“No one told you anything of the sort, my lad,” said Trenwith, sharply. “You promised to go to Mr. Jamieson and tell him what you knew. No one made you any promises at all, except that you were told you wouldn’t have any reason to regret doing it.”
Jake looked at Eleanor balefully.
“She’s too sharp, that’s what she is,” he complained bitterly. “I might ha’ known she was playing a trick on me–gettin’ me to stay here and eat a fine supper. I suppose she went and sent word to you while I was doing it.”
“Of course I did, Jake,” said Eleanor quietly. “I telephoned to Mr. Trenwith even before you had your supper because I knew that if I didn’t do something to keep you here with us, you’d run away again. But I did it as much for your sake as for Bessie’s.”
“Yes, you did–not!” said Jake. “Why shouldn’t you let me go now, then, if that is so?”
“Listen to me, my buck,” said Trenwith, sternly. “You’re not going to do yourself any good by getting fresh to this lady, I can tell you that. You’re pretty well scared, aren’t you? You told her that you were afraid of what Holmes would do to you?”
But Jake, alarmed by Trenwith’s mention of the name of the man he feared, shut his lips obstinately, and wouldn’t say a word in answer. Trenwith smiled cheerfully.
“Oh, you needn’t talk now, unless you want to,” he said. “I know all you could tell me about that, anyhow. You’ve been up to some mischief, and they’ve kept on telling you that if you didn’t behave yourself they’d give you away.”
Jake’s hangdog look showed that to be true, although he still maintained his obstinate silence.
“Well, I happen to be charged with enforcing the law around here, and it’s my duty to see that criminals are brought to justice. I don’t know just what you’ve done, but I’ll find out, and I’ll see that you are turned over to the proper authorities–unless you can do something that will make it worth while to let you off. So, you see, you’ve got just as much reason to be afraid of us as of the gang you’ve been training with.