Suddenly the window sash, to the left of the one where he thought his
father was, went up softly. A head was thrust out.
"I wonder if I have made a mistake," Frank thought. The next instant he
heard a voice calling to him.
"They have taken the king of the cannibal islands away!"
Frank recognized the voice as that of the insane man who had caused a
disturbance the first night he was on duty.
"Where have they taken him?" asked Frank, and he hoped the man could
answer rationally.
"They have taken him away," the man went on. "I know! I'm crazy but I
know. The cannibals have taken the king away. Ha! Ha! A good joke!"
He was speaking and laughing in low tones.
"I have come to rescue him. He is my father! Can't you tell me where he
is?" pleaded Frank.
"Good boy! Rescue father," whispered the lunatic. "I know. My head is a
barrel, and if I came down the ladder I would fall. I don't want to be
rescued. I own this place. But number twenty-eight. Yes, he ought to
go. He's all right. They give him bad stuff to eat. I'm a barrel, but I
own this place. It's barreled up inside of me.
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