THE DINNER
Dinner, consisting of soup, with a liberal supply of meat and bread,
was served to the prisoners at twelve o'clock, and, half an hour later,
the manager arrived to talk with his company regarding the proposition
to reduce the fines so far as was possible by giving a performance.
The "funny" man of the party acted as spokesman for his companions, and
Jet listened with deepest interest to the following conversation:
"There is no question about persuadin' that idiotic squire to give all
hands a few hours' liberty, if you agree to return here as soon as the
performance is ended," the manager began.
"And in what way shall we be benefited?"
"At least a portion of the fines will be paid, and it may then be
possible to get his consent to our moving on to the next town."
"How will you get there, if he insists on taking all the receipts?"
"There must be some kind of a bargain made whereby we can take
car-fares and expenses out of the show."
Although the majority of the prisoners were responsible for the deed
which committed them to prison, not one seemed willing to give an
evening's work, in order to pay a portion of the amount exacted.
The fines were so large in the aggregate, considering the value of the
property taken, that all felt as if it would be the proper thing to let
the town support them for a time.
To the manager the case presented itself in a different aspect.
He had made dates ahead, and if the company failed to keep them, after
having already disappointed the public once, his position would be that
of a veritable bankrupt with whom the owners of the halls would refuse
to transact business.
Therefore it was that he spent considerable time urging his company to
do as he hoped the squire might approve of, and finally, much to Jet's
mental discomfort, he succeeded in extracting a promise from each that
he would agree to go on the stage, and afterward return to the jail.
Then he went to try his powers of persuasion on the squire.
During the afternoon the other member of the party who was at liberty,
reported that the matter had been arranged satisfactorily, and
"dodgers" were now being distributed around the town calling upon the
people to aid in "rescuing from imprisonment a number of gentlemen,
whose exuberance of spirit rather than evil propensities, had plunged
them into sore distress."
More than one of the company predicted that the appeal would be a
signal failure, and Jet earnestly hoped these "exuberant gentlemen"
would prove truthful prophets.
Evening came, and with the shadows of night the constables arrived to
conduct the performers to the hall.
A supper of bread, cold meat, and tea had been served, and, save for
the severe headaches with which the intemperate portion of the party
were suffering, all were in reasonably good spirits.
Both the squire and the manager were at the door to take the money from
the charitably inclined, and the owner of the hall also stood near by
to make certain of receiving his rent from the first cash paid over.
Watching through the peep-hole in the curtain, Jet saw the constable in
whom he was especially interested seated near the stage, and for an
instant he resolved not to appear lest he should be recognized.
A moment's reflection, however, showed him that such a course would
unquestionably arouse suspicion, and he settled the matter by
blackening his face, a disguise which, under the glare of the
footlights, would prove most effective.
The inhabitants of the town did not respond very generously to the
"appeal."
When the curtain rose on the first act, there were hardly more than
enough in the hall to pay the actual running expenses of the evening,
and there was no longer any hope of being able to reduce the amount
owed for fines.
Both the manager and the squire looked despondent, the latter
particularly so, for he had saddled upon the town what might prove to
be a white elephant before the matter was ended.
Despite the discouraging state of affairs the performers did their
best, and the audience were delighted. Jet danced until it was
impossible to take another step, and then, on being called before the
curtain, was forced to bow his thanks instead of responding to the
fourth encore.
During all the time he was on the stage he had scrutinized the faces of
the spectators, but without recognizing any face other than the one
before him, and it was in a decidedly contented frame of mind that he
followed his companions back to jail after the result of the "show" was
made known.
By this evening's work, after the hall rent, printing and services of
the musicians had been paid, the company were able to reduce the entire
amount of fines exactly four dollars, and one of the party remarked,
laughingly:
"At this rate, by hard work, providing the people are willing to come
to a show every night, we may manage to pull through in about three
months, which won't be a profitable speculation, considering the fact
that we might have bought all the fruit for a dollar at the outside."
On the following afternoon Jet received a reply to his letter, and in
it Harvey said:
"Pay your fine and come out of jail at once. You can avoid our
constable by remaining with the company the greater portion of the
time; but it is necessary you should learn who the visitor is. Can't
you walk around that way now and then? I don't fancy Bob will stay in
the house all the time. This work can be done better now by you than
any one I could send, since the presence of a stranger in the little
village would attract attention."
