"Are you ready to join our friends?"
And each time Jasper answered:
"No!"
"You must like staying here," said the old man.
"I am very tired of it," said Jasper, with a sigh.
"You can come out any time," said Nathan.
"Let me out now, then."
"Oh, no, my dear young friend," said Nathan, shaking his head, "not until you accept Jack's offer."
"Good heavens!" thought Jasper, "can it be possible that in the middle of a great city I can be imprisoned like this, with hundreds passing the house every hour? I wish I could be heard outside."
But this was impossible, owing to the peculiar situation of the room. The prospects of our young hero were certainly gloomy enough. But there's an old saying that the darkest hour is just before the dawn, and deliverance was nearer than Jasper supposed.