“I’ve heard he has someone in mind for my job. But I don’t know whom I suspect. The thing has me completely baffled.”
“From what you’ve told me of Mr. Orris, it scarcely seems to me he would be the type of man to resort to a brutal attack. If I were you, I should be very careful about accusing anyone.”
“Oh, I know better than to do that,” Flash promised gravely. “But from now on, I’m trusting no one! And I may think of some scheme to trap that fellow, whoever he is!”
CHAPTER XX
OUT OF THE PAST
Flash awoke the next morning to find himself clawing the bed clothing and fighting for breath. He had been dreaming that he was locked in a death struggle with a masked man who had attacked him in a dark alley.
“Wow! What a nightmare!” he gasped. “Worse than the real thing!”
He became aware that someone was rapping on the bedroom door.
“Wake up, Jimmy!” his mother called. “It’s almost seven!”
His feet struck the floor. “Be right up,” he answered. “I didn’t hear the alarm go off.”
Dressing hurriedly, he snatched a cup of coffee, and raced out the front door just as his bus came into view. He barely reached it, swinging aboard a moment before the door slammed shut. Flash dropped a dime into the coin box and sagged into an empty seat beside an elderly white-haired gentleman with a cane.