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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Randy of the River, by Horatio Alger Jr.
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Randy of the River
+       The Adventures of a Young Deckhand
+
+Author: Horatio Alger Jr.
+
+Release Date: May 11, 2007 [EBook #21416]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RANDY OF THE RIVER ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by David Edwards and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images generously made available by The
+Internet Archive/American Libraries.)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: "Mr. Polk," said Randy, "it was not my fault, and I shall
+not stand for the damage done."--p. 223.]
+
+
+
+RANDY OF THE RIVER
+
+OR
+
+_THE ADVENTURES OF A YOUNG DECKHAND_
+
+
+
+BY
+
+HORATIO ALGER, JR.
+
+
+AUTHOR OF "NELSON THE NEWSBOY," "OUT FOR BUSINESS,"
+"THE YOUNG BOOK AGENT," "LOST AT SEA,"
+"RAGGED DICK SERIES," ETC.
+
+
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP
+PUBLISHERS  ::  ::  NEW YORK
+
+
+
+THE RISE IN LIFE SERIES
+
+By Horatio Alger, Jr.
+
+
+OUT FOR BUSINESS;
+  Or, Robert Frost's Strange Career.
+
+FALLING IN WITH FORTUNE;
+  Or, The Experiences of a Young Secretary
+
+NELSON THE NEWSBOY,
+  Or, Afloat in New York.
+
+JERRY THE BACKWOODS BOY,
+  Or, The Parkhurst Treasure.
+
+FROM FARM TO FORTUNE,
+  Or, Nat Nason's Strange Experience.
+
+YOUNG CAPTAIN JACK,
+  Or, The Son of a Soldier.
+
+THE YOUNG BOOK AGENT,
+  Or, Frank Hardy's Road to Success.
+
+LOST AT SEA,
+  Or, Robert Roscoe's Strange Cruise.
+
+RANDY OF THE RIVER,
+  Or, The Adventures of a Young Deckhand.
+
+
+_Cloth.    12mo.    Illustrated    Price, 60 cents per volume._
+
+
+Copyright, 1906
+BY
+STITT PUBLISHING COMPANY
+
+
+_Randy of the River._
+
+
+
+
+PREFACE
+
+
+The majority of stories for boys have their background laid either in
+the city or the country, or possibly on the ocean, and we have read
+much about the doings of lads both rich and poor in such locations.
+
+In the present tale we have a youth of sturdy qualities who elects to
+follow the calling of a deckhand on a Hudson River steamboat, doing his
+duty faithfully day by day, and trying to help others as well as
+himself. Like all other boys he is at times tempted to do wrong, but he
+has a heart of gold even though it is hidden by a somewhat ragged outer
+garment, and in the end proves the truth of that old saying that it
+pays to be honest,--not only in regard to others but also regarding
+one's self.
+
+Life on a river steamboat is not so romantic as some young people may
+imagine. There is hard work and plenty of it, and the remuneration is
+not of the best. But Randy Thompson wanted work and took what was
+offered. His success in the end was well deserved, and perhaps the
+lesson his doings teach will not be lost upon those who peruse these
+pages. It is better to do what one finds to do than to fold your hands
+and remain idle, and the idle boy is sure, sooner or later, to get into
+serious mischief.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+CHAPTER                                                      PAGE
+
+
+     I. SOMETHING ABOUT RANDY                                   7
+
+    II. AT THE FISHING HOLE                                    17
+
+   III. EXPOSING BOB BANGS                                     26
+
+    IV. RANDY AT HOME                                          36
+
+     V. THE RESULT OF A QUARREL                                45
+
+    VI. THE IRON WORKS AFFAIR                                  54
+
+   VII. MORE TROUBLES FOR RANDY                                62
+
+  VIII. RANDY AND HIS UNCLE PETER                              70
+
+    IX. THE NEW HOME                                           80
+
+     X. SAMMY'S FOURTH OF JULY                                 88
+
+    XI. RANDY TO THE RESCUE                                    99
+
+   XII. A STEAMBOAT MAN                                       108
+
+  XIII. MR. SHALLEY MAKES AN OFFER                            118
+
+   XIV. BOB BANGS AND HIS HORSE                               127
+
+    XV. RANDY AS A DECKHAND                                   135
+
+   XVI. IN NEW YORK CITY                                      145
+
+  XVII. THE PURSER HAS HIS SAY                                153
+
+ XVIII. A MEETING ON THE RIVER                                161
+
+   XIX. AN UNLOOKED-FOR ENCOUNTER                             169
+
+    XX. WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND                                 177
+
+   XXI. RANDY VISITS HIS HOME                                 186
+
+  XXII. MR. BARTLETT MAKES A MOVE                             193
+
+ XXIII. THE PAPERS IN THE SAFE                                201
+
+  XXIV. ANOTHER HIDING PLACE                                  208
+
+   XXV. A VICTORY FOR RANDY                                   215
+
+  XXVI. NEW TROUBLES                                          222
+
+ XXVII. RANDY MAKES A DISCOVERY                               229
+
+ XXVIII.OUT OF A TIGHT CORNER                                 237
+
+  XXIX. GEORGE GAFFNEY'S STATEMENT                            244
+
+   XXX. A SWIM FOR LIFE                                       252
+
+  XXXI. NEWS OF IMPORTANCE                                    259
+
+ XXXII. BROUGHT TO TERMS--CONCLUSION                          265
+
+
+
+
+RANDY OF THE RIVER
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+SOMETHING ABOUT RANDY
+
+
+"I am going fishing, Randy. Do you want to go along?"
+
+"With pleasure, Jack," answered Randy Thompson, a bright, manly youth
+of fourteen. "Are you going on foot or in your boat?"
+
+"I think we might as well take the boat," returned Jack Bartlett, a boy
+who was but a few months older than Randy. "Have you your lines handy?"
+
+"No, but I can get them in less than ten minutes."
+
+"All right. Meet me at the dock in quarter of an hour. I was thinking
+of going up the river to Landy's Hole. That's a good spot, isn't it?"
+
+"I think so. Last season I was up there and caught fourteen good-sized
+fish."
+
+"They tell me you are one of the best fishermen in Riverport, Randy,"
+went on Jack Bartlett, admiringly. "What is the secret of your
+success?"
+
+"I don't know unless it is patience," answered Randy, with a broad
+smile. "To catch fish you must be patient. Now when I caught my mess of
+fourteen two other boys were up to the Hole. But just because the fish
+did not bite right away they moved away, further up the river. But by
+doing that they got only about half as many as myself."
+
+"Well, I am willing to be patient if I know I am going to catch
+something."
+
+At this Randy laughed outright.
+
+"You can't be sure of anything--in fishing. But I always reckon it's a
+good thing to hold on and give a thing a fair trial."
+
+"I reckon you're right, Randy, and I'll give the fishing a fair trial
+to-day," answered Jack Bartlett. "Remember, the dock in quarter of an
+hour," he added, as he moved away.
+
+"I'll be on hand--unless mother wants me to do something for her before
+I go away," returned Randy.
+
+Randy, or rather Randolph, Thompson, to use his right name, was the
+only son of Louis Thompson, a carpenter of Riverport, a thriving town
+in one of our eastern states. Randy had no brothers or sisters, and
+lived with his father and mother in a modest cottage on one of the side
+roads leading to the hills back of the town. Randy was a scholar in the
+local school, standing close to the head of his class. It was now
+summer time and the institution of learning was closed, so the boy had
+most of his time to himself.
+
+He had wanted to go to work, to help his father, who had some heavy
+doctors' bills to pay, but his parents had told him to take at least
+two weeks' vacation before looking for employment.
+
+"He needs it," Mrs. Thompson had said to her husband. "He has applied
+himself very closely to his studies ever since last fall."
+
+"Well, let him take the vacation and welcome," answered Louis Thompson.
+"I know when I was a boy I loved a vacation." He was a kind-hearted man
+and thought a good deal of his offspring and also of his wife, who was
+devoted to him.
+
+The cottage stood back in the center of a well-kept garden, where Mrs.
+Thompson had spent much time over her flowers, of which she was
+passionately fond. It was a two-story affair, containing but five
+rooms, yet it was large enough for the family, and Randy, who had never
+known anything better, considered it a very good home. There was a
+small white fence in front, with a gate, and the path to the front
+stoop was lined with geraniums. Over the porch was trained a
+honeysuckle which filled the air with its delicate fragrance.
+
+"Mother, I'm going fishing with Jack Bartlett!" cried Randy, running
+around to the kitchen, where his mother was busy finishing up the
+week's ironing.
+
+"Very well, Randy," she answered, setting down her flatiron and giving
+him a smile. "I suppose you won't be back until supper time."
+
+"It's not likely. Can I do anything for you before I go?"
+
+"You might get a bucket of water and another armful of wood."
+
+"I'll do that," answered Randy, and caught up the water bucket.
+"Anything else?"
+
+"No. Take care of yourself while you are on the river."
+
+"Don't worry about me, mother. Remember, I can swim like a fish."
+
+"Yes, I know. But you must be careful anyway," answered Mrs. Thompson,
+fondly.
+
+The water and wood were quickly brought into the cottage, Randy
+whistling merrily while he performed these chores. Then the youth ran
+for his fishing outfit, after which he took the spade, went down to the
+end of the garden, and turned up some worms, which he placed in a
+pasteboard box.
+
+"Now I am off, mother!" he called out.
+
+"Good-by, Randy," she said, and waved him a pleasant adieu from the
+open kitchen window.
+
+"She's the best mother a boy ever had," thought Randy, as he walked
+away to join Jack at the dock.
+
+"What a good boy!" murmured Mrs. Thompson. "Oh, I hope he grows up to
+be a good man!"
+
+When Randy arrived at the dock he found himself alone. He brought out
+the boat and cleaned it up and got the oars. He was all ready for the
+start when a boy somewhat older than himself slouched up.
+
+The newcomer was loudly dressed in a checked suit and wore a heavy
+watchchain, a big seal ring, and a diamond shirt stud. He might have
+been good-looking had it not been for the supercilious scowl of
+independence upon his face.
+
+"Hullo there, Randy Thompson!" he called out. "What are you doing in
+Jack Bartlett's boat?"
+
+His manner was decidedly offensive and did not suit Randy at all.
+
+"I don't know as that is any of your business, Bob Bangs," he answered
+coldly.
+
+"Humph! Jack won't thank you for getting out his boat," went on Bob
+Bangs. "If you want a boat why don't you hire one?"
+
+"I don't have to hire one," answered Randy.
+
+"You wouldn't dare to touch my boat," continued Bob, who was known as
+the town bully. His father was rich and for that reason he thought he
+could ride over all the other boys.
+
+"I shouldn't care to touch it," said Randy.
+
+"Don't you know you haven't any right to touch Jack's boat without his
+permission?" went on the big youth.
+
+"Bob Bangs, this is none of your business."
+
+"Humph! I'll make it my business."
+
+"If you do, you may get into trouble."
+
+"I'll risk that. If you don't get out of that boat I'll tell Jack."
+
+"I am not going to get out of the boat."
+
+"Maybe I'll make you get out," and Bob Bangs came a step closer, and
+put his hand on the gunwale of the rowboat.
+
+"You leave me and the boat alone," said Randy, sharply.
+
+"You get out of that boat."
+
+"Not for you."
+
+Bob Bangs looked ugly. He was on the point of catching Randy by the
+collar when an interruption came from behind.
+
+"So you got here ahead of me, eh?" came in Jack's voice, as he
+approached on a swift walk. "I had to do an errand for father and that
+kept me."
+
+As Jack came up Bob Bangs fell back in disgust.
+
+"Humph! Why didn't you say you were waiting for Jack?" he said to
+Randy, with a sour look on his face.
+
+"You didn't ask me, that's why," returned Randy.
+
+"What's the trouble?" questioned Jack, quickly.
+
+"Bob wanted me to leave the boat alone."
+
+"I thought he was trying to sneak it on the sly," explained the big
+boy. "I didn't know you cared to go out with him," he added, to Jack,
+with a toss of his head.
+
+"Why shouldn't I go out with Randy?" asked Jack, quickly.
+
+"Oh, I shouldn't care to go out with the son of a poor carpenter."
+
+"See here, Bob Bangs, I consider myself as good as you," said Randy,
+quickly.
+
+"Humph!"
+
+"Randy is all right, even if his father is a carpenter," said Jack.
+"It's mean of you, Bob, to talk that way."
+
+"Choose your own company and I'll choose mine," answered Bob Bangs,
+loftily, and stalked away, his nose tilted high in the air.
+
+Angry words arose to Randy's lips but he repressed them and said
+nothing. In a moment more some goods on the dock hid the big boy from
+view.
+
+"Don't you care for what he says," said Jack, quickly. "He thinks a few
+dollars are everything in this world."
+
+"I didn't mind him--much, Jack."
+
+"Wanted you to get out of my boat, didn't he?"
+
+"Yes. He didn't know I was waiting for you."
+
+"That was a good joke on him."
+
+"I can't understand why he is so disagreeable."
+
+"It was born in him," said Jack, as he leaped into the rowboat and
+stowed away his fishing outfit. "His father is the same way and so is
+his mother. They think that just because they have money everybody
+else, especially a poor person, is dirt under their feet."
+
+"Why, Jack, I guess your father is as rich as Mr. Bangs."
+
+"Maybe he is."
+
+"And you don't put on such airs."
+
+"And I don't intend to. Money is a good thing to have, but it isn't
+everything--that is what my father and mother say."
+
+"Bob wouldn't want me out in his boat with him."
+
+"Maybe you wouldn't like to go out with him either."
+
+"You are right there. I am getting so I hate to speak to him."
+
+"Well, I am getting that way, too. Every time we meet he tries to
+impress it upon me that he is a superior person,--and I don't see it."
+
+"Your father and his father have some business dealings, haven't they?"
+
+"Yes, they are interested in the same iron company,--and from what
+father says, I think they are going to have trouble before long."
+
+"I hope your father comes out ahead."
+
+"It is this way: Father has a controlling interest and Mr. Bangs is
+doing his best to get it away from him. If Mr. Bangs can get control he
+will, so father says, join the company of a larger concern, and then
+father will be about wiped out and he won't get more than half of what
+is really coming to him."
+
+"But wouldn't that be fraud?"
+
+"Yes, morally, but not legally--so father says," answered Jack, and
+heaved a sigh. "I hope it all comes out right."
+
+"And so do I--for your sake as well as for your folks," added Randy,
+heartily.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+AT THE FISHING HOLE
+
+
+The fishing hole for which the two boys were bound was on the river
+about a mile and a half above the town. At this point the stream was
+thirty to forty feet wide and ten to fifteen feet deep. It was lined on
+one side with sharp rocks and on the other by thick trees and bushes.
+At the foot of some of the rocks, where the river made a bend, there
+was a deep hole, and this some of the lads, including Randy and Jack,
+considered an ideal place for fishing.
+
+The boys did not row directly for the hole, being afraid they might
+scare the fish away. Instead they landed below the spot, tied fast to a
+tree root between the stones, and then crawled over the big rocks until
+they reached a point from which they could cast into the hole with
+ease.
+
+They soon baited up. Randy was ready first, but he gave his companion
+the chance to make the initial cast. Scarcely had Jack's hook touched
+the water when there came a jerk and the line was almost pulled from
+the boy's hands.
+
+"You've got him!" cried Randy, excitedly. "Good for you!"
+
+"If I don't lose him before I get him on the rocks!" answered Jack. But
+his fears were groundless, for a few seconds later the catch lay at his
+feet--a fish weighing at least a pound and a half.
