“He went out for a little while,” replied Ned, quickly, not wishing to state Jerry’s real errand. “I guess he’ll be back in a short time.”
“He doesn’t know his way around New York; I hope he will not get lost,” spoke Mr. Wakefield.
“Trust Jerry to find his way back,” said Ned.
Then the party went down to supper without waiting for the missing member. Meanwhile, Jerry was in hot pursuit of Noddy.
“I wonder what he is doing in New York?” thought Jerry, as he jumped into an elevator that was just going down, and got out on the ground floor.
The boy ran out into the street and glanced in the direction he had seen Noddy taking. The thoroughfare was not crowded, and, though it was getting quite dark, Jerry caught a glimpse of Noddy’s back.
“I’ll catch him and ask him what he meant about that note he wrote, threatening to get even with us,” he thought, as he hurried on.
Noddy had quite a start, and Jerry had some difficulty in getting close to him. He lost a little time at a street crossing, where there were a number of vehicles, and Noddy got farther ahead. Jerry broke into a run when he saw a passage, and hurried on.
Noddy happened to glance back just as Jerry passed beneath an electric light, and seeing he was pursued, started forward at a rapid rate.
The pursuit was getting hot. They had passed from a busy part of the city and were on a street containing only old buildings. There were less people, too, and Jerry had a good view of Noddy.