two enjoyed long conversations and Tommy admired his courageous father greatly. It was a desire to help the once beleaguered lawman that drove Tommy and his pals to don the homemade costumes that became their trademark in their roles as junior mystery men Little Boy Blue and the Blue Boys! That same desire to do good and have adventures had been fueled by reading accounts of the heroic deeds of other adult heroes like Wildcat, Mr. Terrific, and Green Lantern! The boys (Tom, Tubby, and Toughey) had used a ramshackle wooden shed as their HQ and had been remarkably successful in bringing in many smalltime hoods that frequented the small town because of its formerly bucolic nature.
"You know I think it shows the founding fathers were a bit screwy when they named this tiny place Big City!" Toughy had once announced.
"It's named from a derivative of Alexander Vander Bigge the Dutch settler who founded it. Over time, Bigge became Big!" Tommy had explained.
Now, Tommy wondered if he could spare the time to continue his crime busting duties when he had more adult things on his mind. He had developed a real crush on pretty English teacher Debbie Roberts earlier in the semester. Something about her had just carried him and his feelings away! He had not been attracted to her last year when she had actually been his teacher but something had changed in that year of growth and maturation and now Tommy was hopelessly smitten!
2
He put his books down on the table and then carried them back to his room as his mother reminded him that the table was no place for schoolbooks.
After doing so, he hurried back down the steps and said, "Ma, what did you want me to do today? I had to bail out on the fellas!"
She said, "Sorry, dear but it is for a good cause. I want you to run over to the Rutherford house and leave a tray for Mrs. Rutherford. She's feeling under the weather and I know a cold can really take a lot out of an elderly person like that!"
Tommy said, "I'm sorry to hear that. She's a real swell lady. I was kind of hoping she might bake some of her Christmas cookies for us again this year!"
Martha Rogers dusted off the table and adjusted her own apron before replying, "Now, Tommy, living on a fixed income means the poor old soul can't waste money or rationing coupons!"
Tommy nodded and said, "Sure, Ma! I sure wouldn't want my sweet tooth to help old Shicklegruber and his Goosesteppers win the war!"
Martha said, "You're a scamp! Now, hurry! I don't want the food to spoil!"
Tommy took the tray and hurried out of the house.
He smelled the inviting aroma of the meal below its carefully packed wrapper and his stomach growled.
"I'm getting as bad as Tubby!" he thought.
He whistled the new Ben Miller Orchestra tune "American Patrol" and stuffed one hand in his jacket pocket for warmth. He then removed it and balanced the tray up against his chest as he switched positions and put the other hand in his coat.
"Ma would really give me trouble over going out without gloves!" he thought.
As Tommy approached the old house in which elderly Mrs. Rutherford lived, he frowned.
"Her door's wide open!" he said.
He ran forward and put down the tray. One thing he knew for sure was that even in the rather idyllic town protected by heroic Dan Rogers and others; you didn't leave your house unlocked!
Tommy glanced inside and saw a startling sight. The house had been ransacked. He saw open cabinets, turned over tables, and as he reached the kitchen he found empty and hastily dropped drawers.
"She's been robbed! Gosh, I hope she's okay!" he said.
He moved swiftly and stealthily through the house until he realized that he was alone.
"With the nearby neighbors all at work, there's nobody around to tell me anything about her! Ma said she was sick too. That makes me doubt she would have left the house! Could she have been kidnapped? What would a gang want with a poor old lady?" he thought.
He called the police and gazed sadly down at the tray.
"If only I'd been quicker maybe I could have stopped them!" he thought.
Later, after talking to the police and returning home, a relieved Tommy sat across from a distinguished but still youthful man who wore a brown suit and smoked a pipe as he sat in a plush armchair.
"You were reckless to go in like that, son. If the thugs had been there you could have been seriously hurt. Still, you acted bravely and out of compassion and I'm proud of you. Just don't forget that you're not Little Boy Blue and shouldn't take such chances!" said Dan Rogers as he puffed on the pipe.
Tommy said, "Ah, Pop, I know it. I'm just glad we found out what happened to Mrs. Rutherford."
Dan Rogers nodded and stared off into space as he replied, "Indeed. Going to the hospital because her cough had gotten worse may have saved her from a rude surprise. I was very glad when Doc. Stone called me to explain her absence. I just hate for the poor thing to come home to such a sad revelation!"
Tommy said, "Me too. Maybe, the crooks can be caught before Mrs. Rutherford gets out. It would be great if her stuff could be recovered as quickly as she recovers!"
Dan sighed and said, "I agree. That would be something of a Christmas miracle though! The job was handled very well. There were no witnesses. These thieves may be tough to round up!"