+
+"That's the way to do it," said Randy.
+
+"You might have had him--if you had cast in first," answered his
+companion, modestly.
+
+"I'll try my luck now," and Randy cast in without delay. Then Jack also
+tried it again, and both boys began to fish in earnest. Soon Randy got
+a bite and brought in a fish weighing as much as the first catch.
+
+"Now we are even," said Jack.
+
+In an hour Randy had four good-sized fish to his credit and Jack had an
+equal number. Then Jack's luck fell away and Randy got three more while
+his companion got nothing.
+
+"There is no use of talking, you are a better fisherman than I," said
+Jack.
+
+"I think you drop down too deep," answered Randy. "Try it this way,"
+and he showed his friend what he meant.
+
+After that Jack's success was a trifle better, but still Randy kept
+ahead of him.
+
+When the boys had caught twenty fish between them they decided to give
+up the sport. Randy knew where they could find some blackberries, and
+leaving their fish in a hole among the rocks, where there was a small
+pool of water, they tramped away from the river to where the blackberry
+bushes were located.
+
+"These are fine," said Jack, eating a handful with a relish. "Randy, we
+ought to come berrying here some day."
+
+"I am willing."
+
+"These berries would make the nicest kind of pies."
+
+"Yes, indeed! And if there is anything I love it is a good, juicy
+blackberry pie."
+
+"If we had a kettle we might take some home with us now."
+
+"I am afraid it is too late. What time is it?"
+
+Jack carried a neat silver watch which he consulted.
+
+"Why, it's half-past five already! I thought it might be four. Yes,
+we'll have to get back."
+
+"Let us go down to the boat first and then row up and get the fish."
+
+This suited the two boys, and soon they were making their way back over
+the rocks to where Jack's craft had been left. As they came out from
+among the trees and bushes they saw another boat on the river, headed
+for Riverport.
+
+"There is Bob Bangs again!" exclaimed Randy.
+
+"Hullo!" yelled Jack. "Have you been fishing, too?"
+
+"Yes," answered the big boy, and continued to row down the river.
+
+"Have any luck?" went on Jack.
+
+"Fine," was the short answer, and then Bob Bangs' craft drew out of
+hearing.
+
+"He was in a tremendous hurry," mused Jack.
+
+"Perhaps he didn't want us to see what he had caught," answered Randy.
+
+"That's likely it, Randy. I don't believe he knows as much about
+fishing as I do--and that is little enough."
+
+Having secured the rowboat, Randy and Jack rowed up to the fishing
+hole, and Randy scrambled up the rocks to secure their two strings of
+fish. He soon reached the shallow pool among the rocks in which they
+had been placed and drew up the two strings.
+
+"Well, I declare!" he ejaculated, as he looked the fish over. Then he
+counted them carefully. "What can this mean?"
+
+His string had held twelve fish and Jack's eight fish. Now three of the
+largest fish from each string were gone. He looked around with care,
+but could see nothing of the missing fish.
+
+"Hullo! What's keeping you?" shouted Jack, from the boat.
+
+"Come up here!" called back Randy.
+
+"Anything wrong?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Landy! I hope the fish aren't gone!" burst out Jack, as he scrambled
+up the rocks and ran to where Randy was continuing the search.
+
+The situation was soon explained and both boys hunted around in the
+neighborhood of the pool, thinking the fish might have gotten away in
+some manner. Then of a sudden Jack uttered a cry:
+
+"Look at this, Randy!"
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"A key ring, with two keys on it."
+
+"Where did you find it?"
+
+"Here, right beside the pool."
+
+"Then somebody has been here and taken our fish!"
+
+"Exactly what I believe."
+
+Jack began to examine the key ring and then he uttered another
+exclamation:
+
+"Here are some initials on the ring."
+
+"What are they?"
+
+"I can't make out very well--they are so worn. I think the first is R."
+
+"Let me see."
+
+Jack passed the find over and Randy examined it.
+
+"I can make it out," said Randy. "R. A. B."
+
+"Robert A. Bangs!" shouted Jack.
+
+"Bob Bangs!" murmured Randy. "Could he have been mean enough to come
+here and take some of our fish?"
+
+"It certainly looks that way."
+
+"Let us go after him and find out."
+
+"All right. Anyway, we can make him explain how his key ring got here."
+
+Taking what was left of the fish, the two boys hurried back to the
+rowboat and soon each was seated at an oar and pulling a good stroke in
+the direction of the town.
+
+"He must have been watching us fish," observed Jack. "And he must have
+seen us place our catch in the pool."
+
+"And took our best fish because he couldn't catch any of his own,"
+concluded Randy. "Well, if he has my fish he has got to give them up,"
+he added, with determination.
+
+Rowing at a good rate of speed, it did not take the boys long to reach
+the town. As they moved past one dock after another they looked for Bob
+Bangs, but the big youth was nowhere in sight.
+
+"I reckon he was afraid of being followed," said Jack.
+
+"There is his boat," answered Randy, and pointed to the craft, which
+was tied up near an old boathouse and not at the regular Bangs dock.
+
+While the two boys rested on their oars an old man who was lame, and
+who rented out boats for a living, came from the old boathouse. "Hullo,
+Isaac!" called out Jack. "Have you seen Bob Bangs around here?"
+
+"Why, yes; he just went ashore," answered Isaac Martin.
+
+"Did he have any fish?"
+
+"Yes, a nice string--some pretty big ones, too."
+
+"How many?"
+
+"Seven or eight."
+
+"Which way did he go?"
+
+"Up Samson Street."
+
+"That's the back way to his house," cried Randy. "Come on!"
+
+"What shall we do with our fish and the boat?"
+
+"Let Isaac take care of them."
+
+"Want me to take care of things, eh?" said the lame boatman. "Very
+well, I'll do it."
+
+The two boys were soon on the way, on a run. They knew about the route
+Bob Bangs would take to get home and came in sight of the big boy just
+as he was entering his father's garden by a rear gate.
+
+"Stop, Bob!" called out Randy.
+
+The big boy looked around hastily and was much chagrined to see the
+others so close at hand. He held his string of fish behind him.
+
+"What do you want?" he demanded, as they came closer.
+
+"You know well enough what we want," returned Jack. "We want our fish."
+
+"Your fish? Who has got your fish?" blustered Bob.
+
+"You've got them," retorted Randy, and made a snatch at the string. The
+big boy held fast and a regular tug of war ensued.
+
+"Let go!"
+
+"I won't!"
+
+"You shall!"
+
+"See here, Bob," interposed Jack. "It won't do you any good to hang on.
+Those are our fish and we want them."
+
+"Bah! How do you know they are your fish?"
+
+"Because you took them from the pool in which we placed them."
+
+"I did not."
+
+"You did."
+
+"You can't prove it."
+
+"Yes, we can."
+
+"How?"
+
+"By this," said Jack, triumphantly, and exhibited the key ring and
+keys.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+EXPOSING BOB BANGS
+
+
+When Bob Bangs saw the key ring his face changed color.
+
+"Where did you get that?" he demanded.
+
+"Got it where you dropped it--at the pool where we left our fish."
+
+"How do you know it is mine?"
+
+"By the initials on it."
+
+"Humph!"
+
+"If you don't want the key ring we'll keep it," put in Randy, quickly.
+
+"No, you won't keep it. Give it to me."
+
+"Then give us our fish," said Randy, quietly but firmly.
+
+"They are not all your fish. I caught two of them."
+
+"The two smallest, I suppose."
+
+"No, the two largest."
+
+"We lost six big fish and these belong to us," said Randy, and took the
+best fish from the string. "Bob Bangs, it was a contemptible thing to
+do," he added, with spirit. "I wouldn't do such a dirty thing for a
+thousand dollars."
+
+"Bah! Don't talk to me, unless you want to get hurt," growled the large
+youth, savagely.
+
+"I am not afraid of you, even if you are bigger than I am," said Randy,
+undaunted by the fighting attitude the bully had assumed.
+
+"It certainly was a mean piece of business," came from Jack. "If you
+wanted some fish why didn't you ask us for them?"
+
+"Humph! I can buy my fish if I want to."
+
+"Then why did you take ours?" demanded Randy.
+
+"I--er--I didn't know they belonged to you. I just saw the strings in
+the pool and took a few," answered the boy, lamely. "Give me my key
+ring."
+
+The ring with the keys was passed over, and Randy and Jack restrung
+their fish. In the meantime Bob Bangs entered his father's garden,
+slamming the gate after him.
+
+"You just wait--I'll get square with you!" he shouted back, and shook
+his fist at Randy.
+
+"You be careful, or you'll get into trouble!" shouted back Randy, and
+then he and Jack walked away with their fish.
+
+"What's the matter, Master Robert?" asked the man-of-all-work around
+the Bangs place, as he approached Bob from the barn.
+
+"Oh, some fellows are getting fresh," grumbled the big youth. "But I'll
+fix them for it!"
+
+"I see they took some of your fish."
+
+"We had a dispute about the fish. Rather than take them from such a
+poor chap as Randy Thompson I let him keep them," said Bob, glibly.
+"But I am going to get square with him for his impudence," he added.
+
+After a long hard row and fishing for over an hour, Bob Bangs had
+caught only two small fish and he was thoroughly disgusted with
+everything and everybody. He walked into the kitchen and threw the fish
+on the sink board.
+
+"There, Mamie, you can clean those and fry them for my supper," he said
+to the servant girl.
+
+"Oh, land sakes, Master Bob, they are very small," cried the girl.
+"They won't go around nohow!"
+
+"I said you could fry them for _my_ supper," answered Bob, coldly.
+
+"They are hardly worth bothering with," murmured the servant girl, but
+the boy did not hear her, for he had passed to the next room. He went
+upstairs and washed up and then walked into the sitting room, where his
+mother reclined on a sofa, reading the latest novel of society life.
+
+"Where is father?" he asked, abruptly.
+
+"I do not know, Robert," answered Mrs. Bangs, without looking up from
+her book.
+
+"Will he be home to supper?"
+
+To this there was no reply.
+
+"I say, will he be home to supper?" and the boy shoved the book aside.
+
+"Robert, don't be rude!" cried Mrs. Bangs, in irritation. "I presume he
+will be home," and she resumed her novel reading.
+
+"I want some money."
+
+To this there was no reply. Mrs. Bangs was on the last chapter of the
+novel and wanted to finish it before supper was served. She did little
+in life but read novels, dress, and attend parties, and she took but
+small interest in Bob and his doings.
+
+"I say, I want some money," repeated the boy, in a louder key.
+
+"Robert, will you be still? Every time I try to read you come and
+interrupt me."
+
+"And you never want to listen to me. You read all the time."
+
+"No, I do not--I really read very little, I have so many things to
+attend to. What did you say you wanted?"
+
+"I want some money. I haven't had a cent this week."
+
+"Then you must ask your father. I haven't anything to give you," and
+again Mrs. Bangs turned to her book.
+
+"Can't you give me a dollar?"
+
+Again there was no answer.
+
+"I say, can't you give me a dollar?"
+
+"I cannot. Now go away and be quiet until supper time."
+
+"Then give me fifty cents."
+
+"I haven't a penny. Ask your father."
+
+"Oh, you're a mean thing!" growled the wayward son, and stalked out of
+the sitting room, slamming the door after him.
+
+"What a boy!" sighed the lady of the house. "He never considers my
+comfort--and after all I have done for him!" And then she turned once
+more to her precious novel.
+
+It wanted half an hour to supper time and Bob, not caring to do
+anything else, took himself back to his room. Like his mother, he, too,
+loved to read. Stowed away in a trunk, he had a score or more of cheap
+paper-covered novels, of daring adventures among the Indians, and of
+alluring detective tales, books on which he had squandered many a dime.
+One was called "Bowery Bob, the Boy Detective of the Docks; or, Winning
+a Cool Million," and he wanted to finish this, to see how Bob got the
+million dollars. The absurdity of the stories was never noticed by him,
+and he thought them the finest tales ever penned.
+
+He was deep in a chapter where the hero in rags was holding three men
+with pistols at bay when he heard a noise below and saw his father
+leaping from the family carriage. Mr. Bangs' face wore a look of great
+satisfaction, showing plainly that his day's business had agreed with
+him.
+
+"How do you do, dad?" he said, running down to greet his parent.
+
+"First-rate, Bob," said Mr. Bangs, with a smile. "How have things gone
+with you to-day?"
+
+"Not very well."
+
+"What's the matter?"
+
+"You forgot to give me my spending money this week."
+
+"I thought I gave it to you Saturday."
+
+"That was for last week."
+
+"I think you are mistaken, Bob. However, it doesn't matter much," went
+on Mr. Bangs, as he entered the house.
+
+"Phew! He's in a fine humor to-night," thought Bob. "I'll have to
+strike him for more than a dollar."
+
+"Where's your mother?" went on the gentleman.
+
+"In the sitting room, reading. But I say, dad, what about that money?"
+
+"Oh, do you want it right away?"
+
+"I'd like to have it after supper."
+
+"Very well."
+
+"Can I have three dollars? I want to buy something extra this
+week--some things I really need."
+
+"Ahem! Three dollars is quite a sum. I don't know of any other boy in
+Riverport who gets as much as three dollars in one week to spend."
+
+"Well, but they haven't as rich a father as I have."
+
+"Ah, quite true," nodded Mr. Bangs, with satisfaction. "I think I can
+safely lay claim to being the richest man in this district."
+
+"Then I can have the three dollars?" went on Bob, anxiously.
+
+"Yes. Here you are," and his parent brought forth a well-filled wallet
+and handed over three new one-dollar bills.
+
+Bob was stowing the money away in his pocket and congratulating himself
+on his luck when a door opened and Mrs. Bangs appeared.
+
+"So you are back, Amos," she said, sweetly. "It has been such a long,
+lonesome day without you."
+
+"And a busy day for me," answered Amos Bangs, as he passed into the
+sitting room and dropped into an easy chair.
+
+"Did you go to Springfield?"
+
+"I did, and met Tuller and the rest. We've got that thing in our grip
+now."
+
+"Yes," she said, vaguely. In reality she took no interest whatever in
+her husband's affairs so long as she got what money she desired.
+
+"Yes, sir--we've got the thing just where we want it," continued Amos
+Bangs.
+
+"You mean----?" his wife hesitated.
+
+"I mean that iron works affair of course, Viola. Can't you understand
+at all?"
+
+"Oh--er--yes, of course. Let me see, you were trying to get control so
+you said."
+
+"Exactly, and I've got it."
+
+"Was not that the works in which Mr. Bartlett is interested?"
+
+"The same."
+
+"Did not he have the control?"
+
+"Yes, but I have it now, and I am going to keep it," answered Amos
+Bangs, with evident satisfaction.
+
+"Do you mean Jack Bartlett's father, dad?" questioned Bob, eagerly.
+
+"I do."
+
+"Have you got the best of him?"
+
+"Well, I have--ahem--carried my point and the iron works will be
+absorbed by the concern in Springfield."
+
+"And Jack Bartlett's father won't like that?"
+
+"No. In fact, I am afraid he will fight it. But he can do nothing,
+absolutely nothing," went on Amos Bangs. "I hold the whip hand--and I
+shall continue to hold it."
+
+"I hate the Bartletts and I hope you do get the best of them."
+
+"This will make Mrs. Bartlett take a back seat," said Mrs. Bangs,
+maliciously.
+
+"Maybe you mean that seat in church," said Bob, slyly.
+
+"Not that particularly, although it is time they went to the rear--they
+have had a front seat so long. Amos, we must take a front seat now."
+
+"As you please, Viola."
+
+"And I must have some new dresses."
