“I was locked in.”
“Who by?”
“I’ll tell you later. The key is in the padlock.”
“I see it.”
There was nothing belligerent or threatening in Bill’s behavior. On the contrary, he seemed anxious to please Tom and glad to do him a favor. This was so foreign to the usual attitude of the Barber boy, that Tom was both astonished and puzzled.
He noticed casually that Bill seemed more tidy than usual, and there was not so much of the hang dog look about him as in the past.
“Queer,” spoke Bill, staring perplexedly at Tom as the latter stepped out into the room. “You didn’t shut yourself up in there?”
“No, I’ll tell you how it was soon. Thank you, Bill, you’ve done me a big favor in coming just when I needed help.”
“I am glad,” voiced Bill, sententiously but heartily.
“I’ve something to do, so just sit down till I get things to rights, will you?”