Tommy nodded and thought, "Maybe, the crooks will strike again and the Blue Boys will be ready for them!"
3
That night Tommy did not fall asleep immediately. He rested in bed with his head cradled in his entwined hands and he gazed at the roof.
"I didn't even pay attention to the "Lux Radio Theater" tonight. Then again, "The War Against Mrs. Hadley" didn't exactly sound like it would have been much of a cliffhanger!" he thought.
His mind had been preoccupied with a dozen different ideas. He had pondered the problem of the robbers and how he and his pals could best handle the case. He had given some thought to the upcoming holiday and how much he looked forward to it. However, most of the time Tommy daydreamed about Debbie. He had never met anyone like her. He knew that if she only knew his secret she might learn to care for him in time. What was a nine or ten year age difference when two people were in love?
"Little Boy Blue might stand a better chance with her than I do but I can't tell her my secret. That could spoil things for the fellas too. Boy! I bet real mystery men like Superman and Green Lantern don't find themselves worrying about how their gals go for them more when they are in costume than when they are out!" he said.
He said, "Say! Maybe, I could show Debbie how I feel by giving her a nice gift for Christmas! With school ending for the holiday in around two weeks, maybe I can pick out a swell present. I'll have two weeks worth of allowance plus some savings to spend too!"
Tommy turned over after cutting out the lamp by his bed. He closed his eyes and determined to think only of "his girlfriend."
The next day found Herb "Toughy" Simms running down the street and deftly tossing newspapers in his wake. As one struck a mailbox and bounced through a shrub to land on a porch, Toughy smiled and said, "Toughy ole boy, Leo Durocher's Brooklyn Dodgers don't know what a find you could be!"
He made his way up the street and squinted a bit into the slowly rising winter sun as he glanced down at a headline on one of the papers he was towing along behind him in a battered old wagon he had taken from a junkyard.
"The Axis Bomb Philippeville harbor in North Africa!" he read out loud.
"Man! Those guys got to get theirs yet! It's only one day after the Pearl Harbor first anniversary and they just keep on going!" he said with a sigh. He spat on the pavement and then continued along until he drew closer to a pink house with a swing on the front porch and the now barren remnants of a Victory garden in the back.
"Kelly Walton's place! What a doll she is! She's a reg'lar Libby Lawrence!" he thought.
He grinned broadly as a shiny cab pulled up in front of the house and a very pretty young woman stepped out.
He frowned a bit as he noticed her blonde hair was now worn in a closely cut upswept style instead of in her customary peakaboo cut so called because of carefully placed lock that covered one eye of the wearer.
"Yoo hoo! Hi, there, Herbie!" she called as she paid the cab driver and blew a kiss to Toughy.
"How's it goin' Kelly!" he said even as he glanced left and right to be sure none of the guys heard her use his hated proper name.
She said, "Fine! I just finished my swing shift at the factory! See my new hair style? I had to cut it. They say the government's even asked Veronica Drake to do the same thing as a good example for all the gals in the factories!"
Toughy said, "Yeah? Well, you can't work on airplane engines with long hair. You still look peachy!"
Kelly giggled and said, "Got to scoot! Toodles!"
She walked up the drive and started to open her door when she realized it was already unlocked!
"Oh my! The door lock is broken!" she gasped.
Toughy heard her cry and turned around to check out the scene.
"What's up wit dis! Somebody done broke in the joint!" he cried.
He picked up a rock and pushed past the upset blonde to barge into the house only to find a scene much like the one which had greeted Tommy the day before at the Rutherford home.
Toughy said, "The mugs cleaned her out but good! I'd sure like to get my hands on dem!"
Kelly sobbed as she followed the boy around the now empty but forever altered home.
"Herbie, I only started working the swing shift four days ago! I could have been here asleep when they broke in otherwise!" she said in a trembling tone.
Toughy nodded and said, "Yeah, dat's no lie! It's a good thing you was working!"
He wanted to comfort her but even a knowing boy like Toughy could only do so much for an adult woman. He helped her get some water and then he called the police.
After the cops arrived, Toughy made himself scarce as he put it.
He finished delivering the papers and managed to intercept Tommy and Tubby as they made their way to school.
"We got trouble, fellas! There's been a robbery at Kelly's place!" he said as he gasped for breath.
Tommy said, "Kelly? You mean Miss Walton? That makes two robberies! I was just telling Tubby here about one that happened yesterday at the Rutherford place!"
Tubby said, "Gosh! Was Miss Walton hurt?"
Toughy said, "Nah! She started working at the factory. You know how they are takin on dames now that so many Joes are in the Army and Navy!"