+
+"You shall have them, my dear."
+
+"You dear, good man!" cried the fashionable wife; and then the whole
+family went in to supper. Bob felt particularly elated. He had gotten
+three dollars for spending money and he felt sure that the Bartletts,
+including Jack, would have to suffer.
+
+"I wish dad could do something to injure the Thompsons," he said to
+himself. "But Mr. Thompson is only a carpenter. I must watch my chance
+and get square with Randy on my own account."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+RANDY AT HOME
+
+
+All unmindful of the trouble that had already come to the Bartletts,
+and of the trouble Bob Bangs was hatching out for him, Randy divided
+the mess of fish with Jack and hurried home.
+
+"See what a fine mess I've got, mother!" he cried, as he entered the
+kitchen, where his mother had just started to prepare the evening meal.
+"Aren't they real beauties?"
+
+"They are, Randy," answered Mrs. Thompson, and smiled brightly. "Did
+Jack do as well?"
+
+"Almost as well as I did, and we divided evenly, because, you see, he
+furnished the boat. And, mother, I've found out where we can get a fine
+lot of blackberries. If you want me to, I'll go for them to-morrow."
+
+"I wish you would, Randy. Your father loves blackberry pie and
+blackberry pudding."
+
+"And so do I."
+
+"I've got time to fry some of these fish for supper," went on Mrs.
+Thompson. "And we can have some more to-morrow, too. But I don't think
+we can use them all."
+
+"I was thinking we might give Mrs. Gilligan a couple."
+
+"That will be very nice. If you will, take them over at once."
+
+Mrs. Gilligan was a poor Irishwoman who took in washing and ironing for
+a living. She was alone in the world and often had a struggle to make
+both ends meet.
+
+"Just to look at that now!" she cried, as Randy held up the fish. "Sure
+an' ye air a great fisher b'y, Randy, so ye air!"
+
+"I got so many I thought I'd bring you a couple," said our hero.
+
+"Now that's rale kind of ye," answered Mrs. Gilligan, as she dried her
+hands and took the fish. "Just loike my Pat used to catch afore he was
+kilt on the railroad."
+
+"I caught them this afternoon, so you can be sure they are fresh."
+
+"I'm much obliged to ye, I am indade," said Mrs. Gilligan. She drew a
+long breath. "Sure an' the Lord is good to us after all. I was just
+afther thinkin' I had nothin' but throuble, whin in comes these iligant
+fish."
+
+"Is something wrong?" asked Randy, curiously.
+
+"It's not a great dale, yet it's enough fer a poor woman loike me. It's
+Mrs. Bangs' wash, so it is. Nothin' suits that lady, an' she always
+wants to pay less than she agreed."
+
+"You mean Bob Bangs' mother?"
+
+"Th' same, Randy. Oh, they are a hard-hearted family, so they are!"
+
+"I believe you. And yet Mr. Bangs is rich."
+
+"It's little enough I see of his money," sighed Mrs. Gilligan.
+"Although I do me besht wid the washin' an' ironin', so I do!"
+
+"It's a wonder Mrs. Bangs don't make the servant do the washing and
+ironing."
+
+"She did make the other wan do that same. But the new one can't iron
+an' won't try, so I have the work, an' the girrul gits less wages,"
+answered the Irishwoman.
+
+When Randy returned home he found supper almost ready. The appetizing
+odor of frying fish filled the air. A few minutes later Mr. Thompson
+came in.
+
+Louis Thompson was a man a little past middle age, tall and thin and
+not unlike Randy in the general appearance of his face. He was not a
+strong man, and the winter before had been laid up with a severe attack
+of rheumatism.
+
+"That smells good," he said, with a smile, as he kissed his wife. "I
+like fish."
+
+"Randy just caught them."
+
+"Good enough."
+
+"You look tired, Louis," went on Mrs. Thompson. "Was the work extra
+hard?"
+
+"Not much harder than usual, Lucy, but I was working on a cellar
+partition and it was very damp. It brought back a bit of the
+rheumatism."
+
+"That is too bad."
+
+"Can't the boss give you something else to do--something where it isn't
+damp?" questioned Randy.
+
+"I have asked him about it," answered his father. "But just at present
+there is nothing else in sight."
+
+"You must take care, Louis," said Mrs. Thompson. "It will not do to
+risk having the rheumatism come back."
+
+"I wish I could get something to do," said Randy, while the evening
+meal was in progress. "I might earn some money and it would help. But
+there doesn't seem to be any kind of an opening in Riverport."
+
+"Times are rather dull," answered Mr. Thompson. "And I am afraid they
+will be worse before they are better."
+
+On the following day Randy went out after blackberries. Jack went with
+him and the boys went up the stream in the latter's boat.
+
+"If I can get a good mess mother is going to preserve some," said
+Randy.
+
+"I like blackberry jam," answered his friend.
+
+The two boys had brought their lunch with them, intending to remain out
+all day. By noon they had picked twelve quarts of berries and then sat
+down by the river side to eat their lunch.
+
+"What do you say to a swim?" remarked Jack, after the meal was over.
+
+"Just the thing!" cried our hero. "But we mustn't remain in longer than
+half an hour. I want to pick more berries."
+
+They were soon in the water, which was deliciously cool and refreshing.
+They dove and splashed around to their hearts' content and raced from
+one bank to the other and back. Randy won the race by several seconds.
+
+"I declare, Randy, you are a regular water rat!" declared Jack. "I
+never saw a better swimmer."
+
+"Well, I do love the water, that is certain," answered Randy.
+
+"And you row such a good stroke, too."
+
+"That's because I love boats."
+
+The half-hour at an end, our hero leaped ashore and began to don his
+garments, and Jack did the same. They were just finishing their toilet
+when a rowboat came into view, containing Bob Bangs and several other
+of the loud boys of Riverport.
+
+"There is Bob Bangs again," whispered Randy.
+
+"We'll have to watch out that he doesn't try to rob us of our berries,"
+whispered Jack, significantly.
+
+"Humph! Up here again, eh?" remarked the big youth, resting on his
+oars.
+
+"We are," answered Randy. "I think we can come, if we please."
+
+"Certainly--for all I care," growled Bob.
+
+"We are picking berries, and we intend to watch them, too," put in
+Randy, loudly.
+
+At this pointed remark Bob Bangs colored slightly.
+
+"I should think you'd pick your company, Jack Bartlett," he said,
+coarsely.
+
+"I do. That is why I am not with you."
+
+"Humph!"
+
+"I consider myself just as good as you, Bob Bangs," said Randy, warmly.
+"I may not be as rich, but I never tried to steal a mess of fish from
+anybody."
+
+"You shut up!" roared the big boy. And then he started to row away.
+
+"You'll not get a chance to rob us of these berries," called out Jack
+after him.
+
+"What do they mean about robbing somebody of fish?" asked one of Bob's
+companions.
+
+"Oh, that was only a joke," answered the rich youth. "Just wait--I'll
+fix them for it!"
+
+As soon as Bangs and his cronies had disappeared Randy and Jack went
+back to their berry picking. They worked steadily until five o'clock in
+the afternoon, and by that time had a great number of quarts to their
+credit.
+
+"The folks at home will be pleased," said Jack. "My mother loves fresh
+berries. She says they are much better than those which are several
+days in the market."
+
+"And she is right."
+
+The boys had brought along several large and small kettles, and had
+left three of these down near the boat, filled with the fruit. Each
+walked to the shore with a kettle full of berries in his hand.
+
+"Well, I never!" cried Jack, in dismay.
+
+"Bob Bangs again!" murmured Randy. "Oh, don't I just wish I had him
+here. I'd pummel him good!"
+
+There was good cause for our hero's anger. On the rocks lay the
+overturned berry kettles, the berries scattered in all directions and
+many of them crushed under foot.
+
+"And look at the boat!" gasped Jack, turning to inspect the craft.
+
+The rowboat was partly filled with water and on the seats and in the
+bottom a quantity of mud had been thrown. The oars were sticking in a
+mud bank close by.
+
+"Does she leak?" asked our hero, with concern.
+
+"I'll have to find out."
+
+It was soon discovered that the craft was intact, and then they set to
+work to clean up the muss. This was no easy job, and the boys perspired
+freely, for the day was a warm one. Then Randy looked over the
+scattered berries.
+
+"About one-third of them are fit to take along," he said. "The others
+are crushed and dirty."
+
+"I'll tell you what I am going to do," said Jack, stoutly. "I am going
+to make Bob Bangs pay for dirtying my boat, and he can pay for the lost
+berries, too."
+
+"But how can we prove he is guilty?"
+
+"We'll make him own up to it. Nobody else would play such a mean
+trick."
+
+The two boys were in no happy frame of mind as they rowed back to
+Riverport. They suspected that Bob Bangs would keep out of their sight,
+but just as they were landing they caught sight of him peering at them
+from behind a dock building.
+
+"There he is!" cried Jack. "After him, Randy!"
+
+"Right you are!" answered our hero, and ran after Bob Bangs with might
+and main. Randy was a good sprinter and although the rich youth tried
+to get away he was soon brought to a halt.
+
+"Let go of me!" he roared, as Randy caught him by the collar.
+
+"Not just yet, Bob Bangs!" returned Randy. "A fine trick you played this
+afternoon."
+
+"I didn't play any trick!"
+
+"Yes, you did."
+
+"I didn't! Let me go!" And now Bob Bangs did his best to get away. He
+saw that Randy and Jack were thoroughly angry and was afraid he was in
+for a drubbing--or worse. He gave a jerk and then started to run. Randy
+put out his foot and the big youth went sprawling full length, his face
+violently striking the ground.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+THE RESULT OF A QUARREL
+
+
+If any boy was ever humiliated it was Bob Bangs. His face and hands
+were covered with dust and so was his elegant suit of clothing, while
+the skin was cut on the side of his nose.
+
+"Now, see what you have done!" he spluttered, gazing ruefully at
+himself. "My suit is just about ruined!"
+
+"And it serves you right, Bob Bangs," came warmly from Jack.
+
+"That is what you get for trying to run away," added our hero.
+
+"I'll have the law on you, Randy Thompson!"
+
+"Maybe I'll have the law on you, Bob Bangs!"
+
+"You had no right to throw me down in that fashion."
+
+"Then why did you start to run away?"
+
+"Because I didn't want to stay here--and you had no right to stop me."
+
+"We wanted to know about this berry affair," said Jack. "And about the
+dirty boat."
+
+"I don't know what you are talking about," answered the big boy, but
+his face showed his concern.
+
+"You put mud in my boat and spilled our berries."
+
+"Who says I did that?"
+
+"We know you did."
+
+"Did you see us?"
+
+"No, but we know you did it and nobody else."
+
+"You can't prove it," answered Bob, and now his face showed a sign of
+relief. He had been afraid that there had been a witness of his
+evil-doing.
+
+"Perhaps we can," said Randy. "Bob Bangs, I think you are the meanest
+boy in Riverport!" he continued, with spirit.
+
+"I don't care what you think, Randy Thompson. Who are you, anyway? The
+son of a poor carpenter. Why, you haven't got a decent suit of clothing
+to your back!"
+
+"For shame, Bob!" broke in Jack. "Randy is a good fellow, even if he is
+poor."
+
+"Well, if you think he is so good you can go with him. But I don't want
+to associate with such a low fellow," went on the big youth, as he
+started to brush himself off with a silk handkerchief.
+
+"So I am a low fellow, am I?" said Randy, in a steady voice, and coming
+up close to Bob, who promptly began to back away.
+
+"Ye--as, you--you are," stammered the rich youth.
+
+"I've a good mind to knock you down for saying it, Bob Bangs. I am not
+as low as you."
+
+"Humph!"
+
+"I would never do the low things you have done. It was a mean,
+contemptible trick that you played on Jack and me. By right you ought
+to be made to scrub out the boat and pay for the berries you spoiled."
+
+"Bah! I won't touch the boat, and I won't pay a cent."
+
+"Then you admit that you are guilty?"
+
+"I admit that I had some fun, at your expense, yes," answered Bob
+Bangs. "You can't do anything to me, though, for you can't prove it
+against me."
+
+"That means, if you were brought up into court, you would lie about
+it," said Randy.
+
+"Humph! You needn't get so personal, Randy Thompson."
+
+"For two pins, do you know what I would do, Bob Bangs?"
+
+"What?"
+
+"I'd give you a good thrashing," and Randy pulled up his sleeves, as if
+he meant to begin operations at once.
+
+"No! no! Don't you--you dare to touch me!" gasped the rich boy, in
+alarm. "If you do, I'll--I'll have the law on you!"
+
+"And we'll have the law on you."
+
+Bob Bangs was more alarmed than ever. He saw that Randy was ready to
+pitch into him on the instant. He looked around, saw an opening, and
+darted away at his best speed.
+
+"Let him go--the big coward," called out Jack, for Randy had started
+after the rich boy. "We can settle with him another time."
+
+"What a mean chap!" cried Randy. "I never saw his equal, never!"
+
+Bob Bangs ran a distance of several rods. Then, seeing a clod of dirt
+lying in the road, he picked it up and hurled it at the boys. He was
+not a good thrower, but as luck would have it the clod struck Randy on
+the shoulder, some of the dirt spattering up into his ear.
+
+"Ha! ha! That's the time you got it!" sang out the rich boy, gleefully.
+
+"And this is the time you are going to get it," returned Randy, and
+made a dash after him. Seeing this, Jack followed after the pair.
+
+[Illustration: RANDY CAUGHT BOB BANGS BY THE ARM AND THREW HIM OVER.]
+
+Bob Bangs could run and fear lent speed to his flying feet. But he was
+no match for Randy, who had on more than one occasion won a running
+match amongst his schoolfellows. Bob started for home, several blocks
+away, but just before he reached his gate Randy came near to him,
+caught him by the arm and flung him over on his side. Then, to hold him
+down, our hero seated himself on top of the rich boy, who began to
+bellow lustily.
+
+"Get off of me!"
+
+"I will not!"
+
+"You are squeezing the wind out of me!"
+
+"What right had you to throw that chunk of dirt at me?"
+
+"I--er--I was only fooling."
+
+"Maybe I am only fooling, too."
+
+"You are breaking my ribs! Oh, let up, I say!"
+
+"Are you sorry for what you did?" demanded Randy.
+
+To this Bob Bangs made no reply.
+
+"I see you've got him," said Jack, running up at that instant.
+
+"Yes, and I am going to give it to him good," answered Randy.
+
+"Let up! Help, somebody! Help!" roared Bob, badly frightened. He began
+to kick and struggle, but Randy held him down and as a consequence he
+was covered with dust and dirt from head to foot.
+
+In the midst of the melee a carriage came along the roadway. It
+contained Mrs. Bangs and the man-of-all-work, who was driving.
+
+"Mercy on us! What does this mean?" burst from the fashionable lady's
+lips. "Can that be Robert?"
+
+"Help! help!" roared the rich youth, more lustily than ever.
+
+"It certainly is Robert," went on Mrs. Bangs. "John, stop the carriage.
+You rude boy, let my son alone!" she went on, in her shrill, hard
+voice.
+
+"Hullo, here is Mrs. Bangs," remarked Jack, looking around and
+discovering the new arrival.
+
+For the instant Randy did not see the rich woman and continued to hold
+down Bob, who struggled violently, sending up a cloud of dust in the
+road. Then he noticed the carriage and looked up, and his face fell.
+
+"You scamp! Leave my boy alone!" screamed Mrs. Bangs. "Oh, John,
+perhaps you had better run for a policeman!" she added, as Randy let go
+his hold and arose.
