"Great Scott!" cried Arthur. "Can't we do anything for Roy before morning? Must he be put in a cell and—"
"By no means," exclaimed Rowe. "Your friend will fare as well at my home as you will here at a hotel. Beyond a doubt my guardian's steam yacht was in waiting at one of the piers along the river side, and Roy is probably half way to the island by this time. Of course the detective will stay with him till he gets there, for fear that Roy will jump overboard or do some other desperate thing to escape from Willis."
"Who is Willis?"
"He is my guardian's superintendent and my jailer. At least, that is what I call him, although he is very friendly to me, and has seldom interfered with me. When I ran away two years ago, he followed me up and put the detectives on my track. I'd got away sure, if it hadn't been for him."
"Of course if Babcock goes to the island he can't report the arrest to his superior before morning," said Joe, turning to Arthur. "So what's the use in going there (to the agency, I mean) before we can learn something?"
"I don't see why you should go to the agency, or give yourselves the least uneasiness about the matter," said Rowe. "As soon as Willis has taken a good look at Roy, he will know that the detectives has made a mistake, and then he will lose no time in setting his prisoner at liberty and sending him back to the city."
"We'll call upon Mr. Wilcox the first thing in the morning," said Joe, decidedly. "At least Art and I will, and you had best pack your bundle and dig out before daylight. As soon as your guardian finds out that—"
"He isn't at home," interrupted Rowe. "He has gone away somewhere on business, and that's why I am here. I took advantage of his absence."
"At any rate the search for you will be renewed when it becomes known that a mistake has been made, and if I were in your place I would not stay here. I think you were very imprudent to come to the city at all."
"That's because you don't know what extraordinary precautions I took to make everybody think I was going the other way," replied Rowe.