"He threw down a paper to me, telling me he was kept a prisoner."

"What did he say?" asked Julius.

The young man read the note aloud.

"What have to say to that, you black imp?" he demanded, sternly.

The ready wit of Julius served him in this emergency.

"Dat boy is crazy as a loon, boss!" he answered, readily. "We have to
keep him shut up for fear he'll kill some of us."

"You don't say!" ejaculated the young mechanic. "He don't look like
it."

"No, he don't; dat's a fact, boss. Fact is, dat boy is the artfullest
lunytick you ever seed. He tried to kill his mother last week."

"Is that true?"

"Dat's so, boss. And all de while he looks as innocent as a baby. If I
was to let him out he'd kill somebody, sure."

"I never would have believed it," said the young man.

"If you want to take the risk, boss, you might go up and see him. I
believe he's got a carvin'-knife about him, but I don't dare to go up
and get it away. It would be as much as this niggah's life is worth."