He was standing before a window, when a stone from some quarter struck the pane and shivered it in pieces.
Joe was startled, and was gazing at the scene of havoc in bewilderment, when a stout German, the proprietor, rushed out and seized him by the collar.
“Aha! I have you, you young rascal!” he exclaimed furiously. “I’ll make you pay for this!”
By this time Joe had recovered his senses.
“Let me alone!” he exclaimed.
“I let you know!” exclaimed the angry man. “You break my window! You pay me five dollar pretty quick, or I send you to prison!”
“I didn’t break your window! It’s a lie!”
“You tell me I lie?” shouted the angry German. “First you break my window, then you tell me I lie! You, one bad boy—you one loafer!”
“I don’t know who broke your window,” said Joe, “but I tell you I didn’t. I was standing here, looking in, when, all at once, I heard a crash.”
“You take me for one fool, perhaps,” said his captor, puffing with excitement. “You want to get away, hey?”