+
+"You had better not, Mrs. Bangs," said Jack. "Bob deserves what he is
+getting."
+
+"I do not believe it! It is disgraceful to throw him down in the road
+like this," stormed the fashionable lady.
+
+"He hit Randy with a chunk of dirt."
+
+"I--I didn't do nothing!" howled Bob, as he got up. He was too ruffled
+to think of his bad grammar.
+
+"And that elegant suit is about ruined," went on Mrs. Bangs. "I never
+heard of such doings before. Boy," she went on, looking at Randy, "you
+ought to be locked up!"
+
+"It is Bob ought to be locked up," retorted Randy. "He started this
+trouble; I didn't."
+
+"I do not believe it. My son is a gentleman."
+
+"I didn't do a thing," put in the rich boy, feeling safe, now that his
+mother and the hired man were on the scene. "They pitched into me for
+nothing at all."
+
+"Bob knows better than that," said Jack.
+
+"Yesterday he tried to steal some fish we caught, and to-day he mussed
+up Jack's boat and ruined some berries that both of us had picked,"
+explained Randy. "I took him to task about it and then he threw the mud
+at me. Then I chased him and caught him, as you saw."
+
+"Preposterous! My boy would not steal!" said Mrs. Bangs, tartly. She
+looked meaningly at Jack. "I presume you and your family are very
+bitter against us now," she added, significantly.
+
+"Bitter against you?" said Jack, puzzled.
+
+"Yes--because of that iron works affair."
+
+"I don't know anything about that, Mrs. Bangs."
+
+"Oh, then you haven't heard yet." The fashionable woman was nonplussed.
+"Never mind. You must leave Robert alone."
+
+"Ain't you going to get that policeman and lock them up?" asked the
+son, anxiously.
+
+"If I am locked up, you'll be locked up, too," said Randy. "And the
+charge against you will be stealing as well as malicious mischief."
+
+"Yes, and we'll prove our case," added Jack. "Bob doesn't know what
+witnesses we have."
+
+At this announcement Bob Bangs' face grew pale.
+
+"Yo--you can't prove anything," he faltered.
+
+"You don't know about that," said Randy, taking his cue from Jack.
+
+"I will look into this affair later--just now I have no time," said
+Mrs. Bangs, after an awkward pause. "Robert, you had better go into the
+house and clean yourself up. John, you can drive on." And then, while
+the fashionable woman was driven into her grounds, her son lost no time
+in sneaking off into the house. As he entered the door he turned and
+shook his fist at our hero and Jack.
+
+"Jack, I don't think we have heard the last of this," remarked Randy,
+as he and his companion started away.
+
+"Perhaps not, but I think we have the best of it," answered Jack.
+
+"I don't know about that. Mrs. Bangs is a very high-strung woman and
+thinks a good deal of Bob."
+
+"I'd like to know what she meant about the iron works matter," went on
+Jack, with a troubled look on his face. "I hope Mr. Bangs hasn't got
+the best of father in that deal."
+
+"You had better ask your father when you get home."
+
+"I will."
+
+The two lads hurried back to the boat and placed the craft where it
+belonged. Then the berries were divided, and each started for his home
+little dreaming of the trouble that was in store for both of them.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE IRON WORKS AFFAIR
+
+
+When Jack arrived at home he took the berries around to the kitchen and
+then hurried upstairs to the bathroom, to wash and fix up for supper.
+He was in the midst of his ablutions when he heard his father come in
+and go to the library. An animated talk between his two parents
+followed.
+
+"Something unusual is up," thought Jack, and went below as soon as he
+was fixed up.
+
+He found his father sitting near the library table, his head resting on
+his hand. His face looked careworn. Mrs. Bartlett sat by an open window
+clasping her hands tightly. Their earnest talk came to a sudden end as
+Jack entered.
+
+"Good-evening, father and mother," said the boy and then halted. "Maybe
+I was interrupting you," he added.
+
+"Jack may as well know," said Mrs. Bartlett, looking meaningly at her
+husband.
+
+"I suppose so," answered Mr. Bartlett, and gave a long sigh.
+
+"Know what?" asked Jack.
+
+"Your father has had trouble at the iron works," answered his mother.
+
+"What kind of trouble?"
+
+"It is the Bangs affair," answered Mr. Bartlett. "You know a little
+about that already. Well, Amos Bangs has forced me into a corner."
+
+"What do you mean by that, father?"
+
+"He has gained control of the company and is going to consolidate with
+the Springfield concern."
+
+"Will that harm you much?"
+
+"A great deal, I am afraid, Jack. In the past I have known all that was
+going on. Now I will have to rely on Amos Bangs--and I do not care to
+do that."
+
+"Don't you think he is honest?"
+
+"Privately, I do not, although I should not care to say so in public.
+He and his friends at Springfield are sharpers. They will squeeze what
+they can out of the new concern, and I am afraid I shall be left out in
+the cold."
+
+"Well, I shouldn't trust Mr. Bangs myself. He and his son are of a
+stripe, and I know only too well now what Bob is."
+
+"Have you had trouble with Bob?" questioned Mrs. Bartlett, quickly.
+
+"Yes," answered Jack, and gave the particulars. "How Bob will crow over
+me now!" he went on, ruefully.
+
+"This will make Bangs harder on me than ever," remarked Mr. Bartlett.
+
+"Oh, I trust not, father!" cried Jack. "I am sure you have trouble
+enough already!"
+
+"The Bangses are a hard family to get along with," said Mrs. Bartlett.
+"I have heard that from several who work for them."
+
+"The men at the office are sorry to see Amos Bangs in control," said
+Mr. Bartlett. "They know he will drive them more than I have ever
+driven them, and he will never raise their wages."
+
+"Are you going to leave the company's office, father?"
+
+"Yes. I am no longer an officer, only a stockholder."
+
+"The company ought to give you a position."
+
+"Bangs said I could be a timekeeper, at fifteen dollars per week."
+
+"How mean! And what will his salary be?"
+
+"I don't know yet--probably a hundred and fifty per week--seven or
+eight thousand per year."
+
+"And you've been getting sixty dollars per week, haven't you?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then I'd go elsewhere."
+
+"That is what I shall do--if I can find any opening. What I am worried
+about mostly is the capital I have in the iron works, fifteen thousand
+dollars. I am afraid Bangs will, sooner or later, wipe me out, and do
+it in such a way that I cannot sue him to advantage."
+
+"It's an outrage!"
+
+"The trouble is, I trusted him too much from the start. He has proved
+to be a snake in the grass."
+
+"And Bob is exactly like him," said Jack.
+
+The family talked the matter over all during the supper hour and for
+some time later. The prospect ahead was a dark one and Mrs. Bartlett
+sighed deeply.
+
+"If you cannot get an opening elsewhere I do not know what we are to
+do," said she to her husband.
+
+"I'll get something," he replied, bravely. "And remember, I have a
+thousand dollars in cash in the bank."
+
+"A thousand dollars won't last long, Philip, after once you begin to
+use it up."
+
+"That is true."
+
+"Have you anything definite in view?"
+
+"Not exactly. I am going to write to my friend Mason, in Albany. He may
+be able to get me something to do at the iron works there. He is in
+charge."
+
+"Well, I hope it is better than the place Amos Bangs offered you."
+
+"There is only one trouble," went on Mr. Bartlett. "If I get work at
+Albany we will have to move to that city."
+
+"Well, we can do that."
+
+"Yes, but I hate to go away from Riverport. I wanted to watch Bangs."
+
+"You might go to Albany every Monday and come home Saturday night, at
+least for a time."
+
+"Yes, I might do that," answered Philip Bartlett.
+
+On the following morning he went down to the iron works as usual. As
+early as it was he found Amos Bangs ahead of him, and sorting out some
+papers at one of the desks.
+
+"Morning," said Amos Bangs, curtly.
+
+"Good-morning," answered Mr. Bartlett. "Mr. Bangs, what are you doing
+at this desk?"
+
+"Sorting out things."
+
+"Do you not know that this is my private desk?"
+
+"Is it? I thought it belonged to the iron company," answered Amos Bangs
+with a sneer.
+
+"The desk does belong to the company, but at present it contains my
+private papers as well as some papers of the company."
+
+"Well, it is going to be my desk after this, I'll thank you to take
+your personal things away."
+
+"You seem to be in a hurry to get me out."
+
+"I want to get to work here. Things have dragged long enough. I am
+going to make them hum."
+
+"I am glad to hear it," answered Philip Bartlett, pointedly. "I presume
+we can look for big dividends on our stock next year."
+
+"Well--er--I don't know about that. We have got to make improvements
+and they will cost money."
+
+"You didn't want any improvements when I was in charge."
+
+"That was a different thing. The old concern was a small-fry affair. We
+are going to make the new concern something worth while," answered Amos
+Bangs, loftily.
+
+"I hope you do--for my sake as well as for the sake of the other
+stockholders. But what salaries are the new officers to have?"
+
+"That is to be decided later."
+
+"I trust all the profits are not eaten up by the salaries."
+
+"You cannot expect talented men--like myself, for instance--to work for
+low salaries."
+
+"You used to be willing to work for fifty dollars a week."
+
+"Those days are past. But I cannot waste time talking now. Clean out
+the desk and turn it over to me," concluded Amos Bangs, and walked
+away.
+
+With a heavy heart Philip Bartlett set about the task before him. He
+was much attached to the iron works and hated to leave it. Presently
+his brow grew troubled.
+
+"Mr. Bangs!" he called.
+
+"What do you want now?"
+
+"Did you see anything of some papers with a broad rubber band around
+them?"
+
+"Didn't see anything but what is there."
+
+"I had some private papers. They seem to be gone."
+
+"I didn't take them," answered Amos Bangs, coldly.
+
+"It is queer where they can be," went on Philip Bartlett.
+
+"Well, I haven't got them."
+
+Philip Bartlett hunted high and low for the missing documents, but
+without success. Then he cleaned out the desk, put his personal things
+in a package, said good-by to his former employees, and quit the
+office.
+
+"I am well rid of him," said Amos Bangs, to himself. "And I am glad I
+got hold of those private contracts. Now I can make a deal with Shaster
+and turn the work over to the Springfield concern--and make some
+money!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+MORE TROUBLES FOR RANDY
+
+
+Two days passed quietly, and Randy did not see or hear anything more of
+Bob Bangs. Then he learned through Jack that Mrs. Bangs had gone off on
+a summer trip, taking her son with her.
+
+"I hear there are great changes at the iron works," said Randy, to his
+friend. "Mr. Bangs, they say, is in charge."
+
+"He is, and father is out of it," answered Jack, bitterly. "That is
+what Mrs. Bangs meant when she said I must be bitter against the
+family."
+
+"Is your father out of it entirely, Jack?"
+
+"Yes, so far as holding a position is concerned. He still has his
+stock. But he is afraid that won't be worth much, if Amos Bangs runs
+the concern."
+
+"What is your father going to do?"
+
+"He doesn't know yet. He is trying to connect with some other iron
+works."
+
+"I hope he strikes something good."
+
+"So do I, Randy."
+
+"I wish I could get something to do, too," went on Randy.
+
+"You mean during the summer?"
+
+"Yes, and maybe later, too."
+
+"Why, isn't your father working?"
+
+"Not to-day. He has been working in a damp cellar and that brought on
+his old complaint, rheumatism. He suffers something awful with it. He
+ought to have a long rest."
+
+"He certainly ought not to work in a cellar."
+
+"He has already told his boss he couldn't go at it again," answered
+Randy.
+
+"Have you had a doctor?"
+
+"Yes, Doctor Case came this morning."
+
+"What does he say?"
+
+"He says rheumatism is hard to cure and that my father will have to
+take care of himself," answered Randy. "But I must go on now," he
+added. "I must get some things for mother at the store."
+
+What Randy said about his father was true. Louis Thompson was suffering
+very much. He rested on a couch in the sitting room of the cottage, and
+his wife did what she could to relieve his pain.
+
+Several days passed and the rheumatism, instead of growing better,
+became worse, so that neither Mrs. Thompson nor Randy knew what to do
+for the sufferer. Then Mr. Thompson's side began to draw up, and in
+haste a specialist from the city was called in. He gave some relief,
+but said it would be a long time before the sufferer would be able to
+go to work again.
+
+"You must keep off your left leg," said the specialist.
+
+A few days after that Louis Thompson tried to walk. But the pain was so
+great he could not stand on the rheumatic limb. He sank on his couch
+with a groan.
+
+"I cannot do it," he gasped.
+
+"Then do not try," answered his wife.
+
+"But I must get to work, Lucy. I cannot afford to be idle."
+
+"Never mind, Louis; we will get along somehow."
+
+"How much did that specialist charge?"
+
+"Fifty dollars?"
+
+"And what was Doctor Case's bill?"
+
+"Ten dollars."
+
+"Sixty dollars! And we had only ninety dollars in the bank! That leaves
+us only thirty dollars."
+
+To this Mrs. Thompson did not answer. She had used up nearly ten
+dollars for medicines, but did not wish to worry her suffering husband
+by mentioning it.
+
+"If I don't go to work we'll all starve to death!" continued Louis
+Thompson.
+
+"We'll manage somehow," answered the wife, bravely.
+
+Nevertheless, she was much discouraged, and that evening, when her
+husband was asleep, she and Randy talked the matter over as they sat on
+the porch in the darkness.
+
+"Mother," said Randy, earnestly, "I don't want you to feel troubled.
+You have labored so long for me that it is now my turn. I only want
+something to do."
+
+"My dear child," said the mother, "I do not need to be assured of your
+willingness. But I am sorry that you should be compelled to give up
+your vacation and maybe your schooling."
+
+"Giving up schooling will not be necessary. I can study in the
+evenings. I am wondering what I can find to do."
+
+"I know so little about such things, Randy, that we must consult
+someone who is better qualified to give advice in the matter--your
+Uncle Peter, for instance."
+
+At this Randy gave a sigh.
+
+"I don't know Uncle Peter. He never comes here."
+
+"That is true," answered Mrs. Thompson, with some hesitation. "But you
+know he is a business man and has a great deal to attend to. Besides,
+he has married a lady who is exceedingly fashionable, and I suppose he
+does not care to bring her to visit such unfashionable folks as we
+are."
+
+"Then," said Randy, indignantly, "I don't want to trouble him with any
+of my applications. If he doesn't think us good enough to visit we
+won't force ourselves upon him."
+
+"My dear boy, you are too excitable. It may be that it is only his
+business engagements that have kept him away from us. Besides, you can
+go to him only for advice; it is quite different from asking
+assistance."
+
+Mother and son discussed the situation for fully an hour and at last,
+in the absence of other plans, it was decided that Randy should go to
+his uncle the next day and make known his wants. Mr. Thompson was told,
+early in the morning, and said Randy could do as he thought best.
+
+"But don't expect too much from your Uncle Peter," said the sick man.
+
+Peter Thompson was an elder brother to Randy's father. Early in life he
+had entered a counting room and ever since had been engaged in
+mercantile pursuits. At the age of twenty-eight he had married a
+dashing lady, who was more noted for her fashionable pretensions than
+for any attractive qualities of the heart. She was now at the head of a
+very showy establishment, far more pretentious than that over which
+Mrs. Bangs presided. She knew little about her husband's relations and
+cared still less.
+
+The town of Riverport was twenty miles distant from Deep Haven, where
+Peter Thompson resided with his family. A boat ran daily between these
+places and several others, but Randy did not wish to spend the
+necessary fare, and so borrowed a bicycle from Jack and made the trip
+by way of the river road, a safe if not very comfortable highway.
