“Nothing. Our firebug must be an enemy of happiness.”
“Why don’t you have the Chief round up all such persons? Your firebug might be among them.”
“That might work. I’ll suggest it. Those people, though, are hard to find.”
“Come on,” said Johnny after a moment’s thought, “let’s get out of here, it makes me uncomfortable staying here. I’m afraid I’ll see it again.”
They left the grounds and took a car for Mazie’s house. There, amid the cushions in Mazie’s cozy corner and with a cup of steaming cocoa before him, Johnny managed to snatch from this night of unhappy dreams one little moment of happiness.
After that, having thought of his resolve to visit Ben Zook yet that night, he rose and bade Mazie good-night.
“Good-night, Johnny,” she smiled as they parted, “and good luck.”
“Let us hope for it,” Johnny’s smile was a dubious one.
CHAPTER XV
BEN ZOOK’S DIAMONDS
In the earlier days of Johnny’s experiences on the Chicago river, he had made many strange friends. Among them was an old man who owned a boat, a clumsy but quite seaworthy craft in which he was accustomed to paddle about the river and at times even on the lake. This boat had been kept in a small brick structure close to the base of a wharf. The old man had once shown Johnny where he kept the key and had told him to help himself to the boat whenever he needed it for a short trip. He had not seen this old man since his return to the city.