Page:Ned Wilding's Disappearance.djvu/237

Rh started up the stairs, they met a red moustached man coming down. At the sight of him William cried out:

"There he is!"

"Who?" asked Bart.

"The man who took Ned away!"

The next instant the two boys were besieging Cassidy with questions. The lodging-house proprietor looked bewildered a moment, and then, gathering the import of what they wanted, he exclaimed:

"Oh, you're chums of his, eh? Belong to the same gang I s'pose? Well, you can't come any tricks on me! If that lad is your chum he stays here until he's worked out what he owes me!"

"What does he owe you?" demanded Bart. "Ned Wilding doesn't need to owe anyone anything."

"He owes me the money he stole!" Cassidy cried, "and I'm going to get it! Now, you fellows skip out of here or I'll call the police!"

"Can't we see Ned?" demanded William.

"No, you can't! He's got to stay here a week. Think I'm going to let you in and have you help him git away the way he did after he took my money?"

"He never took your money!" cried Bart.