"Are there no laws in California?"
"None that will interfere with me. The people who live here are devoted to my interests, as you will find. I don't wish to hurry you in your decision, and will therefore leave you for the present. Your meals will be sent you at regular times, and I will call again to-morrow."
He drew a key from his pocket, opened the door, and left the room, locking the door behind him.
Florence sank into a chair, almost in despair.
CHAPTER XXVI.
A HARD-HEARTED JAILER.
Florence soon recovered a degree of self-possession, and began to consider the situation. The room in which she so unexpectedly found herself a prisoner was about fifteen feet square. There were two front windows, from which she took a survey of the neighborhood, which she had but slightly observed from the windows of the carriage. She could see no other house, and naturally concluded that this had been selected on account of its lonely location.
The distance from the window-sill to the ground was not over twelve feet, and Florence began to consider whether she could not manage to escape in this way.