+
+Randy had been to Deep Haven several times in years gone by, but,
+strange as it may seem, had never gone near his uncle's residence. But
+he knew where the house was located--a fine brick affair, with a swell
+front--and leaning his bicycle against a tree, he mounted the stone
+steps and rang the bell.
+
+"What's wanted?" demanded the servant who answered the summons, and she
+looked Randy over in a supercilious manner, not at all impressed by the
+modest manner in which he was attired.
+
+"Is Uncle Peter at home?" asked Randy, politely.
+
+"Who's Uncle Peter?"
+
+"Mr. Peter Thompson?"
+
+"No, he isn't."
+
+"Where is he?"
+
+"At his store, I expect."
+
+"Is Mrs. Thompson at home?"
+
+"I don't know. I'll see. Who shall I say wants to see her?"
+
+"Randy Thompson."
+
+Randy was left standing in the elegantly furnished hallway while the
+servant departed. He could not help but contrast such elegance with his
+own modest home.
+
+"Come into the drawing room," said the servant, briefly, on returning,
+and ushered him into the finest apartment he had ever entered.
+
+Here he was kept waiting for fully quarter of an hour. Then a showily
+dressed woman swept into the room with a majestic air and fixed a cold
+stare upon our hero.
+
+"Are you my aunt?" he asked, somewhat disconcerted by his chilling
+reception.
+
+"Really, I couldn't say--not having seen you before," she answered.
+
+"My name is Randy Thompson. I am the son of Louis Thompson, of
+Riverport."
+
+"Ah, I see."
+
+The woman said no more, but seemed to await developments. Randy was
+greatly embarrassed. His aunt's coldness repelled him, and he easily
+saw that he was not a welcome visitor. A touch of pride came to him and
+he resolved that he would be as unsociable as his relative.
+
+"What can he want of me?" thought the woman.
+
+As Randy said nothing more she grew tired of the stillness and drew
+herself up once more.
+
+"You must excuse me this morning," she said. "I am particularly
+engaged. I suppose you know where your uncle's store is. You will
+probably find him there." And then she rang for the servant to show our
+hero to the door. He was glad to get out into the open air once more.
+
+"So that is Aunt Grace," he mused. "Well, I don't know as I shall ever
+wish to call upon her again. She is as bad as an iceberg for freezing a
+fellow. No wonder she and mother have never become friends."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+RANDY AND HIS UNCLE PETER
+
+
+From his uncle's home Randy rode on his bicycle to Peter Thompson's
+store--a fairly large concern, the largest, in fact, in Deep Haven. He
+found his uncle behind a desk in the rear, busy over some accounts. For
+several minutes he paid no attention to his visitor. Then he stuck his
+pen behind his ear and gave Randy a sharp look.
+
+"How do you do, Uncle Peter?" said the youth.
+
+"Why--er--who is this?" stammered Peter Thompson. "I don't seem to
+quite know you."
+
+"I am Randy Thompson, your nephew."
+
+"Oh, yes, my younger brother Louis' son, I believe."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I remember you now." Peter Thompson held out a flabby and cold hand.
+"Come to town on business, I suppose."
+
+"In a way, yes, sir. Father is down with rheumatism."
+
+"Hum! Didn't take proper care of himself, I suppose."
+
+"He had to work in a cellar and that put him in bed."
+
+"And you have come to ask help, I suppose." Peter Thompson's face
+dropped quickly. "I am sorry, but my family expenses are very large,
+and trade is dull. If I were able----"
+
+"You are mistaken," said Randy, a flush mounting to his brow. "I do not
+come for assistance. I am old enough to work, if I only knew what to
+do. Mother told me to come to you for advice."
+
+Peter Thompson looked relieved when he understood that Randy's visit
+meant no demand upon his purse, and he regarded the youth more
+favorably than he had done.
+
+"Ah, that's well," he said, rubbing his flabby hands together. "I like
+your independence. _Now_, let me see." He scratched his head. "Do you
+know anything about horses?"
+
+"No, sir; but perhaps I could learn."
+
+"The livery-stable keeper wants a boy, but he must know all about
+horses."
+
+"How much would he pay a week?"
+
+"Two dollars at the start."
+
+"That would not be enough for me."
+
+"I might get you in some store in the city," continued Peter Thompson.
+"Would you like that?"
+
+"If it paid, yes."
+
+"It would pay but little the first year. But you would gain a valuable
+experience."
+
+"I cannot afford that, Uncle Peter. I must earn something at once, to
+support our family."
+
+"Then I don't know what can be done," said the storekeeper, with a
+shrug of his shoulders. "There are very few things that boys of your
+age can do, and it is so easy to obtain boys that people are not
+willing to pay much in wages."
+
+Randy looked crestfallen and his uncle embarrassed. The merchant feared
+that he might be compelled by the world's opinion to aid his brother
+and his family. But suddenly an idea struck him.
+
+"Do you know anything about farming?" he inquired.
+
+"Yes, sir," said Randy; "a little."
+
+"I ask for this reason," pursued Mr. Thompson. "When your grandfather
+died he left to me a small farm in Riverport. It is not very good and
+has been used mostly as a pasture. I have been so occupied with other
+things that I could not look after it. Perhaps you may know something
+of it."
+
+"Yes, sir, I do. It is about half a mile from our house, and is called
+the twelve-acre lot. But I didn't know it belonged to you."
+
+"It does. What I was going to say is that, although I am unable to give
+you such assistance as I should like, I will, if you wish it, give you
+the use of that lot, and the little cottage on it, rent-free so long as
+you care to use it. Perhaps you can put it to some use. Anyway, you can
+use the cottage."
+
+Randy's face lighted up, much to his uncle's satisfaction. The land was
+not extra good and the cottage all but tumbled down, yet it was better
+than nothing. They could move out of the cottage in which they were now
+located, and thus save the monthly rent, which was eight dollars.
+Besides that, Randy felt that he could do something with the garden,
+even though it was rather late in the season. Where they now lived
+there was little room to grow vegetables.
+
+"You are sure you don't want to use the place, Uncle Peter?" he asked.
+
+"Not at all. You can use it as long as you please."
+
+"Maybe you would like to sell it."
+
+"Ahem! If you wish to buy it you can make an offer after you are on the
+place. I once offered it to a man for two hundred dollars, but he would
+not take me up."
+
+"Then you will sell it for two hundred dollars?"
+
+"I will sell it to you, or rather your father, for a hundred and fifty
+dollars."
+
+"I'll remember that, sir. It may be that we will like the place so much
+we shall want to buy--if we can raise the money."
+
+"You can pay off the amount at the rate of fifty dollars per year if
+you wish."
+
+"Thank you. You are kind and I appreciate it," and Randy meant what he
+said.
+
+Peter Thompson looked at the clock.
+
+"I must go to dinner now. Will you dine with me?"
+
+Had his uncle been alone Randy might have accepted the offer, but he
+remembered the reception his aunt had given him and so declined.
+
+"I think I had better get back to Riverport," he said. "I will tell
+mother and father about the twelve-acre lot and see what they have to
+say about it."
+
+"Very well."
+
+"Would you mind giving me a slip of paper so that we can prove we have
+a right to occupy the place?" pursued Randy. "Some folks may try to
+dispute our right. I know one man who pastures cows there."
+
+"He has no right to do so. Here, I will give you a paper in due form."
+
+Whatever his other shortcomings, Peter Thompson was not a slipshod
+business man. He drew up a paper in due form, stating that his brother
+could occupy the little farm for five years, rent-free, and if he
+wished to do so could at any time in said five years buy the little
+farm for one hundred and fifty dollars, payable at the rate of fifty
+dollars per year, without interest.
+
+"And now good-by and good luck to you," said he as he handed the paper
+to Randy. "Some day, if I can get the time, I may call upon you. But I
+rarely go away from home."
+
+Randy shook hands and left, and in a minute more was riding home on the
+bicycle.
+
+"Well, I think I've gained something," he thought, as he sped along.
+"Anyway, we will have a roof over our heads and that is something. To
+be sure, the cottage is a poor one, but poor folks can't have
+everything as they want it."
+
+When the boy arrived home he found his father had had another bad turn
+but was now resting easier. Without delay he told of what had happened
+at Deep Haven.
+
+"Your aunt is a Tartar," said Louis Thompson. "I never liked her, and
+that is why I and your Uncle Peter have drifted apart. I thought he had
+sold the twelve-acre lot to Jerry Borden, who pastures his cows there."
+
+"Jerry Borden will have to get out--that is, if we take possession,"
+said Randy. "Mother, what do you think of it?"
+
+"Is the cottage usable? I have not seen it for a year or more."
+
+"It will have to be fixed up some. But I am sure I can do the work,
+with father's tools."
+
+"It will save the rent money."
+
+"And I can plant a garden, even if it is late. And we can keep some
+chickens, and then, after everything is in shape, I can again look for
+outside work."
+
+"Randy's idea is a good one," answered the boy's father. "Our month
+will be up here next week. I'll notify the owner at once about
+leaving."
+
+The next morning Randy went over to the twelve-acre farm, a corner of
+which sloped down to the river. He had passed it a hundred times
+before, but it was with an entirely different feeling that he surveyed
+it now.
+
+It was pasture land, naturally good, but much neglected. A great many
+stones needed to be removed and the fences wanted propping up and here
+and there a new rail. The house, which faced a little side road, was a
+story and a half in height, with two rooms below and two chambers
+above. There was a well that needed fixing and also a cistern. Around
+the cottage the weeds grew high, and one of the windows was out and a
+door was missing.
+
+"I can fix this place up, I am sure of it," said the boy to himself.
+
+He was making a mental note of what was to be done when he heard a
+noise on the road and saw a farmer approaching, driving a dozen cows
+before him. It was Jerry Borden, the man who had been using the pasture
+lot without paying for it.
+
+"Hullo! What air you a-doin' here?" asked Jerry Borden, looking at
+Randy in some surprise.
+
+"We are going to move over here, Mr. Borden," answered Randy, calmly.
+
+"Move over here!" ejaculated the farmer.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"In this air tumble-down cottage?"
+
+"I am going to fix it up some."
+
+"Well, I vow! It ain't fit to live in!"
+
+"It will be."
+
+"An' the land ain't wuth shucks."
+
+"It seems to be good enough for the cows."
+
+At this Jerry Borden's face fell a little.
+
+"If you air a-goin' to move in, I guess thet means I'm to move out," he
+ventured.
+
+"It does, unless----" Randy paused, struck by a sudden idea.
+
+"Unless what?" asked the farmer, eagerly. He wanted to use the lot very
+much, for he was short of pasturing on his own farm.
+
+"Unless we can come to some sort of an agreement for milk and butter.
+Of course I can't let you use the whole lot, but you might use part of
+it."
+
+"Did the owner say you could use the place?"
+
+"Yes, we have it down in writing. We are to use it for five years and
+then we can buy it if we wish."
+
+"I see." The farmer scratched his head. "Well, I dunno. Maybe we could
+let ye have butter an' milk. One thing is certain, I've got to have
+pasturin'."
+
+"We could fence off part of the lot in some way and you could use
+that."
+
+"Thet's so."
+
+"Besides that, I'll want some plowing done. I may have to hire you for
+that," pursued Randy.
+
+"I must say I like your spunk, Randy. I shan't charge ye a cent fer
+plowin'."
+
+After that the farmer and our hero talked matters over for half an
+hour, and the farmer told the youth what might be planted to advantage
+even so late in the season. Then Randy went home, feeling that the
+family was going to make a good move.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+THE NEW HOME
+
+
+The next few days were busy ones for Mrs. Thompson and for Randy. The
+landlord of the cottage in which they lived was notified that they were
+going to move, and then the woman set to work to get ready to vacate,
+while Randy went over to the other place to put the house in condition
+for occupancy.
+
+While Randy was at work Jack came to see him, and insisted upon lending
+a helping hand. Randy had brought over some of his father's tools and
+also some nails, and he purchased at the lumber yard a few boards and
+other pieces he thought he needed.
+
+When he once got at it, it was astonishing how well our hero used the
+tools, making several repairs that would have done credit to a regular
+carpenter. The broken window was replaced, and the missing door found
+and rehung, and several clapboards nailed fast. Then Randy mended the
+porch, and put a score of shingles on the roof. This done, the chimney
+was cleaned out and also the cistern, and the well was also overhauled.
+In the meantime Jack pulled out a lot of weeds and trained a wild
+honeysuckle over the porch. At the end of four days the place looked
+quite well.
+
+"It's a hundred per cent. better than it was," declared Jack. "It
+didn't look like anything before."
+
+"I'll get a can of paint to-morrow and paint the door and the window
+frames," said Randy, and this was done. He also whitewashed the
+kitchen, and kalsomined the other rooms, so that the interior of the
+cottage was sweet and clean.
+
+When Mrs. Thompson saw the change which had been wrought she was
+delighted.
+
+"I declare, it looks as well, if not better, than the cottage we are
+in," she cried. "And the outlook toward the river is ever so much
+nicer."
+
+"Just wait until I have the garden in shape," said Randy. "You won't
+know the spot."
+
+"What a pity we did not know of this place before."
+
+"Mother, I think we ought to buy it if we can."
+
+"Perhaps we shall, Randy, before the five years are up."
+
+At length came the day to move. A local truckman who knew Mr. Thompson
+well moved them for nothing.
+
+"You can do some odd jobs for me some time," said the truckman to Louis
+Thompson.
+
+"Thank you, I will--when I am able," answered the sufferer.
+
+A good deal of the pain had left Mr. Thompson, but he was weak, and to
+start to regular work was out of the question. Another friend took him
+to his new cottage in a carriage. He gazed at the old place in wonder.
+
+"Well, it certainly is improved!" he ejaculated. "We shall get along
+here very well."
+
+The moving was done early in the morning and by nightfall Randy and his
+mother had the cottage in tolerable order. The stove was set up and
+found to draw good, and the water from the well tasted fine.
+
+"Now there is one thing certain," said Randy, "Mother, come what may,
+we shall have a roof over our heads."
+
+"Yes, my son, and I am grateful for it," answered Mrs. Thompson.
+
+"Uncle Peter may be a hard man to get along with, but he has certainly
+helped us."
+
+The next two weeks were busy ones for Randy. Jerry Borden was true to
+his promise and not only did some plowing for the Thompsons but also
+helped Randy to put up a new fence, partly of stone and partly of
+rails. It was agreed that Borden should have the use of part of the
+little farm for pasturing, and in return was to give the Thompsons two
+quarts of milk a day and two pounds of butter per week, and also a
+dozen fresh eggs a week while the hens were laying.
+
+"That will certainly help us out wonderfully," said Mrs. Thompson.
+"Butter, eggs, and milk are quite an item of expense."
+
+"And that is not all," said Randy. "I am going to help Mr. Borden with
+his haying soon and he is going to pay us in early vegetables."
+
+The haying time was already at hand, and Randy soon pitched in with a
+will, much to his neighbor's satisfaction.
+
+One day Jack came to bring good news. His father had secured a position
+with an iron works at Albany, on the Hudson River.
+
+"It will pay him a fair salary," said Jack.
+
+"I am glad to hear it," answered Randy. "What will your family do,
+remain here or move to Albany?"
+
+"We are going to remain here for the present, but, if the place suits
+father after he has been there a while, then we'll move."
+
+"Have you learned anything more about the Bangses?"
+
+"Mrs. Bangs and Bob are on a summer vacation."
+
+"Yes, I know that. I meant Mr. Bangs."
+
+"He is in full charge at the iron works here and drawing a salary of
+eight thousand dollars a year. Father says he will run the works into
+the ground so that the stock won't be worth a cent."
