“I’ll go with you,” he said, “though you have no right to make me, and I didn’t take your money.”
“What’s the matter?” asked the fruit man, who had hired Ned to assist in unloading the truck.
“Nothing much,” replied Cassidy. “This lad owes me some money and I’ll make him work it out.”
“That’s your affair,” the fruit man replied. “He’s earned half a dollar working for me. Here it is.”
He was about to hand it to Ned, but Cassidy took it.
“I’ll apply that on account,” he said grimly, as he marched Ned away.
The whole affair had occurred so suddenly that Ned did not know what to do. He was in a sort of dream. The appearance of Cassidy, the confiscation of the half dollar and the lodging house keeper’s evident intention of holding the boy to account for a theft he had never committed, made Ned think he was doomed to misfortune, no matter what he did to avoid it.
Then followed a natural desire to escape. He knew Cassidy had no right to take him into custody, and he felt the injustice of it keenly. The man held him loosely by the coat sleeve, and marched him along through the streets. Several persons turned to look at the spectacle, but no one ventured to interfere. New Yorkers have formed the habit of not taking much interest in affairs that do not concern them directly.
As they were crossing a narrow street in one of the thickly settled tenement districts a horse, attached to a wagon, and rapidly driven, bore down on them. Ned, with the instinct of a quick runner, started to dash ahead. Cassidy, who moved slower, pulled back toward the curb, to let the steed pass. The movement separated Ned from his captor, for Cassidy’s hold on the boy’s sleeve was broken. Ned was free!
The horse and wagon was now between him and the man. The boy gave a hasty glance back, and saw Cassidy standing on the crossing, ready to dash forward as soon as the wagon should pass. He could not go around it because of vehicles on either side.