"I can"t tell. He may be here in five minutes; he may not be here before night."
"In that case," thought Jasper, "I had better be off as soon as possible. I should be no match for this brute in human form. Judging from what I have heard of him, he would kill me without scruple if he thought I were interfering with his plans."
"How long has this child been here?" he asked.
"Three or four days."
"I am going to take him away," proceeded Jasper, fixing his eyes earnestly upon the woman, to see how she took the proposal.
"No, no!" she exclaimed, quickly. "My husband won"t allow it."
"He won"t know it."
"It won"t do," she continued, rapidly. "He would kill you if he overtook you."
This was a serious consideration, truly. Jasper had no weapons, and a boy of his age would have been a poor match for a strong man, as the kidnapper probably was.
"After all, I had better not interfere," he thought. "It can do no good, and will only expose me to great danger."
But just at this instant the little boy"s soft hand slid into his, and he could not resist the touching appeal for his protection.
"I shall take the risk," he said. "I can"t leave the boy here. I will try to find his parents and restore him to them."
He had scarcely said this when the woman, who had casually glanced out of the window, started up in alarm, exclaiming:
"There is my husband coming! Oh, what shall we do?"
CHAPTER XIX.
A BRUTE IN HUMAN SHAPE.
Jasper could not help feeling that he was in rather a critical position.
A man whose business it was to kidnap young children in order to extort money from their friends was not likely to be very scrupulous, and the fear of having his secret divulged might lead him to extreme measures.
"Is your husband likely to come up here?" he asked.
"I don"t know; he may," answered the woman, anxiously.
"Can"t you hide me?" suggested Jasper.
"Yes, yes," she said, recovering something of her presence of mind.
"There, get into that closet. I"ll come and let you out when he is gone."
She opened the door of a closet in one corner of the room. It was quite dark inside, and except a stool, it was entirely empty.
"Sit down there," said the woman. "I must go down now."
She b.u.t.toned the door, and our hero found himself a close prisoner in the dark. It certainly gave him a peculiar sensation. Only a week before he had been at his Eastern home. Now he was more than a thousand miles away, penniless, and a prisoner. But though he was peculiarly situated, he was not discouraged. In fact, with a brave boy"s love of adventure, he felt a certain exhilaration and wondered what was coming next. His courage and enterprise rose with the occasion, and he began to consider what course he should take after he got out.
While he is sitting in the closet in dark captivity, we will go below and make acquaintance with the man whose arrival had produced so great a sensation.
Before going down, the woman said to the child:
"Don"t tell anybody about the boy in the closet."
"No, I won"t," said the child, obediently.
The woman hurried down stairs, but her husband was already waiting for her.
He was a black-browed ruffian, with a rough beard of a week"s growth. He threw himself sullenly into a chair and growled:
"Where were you? You"re always out of the way when I come home."
"I just went up stairs a minute, d.i.c.k," she answered.
"To see the brat, I suppose."
"Yes."
"I"ve a great mind to knock him on the head."
"Oh, d.i.c.k, you wouldn"t injure the little innocent," she said, earnestly.
"Wouldn"t I? I would if I was paid enough, but there"s nothing to be made by killing him."
"Thank heaven!" uttered the woman, fervently.
"You haven"t got the heart of a chicken!" said the man, contemptuously.
"Give me something to eat. I"m hungry."
The woman began to bustle around in obedience to his command.
"I haven"t got much in the house, d.i.c.k," she said, apologetically.
"What have you got?" he growled.
"Some eggs and a little bacon. Shall I make you some tea?"
"No; bring out the whisky."
"There"s none left, d.i.c.k."
The man uttered an oath expressive of disappointment.
"Well, give me some slops, then," he said. "I must have something to drink."