While reading this Jet was busily engaged in trying to make some excuse
whereby he could do as Harvey ordered without arousing the suspicion of
his companions.
If he had paid the fine in the first place all would have been simple;
but reason must be given for leaving after telling the manager that he
did not dare to spend the money he had on his person.
A happy thought occurred to him.
Pretending to read after the letter was finished, he contrived, without
being seen, to take fifteen dollars from his pocket, and, holding them
up triumphantly, he cried:
"Here's enough with which to pay my fine, and I'll have more in a few
days if you fellows don't get out."
As a matter of course his companions supposed the money had been taken
from the letter.
Several tried to persuade him that it would be useless to spend that
amount when by waiting the squire might be forced to free them; but he
professed to be sick of life in a jail, and summoned the turnkey to
take him to the magistrate's office.
Twenty minutes later he was formally released from custody, and the
squire began to believe that two or three more days of imprisonment
would force the others to follow Jet's example.
He went at once to the hotel, paid twenty-four hours' board in advance,
and on turning, after completing this transaction, found himself face
to face with the manager.
"So you concluded that it wouldn't be so very much out of the way to
use some of that money, eh?" the latter asked, sarcastically.
"I wrote for funds, and got fifteen dollars by the last mail."
"Was that the best you could do?"
"It wasn't to be supposed I could pay the whole amount."
"No; but since you have friends with money enough to let you loaf
around this section of the country, I didn't know but that we might
raise a stake somehow."
Now Jet regretted having followed Harvey's advice, for if the manager
should make this same remark in the hearing of the constable, many and
grave suspicions might be aroused, for, of course, the man would be on
the alert for anything which needed an explanation.
"That's where you are making a big mistake," he said, with an
assumption of carelessness which was far from natural. "I only wanted
to stay here till I could get a job."
"That wasn't the way you talked when I met you the other day; but it
doesn't make much difference now, for I am beginning to see my way out
of this snarl."
"How?"
"There's a constable in this town who seems to be pretty well fixed,
and he gave me to understand that he might take the company out of
jail, providing I'd let him act as treasurer until the amount was paid."
"Which one is he?" Jet asked, trying hard not to betray the eagerness
for knowledge which he felt.
"The fellow who took you to jail."
"Are you pretty certain he'll make the trade?"
"Here he comes now to talk the matter over; it won't take us long to
find out."
Jet glanced toward the door, and saw the man in whom he felt so great
an interest.
The manager, eager to clinch the bargain, advanced to meet him, and the
boy, keeping his back toward the new-comer, managed to walk out of the
opposite door without being observed.
Now the one question in the mind of the amateur detective was as to why
this man should be willing to travel with the show.
It did not require many minutes for him to arrive at a satisfactory
conclusion.
"He has got a lot of that counterfeit money with him, and by running
the company through a number of towns some distance from here can pass
it," Jet said to himself. "Now, what shall I do if he makes the trade?"
The proper thing seemed to be to send a letter at once, and, going to
his room, he wrote a full account of what he had heard, concluding by
saying:
"To-night I shall lay around his house trying to get a sight of the man
who is visiting there."
This done he went into the office once more, and there saw the manager,
who was highly elated.
"It is all arranged," he said. "The fines will be fixed in some way
to-morrow, and we shall start once more. We only lose to-night's
stand, and then go on with a backer who has plenty of money. Will you
tell the boys of our good luck, while I make arrangements for sending
the posters ahead?"
Jet promised to carry the tidings, and stopped only long enough to add
the following postscript to his letter:
"The trade has been made, and the constable will leave here to-morrow
with the company. I shall loaf near his house this evening, and walk
to the next town to send you a telegram if I learn anything."
This letter he mailed in time for the night train, and then visited the
jail, delivering news which the prisoners were not particularly glad to
hear, since it gave them no immediate prospect for money.
"We have made up our minds to tire the squire out," one of them said,
"and I don't take favorably to the idea of working to pay the fines
when there's no real need of it."