At least it required a pull at the bell to effect an entrance.
A slatternly woman answered the summons.
"Ben in?" questioned the boy.
"What do you want of him?"
"I want to see him. What do you suppose?"
"Well, he is asleep."
"Wake him up; my business can't wait!"
The boy's manner was an excellent imitation of the tough, and, half afraid to refuse, the woman reluctantly pulled open the door and allowed him to enter.
"He's in there," she said, indicating a room. "You can wake him yourself, for his temper ain't none too good at the best of times."
She went back to her work, and noiselessly Neil Lowell entered the room that she had pointed out to him.