Slow and Sure: The Story of Paul Hoffman the Young Street-Merchant

by Jr. Horatio Alger

  CHAPTER XVIII.

  THE VALUE OF A CLOTHES-LINE.

  When Julius found himself alone and understood that his companions hadactually started on their illegal expedition, he felt that there waspressing need of action. He must escape by some means. While theprospect was that they would be captured, and so prevented fromreturning, on the other hand, one or both might escape, and in thatcase he knew enough of their savage and brutal character to realizethat he would be in the greatest danger. He rose from his bed, andbegan to devise ways and means of escape.

  The first and most obvious outlet, of course, was the door. But thiswas locked, and the key was in Marlowe's possession. Then there wasthe solitary window. It was on the third floor, and looked out into acourt. It was too high to jump from, and the only other way was by arope, but there was no rope in the room. Had there been a bedstead ofthe right kind, the bedcord would have served his purpose, but therewas no bedstead at all. With a democratic contempt for such a luxury,all three slept on the floor. The prospect was not encouraging.

  "I wonder if I could hang out of the window?" thought Julius.

  He looked out, and decided that he would run the risk of breaking alimb if he attempted it. So that plan had to be given up.

  Julius sat down and reflected. It occurred to him that perhaps Mrs.O'Connor's key (she roomed just beneath) would open the door. At anyrate it was worth trying.

  He stamped on the floor with such force that, as he expected, itattracted the attention of those beneath. Listening intently, he heardthe woman ascending the staircase. He began to jump up and down withrenewed vigor.

  "What's the matter wid ye?" called Mrs. O'Connor through the keyhole."Are you drunk?"

  "I'm sick," returned Julius.

  "Is it the jumpin' toothache ye have?" asked the Irish woman.

  "I'm awful sick. I don't know what it is."

  "Open the door, and I'll come in."

  "I can't. The door's locked, and Jack has gone away."

  Here Julius began to groan again.

  "Poor bye!" said the compassionate woman. "What will I do for ye?"

  "Try the door with your key. Perhaps it will open it."

  "I'll do that same."

  She drew out a key, and tried to put it in the lock, but to nopurpose. It would not fit.

  "I can't open it," she said.

  This was a severe disappointment to Julius, who saw his chances ofsuccess fade away one by one.

  "Have you got a clothes-line, Mrs. O'Connor?" he asked, suddenly.

  "Yes," said the good woman, rather astonished, with a vague idea thatJulius expected to cure himself by means of it. "And what for do youwant it?"

  "If you will go down to the court and throw it up to me, I'll get outof the window."

  "And what good will that do you?"

  "I will go for the doctor."

  "I'll go meself, and save you the trouble."

  "But he can't get through the keyhole."

  "Thrue for you. Wait a bit, and I'll do it."

  Mrs. O'Connor descended, and, obtaining from her room a well-wornclothes-line, went below, and, after two or three futile attempts,succeeded in throwing it up so that Julius could seize it.

  "Thank you, Mrs. O'Connor," said the boy in exultation. "I'll comedown directly."

  He soon had it secured, and then boldly got out of the window andswung off. In a minute he was by the side of his friend.

  "How do ye feel now?" asked the good woman, in a tone of sympathy.

  "Better," said Julius.

  "What made them lock ye up?"

  "They didn't think I'd want to go out till mornin'. Good-bye, Mrs.O'Connor; I'm goin' for the doctor. You can get your line in themornin'."

  He left the house with a quick, alert step, showing no furtherevidence of pain. Mrs. O'Connor noticed it, and wondered that heshould have got over his sickness so soon. Julius had been tempted totake her into his confidence and explain the real state of the case,but in the uncertain issue of the burglary he decided that it wouldnot be best.

  "Good-bye, old house!" he said, looking back to it in the indistinctlight; "I shall never come back and live here again. I'll go down tothe wharves and find a place to sleep the rest of the night."

  He turned his steps in the direction of the East River. He found anout-of-the-way corner on one of the piers, where he disposed himselffor sleep. It was nothing new to him. Scores of times he had spent thenight in similar places, and never found fault with theaccommodations. They might be poor, but the best of it was there wasnothing to pay, and he must be indeed unreasonable who could complainunder such circumstances. He fell asleep, but the shadow of recentevents was upon him. He dreamed that Marlowe had him by the throat,and woke up in terror to find a dock-hand shaking him by the shoulder.

  "Avast there!" said the man, who had caught some phrases from thesailors; "wake up and pay for your lodgin's."

  "All my money's in the bank," said Julius. "I can't get at it till thebank opens."

