“What’s wanted, boss?” he said.
“You’ve got a boy locked up in a room.”
“Who told you, boss?”
“He threw down a paper to me, telling me he was kept a prisoner.”
“What did he say?” asked Julius.
The young man read the note aloud.
“What have to say to that, you black imp?” he demanded, sternly.
The ready wit of Julius served him in this emergency.
“Dat boy is crazy as a loon, boss!” he answered, readily. “We have to keep him shut up for fear he’ll kill some of us.”
“You don’t say!” ejaculated the young mechanic. “He don’t look like it.”