Jerry was in a quandary. To a certain degree he felt responsible for her present forlorn condition. Suddenly an idea struck him.
“If you will come with me, I’ll see to it that you have a good bed to-night, and breakfast in the morning,” he said. “And after that I’ll see what I can do for you, Dottie.”
“Who are you?”
“My name is Jerry Upton.”
“You look like a nice boy and I’ll go with you,” and she placed her hand confidently in that of the young oarsman.
Jerry took the little one to Nellie Ardell’s apartments. Of course she was much surprised, and, sitting down, our hero had to explain everything as far as he was able. Nellie Ardell agreed instantly to take the little girl in.
“You can stay here until we can do something for you,” she said. “I know how it would feel to have little Tommy on the streets homeless.”
And soon after that Dottie was put to bed, very well content. Her hard life with Crazy Jim had made her used to ups and downs that no ordinary little girl could have endured.
The reader can well imagine that Jerry did not sleep much that night. He could not forget that Alexander Slocum had the precious packet of papers. Bitterly he regretted not having taken better care of the documents.
“I will call on Slocum, and come to some sort of an understanding,” Jerry said to himself. “Perhaps when I tell him that both Nellie Ardell and myself are ready to proceed against him he will be willing to come to terms.”