“That was a tough situation,” admitted Wolfe. “How’d you get out?”
“How did I? I wish you’d tell me. I crawled among those boxes and bales on all fours without having an idea where the door was. Just by good luck I found it. Only for that good luck, my bones would be lying this minute in the ruins of Dinsmore & Hyde’s old warehouse.”
“It was a mighty bad piece of business,” breathed Bern, shaking his head. “Only for that accidental fire the Merriwell crowd would have had us all pinched. I can see what would have happened to us. The fire gave us a chance to break away, for they had to take care of themselves, and they were all afraid of being nabbed by the police or some one. You see you can’t blame me for leaving you, Mike. I didn’t know what had happened to you, and I don’t think the others did. It was pretty rank of the Merriwell bunch when they skipped out and left you there. Seems to me it was up to some of them to look after you.”
“Well, they didn’t,” lied Mike. “But why didn’t some of you fellows come around last night to find out whether I reached my room or not? Toleman was the only chap who had decency enough to poke his nose in here.”
“Yes. He came back and reported you were here. We didn’t think it best to come around in a bunch just then. I’m the first one to show up this morning, ain’t I? Well, doesn’t that indicate that I take some interest?”
“Oh, yes,” mocked Mike, as he buttoned his collar and began knotting his necktie. “I expect you were so terribly disturbed over me that you didn’t sleep a wink.”
“Well, I didn’t sleep much,” confessed Wolfe. “I haven’t been doing much sleeping for the past two or three weeks. I’m getting thin, and I feel like a leftover jag the most of the time.”
“Don’t tell me how you feel. I’ve got a bump as big as a lemon here on my coconut. My head aches. My neck is stiff. My back is lame, and every breath I exhale smells of smoke. All on your account, too. And you come around here and growl! You make me sick. Get out of my way! Sit down!”
Lynch thrust his companion on a chair just as the door opened and other visitors appeared.
“Hello, you here, Wolfe?” he said. “We wondered where you were.”
“I reported last night, Lynch,” he said. “Let them know you were still on earth.”