+
+"Can't your father do anything?"
+
+"Not yet. But he is going to watch things. There was some trouble over
+a contract and he is trying to get to the bottom of that," continued
+Jack.
+
+When Randy went to work for Farmer Borden he came into contact with the
+farmer's son Sammy, a tall, overgrown lad of fourteen, with a freckled
+face and a shock of red hair. Sammy hated to work, and his father and
+mother had to fairly drive him to get anything out of him.
+
+"City folks don't work like farmers," remarked Sammy to Randy. "They
+jest lay off an' take it easy."
+
+"How do you know that?" asked our hero, in quiet amusement.
+
+"'Cos I once read a paper of the sports in the city."
+
+"Some rich folks don't work, Sammy. But all the others work as hard as
+we do."
+
+"I don't believe it," said Sammy, stoutly. "Wish I was a city lad. Oh,
+wouldn't I jest have the bang-up time, though!"
+
+"Sammy Borden!" cried his mother, shrilly. "You get to work, an' be
+quick about it."
+
+"I'm tired," answered the freckled-faced lad.
+
+"Tired? Lazy, you mean! Git to work, or I'll have your paw give you a
+dressin' down!"
+
+"Drat the luck!" muttered Sammy, as he took up his pitchfork. "I wish I
+was born in the city!"
+
+"Come on, Sammy," said Randy. "The work has got to be done, so don't
+think about it, but do it."
+
+"Huh! Work is easy to you, Randy Thompson! But it comes hard on me!"
+And Sammy heaved a ponderous sigh.
+
+The haying was in full blast early in July and Randy worked early and
+late. He wanted to get through, so that he might go at his own garden.
+Sammy dragged worse than ever, and finally confided to our hero that he
+wanted to go to the city over the Fourth.
+
+"Have you asked your folks yet?" asked Randy.
+
+"No, but I'm a-goin' to," answered Sammy.
+
+"Well, if you go, I hope you have a good time," said our hero. "I'd
+like to see a Fourth of July in the city myself. I've heard they make a
+good deal of noise, but I shouldn't mind that."
+
+"Gosh! I love shootin'," said Sammy.
+
+"Aren't you afraid you might get lost?" pursued Randy.
+
+"Lost!" snorted Sammy. "Not much! Why, you can't lose me in the woods,
+much less in the city."
+
+"The city and the woods are two different places."
+
+"I don't care. I'd know what I was doin'."
+
+"It costs money to go to the city."
+
+"I want to go to Springfield."
+
+"Have you any money saved up?"
+
+To this Sammy did not answer. Then Mr. Borden came along.
+
+"Sammy, get to work!" he called out. "Don't let Randy do everything."
+
+"I was workin'," grumbled the son, as he started in again. "You can't
+expect a feller like me to pitch hay all day long."
+
+"I have to work all day," retorted his father.
+
+"It ain't fair nohow."
+
+"If you want to eat you'll have to work."
+
+Sammy pitched in, but grumbled a good deal to himself. Soon his mother
+called him and he went off to the house.
+
+"That lad is gettin' lazier every day," said Jerry Borden. "I declare,
+I don't know what to do with him."
+
+"Maybe he needs a vacation," suggested our hero.
+
+"Well, he can't have one until the hayin' is done," declared the
+farmer.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+SAMMY'S FOURTH OF JULY
+
+
+The next day Sammy sat on a bench on the cottage stoop, apparently very
+intent on a perusal of the Farmer's Almanac, but it was evident his
+thoughts were somewhere else.
+
+"What in nater is the boy a-doin'?" asked his mother, looking up from a
+pile of stockings she was mending. "If he ain't twisting up thet
+Almanac as if 'twasn't any more than a piece of brown paper. What are
+you thinking about, Sammy?"
+
+"Thursday is Fourth o' July," answered her son.
+
+"Well, what if it is? I'm sure I'm willing."
+
+"They are going to have great doings down to Springfield," added Sammy.
+
+"Is that so? I hope they enjoy themselves. But it ain't anything to me
+as I know on."
+
+"I want to go down an' see the celebration," said Sammy, mustering up
+his courage to give utterance to so daring a proposition.
+
+"Want to see the Fourth o' July in Springfield?" ejaculated his mother.
+"Is the boy crazy? Ain't it the Fourth o' July here as well as there,
+I'd like to know?"
+
+"Well, I suppose it is, but I never was in Springfield, an' I want to
+go. They've got a lot o' shows there, an' I'm bound to see some of
+'em."
+
+"Sammy," said his mother, solemnly, "it would be the ruination of you;
+you'd git shot, or something wuss. You ain't nuthin' but a boy, an'
+couldn't be trusted nohow."
+
+"Ain't I fourteen, an' ain't I 'most six feet high?" answered back
+Sammy, defiantly. "An' didn't Dick Slade, who is only thirteen, go down
+last Fourth an' have a smashin' good time an' not git hurt?"
+
+"But you ain't got no experience, Sammy."
+
+"I've got enough to go to Springfield."
+
+"No, you had better give up the notion."
+
+"Now, mother, don't say that!" pleaded the son.
+
+"But I do say it."
+
+"Well, then I'm going to--to run away! I'll go to sea an' be a sailor,
+or sumthin'!" burst out Sammy, recklessly. "I'm sick o' workin' every
+single day!"
+
+"Stop talking in that dreadful way, Sammy!" said Mrs. Borden,
+anxiously.
+
+"Then you ask paw to let me go."
+
+"'Twon't do no good."
+
+"Yes, it will. You ask him, won't you?" pleaded the son.
+
+At last Mrs. Borden consented and spoke to her husband about it during
+the dinner hour. Jerry Borden shook his head.
+
+"He can't go--it's sheer foolishness," he said.
+
+"If you don't let him go I'm afraid he will run away," said the wife.
+"He has his heart set on going." Sammy was out of the room at the time,
+so he could not hear the talk.
+
+At first Mr. Borden would not listen, but at last he gave in, although
+he added grimly that he thought running away would do Sammy a world of
+good.
+
+"He'd be mighty glad to sneak back afore a week was up," he said.
+
+When Sammy realized that he was really to go to the city he was wild
+with delight, and rushed down into the hayfield to tell Randy of his
+plans.
+
+"I'm a-goin' to have a highfalutin' time," he said. "Just you wait
+until I come back an' tell about it."
+
+"I hope you do have a good time," answered our hero, "and don't get
+hurt."
+
+"There won't nothin' happen to me," answered Sammy, confidently.
+
+Early on the morning of Independence Day Sammy stood at the door of the
+farmhouse arrayed in his Sunday best. His folks were there to see him
+off.
+
+"My son," said Mr. Borden, "don't ye be wasteful o' your money, an'
+don't git in no scrapes."
+
+"An' remember, Sammy, to keep all the Commandments," added his mother,
+as she kissed him tenderly.
+
+Soon he was off, down the side road towards the highway, where the
+stage passed that ran to the railroad station. His walk took him by the
+Thompson cottage. Randy was at home and fixing up the garden.
+
+"I'm off!" yelled Sammy, waving his hand.
+
+"Good luck!" cried Randy, pleasantly. "Don't get your head shot off."
+
+"He may lose his head without having it shot off," remarked Mr.
+Thompson, who sat on the porch, with his rheumatic side in the
+sunshine.
+
+"I do not think it very wise to let him go to the city alone," put in
+Mrs. Thompson from the kitchen.
+
+Sammy tramped on until he came to the main highway and there waited
+impatiently for the stage to appear. He got a seat by the driver, and
+in less than an hour reached the railroad station. He had been on the
+cars before, yet the ride was much of a novelty.
+
+At last the country boy found himself on the streets of Springfield.
+There was an extra celebration of some sort going on and great crowds
+flocked on every side. Poor Sammy was completely bewildered, as he was
+jostled first one way and then another.
+
+"Well, by gosh! If this don't beat anything I ever see!" he ejaculated.
+"Where in thunder did all the folks come from, anyway?"
+
+Sammy looked so truly rural that he attracted the attention of two
+street urchins who were standing close by.
+
+"There's a greeny, I'll bet a hat!" said one of them, nudging his
+companion.
+
+"A regular one and no mistake," answered the second urchin.
+
+"Let's have a little fun out of him."
+
+"How?"
+
+"Just look and you'll see how I fix him."
+
+So speaking, he took a bunch of firecrackers from his pocket and, with
+a pin, attached it to the tail of Sammy's coat. Then he set the bunch
+on fire and slipped back into the crowd.
+
+Crack! Crack! Bang!
+
+The plot took effect. Sammy was aroused from his reverie by explosion
+after explosion in his immediate rear. He started and leaped into the
+air in wild amazement.
+
+"By thunder!" he gasped. "Is thet a cannon bustin'?"
+
+The crackers continued to go off, and poor Sammy leaped around worse
+than ever.
+
+"Say, mister, what's up?" he asked of a man who was laughing loudly.
+
+"Look behind you," answered the man.
+
+Sammy did so. One look was enough. He began to bellow like a bull and
+started off on a run, knocking down several people who happened to be
+in his way. At last a police officer stopped him.
+
+"What do you mean by making such a disturbance?" demanded the officer.
+
+"I'm burning up! I'm exploding! Don't you hear me?" gasped poor Sammy.
+
+"Pooh! It's only fire-crackers," and the policeman smiled faintly.
+
+"Take 'em off, mister, please do!" pleaded Sammy. "I'll give you ten
+cents for the job!"
+
+"They are about burned out," answered the officer, as the last
+firecracker went off with an extra loud bang. "You are safe. Go along
+with you." And he waved his stick. Sammy lost no time in sneaking off.
+The boy who had played the trick had a good laugh and so did his
+companion.
+
+Soon Sammy heard a band and saw some "Milingtary," as he called them,
+approaching. The sight of the soldiers with their guns awed him, yet he
+followed the procession to a grove, where there was more music and also
+speechmaking. He listened to the orations with wide-open mouth, until
+he suddenly lost interest when a bit of banana skin was thrown at him,
+landing directly in the opening.
+
+"Wah!" he spluttered. "Who threw thet skin at me?"
+
+He could not find the offender and so roamed around the grove,
+presently halting before a temporary stand filled with things to eat.
+He now discovered that he was tremendously hungry.
+
+"Snathers take the expense," he muttered to himself. "I'm a-goin' to
+have something to eat if it breaks me." He had brought along a lunch
+from home, but had forgotten it on the train.
+
+He approached the stand and looked the stock of eatables over.
+
+"What's the price o' them bananas, mister?" he asked.
+
+"Two cents each."
+
+"Well, I suppose if I take two you'll let me have 'em fer three cents."
+
+"Couldn't do it."
+
+"Well, who cares, anyway? It's only four cents. Let me have two."
+
+The bananas were handed over and Sammy looked for his change. But he
+only had two cents and a one-dollar bill.
+
+"Can you change that?" he asked, holding out the bill.
+
+"Certainly," answered the standkeeper, and promptly gave the youth a
+fifty-cent piece and a lot of small change. With his bananas in one
+hand and his money in another Sammy retired to a distance, to count his
+change and make sure it was right.
+
+While he was buying the fruit a boy in tatters watched him eagerly. Now
+the boy came up to the country lad.
+
+"Please, mister, won't you give me some money to buy bread with?" he
+asked, in a quivering voice.
+
+"To buy bread with?" asked Sammy, in astonishment.
+
+"Yes, please--I'm awful hungry."
+
+"Ain't you had nuthin' to eat to-day?"
+
+"Not a mouthful."
+
+Sammy's compassion was aroused and he began to look over his change.
+
+"Look out for that!" cried the tattered boy, looking upward suddenly.
+
+Sammy's gaze traveled in the same direction. As his eyes went up the
+boy in rags grabbed the money in his hand and in an instant was making
+off through the crowd.
+
+The movement was so quick, and the surprise so great, that for the
+moment Sammy was bereft of speech.
+
+At length he recovered sufficiently to shout the single word at the top
+of his lungs:
+
+"Constable!"
+
+"What's the matter?" asked a policeman, running up.
+
+"Thief! Robbery!"
+
+"Where is the thief?"
+
+"He ran off."
+
+"Where? In what direction?"
+
+"I--er--I don't know," stammered Sammy.
+
+"What did he take?"
+
+"Took all my money."
+
+"How much?"
+
+"Ninety-six cents. It ain't all--I've got two cents left."
+
+"Well, if you can point out the thief I'll arrest him," said the
+policeman. "Come, we'll take a look around."
+
+This was done, but the boy in rags could not be found.
+
+"Drat the luck! I suppose the money is gone fer good!" groaned Sammy,
+and he was right. For he never saw either the boy or his cash again.
+
+Sammy had expected to remain in the evening and see the fire-works, but
+now his interest in the celebration was gone.
+
+"Hain't got but two cents left!" he groaned. "Thet won't buy no supper
+nor nuthin! It's lucky I've got a train ticket back. But I'll have to
+walk to hum from the station, unless they'll tick me fer the stage
+ride."
+
+He walked around, still hoping to meet the lad who had robbed him. His
+perambulations presently brought him to a spot where there was a pond
+of water, in which some gold-fish were swimming. The gold-fish caught
+his eye and he paused to watch them as they darted about.
+
+He was leaning over, looking into the pond, when some boys came along
+on a run. One boy shoved another and he fell up against Sammy. As a
+consequence the country lad lost his balance and went into the pond
+with a loud splash.
+
+"Save me!" he spluttered. "I can't swim!"
+
+"Wade out; it's only up to your middle!" sang out a man, and arising,
+Sammy did as directed. He was covered with mud and slime and presented
+anything but a nice appearance.
+
+"This is the wust yet!" he muttered, and felt half like crying. "I
+ain't going to stay here no more--I'm goin' straight fer hum!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+RANDY TO THE RESCUE
+
+
+The next day Randy went over to the Borden farm to finish up his work
+there. To his astonishment Sammy was on hand and apparently eager to go
+to work.
+
+"Well, how was the celebration, Sammy?" asked our hero.
+
+"No good."
+
+"That's too bad."
+
+"After this I'm a-goin' to stay to hum on the Fourth," went on Sammy,
+as he began to fork over the hay vigorously. "I ain't goin' to no city
+to be skinned."
+
+"Did they skin you?"
+
+"Jest about. A feller robbed me an' I was pushed into a duck pond."
+
+"That's too bad."
+
+"If I hadn't a-had my train ticket I'd had to walk home," went on
+Sammy. "As it was, I had to borrow fifteen cents on the stage, to pay
+fer thet ride. No more city celebrations fer me. I kin have all I want
+right here at Riverport." And then Sammy related his adventures in
+detail, to which our hero listened with much secret amusement.
+
+Over at the Thompson place the ground had been plowed up in part, and
+as soon as he left Jerry Borden Randy set to work in earnest to plant
+late vegetables. For what our hero had done for the Bordens he was paid
+in vegetables, and also received a rooster and four hens. This gave the
+Thompsons their own eggs, for which the lady of the cottage was
+thankful.
+
+Randy was at work early one morning, when Jack appeared.
+
+"Hullo, at it already?" sang out Jack. "I thought I'd find you still in
+bed."
+
+"I prefer to work when the sun is not so hot," answered Randy. "But
+what brings you out at such an hour as this?"
+
+"I've got news."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"We are going to move to Albany."
+
+"When?"
+
+"The first of next week."
+
+"I'll be sorry to miss you, Jack."
+
+"And I'll be sorry to leave you, Randy. But I came over for something
+more than to tell the news. I want you to go fishing with me. They say
+the sport is extra fine just now."
+
+"I don't know if I can go," answered our hero, doubtfully. "There is
+still enough to do here."
