hooded
figure steadily watching him.

CHAPTER VI

HIS COMPANION IN PRISON

Shocks of terror, as they increase in number, apparently lessen in
effect; the repeated calls made upon Jimbo's soul by the emotions of
fear and astonishment had numbed it; otherwise the knowledge that he was
locked in the room with this mysterious creature beyond all possibility
of escape must have frightened him, as the saying is, out of his skin.

As it was, however, he kept his head in a wonderful manner, and simply
stared at the silent intruder as hard as ever he could stare. How in the
world it got in was the principal thought in his mind, and after that:
what in the world was it?

The dawn must have come very swiftly, or else he had been staring longer
than he knew, for just then the sun topped the edge of the world and the
window-sill simultaneously, and sent a welcome ray of sunshine into the
dingy room. It turned the grey light to silver, and fell full upon the
huddled figure crouching against the opposite wall. Jimbo caught his
breath, and stared harder than ever.

It was a human figure, the figure, apparently, of a man, sitting
crumpled up in a very uncomfortable sort of position on his haunches. It
sat perfectly still. A black cloak, with loose sleeves, and a cowl or
hood that completely concealed the face, covered it from head to foot.
The material of the cloak could not have been very thick, for inside the
hood he caught the gleam of eyes as they roamed about the room and
followed his movements. But for this glitter of the moving eyes it might
have been a figure carved in wood. Was it going to sit there for ever
watching him? At first he was afraid it was going to speak; then he was
afraid it wasn't. It might rise suddenly and come towards him; yet the
thought that it would not move at all was worse still.

In this way the two faced each other for several minutes until, just as
the position was becoming simply unbearable, a low whisper ran round the
room: "At last! Oh! I've found him at last!" Jimbo was not quite sure of
the words, though it was certainly a human voice that had spoken; but,
the suspense once broken, the boy could not stand it any longer, and
with a rush of desperate courage he found his voice--a very husky
one--and moved a step forward.

"Who are you, please, and how _did_ you get in?" he ventured with a
great effort.

Then he fell back against the wall, amazed at his own daring, and waited
wit