He had scarcely said this when the woman, who had casually glanced out of the window, started up in alarm, exclaiming:
"There is my husband coming! Oh, what shall we do?"
A BRUTE IN HUMAN SHAPE.
Jasper could not help feeling that he was in rather a critical position. A man whose business it was to kidnap young children in order to extort money from their friends was not likely to be very scrupulous, and the fear of having his secret divulged might lead him to extreme measures.
"Is your husband likely to come up here?" he asked.
"I don't know; he may," answered the woman, anxiously.
"Can't you hide me?" suggested Jasper.
"Yes, yes," she said, recovering something of her presence of mind. "There, get into that closet. I'll come and let you out when he is gone."
She opened the door of a closet in one corner of the room. It was quite dark inside, and except a stool, it was entirely empty.