Again was it Monday, with the Ladies Aid Society in session. Jimmy was sitting on the grass in his own front yard, in full view of Sarah Jane, who was ironing clothes in her cabin with strict orders to keep him at home. Billy was in the swing in Miss Minerva\'s yard.

“Come on over,” he invited.

“I can\'t,” was the reply across the fence, “I\'m so good now I \'bout got \'ligion; I reckon I\'m going to be a mish\'nary or a pol\'tician, one or t\' other when I\'m a grownup man \'cause I\'m so good; I ain\'t got but five whippings this week. I been good ever since I let you \'suade me to play Injun. I\'m the goodest little boy in this town, I \'spec\'. Sometimes I get scared \'bout being so good \'cause I hear a woman say if you too good, you going to die or you ain\'t got no sense, one. You come on over here; you ain\'t trying to be good like what I\'m trying, and Miss Minerva don\'t never do nothing a tall to you \'cepting put you to bed.”

“I\'d ruther to git whipped fifty hunderd times \'n to hafter go to bed in the daytime with Aunt Minerva lookin\' at you. An\' her specs can see right th\'oo you plumb to the bone. Naw, I can\'t come over there \'cause she made me promise not to. I ain\'t never go back on my word yit.”

“I hope mama won\'t never ask me to promise her nothing a tall, \'cause I\'m mighty curious \'bout forgetting. I \'spec\' I\'m the most forgettingest little boy they is. But I\'m so glad I\'m so good. I ain\'t never going to be bad no more; so you might just as well quit begging me to come over and swing, you need n\'t ask me no more,—\'tain\'t no use a tall.”

“I ain\'t a-begging you,” cried Billy contemptuously, “you can set on yo\' mammy\'s grass where you is, an\' be good from now tell Jedgement Day an\' \'twon\'t make no change in my business.”

“I ain\'t going to be \'ticed into no meanness, \'cause I\'m so good,” continued the reformed one, after a short silence during which he had seen Sarah Jane turn her back to him, “but I don\'t b\'lieve it\'ll be no harm jus\' to come over and set in the swing with you; maybe I can \'fluence you to be good like me and keep you from \'ticing little boys into mischief. I think I\'ll just come over and set a while and help you to be good,” and he started to the fence. Sarah Jane turned around in time to frustrate his plans.

“You git right back, Jimmy,” she yelled, “you git erway f\'om dat-ar fence an\' quit confabbin\' wid datar Willyum. Fixin\' to make some mo\' Injuns out o\' yo\'selfs, ain\'t yeh, or some yuther kin\' o\' skeercrows?”

Billy strolled to the other side of the big yard and climbed up and sat on the tall gate post. A stranger, coming from the opposite direction, stopped and spoke to him.

“Does Mr. John Smith live here?” he asked.

“Naw, sir,” was the reply; “don\'t no Mr. \'tall live here; jest me an\' Aunt Minerva, an\' she turns up her nose at anything that wears pants.”

“And where could I find your Aunt Minerva?” the stranger\'s grin was ingratiating and agreeable.

“Why, this here\'s Monday,” the little boy exclaimed. “Of course she\'s at the Aid; all the \'omans roun\' here goes to the Aid on Monday.”

“Your aunt is an old friend of mine,” went on the man, “and I knew she was at the Aid. I just wanted to find out if you\'d tell the truth about her. Some little boys tell stories, but I am glad to find out you are so truthful. My name is Mr. Algernon Jones and I\'m glad to know you. Shake! Put it there, partner,” and the fascinating stranger held out a grimy paw.

Billy smiled down from his perch at him and thought he had never met such a pleasant man. If he was such an old friend of his aunt\'s maybe she would not object to him because he wore pants, he thought. Maybe she might be persuaded to take Mr. Jones for a husband. Billy almost hoped that she would hurry home from the Aid, he wanted to see the two together so.

“Is you much of a cusser?” he asked solemnly, “\'cause if you is you\'ll hafter cut it out on these premises.”

Mr. Jones seemed much surprised and hurt at the question.

“An oath never passed these lips,” replied the truthful gentleman.

“Can you churn?”

“Churn—churn?” with a reminiscent smile, “I can churn like a top.”

Jimmy was dying of curiosity but the gate was too far away for him to do more than catch a word now and then. It was also out of Sarah Jane\'s visual line, so she knew nothing of the stranger\'s advent.

“And you\'re here all by yourself?” insinuated Billy\'s new friend. “And the folks next door, where are they?”

“Mrs. Garner\'s at the Aid an\' Mr. Garner\'s gone to Memphis. That is they little boy a-settin\' in they yard on they grass,” answered the child.

“I\'ve come to fix your Aunt Minerva\'s water pipe,” said truth-loving Mr. Jones. “Come, show me the way; I\'m the plumber.”

“In the bath-room?” asked the child. “I did n\' know it needed no fixin\'.”

He led the agreeable plumber through the hall, down the long back-porch to the bathroom, remarking “I\'ll jes\' watch you work.” And he seated himself in the only chair.

Here is where Billy received one of the greatest surprises of his life. The fascinating stranger grabbed him with a rough hand and hissed:

“Don\'t you dare open your mouth or I\'ll crack your head open and scatter your brains. I\'ll eat you alive.”

The fierce, bloodshot eyes, which had seemed so laughing and merry before, now glared into those of the little boy as the man took a stout cord from his pocket, bound Billy to the chair, and gagged him with a large bath towel. Energetic Mr. Jones took the key out of the door, shook his fist at the child, went out, and locked the door behind him.

Jimmy, seeing no hope of eluding Sarah Jane\'s vigilance, resorted to strategy and deceit.

“\'Tain\'t no fun setting out here,” he called to her, “so I \'m going in the house and take a nap.”

She willingly consented, as she was through with her ironing and thought to snatch a few winks of sleep herself.

The little boy slipped quietly through the house, noiselessly across the back-yard and into his father\'s big garden, which was separated from that of his neighbor by a high board-fence. He quickly climbed the fence, flew across Miss Minerva\'s tomato patch and tiptoed up her back steps to the back porch, his little bare feet giving no sign of his presence. Hearing curious noises coming from the bad-room, where Billy was bumping the chair up and down in his efforts to release his mouth, he made for that spot, promptly unlocked the door, and walked in. Billy by scuffling and tugging had freed his mouth from the towel that bound it at that moment.

“Hush!” he whispered as Jimmy opened the door, “you\'ll get eat up alive if you don\'t look out.” His tone was so mysterious and thrilling and he looked so scared tied to the chair that the younger boy\'s blood almost froze in his veins.

“What you doing all tied up so?” he asked in low, frightened tones.

“Mr. Algernon Jones done it. I spec\' he\'s a robber an\' is jes\' a-robberin\' right now,” answered Billy.

“I\'ll untie you,” said his chum.

“Naw; you better not,” said Billy bravely. “He might git away. You leave me jes\' like he fixed me so\'s you can try to ketch him. I hear him in the dinin\'-room now. You leave me right here an\' step over to yo\' house an\' \'phone to some mens to come and git him quick. Shet the do\' ag\'in an\' don\'t make no noise. Fly, now!”

And Jimmy did fly. He again took the garden route and in a minute was at t............