While Phil was gone below the stranger, recovering his senses, and seeing only a boy standing over him, looked up with cunning, yet imploring eyes.
“Say, kid,” he weakly began, “that was a bad blow you hit me. My head’s about to bust. You’ve tied my arms too tight. Please loose me. I won’t do anything.”
“No, you won’t! Not while I’m in sight! Remember how you and your pal, who’s been calling on you constantly, did for me when you caught me fast asleep? Not much will you get away! Just bank on that, will you?”
“I mean all right, boy. ’Deed I do! Just came back here for a few things that belong to us. Be a good boy. Turn me loose. I’ll go with you all right.”
“No, you won’t! We don’t trust you. Besides that, your pal’s begging us hard to fetch ‘Dippy’ back. Wants to see you and ask you why you shot him after stealing our car. Do you catch on?”
At this the man, whose head and shoulder was bruised and aching from the effect of Billy’s rubber tube, seemed to give up. But Worth had one more arrow. He produced the pistol, showed the man the one empty chamber, and said:
“Look here, Quinn. That’s your name or the one you go by, for Horr said it was. See that empty cartridge? I know these Smith & Wesson twenty-twos, for I’ve got one at home myself. We got the bullet, too. It glanced off and came out. You might as well own up now and thank your stars you didn’t kill your pal, or you would be in for murder as well as these other jobs.”
But before the man could make any rejoinder back came Phil with the suitcase which seemed quite heavy. In the other hand he carried the stranger’s black felt hat, from which Phil had brushed most of the dust and cobwebs and placed it on the man’s head as he now sat leaning against the edge of the tottering counter behind which the boys had found Billy after his capture by the two who attempted to escape with the Six.
“Can you stand and walk?” queried Phil. “We’ve got to put you in our car; the one you and Horr tried to steal.”
The man, now sullen enough, made no reply. Without more ado they helped him up and started with him towards the porch. Though his hands were tied, he went grudgingly until he saw the big, yawning open space made by Worth when the boy fell through both porch floor and the cellar roofing below. The sight seemed to nerve the man to a final effort.