+
+"It will be a change for you. You have worked very hard lately."
+
+"I admit that."
+
+"Go by all means, if you care to, Randy," called out Mrs. Thompson.
+"You have earned a holiday, and the fish will be acceptable."
+
+"All right, mother; if you say so, I'll go."
+
+It did not take Randy long to prepare for the outing. Jack had with him
+a basket of lunch for two, so all he had to get was his line and hooks
+and some extra bait.
+
+"I hope we catch a good mess to-day," said Randy, as they started off.
+"Then I can give Mr. Borden some and he can let us have some bacon that
+we need."
+
+"I suppose it is rather hard scratching for you just now," said Jack.
+
+"It is, and I am going to look for outside work before long."
+
+"Well, I hope you find something to do. Ben Bash was looking for work
+all over this district but he couldn't find a thing."
+
+"Oh, I know there is small chance in Riverport. I think I may try
+elsewhere," answered our hero.
+
+It did not take the two boys long to reach the river, at a point where
+Jack had left his boat. Both rowed to their favorite fishing spot.
+
+"Oh, isn't that too bad!" cried Jack, in disappointment.
+
+Strangers were fishing at the spot and they soon saw that there was no
+room for them to throw in.
+
+"How is fishing?" called out Randy.
+
+"Very good," answered one of those present.
+
+"We'll have to go elsewhere," said Jack. "The question is, where?"
+
+"I know another spot about quarter of a mile from here," answered
+Randy. "It may be just as good."
+
+They rowed on and reached the new place, to find nobody there. Soon
+they had their boat tied fast to an overhanging tree and then they got
+out on some flat rocks and baited up.
+
+It did not take long to prove that the new fishing place was as good as
+the old. Randy drew in a small fish almost immediately and Jack did the
+same. Then both got hauls of good size.
+
+"Maybe we'll do better than if we went to the old Fishing Hole,"
+observed Jack.
+
+At noon time they knocked off for lunch and a rest and then took a good
+swim.
+
+"I can tell you, I enjoy this!" cried Randy. "I haven't had a chance to
+go in for so long."
+
+The swim at an end, the boys donned their garments and resumed their
+fishing. They kept at it until about four o'clock. Then all their luck
+seemed to suddenly desert them.
+
+"Never mind," said Randy. "We certainly have a prime haul, even as it
+is," and he looked the fish over with much pride.
+
+They wound up their lines and were soon on the way down the river. It
+was rather a hot day, so they took their time in getting back.
+
+"What are you going to do with your boat?" asked Randy.
+
+"Sell it to Mr. Stanwood for ten dollars."
+
+"You are lucky to get a customer, Jack."
+
+"I know it. I'd turn the boat over to you only--well--we need the money
+now, you know," and Jack's eyes dropped.
+
+"Thank you, Jack, but I wouldn't have much time to use it. I must put
+in the most of my time at work."
+
+"I suppose that is true. At the same time I'd rather you had the boat
+than anybody I know of."
+
+The boys were coming around a bend of the river when they heard a
+peculiar noise in the distance.
+
+"What do you make that out to be?" asked Jack, as the noise continued.
+
+"I think I know," answered our hero. "It is the new tugboat from the
+bay. I saw it once, several weeks ago. It makes a very odd sound, for
+the engine is not like the ordinary ones."
+
+The noise kept coming closer and presently the tugboat came into view.
+It was stuck in the mud and those on board were doing what they could
+to get the craft afloat again.
+
+"They seem to be having a hard time of it," remarked Jack, as he
+stopped rowing to watch the proceedings.
+
+"The mud is very sticky here, if you'll remember," answered Randy.
+"Don't you remember how we were stuck here last year?"
+
+"Yes, and how I lost an oar overboard and nearly went overboard
+myself," continued Jack, with a short laugh. "Heigh-ho! Randy, I'll be
+sorry in a way to lose it all."
+
+"We must write to each other."
+
+"Of course."
+
+The tug was puffing and snorting viciously to get out of the mud. On
+board were four people who were evidently passengers, including a lady
+with a little girl.
+
+Suddenly there came something which sounded like an explosion. This was
+followed by a cloud of steam that seemed to completely envelop the
+tugboat.
+
+"Something is wrong!" shouted Randy.
+
+"Oh, mamma, I don't like this!" screamed the little girl, as she ran to
+the stern of the tug. "We'll be burned up!"
+
+She had scarcely spoken when there came another explosion and the cloud
+of steam increased. The four passengers crowded to the stern in a body,
+and a moment later the two men leaped overboard and called on the lady
+and her child to do likewise.
+
+"I cannot swim!" shrieked the lady.
+
+"You must jump!" answered somebody. "The tug may blow up!"
+
+The little girl heard this and with a scream she ran from her mother
+straight for the bow of the tug. The next moment she lost her balance
+and went overboard.
+
+"She's over!" cried Randy, and his heart leaped into his throat.
+
+"Save my child! Save Helen!" shrieked the lady and rushed after her
+offspring. Soon she was in the water also.
+
+The situation was certainly a thrilling one. The two men in the water
+were fifty feet away and those left on the tug were in no position to
+render assistance. The child had disappeared completely, while the
+mother was thrashing around wildly, in water just up to her neck.
+
+"Quick, Jack, turn the boat around!" ejaculated Randy. "We must get
+them on board."
+
+The craft was turned around and headed for the lady. Then Randy threw
+off his cap--he was already in his shirt sleeves--and stood up in the
+bow. He gazed anxiously into the muddy water and caught a dim view of
+the little girl's white dress.
+
+"My child! My child!" the mother continued to scream.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"I'll bring her up," said Randy, and made a leap overboard, just as the
+gunwale of the rowboat came within reaching distance of the lady's
+hands.
+
+The little girl had been caught by the current and was being carried
+down the stream. Randy made a quick grab but missed her, and then she
+disappeared from view. But in a few seconds more he saw her again, and
+this time secured hold of her arm. The next moment he raised her to the
+surface of the river.
+
+She was too far gone to do anything but splutter. She clutched him with
+a deathlike grip--a thing every person in danger of drowning will
+do--and he had his hands full to keep both himself and his burden
+afloat. Shallow water was not far off and he struck out for this and
+waded ashore.
+
+In the meantime Jack was having no easy time of it getting the lady
+into the rowboat. There was serious danger of the craft overturning,
+and he had to caution her to be careful.
+
+"My child! My Helen!" she moaned, when she was at last safe.
+
+"My friend will save her," answered Jack.
+
+"You are sure?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+A STEAMBOAT MAN
+
+
+Having saved the lady from her uncomfortable if not dangerous position,
+Jack lost no time in rowing for the shore. Soon he was at the river
+bank and the lady leaped out of the rowboat and ran to where Randy had
+placed his dripping burden on the grass.
+
+"My Helen! Is she safe?" asked the lady, anxiously.
+
+"I think so," answered our hero. "But I guess she swallowed some river
+water."
+
+"Oh, how thankful I am that you went after her."
+
+"It was the only thing to do. I saw she couldn't swim."
+
+The little girl was still gasping for breath. The mother threw herself
+on the grass and did what she could for her. Soon the little girl gave
+a cry:
+
+"Mamma!"
+
+"Yes, darling, I am here!"
+
+"Oh, dear! I am all wet!"
+
+"Be thankful that your life has been spared."
+
+"That boy brought me out of the water."
+
+"Yes, dear--and he was brave to do it," answered the mother and beamed
+on Randy to such an extent that he had to blush.
+
+By this time the two men had also come ashore. The steam was still
+blowing off on the tug but the danger appeared to be over. Later the
+engineer announced that a valve and a connection had broken, and the
+craft would have to remain where she was until towed off.
+
+"I am glad to see you are all safe," said the man who ran the tug.
+"There wasn't very much danger on board."
+
+"It looked bad enough," said one of the men who had leaped overboard.
+"I didn't want to get scalded."
+
+"And neither did I," added the other.
+
+It appeared that neither of the men knew the lady excepting by name.
+She was, however, fairly well known to the tug captain, and had gone up
+the river on the craft to please her little girl.
+
+"I am sorry for this, Mrs. Shalley," said the tug owner. "I must say, I
+don't know what to do."
+
+"I must get dry clothing on Helen pretty soon."
+
+"The tug is wet from end to end from the escaped steam."
+
+"If I was down at Riverport I could go to the hotel," went on Mrs.
+Shalley.
+
+"We can take you down in our rowboat," said Jack. "It won't take very
+long."
+
+"Can I trust myself in the boat?"
+
+"Certainly, if you'll only sit still."
+
+The matter was talked over, and it was decided that the lady and her
+little girl should be taken down to Riverport by Randy and Jack. The
+party was soon on the way.
+
+"My name is Mrs. Andrew Shalley," said the lady. "My husband is a
+steamboat owner. May I ask your names?"
+
+"Mine is Jack Bartlett. I live in Riverport, but I am going to move to
+Albany."
+
+"And my name is Randy Thompson," added our hero. "I live over there--in
+the little cottage by that clump of trees."
+
+"I am pleased to know you," said the lady. "It was more than kind of
+both of you to come to the assistance of myself and my daughter."
+
+"It wasn't so much to do," answered Randy. "We were close by."
+
+"You are soaking wet."
+
+"It's an old working suit and I don't mind the water," laughed our
+hero.
+
+"What a nice lot of fish," said little Helen, who had now completely
+recovered.
+
+"I feel I should reward you both," went on Mrs. Shalley.
+
+"I don't want anything," said Jack, promptly.
+
+"And neither do I," added our hero.
+
+The hotel at which the lady was stopping was built close to the river
+bank. Mother and child landed at the dock and Randy and Jack bade them
+good-by.
+
+"I shall try to see you again," said Mrs. Shalley, as she started for
+the hotel.
+
+"Evidently a very nice lady," remarked Jack, as he and Randy rowed
+away.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I think she wanted to reward us, Randy."
+
+"I think so myself, but I don't want any reward."
+
+"Neither do I, although I shouldn't mind, say ten thousand dollars,"
+went on Jack, by way of a joke.
+
+"Or the Presidency of the United States," added Randy, in an equally
+light tone.
+
+The boys had caught so many fish Randy decided to sell some from his
+share. He found a purchaser on the dock where they landed and started
+home richer by fifty cents.
+
+"If I can't get anything else to do, I can do some fishing later on,"
+he mused. "I can get at least two or three dollars' worth of fish a
+week, and that would be better than nothing--and I could keep right on
+with the farm, too."
+
+When Randy returned home he had quite a story to tell, to which both
+his father and his mother listened with interest.
+
+"Randy, you must be careful in the water," said Mrs. Thompson, with an
+anxious look in her eyes. "Supposing that girl had dragged you down?"
+
+"I was on my guard, mother."
+
+"Randy is a good swimmer," said his father. "I was a good swimmer
+myself, in my younger days."
+
+The fish proved acceptable, and Randy readily got Jerry Borden to trade
+him some bacon for a mess, and also give him some fresh vegetables.
+
+"Gosh! Wish I'd gone fishing," said Sammy. "I like to catch big fish."
+
+"Well, I am not going to stop you," said our hero.
+
+"Sammy never has no luck," put in Mrs. Borden. "Once he went fishing
+all day and all he got was three little fish."
+
+"Didn't nuther!" cried Sammy. "I got twelve big bites, but they got
+away."
+
+"It's the big fish that always get away," said Randy, with a smile.
+"Never mind, Sammy, maybe we can go together some day."
+
+"I'd like that," answered the overgrown country boy.
+
+"Did that Bartlett boy get any fish?" asked Mrs. Borden.
+
+"Just as many as I did."
+
+"I understand they are going to move away."
+
+"Yes, to Albany."
+
+"They say down to the iron works that Mr. Bangs is glad to have Mr.
+Bartlett out of the place."
+
+"I guess that is true."
+
+"It's too bad! All of the men liked Mr. Bartlett."
+
+"Don't they like Mr. Bangs?"
+
+"Not a bit--so Mr. Reilly was telling my husband. They say Mr. Bangs is
+mean to everybody."
+
+Two days slipped by, and Randy was at work in the garden one afternoon
+when he saw a buggy stop at the front of the cottage and a portly man
+alighted. Knowing his mother was busy, our hero went to meet the
+newcomer.
+
+"Is this where Randy Thompson lives?" asked the portly gentleman.
+
+"Yes, sir, I am Randy Thompson."
+
+"Oh!" The gentleman held out his hand. "I am glad to know you. My name
+is Andrew Shalley. You did my wife and little girl a great service the
+other day."
+
+"I only did what seemed necessary," answered Randy, modestly. "Will you
+come into the house, Mr. Shalley?"
+
+"Thanks, I'll sit down on your porch." The gentleman did so. "What are
+you doing, farming?"
+
+"A little. We got this place so late this season I cannot do a great
+deal. Next year I hope to have the farm in much better shape."
+
+"Do you like it?"
+
+"I try to like it."
+
+"Then you are not naturally a farmer?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Is your father living?"
+
+"Yes, sir; but he is laid up with rheumatism, so he cannot work at
+present. He is a carpenter."
+
+"Indeed! I was a carpenter when I was a young man."
+
+"I thought Mrs. Shalley said you were a steamboat owner."
+
+"I am, now. I gave up carpentering to go into the freight business. I
+made money, and then bought a small freight boat. Then I branched out,
+and now own a steamboat running up and down the Hudson River, and I
+also own several steam tugs."
+
+"Do you own the one that got into trouble the other day?"
+
+"No, a friend of mine owns that--that is how my wife and little girl
+happened to be on board. I am----" Mr. Shalley stopped short as a form
+appeared in the doorway behind him.
+
+"This is my mother. Mother, this is Mr. Shalley, the steamboat owner."
+
+"I am glad to meet you," said Mrs. Thompson, politely. "Will you come
+in?"
+
+"Thank you, but it is very pleasant on the porch. Madam, you have a
+good son," went on the steamboat owner.
+
+"I know that."
+
+"He did my wife and little girl a great service the other day."
+
+"Yes, he told me what he did."
+
+"I think--er--that is, I'd like to reward you," stammered Andrew
+Shalley. He saw that Randy was no common boy with whom to deal.
+
+"Thank you, but I don't wish any reward, sir."
+
+"I felt you would say that," answered Andrew Shalley. "The other lad
+said the same."
+
+"Then you have seen Jack Bartlett?"
+
+"Yes, I just came from there. I wanted to reward him, but he would not
+have it. But I fixed him," and the steamboat owner smiled broadly.
+
+"Yes?" said Mrs. Thompson, curiously.
+
+"I found out he was going to move to Albany, so I gave him a free pass
+on my steamboat, the _Helen Shalley_--named after my wife. Now he can
+go up and down the river as much as he pleases and it won't cost him a
+cent. I told him I'd depend upon him to haul folks out of the water if
+they fell overboard," and the steamboat owner laughed broadly.
+
+"That ought to suit Jack--he loves the water so," said Randy.
+
+"Do you like the water, too?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Then maybe you'd like a pass also."
+
+"I couldn't use it, Mr. Shalley."
+
+"I was only joking. But really, Randy, I'd like to do something for
+you, to show I appreciate what you did for my wife and for Helen."
+
+"I do not want anything, Mr. Shalley, excepting work."
+
+"Work? I should imagine you had enough of that right here."
+
+"I mean work that would pay me regular wages. We must have money. My
+father needs the doctor, and medicine, and we have to buy groceries,
+and such, and we can't make the farm pay the bills."
+
+"I understand, my lad. Where is your father?"
+
+"I am here, sir," came from the couch in the sitting room.
+
+"May I come in, Mr. Thompson?"
