Read it through once

In summer the pet pastime of the boys of Dawson's Landing was to steal apples, peaches, and melons from the farmers' fruit-wagons,--mainly on account of the risk they ran of getting their heads laid open with the butt of the farmer's whip. Tom was a distinguished adept at these thefts--by proxy. Chambers did his stealing, and got the peach-stones, apple-cores, and melon-rinds for his share.