“I’d like to know what they’re waiting here for,” he thought. “But they don’t seem at all inclined to tell me. We must be some miles from the border.”
It was only a little past eight o’clock when Pierre announced his intention of retiring for the night.
“What you going to do with the kid?” the little man asked. “One of us have to set up and watch him?”
“Non. I feex heem,” and going to a small closet at the back of the room Pierre dragged out about twenty feet of light but strong cord.
“I don’t see the need of tying me up,” Jack protested. “If you fasten the door so I can’t get it open there’s no way I can escape.”
“Mebby so but we tak’ no chance,” and the man proceeded to make good his statement.
Jack knew that to resist would only make a bad matter worse so he said nothing more but submitted without further protest. As the man bound the cord around his wrists and ankles he tensed his muscles to the greatest possible extent so that, although the man drew it with painful tightness, when he relaxed it loosened to a considerable extent. This accomplished Pierre next bound him securely to the back of the chair in which he was sitting.
“Now I tink mebby you stay put,” he declared as he stood back and surveyed his work.
“I think so myself,” Jack agreed, “but these ropes are going to get mighty uncomfortable before morning.”
“Oui, I tink so. You keep nose out of our beesiness no geet into trouble. No do so, must tak’ what you geet.”