There was a greater resistance than he anticipated.
"Good heavens!" thought Jack, in consternation, as the real state of the case flashed upon him, "is it possible that I am locked in?"
He employed all his strength, but the door still resisted. He could no longer doubt that it was locked.
He rushed to the windows. They were two in number, and looked out upon a yard in the rear of the house. There was no hope of drawing the attention of passersby to his situation.
Confounded by this discovery, Jack sank into his chair in no very enviable state of mind.
"Well," thought he, "this is a pretty situation for me to be in. I wonder what father would say if he knew that I had managed to get locked up like this? I am ashamed to think I let that treacherous woman, Mrs. Hardwick, lead me so quietly into a snare. Aunt Rachel was about right when she said I wasn't fit to come alone. I hope she'll never find out about this adventure of mine. If she did, I should never hear the last of it."
CHAPTER XXVI
DR. ROBINSON
Time passed. Every hour seemed to poor Jack to contain at least double the number of minutes. Moreover, he was getting hungry.