“No.”
“Where is he?”
“He ran up the stairs.”
“You find that cat, or we will hang you.”
At that moment a cat was heard actually mewing in the hall, and there Ike sat in the chair under the gaze of all the men, and one of them said:
“By ginger, the lad tells the truth.”
Another of the men drew a club from his pocket and started for the hallway. He saw no cat and in a moment returned. In the meantime the men appeared to be confused and the man who had captured our hero, said:
“We must take care of this lad. Here, Martin, you take him upstairs, put him in the chain and secure him so he cannot get away, and we will decide upon his fate. I vote for hanging him unless he tells the truth.”
Ike showed signs of great fear and one of the men whispered:
“Hold on; you will scare him to death.”