No answer.
“Okay. I’m leaving you now, but I’ll be back for that treasure. Don’t try any funny stuff or you’ll get hurt!”
The man on the roof waited a few moments for an answer. Receiving none, he shuffled across the tower to the ladder.
“I hope he doesn’t break all the rungs,” said Joe worriedly. “We won’t be able to get down.”
Again Frank patted his brother on the shoulder. “I noticed an iron pipe running from the top of this tower to the bottom,” he said. “If necessary, we can slide down the pipe.”
“How long do you think we should wait before trying to break out of here?” Joe asked.
Before replying, Frank pondered the situation. Not knowing anything about Hobo Johnny’s habits, he wondered how far away from the tower the man would go. If not far, the boys might find him waiting below and a tough person to handle. Finally, Frank decided that since the tramp had said he would return in an hour, he must be planning to go some distance away, perhaps to get a couple of his hobo friends to come back and help him.
“I’d say that if we leave in fifteen minutes we’ll be safe,” was Frank’s conclusion.
Every second seemed like an hour, but finally when the fifteen minutes were up, the boys lifted a plank and tried to push up the trap door. It would not budge.
“Where do we try next?” Joe questioned.