dvanced to carry him to jail was none other than a member
of that party of alleged tramps who had attempted to rob him on the
railroad track, and consequently a pal of the murderers.

The fellow was unquestionably at the house in the woods when Harvey and
his men were besieged, and had since then returned to this town, where,
of course, he lived.

The question in Jet's mind now was as to whether Bob and the others had
accompanied this one.

"Being arrested may turn out to be a mighty good thing, after all," he
said to himself, "and I wouldn't be surprised if I held off a long
while before paying my fine."

CHAPTER XVIII

JAIL LIFE

The manager of the minstrel company was, and quite naturally, in a high
state of excitement when his people were marched off to the lock-up.

If he was not able to raise sufficient money to pay for the railroad
tickets, it was useless to think he could satisfy the claim which
alleged justice had against the men.

To remain there even for twenty-four hours without giving a performance
would result in utter bankruptcy, and in case he was willing to desert
the company he did not have money enough to go out of the town, except
by leaving the baggage behind and walking.

An hour after the now saddened minstrels had been lodged behind the
bars the manager called upon them.

"I've been trying to chin that old fool of a squire into letting you
off for this evening, so's we can give a show, but he won't listen to
anything of the kind," the visitor announced in a disconsolate tone.

"If you could rope off the yard and put up some seats we might perform
behind the bars. Advertise that the gentlemen composing the greatest
aggregation of minstrel talent in the known world will attempt the
difficult feat of playing themselves out of jail."

This suggestion was made by the "funny" man of the party, but the
distressed manager failed to see in it anything witty or comical.

"Can't some of you fellows suggest a plan?" he asked.

"Announce that we are to lay off a short time in order to--to--well
anything you can think of."

"That is no plan at all; it would look rather fishy to reorganize twice
in one week."

"Say that we are studying our parts for a realistic drama, entitled
'Would You put Yourself in Their Places.'"

"Now see here, boys, this isn't a thing to joke about. We must give a
show to-night, and the question is how can it be done?" the manager
asked in a tone of despair