The man in the car stopped and called to him: "How about putting your wheel in the back seat and letting me give you
a lift? You look pretty tired."
Billy lifted bleared eyes and stopped pedalling, almost falling off his
wheel, but recovering himself with a wrench of pain and sliding off.
"Awwright!" said Billy, "Thanks!"
"You look all in, son," said the man kindly.
"Yep," said Billy laconically, "'yam! Been up all night. Care f'I
sleep?"
"Help yourself," said the man, giving a lift with the wheel, and
putting it in behind.
Billy curled down in the back seat without further ceremony.
"Where are you going son?"
Billy named the country seat of the Shaftons, having no idea how far
away it was. The man gave a whistle.
"What! On that wheel? Well, go to sleep son. I'm going there myself, so
don't worry. I'll wake you up when you get there."
So Billy slept through the first long journey he had taken since he
came to live with Aunt Saxon, slept profoundly with an oblivion that
almost amounted to coma. Sometimes the man, looking back, was tempted
to stop and see if the boy was yet alive, but a light touch on the hot
forehead showed him that life was not extinct, and they whirled on.
Three hours later Billy was awakened by a sharp shake of his sore
shoulder and a stinging pain that shot through him like fire. Fire!
Fire! He was on fire! That was how he felt as he opened his eyes and
glared at the stranger: "Aw, lookout there, whatterya doin'?" he blazed, "Whadda ya think I am?
A football? Don't touch me. I'll get out. This the place? Thanks fer
tha ride, I was all in. Say, d'ya know a guy by the name of Shafton?"
"Shafton?" asked the man astonished, "are you going to Shafton's?"
"Sure," said Billy, "anything wrong about that? Where does he hang
out?" The look of Billy, and more than all the smell of him made it
quite apparent to the casual observer that he had been drinking, and
the man eyed him compassionately. "Poor little fool! He's beginning
young. What on earth does he want at Shaftons?"
"I'spose you've come down after the reward," grinned the man, "I could
have saved you the trouble if you'd told me. The kidnapped son has got
home. They are not in need of further information."