ON BAIL.
When Uncle Nathan learned that the celebrated lawyer had made
preparations for this move on his part he was literally beside himself
with rage, and vowed that the warrant should be served and the prisoner
taken to jail immediately, or he would see to it that the constable was
deprived of his commission without delay.
"I've served the warrant," the man said, quietly, "an' now the prisoner
is in my custody. You have no more to say what shall be done with him
than that goat, so shut your mouth."
"I'll shut yours so close it won't be opened again for a month!" the old
man screamed. "Do as I tell you, or take the consequences."
"And I'm goin' to give you the same advice," Mr. Sweet cried, as he
advanced toward Uncle Nathan threateningly. "Now the boy has been
arrested, you are an intruder here, an' I'll give you thirty seconds in
which to get out; after that we'll make an example of such a reprobate."
"I'll go when I get ready, an' not a minute before. Lay a hand on me
an' I'll have a warrant for you."
"If you can get it, well and good. I now order you out for the last
time. In thirty seconds I'll guarantee you won't be in condition to
walk."
While their employer had been speaking the barker and the clown silently
ranged themselves by his side, ready for any commands which might be
given, and the infuriated old man had sufficient sense left to let him
understand it would be unsafe to linger.
"I'll serve you out before this thing is ended," he cried, shaking his
fist in impotent rage as he went toward the flap, and Dan, who could
control himself no longer, replied:
"You'd better begin on me, for I'm goin' to tell this thing to everybody
who comes to the fair to-morrow, an' from what I've heard it wouldn't
take much coaxin' to get the band from the Run up here, so's I could
sing it. You're havin' a good time now; but there'll be a different side
to the matter to-morrow."
Mr. Sweet had followed Uncle Nathan so closely, literally turning him
out, that he could not reply while inside the canvas; but once in the
open air, he made threats that would have frightened any one who did not
know the motive by which they had been inspired.
Meanwhile the constable appeared disposed to take matters in the most
comfortable manner. He asked Teddy why he wished to see Deacon Jones,
and the boy said:
"I don't know; but Mr. Harvey told me that if anything happened to-night
I was to see the deacon."
"Then we'll go there. Are you ready?"
Teddy thought of his money, and, fearing lest it might be taken from
him, asked if he could hand something to Mr. Sweet.
"I think not," was the undecided reply. "The deacon will know, an'
whatever he says I'll stand by."
"Don't bother about anything just now," the proprietor of the museum
said. "We'll all go with you, an' there'll be plenty of time to make
necessary arrangements before you're taken to jail."
Although the lawyer had assured him he could be involved in no serious
trouble, the mere fact that he was under arrest sufficed to make Teddy
wretched, and like one under sentence of death, he prepared to accompany
the constable.
Dan and Tim intended to join the party, as was shown by their remaining
very close to the prisoner, and only the barker and the clown were left
to care for the tent.
Uncle Nathan was met on the outside, and he immediately began to insist
that the boy be taken to jail at once; but the officer paid no attention
to his ravings.
"If you don't hold your tongue I'll knock the whole top of your head
off," Mr. Sweet whispered, brandishing his fists in the most threatening
manner, and the old man cried, excitedly:
"Mr. Officer, I call upon you to bear witness that this man is
threatening my life, and insist that you protect me from insult."
"I've nothing to do with you," the constable replied, with a laugh. "The
warrant has been served, an' all you've got to do is hold your horses
till the case is called up in court."
"Wait till I get home once more, an' then we'll see that he's got a good
deal to do with the case," Tim cried. "I'll spend every minute from then
for a week tellin' the folks that he only did this to make Teddy give up
half of what he made, an' it'll be a pretty poor kind of a chump who'll
do any more tradin' at his store."
Uncle Nathan stepped toward the boy who had spoken so boldly as if he
would inflict the direst punishment then and there; but he probably
realized that this would prejudice his case, and contented himself by
saying:
"We'll see whether the people at the Run will believe a couple of boys
who have been in league with burglars, for you mustn't forget, Tim
Jones, that I have proof you helped Teddy to carry away the burglar's
money."
"If it'll do you any good I'll own up to the fact now," the boy
replied. "It can't be so bad to do that as it is to arrest your own
nephew because he won't give you half his money."
"Don't say anything more," Teddy whispered to his friend. "It's only
makin' matters worse, an' he's got the upper hand of us all jest now."
"I don't know whether he has or not," the valiant Tim replied; "but at
the same time it'll do him a world of good to let him hear the truth."
At this point Uncle Nathan appeared to understand that he was not coming
out victor in this battle of tongues, and he wisely held his peace,
saying not another word until the little party arrived at the home of
Deacon Jones.
