She willingly consented, as she was through with her ironing and thought to snatch a few winks of sleep herself.
The little boy slipped quietly through the house, noiselessly across the back-yard and into his father's big garden, which was separated from that of his neighbor by a high board-fence. He quickly climbed the fence, flew across Miss Minerva's tomato patch and tiptoed up her back steps to the back porch, his little bare feet giving no sign of his presence. Hearing curious noises coming from the bad-room, where Billy was bumping the chair up and down in his efforts to release his mouth, he made for that spot, promptly unlocked the door, and walked in. Billy by scuffling and tugging had freed his mouth from the towel that bound it at that moment.
“Hush!” he whispered as Jimmy opened the door, “you'll get eat up alive if you don't look out.” His tone was so mysterious and thrilling and he looked so scared tied to the chair that the younger boy's blood almost froze in his veins.
“What you doing all tied up so?” he asked in low, frightened tones.
“Mr. Algernon Jones done it. I spec' he's a robber an' is jes' a-robberin' right now,” answered Billy.
“Naw; you better not,” said Billy bravely. “He might git away. You leave me jes' like he fixed me so's you can try to ketch him. I hear him in the dinin'-room now. You leave me right here an' step over to yo' house an' 'phone to some mens to come and git him quick. Shet the do' ag'in an' don't make no noise. Fly, now!”
And Jimmy did fly. He again took the garden route and in a minute was at the telephone with the receiver at his ear.
“Hello! Is that you, Miss Central? This is me,” he howled into the transmitter. “Gimme Miss Minerva's beau. I don't know his number, but he's got a office over my papa's bank.”
His father being out of town, the little boy shrewdly decided that Miss Minerva's beau was the next best man to help capture the robber.
“Miss Minerva what lives by me,” he shrieked.
Fortunately Central recognized his childish voice and was willing to humor him, so as she too knew Miss Minerva's beau. The connection was quickly made.
“Hello! Is that you, Major? This is me. If you don't want Mr. Algernon Jones to be robbering everything Miss Minerva's got you better get a move on and come right this minute. You got to hustle and bring 'bout a million pistols and guns and swords and tomahawks and all the mans you can find and dogs. He's the fiercest robber ever was, and he's already done tie Billy to a bath-room chair and done eat up 'bout a million cold biscuits, I spec'. All of us is 'bout to be slewed. Good-bye.”