Then Tim and Hen, by turns, told of their fruitless chase after Joe.
“We didn’t know who he was until you told us,” said Hen to the deacon, “but we suspected he was a burglar. Did he get much?”
The deacon told the details of the robbery, the fire and its extinguishment, and how he had set out to invoke the law on his runaway foster-son.
“I want him arrested and locked up,” he told the constables.
“We’ll have to catch him first,” said Tim, with a shake of his head, “and there’s no telling where he might jump off the freight. We’ll have to send out posters with his picture on, same as the regular police do. Were you thinking of offering a reward?” he asked.
“No,” answered the deacon. “At least not yet. We’ll try to catch him without one first. Later on—well, I’ll see.”
There was nothing more to be done that night, and in the morning Deacon Blackford swore out a warrant for Joe’s arrest.
CHAPTER XVI
THE SMASHED WATCH
Even larger crowds than attended on the first evening, greeted Joe Strong and Professor Rosello at the two following performances. The wonder of the disappearing trick, as well as the marvels of others, had been well spread throughout Lorilard by the small boys, and by grown persons as well, and many bought tickets determined to “see how it was done.”
But the stage-hand who let Joe down through the trap in the floor kept his own counsel, and though many persons said they were sure they knew how the feat was performed and that Joe must go down through the stage, since it was obvious he did not go up in the air, still they could not understand how the piece of paper was not broken.