The manager of the fair was resting after a particularly hard day's
work. More than one of the citizens of Peach Bottom had openly said he
was responsible for the riot by allowing liquor to be sold on the
grounds, and his greeting of the visitors was not calculated to assure
the frightened Teddy.
"Well, what do you want?" he cried, roughly, as they entered his
library. "If it's anything concerning the fair I won't open my mouth. A
man can't be driven to death with work and then disturbed at all hours
of the night, simply to give the fools in this town a chance to make
trouble."
"All I know about it is that I arrested this boy, and he insisted on
being brought to you, saying it was Lawyer Harvey's advice," the
constable began, and the angry deacon immediately began to appear
interested.
"Is this your nephew, Nathan?" he asked of the old man, who now had a
smirk of confidence on his face.
"I'm sorry he is, deacon, an' after I set him up in business he goes
ag'in me by givin' information to burglars, who rob me."
"And you have had him arrested?"
"I felt obliged to in the interest of society."
"That's a lie," Mr. Sweet interrupted, angrily. "He tried to make the
boy pay him half he earned on the fair grounds, and has done this thing
only because Teddy refused."
"We won't go into the details of the case, because I am not a
magistrate," the deacon replied, with a majestic wave of the hand. "Mr.
Officer, tell the 'Squire that I am prepared to go bail to any amount,
and ask if the business can't be conducted here, for I'm too tired to go
out of doors unless it is absolutely necessary."
"What?" the old man screamed. "Will you answer for that little villain's
appearance at court?"
"That's what I said, Nathan. This affair is none of my business other
than I have stated; but I must say you are goin' a leetle too far, not
only in my opinion, but in that of others, an' it may prove a costly job
for somebody before it's finished."
The old man was literally speechless.
He could not understand why the deacon should have turned against him so
suddenly, and the last words made him decidedly uneasy.
He was not to be silenced without a struggle, however. After the first
surprise had died away he said, with a comical assumption of dignity:
"I will see whether I'm to be browbeaten in this manner. The 'Squire
does not dare to release the boy on bail, and I shall tell him so."
With these words he left the house hurriedly, and the constable said to
the deacon:
"If you will write a line to the 'Squire, saying that you're ready to go
bail, I do not think there will be any necessity of troubling you again
to-night."
This suggestion was immediately acted upon, and the weary manager of the
fair penned the following words:
I am ready to enter security to any amount for the appearance
at court of Edward Hargreaves, and if you should not consider
my bond sufficient, I am empowered to say that John Reaves, of
Waterville, will add his name, therefore there can be no good
reason for committing him to jail, since we are both
responsible for the prisoner until the bond can be executed.
A. JONES.
Having received this the constable departed with the prisoner and his
friends, and once on the outside he said, confidently:
"The matter is settled, no matter how much old Nathan may rave. Both Mr.
Reaves an' the deacon have got the 'Squire by the nose, and he must
dance to their fiddlin'."
That this assertion was correct Teddy realized a few moments later when
he was ushered into the 'Squire's dining-room, and the latter, without
paying the slightest attention to the prisoner, said to the officer:
"I have just heard that you served the warrant I issued, and then took
the boy to Deacon Jones' house. Is that correct?"
"Straight as a string, 'Squire. Lawyer Harvey told him if anything
happened to go there, an' I thought he had a right to look up bail
before being lugged off to jail. Here's what the deacon's got to say
about it."
The 'Squire took the paper which the officer held out, and after reading
it, said benignly:
"You were quite correct in doing what you did, Mr. Constable. This is
quite sufficient guarantee that he will be produced when wanted, and you
may let him go. Give me the papers, and I will indorse them."
After this formality had been gone through with the constable said to
Mr. Sweet:
"That settles the matter so far as Teddy is concerned, and with such men
as the deacon, Mr. Reaves, and Lawyer Harvey to back him, I don't
believe old Nathan will make any too much out of this job."
"You are free to go where you please," the 'Squire added, and the young
fakir with his friends left the house, wondering very much at the amount
of influence which, unsolicited, had been exerted in Teddy's behalf.
As for the boy himself, he was far from feeling comfortable in mind.
Unless the burglary could be brought home to Long Jim it did not seem
possible that Hazelton could be set free, and this last was absolutely
necessary in order to establish his own innocence.
It was a great consolation for him to be with such good friends,
however, and each in turn tried to cheer him, but without success until
Mr. Sweet said:
"There's no question of your getting out of the scrape with flying
colors, and to celebrate I'm goin' to give a regular dinner party to
every decent fakir on the grounds. Come over, boys, an' help me get
ready. Business has been so good to-day that I can afford to indulge in
a little extravagance."