"Positive, sir. I haven"t seen Tim since that night."
"You may be speaking the truth, or you may not. I will talk with you again to-morrow," and Curtis arose from his chair.
"You don"t mean to keep me here?" said Dodger, in alarm.
"I shall be obliged to do so."
"I won"t stay!" exclaimed Dodger, in excitement, and he ran to the door, meaning to get out; but Curtis drew a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at the boy.
"Understand me, boy," he said, "I am in earnest, and I am not to be trifled with."
Dodger drew back, and Curtis opened the door and went out, bolting it after him.
Chapter XIX.
An Attempt To Escape.
While Dodger had no discomfort to complain of, it occurred to him that Florence would be alarmed by his long absence, for now it seemed certain that he would have to remain overnight.
If only he could escape he would take care not to fall into such a trap again.
He went to the window and looked out, but the distance to the ground was so great--for the room was on the third floor--that he did not dare to imperil his life by attempting a descent.
If there had been a rope at hand he would not have felt afraid to make the attempt.
He examined the bed to see if it rested upon cords, but there were slats instead.
As has already been said, there were no houses near by.
That part of the city had not been much settled, and it was as solitary as it is in the outskirts of a country village.
If he could only reveal his position to some person outside, so as to insure interference, he might yet obtain his freedom.
With this thought he tore a blank leaf from one of the books in the room, and hastily penciled the following lines:
"I am kept a prisoner in this house. I was induced to come here by a trick. Please get some one to join you, and come and demand my release."
Some weeks before Dodger could not have written so creditable a note, but he had greatly improved since he had been under the influence and instruction of Florence.
Dodger now posted himself at the window and waited anxiously for some one to pa.s.s, so that he might attract his attention and throw down the paper.
He had to wait for fifteen minutes. Then he saw approaching a young man, not far from twenty-one, who looked like a young mechanic, returning from his daily work.
Now was Dodger"s opportunity. He put his head out of the window and called out:
"h.e.l.lo, there!"
The young man looked and saw him at the window.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Catch this paper, and read what there is on it." He threw down the leaf, which, after fluttering in the gentle evening breeze, found its way to the ground and was picked up.
After reading it, the young man looked up and said: "I"ll go around to the door and inquire."
He was as good as his word. He went to the outer door and rang the bell.
Julius came to the door.
"What"s wanted, boss?" he said.
"You"ve got a boy locked up in a room."
"Who told you, boss?"
"He threw down a paper to me, telling me he was kept a prisoner."
"What did he say?" asked Julius.
The young man read the note aloud.
"What have to say to that, you black imp?" he demanded, sternly.
The ready wit of Julius served him in this emergency.
"Dat boy is crazy as a loon, boss!" he answered, readily. "We have to keep him shut up for fear he"ll kill some of us."
"You don"t say!" e.j.a.c.u.l.a.t.ed the young mechanic. "He don"t look like it."
"No, he don"t; dat"s a fact, boss. Fact is, dat boy is the artfullest lunytick you ever seed. He tried to kill his mother last week."
"Is that true?"
"Dat"s so, boss. And all de while he looks as innocent as a baby. If I was to let him out he"d kill somebody, sure."
"I never would have believed it," said the young man.
"If you want to take the risk, boss, you might go up and see him. I believe he"s got a carvin"-knife about him, but I don"t dare to go up and get it away. It would be as much as this n.i.g.g.ah"s life is worth."
"No," answered the young man, hastily. "I don"t want to see him. I never did like crazy folks. I"m sorry I gave you the trouble to come to the door."
"Oh, no trouble, boss."
"I guess I"ve fixed dat boy!" chuckled Julius. "Ho, ho! he can"t get ahead of old Julius! Crazy as a loon, ho, ho!"