  "Not then, either," said the dock-hand, good-humoredly. "Well, I'lllet you off this time. Your wife's expectin' you home."

  "Are you sure of that?" said Julius. "I told her I was goin' to aparty, and she needn't expect me home till mornin'."

  "Well, the party's broke up, and you'd better be going," returned theother, good-naturedly.

  Meanwhile let us go back to Marlowe, whom we left hurrying home alittle past midnight, intent upon wreaking his vengeance on Julius forhis treachery. Had he found the boy it would have gone hard with him.The ruffianly instinct of the burglar was predominant, and he mighthave killed him in the intensity of his blind rage. But the foresightand prudent caution of Julius defeated his wrathful purpose, and whenhe reached the shabby room which he called home his intended victimhad escaped.

  Marlowe did not at once discover the boy's flight. He unlocked thedoor, but it was dark within, for the window looked out upon aninclosed court, and permitted only a scanty light to enter. Beforestriking a light he locked the door again and put the key in hispocket. This was to prevent the boy's escape on the one hand, and anyoutside interference on the other. Then he drew a match from hispocket and lighted a fragment of candle upon the table. This done heturned his eyes toward the bed with stern exultation. But this wasquickly turned into angry surprise.

  "The boy's gone!" he exclaimed, with an oath. "How could he have gotout, with the door locked?"

  The open window and the rope hanging from it revealed the method ofescape.

  Marlowe strode to the window with a feeling of keen disappointment.Was he to be robbed of his revenge, after all? He had depended uponthis with certainty, and meant to have it, though he should bearrested the next minute, and he knew that, though he had escaped fromthe house of his meditated crime, he was still in great peril.Doubtless Julius had given full information to the police of his nameand residence, and even now they might be in pursuit of him. He groundhis teeth when he thought of this, and clinched his fist in theimpotent desire for vengeance.

  "If I had him here," he muttered, "I'd crush him as I would a spider,"and he stamped angrily upon the floor.

  But where could he have got the rope? that was the next question. Heknew that there was none in the room, and how one could have beensmuggled in with the door locked was something that puzzled him.Julius himself could not very well have brought one in, as on accountof its bulk it would have attracted the attention either of JackMorgan or himself. Perhaps the woman downstairs might know somethingabout it, he reflected, and this led him to go down and knock at Mrs.O'Connor's door.

  After a little pause Mrs. O'Connor came to the door and opened it.

  "What's wanted?" she asked. Then, recognizing her visitor as one ofthe lodgers in the room above, she added, "Is it the boy?"

  "Yes; where is he?" demanded Marlowe, abruptly.

  "It's gone to the doctor he is."

  "Gone to the doctor!" repeated Marlowe, mystified. "What do you mean?"

  "He was taken sick jist af
ter you wint away, and as he couldn't openthe door which was locked, he pounded on the floor. My key wouldn'tfit, so he asked me to throw up a clothes-line, which I did, and thepoor crayther got out of the winder, and wint for the doctor. He'll beback soon, I'm thinkin'."

  "No, he won't," growled Marlowe. "He's a thief and a villain, and he'srun away."

  "Did I iver hear the likes?" exclaimed Mrs. O'Connor. "Who'd havethought it, shure?"

  "I've a good mind to wring your neck, for helping him off," saidMarlowe, forgetting in his anger the politeness due to the fair sex.

  "Would you, thin?" exclaimed Mrs. O'Connor, incensed. "Then my husbandwould do the same to you, you brute! I am glad the boy's gone, so Iam, and I hope he'll never get into your clutches again, you monster!Tim, wake up there, and defind yer wife from the thafe that's insultedher!"

  Before Tim O'Connor aroused from his sleep at his wife's call,Marlowe, with a smothered execration, retreated to his own room, andbegan to consider his position. He must fly. There was no doubt ofthat. Remaining in his old haunts, he would, unquestionably, fall intothe hands of the police, now probably on his track. He must get away,and that very night. Any delay would be dangerous. He must leave thecity and remain in hiding for the present.

  While he was making hurried preparations steps were heard on thestairs, and there was a loud knocking on the door.

  "Who's there?" demanded Marlowe.

  "Open, in the name of the law!" was the reply of the officers, who hadtracked him to his lair.

  "Wait a minute," said Marlowe.

  He rushed to the window and descended swiftly by the same rope whichhad given Julius deliverance (it had escaped the attention of theofficers, on account of the darkness), and while the officers werewaiting for the door to be opened he eluded their vigilance and madehis escape.