Tommy said, "Ma invited her over for dinner around a week ago. She wasn't working then. She told me that she was applying for work though."
Tubby said, "I guess she just started and then this happened!"
Toughy rubbed one slightly grimy hand over his mouth and then spat.
"Say, you got that Egghead look in your eyes, pal. You got some kind of plan" he asked.
Tommy said, "Well, first Mrs. Rutherford's place was robbed in the middle of the afternoon when she just happened to change her routine and go to the hospital due to illness. Now, right after Kelly Walton started a night job, her place was robbed. It sounds like this gang knows everyone's comings and goings all right!"
Tubby said, "I guess they are locals or maybe they cased the places! I saw that in a movie at the Bijou!"
Tommy said, "Let's think this over some more after school! We'll meet up at the clubhouse!"
4
On the way home to the clubhouse Tommy and Tubby made on brief stop in front of the windows of Griffith Jewelry.
"You thinking about getting your Ma a necklace or something?" asked Tubby as he munched on a candy bar.
Tommy gazed up at a gold necklace and said, "Look, you won't rib me about this will you?"
Tubby shook his head and said, "No. You know you can trust me!"
Tommy hesitated and said, " I want to give Deb...Miss Roberts a gift. She's really nice to me!"
Tubby said, "You're sweet on her! I knew it! Well, that's okay. Don't let it get to you. She is very pretty. You know she reminds me of that singer/actress Julie Gumm from the Ralph Andrews movies and "The Magician of An!"
Tommy grinned and said, "Yeah! She does look like her but Debbie's even prettier!"
Tubby said, "That necklace would be nice but how can you afford it?"
He pointed to the displayed price and shook his head.
Tommy nodded and lowered his eyes in dismay.
"I couldn't pay that if I had eight weeks much less just two!" he said.
They continued on to the Rogers house and in the nearby vacant lot, they entered the wooden shack that they called HQ.
Toughy was snoring loudly from inside and as they entered he jumped up abruptly and cried, "Keep Em Flyin!"
Tubby laughed and said, "Calm down, Toughy. It's us!"
Tommy said, "Right. You must have been having a whale of a nightmare!"
Toughy shrugged defensively and said, "I was catching some shut eye so I'll be all ready for tonight. We may be going into action, huh! While you schoolboys was polishing apples and all that, I was snooping around town. The rats struck a third time today! They robbed old man Johnson! He's even offering a reward! The old miser is as mad as a wet hen!"
Tommy said, "Mr. Johnson's the wealthiest man in town! How'd it happen?"
Toughy said, "Johnson's on the draft board and he had to go up state for some kinda meeting. Well, he was too tight to let his staff get vacations when he might need them so he up and told them to clear out for their vacations this week while he was gone!"
Tubby said, "So, the mansion was empty but once again even the staff didn't know they were going to be gone! How'd the gang find out?"
Tommy said, "They seem to know when folks come and go even at the smallest amount of notice!"
Tubby said, "How can we know where the gang will strike? They hit Mrs. Rutherford's right after she went to the doctor! I mean they must have since my Ma talked to her at three and she was coughing something fierce."
Tommy said, "Right. I was there around 4:00 or so. The gang hit and cleaned her out within one hour!"
Toughy said, "Yeah, but with Kelly it was different. She works a swing shift from 10-7 so that bunch of mugs could have robbed her anytime after she left but before the cab brought her home!"
Tommy said, "Hold it, you said a cab brought her home?"
Toughy said, "Well, sure, she's a doll and all that but after working all night she didn't feel like hoofing it. Who could blame her?"
Tommy said, "Nobody. It just makes me curious about something. Mrs. Rutherford doesn't drive either. We don't have a bus or anything like that. How did she get to the hospital? Maybe, she took a cab too!"
Tubby said, "I didn't think a taxi company could make it in such a tiny town but the Ace Cab service has been doing big business according to something my Pop said over supper last night!"
Toughy grinned and elbowed the plump boy.
"Knowing how much yer ole man likes his grub, I'm surprised to learn he says anything between mouthfuls!"
Tubby said, "Ah, knock it off, Toughy. Seriously, that new cab stand is doing pretty well! With so many men in the service and many women not knowing how to drive, cabs are becoming real popular across the nation even in our town!"
Tommy said, "That gives me an idea! We know Johnson took his limo to the meeting so he didn't use a cab but just maybe one of his maids or the butler took a cab to go on their own vacation! Cabs may be the key that links all the crimes!"
Tubby said, "Say, maybe we can catch the gang and win that reward from Johnson. He came back real fast after he heard his place had been hit."
