THE FELLOW IN THE LOCK-UP.
"You abominable wretch!" exclaimed Mrs. Boomsby, placing her arms
akimbo, and looking at me with the utmost ferocity, so that between her
and the snake I found there was little choice. "What are you a-doin' in
my house?"
"Getting out of it, Mrs. Boomsby," I replied, with the good-nature I
had been nursing up-stairs for several minutes.
I wondered whether she knew anything about the snake. The bare thought
was enough to assure me that she did not. She would no more have
permitted the captain, or any other person, to bring the most harmless
reptile into the house, than she would have opened her sleeping
apartment for the reception of the sea-serpent, in which both she and
her husband believed as in the ocean itself.
"What are you a-doin' here? Can't you let us be here no more'n you
could in Michigan? Must you pursue us wherever we go?" demanded the
lady, putting the matter in an entirely new light to me, for I believed
I had always been able and willing to keep away from the Boomsbys.
"I was invited up-stairs to see you," I began.
"Don't tell me that! Do you think I live in the garret?"
"I thought we were going rather high up; but I supposed Captain Boomsby
knew where to find you," I replied, smiling as sweetly as though there
were no snakes in the Land of Flowers. "But it seems that your husband
lured me up there to make a prisoner of me. He locked me into the
little room in the rear attic, which he had fitted up for me by
screwing boards over the window."
"Don't tell me such a ry-dicerlous story! I don't believe a word on't.
Nobody ever could believe a word you say, Sandy Duddleton!"
"You know very well that I was up there; for I heard your husband tell
you so. You talked with him about it, and insisted upon seeing me. But
I don't wish to dispute about this matter with you, for I don't think
you understand all his plans," I replied, moving towards the head of
the stairs, while she planted herself before me so as to prevent my
going down.
"Don't talk to me, Sandy Duddleton!"
"I won't talk to you if you will get out of my way, and let me out of
the house," I replied, trying to get by her.
"What be you go'n' to do with that stick?" she asked, as she placed
herself in front of me.
But I saw that she had a reasonable respect for the stick, and she was
milder than I had seen her twenty times before. I looked about me to
see if there was any other flight of stairs which would take me to the
street, or to the back yard, which opened into a lane by the shore of
the river. From the lower hall a door opened into the saloon; and this
was the way by which I had come up. I stood in the hall with my back to
a door, which I concluded must lead to the rear of the house. Without
turning around, I opened this door.
"What be you a-doin'?" demanded Mrs. Boomsby, when she saw that she was
flanked; for a glance behind me revealed the back stairs. "Parker
Boomsby, come right up here, this minute!" she called down the front
stairs.
"I won't trouble the captain," I interposed. "I have a word to say to
you before I go, Mrs. Boomsby. I don't think you knew there was a snake
about three feet long in the room where your husband made me a
prisoner."
"A snake!" gasped the lady of the house, starting back with alarm. "I
don't believe a word on't!"
But she did believe it, whatever she said.
"Yes, a snake; and I have no doubt he is a poisonous one, put there to
bite me, and make an end of me, so that the captain could get
possession of the steam-yacht!" I continued, rather vigorously, for I
was afraid I should be interrupted by the coming of the captain.
"A snake in this house! a pizen one, too!" groaned Mrs. Boomsby.
"He was put in the closet; and when I opened the door he came out and
made a spring at me. I left him in that room."
"Didn't you kill him, Sandy Duddleton? You used to kill snakes."
"I didn't kill this one, though I struck at him. I broke through the
door, and, for aught I know, the snake is following me down-stairs," I
replied deliberately. "I think you will see him coming down on the
stair-rail."
She did not wait to hear any more, but, with a tremendous scream,
rushed by me, bolted into the front room, and closed and locked the
door behind her. I certainly did not wish the reptile to bite her or
her children; but I did not think there was much danger of the villain
getting out of the room through the opening I had made in the door.
The scream of the stout lady did not appear to move her husband, who
was probably used to this sort of thing. I had put her on her guard in
case the snake did work his way out of the room and down the stairs. I
had done my duty, and I walked leisurely down to the hall. The door
leading into the saloon was still wide open. The uses of this door were
many and various. I had been not a little surprised in some of the
Southern cities to notice that the drinking-saloons were all closed on
Sunday. In some of them not even a cigar could be bought at the hotel
on that day.
Doubtless the law was as strict in Jacksonville as elsewhere; but I had
noticed that every saloon had a side door for Sunday use. The front
door of the house was closed on other days; on Sunday it was left open,
as an intimation that the saloon could be reached in that way. I
thought of this Sunday rum-selling as I noticed the arrangement of the
doors. Of course the police understood it.
