Page:O'Higgins--The Adventures of Detective Barney.djvu/183

 streets. And Babbing explained to Mrs. Dart, one morning, in the natural course of conversation, that his son had been kidnapped in Chicago, some years previous, and ransomed for five thousand dollars; and since that time, another attempt had been made to steal him; and, in fact, they had moved from Chicago because of this second attempt; and Babbing had not felt it safe to leave Barney in a hotel in New York; and that was the real reason why they had sought rooms in a private residence.

Babbing blurted it all out in a worried rush, once he had begun it; and Mrs. Dart heard him sympathetically. She even volunteered to keep an eye on Barney in the afternoons, to make sure that he did not slip out while no one was watching him. Babbing was deeply indebted to her. It relieved his mind more than he could say.

When she had left the room, he spelled out to Barney on his fingers: “Watch yourself.”

And Barney watched, as eager as young