Tommy smiled as he realized that reward could enable him to buy Debbie the perfect Christmas gift if he could just solve the crimes and catch the crooks before school let out for the holiday!
5
The next day Tommy found his usual plan to get to Debbie's classroom quickly hit a sudden snag!
Dinford the bully blocked his path as he headed for the door of typing class and the bell sounded.
"What's the rush, Rogers? You got an appointment?" said the pasty faced, doughy bully.
"Lay off, Dinford!" said Tommy as he tried to step around the grinning boy.
"Make me, punk!" said Dinford as he grinned broadly and noticed Mrs. Woofentweeter had her back to the scene.
Tommy clinched his fists and then lowered them.
"I can't come on like somebody in a Kent Goble picture although I'd like to wipe that smirk off his face and show him up like Earl Errol in his swashbucklers! It would be cheating for a mystery man to beat up a normal kid!" he thought.
He frowned and said, "We're going to be late for class!"
Dinford said, "I knew you were yellow!"
He laughed and walked off as Tommy hurried out into the now crowded hallway.
He scanned the hall and felt dejected as he saw Debbie Roberts walking to her next class with Mike Harrington trailing along by her side!
"I just have to win the reward and buy her that necklace!" thought Tommy.
That evening as he sipped a glass of Ovaltine he looked up at his father who was reading the paper.
"Say, Pop, could I stay over at Tubby's house Friday night? His folks are going to be away and you know he gets a bit jumpy?" he asked.
Dan Rogers said, "Certainly, if his folks don't mind. He's stayed here often enough. I know I can count on you boys not to get into any trouble! Act like young men!"
Tommy said, "Thanks! We'll be good!"
He grinned as he thought, "This could be the break we need!"
When Friday came, after his parents had departed, Tubby called a cab and carried an empty suitcase out when it pulled up.
"Hi, young fellow. Where you headed?" asked the rough looking driver as Tubby climbed inside the back.
"I'm going to stay at my pal's house. 315 Elm Street. My folks are out of town and I'm sleeping over with my best friend!" he said.
His fingers were crossed as he told the fib which was for a good cause.
As the cab pulled away from the curb, the driver picked up his radio.
"Car 4 to base. Picked up on 124 Pearl Avenue. Heading to Elm. Will be empty soon and ready for the next trip. Should be a busy night!" he said.
The dispatcher replied via the radio.
"Right. We'll be right on it!" he said.
Tubby smiled as he watched the house pass by.
"Good thing I've got my costume on underneath!" he thought.
"If Tommy's theory is right, we'll be fighting the gang tonight at my own house!" he said.
Tubby got out at Elm Street and paid the driver before walking toward the house.
When the cab was out of sight, he turned and ran across the yard in the direction of his own house.
"Got to get back in time to help the guys!" he thought.
6
Meanwhile, within Tubby's house Tommy and Toughy had changed into their blue costumes and as Little Boy Blue and Blue Boy, they prepared for the possible robbery!
"When I heard Tub's folks were going to be away, I knew we could try to lure the gang here by having Tubby get a cab and let the driver know his place was going to be empty. That is, if the cab company is really a front for robbers. It makes sense since cab drivers get to know their regular passengers and their routines. They know when they go to work, they know when they get off. They even know things from talking with their customers about details like when their houses are empty. I can guess Mrs. Rutherford's hospital trip tipped off the cabby to the fact that her place would be empty. The same could be said for the other houses!" he said.
Toughy said, "Boy! It makes sense to me. All the folks hit had a cab ride in some way. Plus, the cab company is new to town! No robberies happened before dese mugs showed up!"
Tubby rushed inside breathlessly and joined them in the darkened house.
"I did it! Now, let's see what happens!" he said.
They concealed themselves as night fell and after a few hours they heard a vehicle pull up to the back of the house.
"A van! That's owned by the cab company! I saw it parked at the cab stand!" said Toughy!
Tubby said, "Gosh, I'm nervous! I never figured to fight crooks in my own house!"
Tommy placed his hand on his pal's shoulder.
"Don't worry, we'll take them down!" he said.
Toughy whispered, "Don't fret, chum! We got dem losers coming and going! All we gotta do is get dem to the back door!"
The back door swung open slowly as four men slipped inside.
"That lock was a snap!" whispered the first man.
The Blue Boys looked to Tommy and he nodded.
He and Toughy had previously rolled a handful of marbles across the floor and as they planned, the first man stepped directly on them and fall flat!
He cried out and his three allies drew closer.
"Some punk kid left his toys out!" laughed the second man. He was tall and like his pals he wore all black.
Tommy carefully hurled a baseball with precise aim and it smacked the second thief in the head.