I approached the door opening into the saloon, for I heard the voice of
my former tyrant. I wanted to assure him that I was happy still, and
that he had better look out for the snake before he bit any of his
family.
"He never could get out of there in this world!" exclaimed Captain
Boomsby, as I was about to enter the saloon.
"Do you think so, Captain Boomsby?" I coolly asked, as I walked into
the room.
To my astonishment, the person to whom the Captain's remark appeared to
be addressed was Mr. Kirby Cornwood, whom I had left on board of the
Sylvania, asleep under the awning. The Floridian was evidently as much
astonished to see me as I was to see him.
"We were speaking of a fellow who was arrested last night," said
Cornwood, with one of his blandest smiles. "I think he will get out of
the lock-up in less than three days; but the keeper of this place
remarked that he would never get out in this world. Only a slight
difference of opinion."
"I tell you the fellow will never get out; he isn't smart enough in the
first place, and the lock-up is stronger than you think for, Mr.--I
don't know's I know your name, though I cal'late I have seen you
somewhere afore," added Captain Boomsby.
"I reckon you have seen me here before," replied Cornwood, taking his
card from his pocket and presenting it to the captain.
"I can't read it without my glasses," said the saloon-keeper, holding
the card off at arm's length.
"My name is Kirby Cornwood," added the Floridian.
"Well, Mr. Corngood, do you----"
"My name is Cornwood," interposed the guide.
"I beg your parding, Mr. Cornwool."
"Cornwood," repeated the owner of that name, rather indignantly.
"All right, Mr. Cornwood. Do you want to bet sunthin' that man won't
git out within three days?" continued Captain Boomsby.
"I don't care to bet on it; in fact I never bet," replied Mr. Cornwood,
glancing at me, as though he expected me to approve this position,
which I certainly did, though I said nothing.
"I will bet five dollars agin three the feller gits out in less than
three days, Mr. Woodcorn," persisted Captain Boomsby.
I could not see what the captain was driving at, unless it was to vex
the Floridian by miscalling his name. I had known him to do the same
thing before. If my old tyrant had manifested some surprise at first at
seeing me, he seemed to have got over it very quickly. I was very glad
indeed to be satisfied that Cornwood had no knowledge of my
imprisonment in the attic, as I supposed he had when I entered the
saloon. I had employed him, and was then paying him five dollars a day
for doing nothing. I did not wish to believe that he was a friend of my
ancient enemy.
"Captain Boomsby, I had to break a hole through the door of the room in
which you locked me, in order to get out," I said, as soon as I had an
opportunity to get in a word.
"Then you must pay for it, for the landlord will charge it to me," said
he, promptly.
"I think not; and if it were not for the time it would take, I would
complain of you at the police office. I don't know what kind of a snake
it was you put into the closet for my benefit; but I think you will
find him running about your house by this time," I replied. "I gave
Mrs. Boomsby warning of the danger, and she has locked herself into her
room."
"What snake, Sandy Duddleton? What you talking about?" demanded the
captain. But I could see that he was not a little disturbed by the
information.
"You put a poisonous snake into the closet of that room where you
locked me in. You expected me to open the door of the closet, and let
him out. I did open the closet-door and let him out; but I did not give
him a chance to bite me," I continued, rehearsing the facts for the
benefit of Cornwood rather than my tyrant.
"What on airth are you talking about, Sandy? I don't know nothin' about
no snake," protested Captain Boomsby.
"I think you know all about the snake, and that you put him there for
my benefit. I have nothing further to say about the matter, except that
the creature is still in your house, and that he will bite one of your
children as readily as he would me. I advise you to attend to the
matter, and have him killed," I continued, moving toward the door.
"Stop a minute, Sandy," called my persecutor. "What sort of a snake was
it?"
"I don't know; I never saw one like it before."
"I guess I know sunthin' about it, arter all," said Captain Boomsby,
with a troubled look. "I had a lodger in the house, and he had an attic
room. He had a lot of young alligators, rattlesnakes, lizards, and
other critters; and I let him put 'em in that room. He screwed the
boards over the winder so they couldn't git out. I cal'late this was
one of his snakes."
I had no doubt this story was all an invention, but I had no means of
showing to the contrary. He begged me to go up-stairs, and help him
kill the "varmint;" but I declined to do this, for I was not willing
again to make myself the victim of his treachery. The captain called
his son Nicholas from the front shop, which was a cigar store, and told
him to look out for the bar.
Before he could go up-stairs two black policemen entered the saloon,
armed with sticks. Mrs. Boomsby had told them what the matter was, and
they had come in to kill the reptile. I left the premises, followed by
Cornwood.