They had entered the room, and Jack tumbled into a chair, too tired to stand up. He looked about him and saw that he was in a small room with a low ceiling and dirty with what seemed the accumulation of years. The woman who had admitted them might have been anywhere between thirty and sixty years old, but so dirty and slack looking was she, that it was impossible to guess her age any nearer. He now got a good look, for the first time, at the men who had saved him, and saw that their appearance was wholly in keeping with their surroundings. The older of the two might have been sixty, while the younger was ten or fifteen years his junior. Both had hard rough faces, and his heart sank as he realized how completely he was in their power.
"Well, boy, have ye got yer wind back yet?" asked the older man.
"I guess so," replied Jack, "but I still feel pretty weak.
"S'pose so," grunted the man. "Now how'd ye get into the wet?"
"I was crossing on a ferryboat and some one came up behind me and pushed me over."
"Pshaw, ye don't say so!" exclaimed the younger man. "Now what de ye suppose he did that for?"
"I'm sure I don't know," replied Jack, and then as nothing more was said for a moment, he continued, "I feel stronger now, and if you will kindly show me to the street, I think I'll go, and," he added, taking a pocketbook from his inside coat pocket, "if you'll take this ten-dollar bill for your trouble, I'll still feel very thankful to you for saving my life." From the look on the faces of the two men, as they saw the pocketbook, he realized that he had made a grave mistake, but it was too late now.
"Not so fast, sonny," said the older man, "don't ye think yer life is worth more than ten dollars? Anyhow, Pete," he said, turning to the other man, "I reckon we can make mor'n that out of him, eh?"
"How much money ye got there, kid?" asked the man called Jake.
"About one hundred dollars," answered Jack, for he saw that they intended to have it, "and I'll give it all to you if you'll let me go now."
"What yer say, Pete?" asked Jake, but it was the woman who answered.
"Don't yer let him get away, Jake. Mebby his father'll think his life's worth a lot mor'n one hundred dollars."
"Good for ye, old woman, mebby we can work that gag." Then, turning to Jack, he asked, "Who's yer old man, boy?"