At that moment all three boys let out loud war whoops and charged into battle!
Tubby flopped into the first thief as he regained his feet and his impact dropped the man again!
Little Boy Blue jumped off a chair to land on the tall man's back.
He broke an egg over the man's eyes and hung on tightly.
"We're being hit by some kind of dwarves!" cried a bald man.
Tubby recognized his voice from the cab radio. He was the dispatcher.
Toughy fired repeatedly with his slingshot and laughed wildly as his rocks knocked out the fourth man.
"Don't use your gun! We can't attract the cops!" warned the dispatcher as he struggled futilely with Little Boy Blue who had knocked the crook blinded by eggs to the ground and had used his back to spring at the leader.
Tubby smeared ink in eyes of his own foe and grinned as he saw Toughy tackled the remaining man.
They were winning!
The thieves had been blinded, surprised, and now were subdued as the three boys drove them back toward the rear door.
"Now!" yelled Tommy as he and his pals reached down to pull a hidden rope they had tied to the rear door.
The rope released a net made of a bizarre assortment of wires, blankets, and cloth.
The gang was covered and the three boys rushed forward to tie them up with another rope.
Toughy grabbed two guns from the gang members as they fought against the covering that nearly smothered them!
"Now, we call the cops and get the reward!" he said.
Little Boy Blue placed the call and gave his pals a salute of victory.
"That was Chief O'Connell! He's thrilled!" he said.
Tubby said, "He's a swell guy. Most adults wouldn't give us the respect he does!"
Soon, afterward the police arrived and led the gang off to the patrol cars.
Chief O'Connell, a benign looking fat man with white hair and a heavy mustache said, "Excellent work, boys! I have already had my boys pick up the rest of the gang back at the cab stand and inside the back we found almost all of the loot!"
Little Boy Blue smiled and thought, "Great! That means Mrs. Rutherford will get her stuff back before she gets out of the hospital! Pop and I can help her put everything back in place!"
Chief O'Connell said, "Oh, and boys, I have a reward for you from Mr. Johnson. You fellas can divide it up as you like!"
He handed Little Boy Blue a fifty dollar bill and the three pals grinned gleefully.
Later, back in their normal clothes, the three lads sat in their clubhouse and planned for the future.
"I'll tell my folks that we decided to camp out in the clubhouse. After all, they thought I was going to your place for the night anyway!" said Tubby.
Tommy said, "Right! I'd say the excitement about the attempted robbery will help us make them ignore certain fibs!"
Toughy said, "Boy, is this swell or what? We can live it up like kings!"
Tommy said, "I know what I'm going to do with my share!"
7
The next few days passed in a blur of holiday excitement until a nervous Tommy swallowed hard and approached Debbie Robert's classroom after final exams concluded.
She was as pretty as ever in a pink turtleneck sweater and matching make-up. She sat behind a desk and graded a few papers as Tommy stepped closer and rather hurriedly held out a wrapped gift.
Oh, Tommy! How nice to see you? Are you all set for a Merry Christmas?" she asked.
He said, "Yes, and I come bringing gifts!"
She said, "Oh, how sweet! You didn't have to do this. Shall I open it now?"
Tommy nodded and wiped his sweaty palms together as he felt a flushed feeling wash over him.
Debbie opened the box and said, "How pretty this wrapping paper is, too!"
She looked down at the necklace and said, "This is lovely! Thank you so much! It will be just perfect for church and special occasions!"
Tommy beamed and waited as he hoped for a hug or some more physical sign of her appreciation. He had played the scene out in his imagination more than once.
Debbie said, "Well, this is wonderful! You've made it a nice holiday already!"
Tommy said, "I'm glad. I'm really glad."
He stood at her desk hesitantly for a moment and then she said, "You have a great holiday, Tommy!"
He nodded and walked out slowly with his mind in a daze.
"She liked it but she didn't hug me or anything! Maybe, she couldn't at school and all! Well, she might send me a thank you note and maybe she'll write something swell in it!"
He left the classroom with mixed emotions and continual hope. That was the normal state for a young man like Tommy and that fact in and of itself spoke well for him and all boys like him!
He didn't know what the future would hold but it was Christmas! It was Christmas and that wonderful sensation of the anticipated and unknown filled him with good cheer.
Tommy spotted Dinford leaning against a locker and he yelled, "Merry Christmas, Dinford!"
The other boy frowned and then said, "Yeah, same to you!"
Tommy continued down the hall and slowly stepped out into the chilly air that was so alive with the sounds and smells and sights of the season!
"Merry Christmas!" he yelled as he glanced back at the school and then turned to head for home.
The End
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