+
+"Certainly," answered the sick man, and a moment later Andrew Shalley
+entered the cottage and was shaking hands with Randy's father.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+MR. SHALLEY MAKES AN OFFER
+
+
+The two men conversed together for fully half an hour, and during that
+time Andrew Shalley learned much concerning the Thompson family and
+their struggle to make both ends meet.
+
+"I live at Nyack," said Andrew Shalley. "And my headquarters for boats
+is there also. But the passenger steamer runs from New York City to
+Albany. The tugs run anywhere on the river, and on New York Bay."
+
+"It must be a nice business," said Randy. "I like boats of any kind."
+
+"If I had a boat on the river here I might give you a job," went on the
+gentleman. "But all of my craft are on the Hudson."
+
+"They tell me that the Hudson is a grand stream."
+
+"Nothing finer in this country, my boy, nothing finer. I have traveled
+all over the United States and I know. I think it is fully equal to the
+German Rhine and the St. Lawrence."
+
+"Maybe you could give me a situation on one of your Hudson River
+boats," went on Randy, struck by a sudden idea.
+
+"Would you care to leave home?"
+
+"Oh, Randy, you wouldn't want to go away!" cried Mrs. Thompson.
+
+"I would if it paid to do so," answered Randy, quickly. "There isn't
+much chance for work in Riverport."
+
+"And I can keep an eye on the garden," said Mr. Thompson. "I know I am
+going to feel some better now this spell is passing."
+
+"If you cared to leave home I might give you some sort of a job on one
+of my boats," went on Andrew Shalley, thoughtfully.
+
+"What kind of a job?"
+
+"I'd have to see about it first. I'll tell you what I'll do, I'll send
+you a letter next week."
+
+"Thank you."
+
+"That will be best. But now I am going to do something else." The
+steamboat man drew out his wallet. "I want you to accept this." And he
+held out five crisp ten-dollar bills.
+
+Randy did not wish to take the money, but the steamboat man urged it
+and finally laid the bills on the table.
+
+"I am sure you are more than kind, Mr. Shalley," said Mrs. Thompson. "I
+shall remember you."
+
+"Let us call it a loan," said Mr. Thompson, "to be paid back when I am
+at work once more."
+
+"Yes, call it a loan," said Randy, "otherwise I, for one, don't want
+it."
+
+"Have your way," laughed Mr. Shalley. "But don't worry about the
+payment."
+
+Before he left he walked around the little farm and praised what Randy
+had done.
+
+"Evidently not a lazy boy," he told himself, "and one who is willing to
+aid his parents. That is the sort I like."
+
+"He is a very nice man," said Mrs. Thompson, when the visitor had
+departed. "Randy, you were fortunate to make such a friend."
+
+"Yes. But, mother, I think we ought to pay back that money some day."
+
+"I can do that--when I am able to go at carpentering again," put in Mr.
+Thompson.
+
+After that a week passed quietly enough. Randy worked early and late
+and got the little farm in good shape and also visited Jack and bade
+his friend good-by.
+
+"Maybe I'll get a position on one of the Hudson River boats," said our
+hero.
+
+"If you do, and you stop at Albany, you must come and see me," answered
+Jack, and gave his new address.
+
+On the following Monday came a letter from Andrew Shalley. It was short
+and to the point and read in part as follows:
+
+    "All I can offer you at present is the position of a deckhand on my
+    steamboat, the _Helen Shalley_. If you wish to accept that I will
+    pay you twenty dollars per month and your board at the start, and
+    more when you are experienced. If you wish to accept, write to me
+    and come on to Nyack, to my office."
+
+"Here's an offer at last!" cried Randy, as he read the communication.
+He had been fearful that Andrew Shalley might forget him.
+
+"Twenty dollars per month is not so very much," said his mother.
+
+"Yes, but I am to get my board, so the money will all be clear profit,
+outside of the cost of my clothing."
+
+"I suppose you will live on the boat," put in Mr. Thompson. "Most of
+the crew do."
+
+"I can send the most of the money home each month," continued Randy.
+
+"The boat won't run during the winter," said his mother, who did not
+much relish having her son leave home.
+
+"Well, it will run until cold weather, anyway, and perhaps after that
+Mr. Shalley will give me something else to do."
+
+The matter was discussed that evening, and before he retired, Randy
+penned a letter to the steamboat owner, stating he would come to Nyack
+two days later.
+
+The prospects ahead filled our hero with pleasure. The new position
+would enable him to see a little of the world and meet other people,
+and he was sure steamboat life would suit him thoroughly. He knew there
+would be plenty of hard work, handling freight and baggage, but this
+did not daunt him.
+
+"I'll try to do my best," he reasoned. "Then maybe Mr. Shalley will
+give me something better later on."
+
+Randy did not have many clothes, so there was not a great deal to pack.
+What he possessed was gone over by his mother, and then packed in a
+valise. Out of the money on hand he was given the price of his stage
+and railroad ticket and five dollars for other expenses.
+
+"I shan't spend only what is necessary," said he to his parents.
+
+Randy was glad to see that his father was improving. A good deal of the
+rheumatic pains had left Mr. Thompson and he could get around the house
+and the garden. It would be some time before he could go at
+carpentering again, but he could aid a good deal on the farm, which was
+something.
+
+All too soon for his mother came the time for Randy to depart. Mrs.
+Thompson kissed him affectionately and his father shook him by the
+hand.
+
+"Come back home if it doesn't suit you, Randy," said the mother.
+
+"Yes, come back, and we'll get along somehow," added his father.
+
+"I am sure it will suit me," said the boy. "I know the kind of a man
+Mr. Shalley is. We'll be sure to get along."
+
+Randy left home early in the morning and half an hour later was on the
+stage, bound for Leeville, where he was to take the train for
+Tarrytown, which is directly across the Hudson River from Nyack. His
+going away was done so quietly that not a dozen persons knew of his
+departure. The stage was but half filled, so he had plenty of room both
+for himself and his valise.
+
+Arriving at Leeville he had an hour to wait for the train and spent the
+time in walking around the little town.
+
+He had just passed one of the largest stores when he felt a hand on his
+shoulder and turned, to find himself confronted by Bob Bangs.
+
+"What are you doing here?" demanded the big boy, rather impudently.
+
+"What business is that of yours?" retorted Randy, not liking the manner
+in which he had been addressed.
+
+"Oh, you needn't answer if you don't want to," sniffed Bob Bangs.
+
+"I am going to Nyack."
+
+"To Nyack? What for?"
+
+"I am going to work for a steamboat owner."
+
+"Humph! Going to work on the river?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Cabin boy, I suppose," sneered the rich boy.
+
+"No, as a deckhand."
+
+"I thought so. It's a dirty enough job, and you are welcome to it."
+
+"It's honest work, and the money is clean," answered Randy, warmly.
+
+"Ha! What do you mean by clean money," demanded the big boy,
+suspiciously.
+
+"Just what I said."
+
+"Maybe you are trying to help spread that report that the Bartletts
+started about us," said the rich youth.
+
+"What report do you mean, Bob?"
+
+"You know well enough--the one about my father."
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"Ain't the Bartletts telling everybody that my father shoved 'em out of
+the iron works and that our money wasn't clean?"
+
+"I haven't heard it."
+
+"Bah! You needn't play the innocent. I know you, and I know Jack
+Bartlett, too."
+
+"I don't think your folks treated the Bartletts just right," went on
+our hero, resolved to stand up for his friends.
+
+"We treated 'em better than they deserved. If I had been my father I
+should have kicked old man Bartlett out."
+
+"Your father wouldn't have dared, Bob Bangs. But I am not going to
+quarrel with you. What brings you to this place?"
+
+"That's my business."
+
+"You needn't tell me if you don't wish to."
+
+"I am here to get a new horse. I am going to ride horseback after
+this," went on the rich boy, boastfully. "It's a horse that costs four
+hundred dollars, too."
+
+"Then you are in luck," was all Randy answered, and walked away,
+leaving the rich youth gazing after him doubtfully.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+BOB BANGS AND HIS HORSE
+
+
+Randy continued to wander around the country town, taking in such
+sights as came to view.
+
+In the meantime Bob Bangs went after the horse he had mentioned. The
+rich youth had bothered his father for a horse for a long time and at
+last Mr. Bangs had consented to give him a steed. The horse was to be
+taken in exchange for a debt, and Bob had agreed to go to Leeville
+after him and take the animal to the summer resort at which he and his
+mother were stopping. It may be mentioned that the horse was worth only
+a hundred and fifty dollars, but the falsehood he had told in regard to
+the horse's value did not bother Bob Bangs in the least. He loved to
+boast upon every possible occasion.
+
+"Is he gentle?" asked the rich boy, as he approached the horse, that
+was standing in the yard of the former owner.
+
+"As gentle as a lamb," was the answer.
+
+"He--he won't run away, will he?" went on Bob, timidly. To tell the
+truth he knew very little about horses, although he pretended to know a
+great deal.
+
+"He never ran away in his life," declared the man who was disposing of
+the horse.
+
+"Then I guess it is all right," said the rich boy, and started to mount
+into the saddle, for the steed was ready for use.
+
+"Wait a minute."
+
+"What's wanted now."
+
+"I want you to sign a receipt first," said the man.
+
+"Oh, all right."
+
+The receipt was produced, stating that the horse was received in good
+condition and that the debt was canceled thereby, and the rich youth
+signed his father's name and his own under it. Then the man held the
+horse while the boy mounted.
+
+"All safe and sound?" asked the man.
+
+"Yes," answered Bob Bangs. "Good-day," and off he rode.
+
+"Good-day, and good luck to you," answered the man, and he smiled
+rather grimly to himself as he entered his house.
+
+"The horse seems to be a nice one," thought Bob Bangs, as he rode away.
+"I wish I could meet Randy Thompson, it would make him feel sick to see
+me on such a fine animal."
+
+The rich youth's wish was gratified, for turning a corner he caught
+sight of our hero just as the latter was crossing the street.
+
+"Out of the way there, Randy Thompson!" he cried, and urged his horse
+forward.
+
+Randy had to jump back, or he might have been knocked down.
+
+"Ain't this a fine horse?" Bob Bangs cried. "Don't you wish you had
+him?"
+
+And he cut the steed with the whip he carried, to make him increase his
+speed.
+
+The horse did not like the treatment received and up came his hind
+hoofs viciously.
+
+"Stop! None of that!" roared Bob Bangs, in fright. "Whoa there!"
+
+He began to saw on the reins, and as a consequence the horse turned
+first in one direction and then another. Then he started to back and
+came up on the sidewalk, scaring several women and children.
+
+"Whoa! Get up!" screamed Bob Bangs, more frightened than ever. "Whoa, I
+say! What in the old Harry is in the beast, anyway!"
+
+"Look out there!" shouted a man in the crowd. "You'll go through a
+window next."
+
+"Bob, let me lead him into the street," cried Randy, rushing up and
+catching the horse by the bridle.
+
+"You let my horse alone!" shouted the rich boy, unreasonably. "I can
+manage him well enough."
+
+"Very well," answered Randy, quietly, and dropped his hold. As he did
+so the steed made a plunge along the sidewalk for several yards,
+knocking over a barber's pole and a newsstand.
+
+"Stop dot! Vot you mean py dot?" yelled the German barber, rushing from
+his establishment in alarm.
+
+"Get along there, you brute!" cried Bob Bangs, savagely, and struck the
+horse once more. Again the steed swerved, and made a half turn and
+began to back.
+
+"Stop him!"
+
+"He is going into the window!"
+
+Crash! And then followed a jingle of glass, and into the window of a
+grocery next to the barber shop backed the horse, until his hind hoofs
+rested on a row of canned tomatoes and sardines. Bob Bangs gave a yell
+of fear and terror and dropped to the sidewalk and then caught the
+horse by the head. The groceryman came forth from his store in a hurry,
+and a bitter argument ensued, while a big crowd began to collect. In
+the end Bob Bangs had to promise to pay for all damage done, and led
+his horse away by hand, too fearful of further trouble to mount once
+more.
+
+Randy did not wait to see the end of the dispute, for the train was now
+due and he had just time enough to hurry to the depot and get aboard
+the cars. He dropped into the first seat that came to hand and laughed
+heartily.
+
+"You seem to be enjoying yourself," said a man sitting near.
+
+"I just saw something very funny," answered our hero, and told what it
+was. The man laughed, too.
+
+"It puts me in mind of the time I tried to ride the mule in the circus.
+It was a trick animal and got me into seven kinds of trouble."
+
+Randy had not had many opportunities to ride on the cars and he enjoyed
+the trip to Tarrytown very much. Noon found him in the city named and
+he crossed the river on the ferryboat. Then he hunted up a cheap but
+neat restaurant, where he got dinner.
+
+"No use of bothering Mr. Shalley just at noon hour," he thought, and so
+did not go around to the steamboat man's office until one o'clock. A
+clerk was present who said his employer would come in at two o'clock,
+so our hero had another hour to wait.
+
+"Is your name Randy Thompson?" questioned the clerk. When told that it
+was, he continued: "Mr. Shalley is expecting you. I believe you are to
+be one of the new deckhands."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I hope you find the work agreeable."
+
+"So do I."
+
+"The other new hand didn't last long."
+
+"How long?"
+
+"Just one week."
+
+"What was the matter?"
+
+"I believe he said he couldn't get along with Polk, the purser."
+
+"I hope I don't have any trouble with anybody," said Randy, anxiously.
+"I am willing to work hard."
+
+"You'll find Captain Hadley a fine man to deal with. I think he is one
+of the nicest captains on the river."
+
+"What do you do here?"
+
+"Oh, I am general office clerk. My name is Bart Sandwood."
+
+"I am glad to know you, Mr. Sandwood," answered our hero, and smiled.
+"I hope business is good with the steamer."
+
+"Travel has been very good and we are getting our share of freight. The
+other lines bother us some, but not a great deal."
+
+"Is the _Helen Shalley_ one of the big boats of the river?"
+
+"Not one of the largest, but she is by no means a small boat. Then you
+haven't seen her?"
+
+"Not yet, but I hope to soon."
+
+"She will be on her way down the river this afternoon. She runs from
+New York to Albany one day and back the next. She doesn't run on
+Sundays."
+
+"I am glad of that. I don't care to work on Sunday."
+
+"Well, you'll have to do a little. When there are no passengers on
+board, that is the time to put things in order."
+
+"True enough. I am afraid I will be green."
+
+"Were you never a deckhand before?"
+
+"Never."
+
+At this the clerk gave a low whistle.
+
+"I don't know if Captain Hadley will like that or not. He is a very
+strict man, even though kind."
+
+"I shall do my best to please him."
+
+"Early in the spring we had two green hands, but they couldn't learn at
+all, and the captain said they were more bother than they were worth."
+
+"I am sure I can learn--anyway, I mean to try."
+
+"You certainly look bright enough to learn. The other fellows were
+illiterate foreigners and always tumbling over their own feet. One
+dropped a trunk on a passenger's foot and the other broke open a box
+with some fine dishes. That capped the climax, and the captain got rid
+of them just as soon as he could find some other hands to take their
+places," concluded Bart Sandwood.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+RANDY AS A DECKHAND
+
+
+When Mr. Andrew Shalley came in he was full of business. He nodded
+pleasantly to Randy.
+
+"I will see you in a little while," he said, and turned to his clerk.
+Then Bart Sandwood was sent off on an errand and the steamboat owner
+turned to look over some letters that had come in.
+
+"Now I am at liberty," he said, pleasantly, shaking hands. "Are you
+ready for work?"
+
+"Yes, sir," answered Randy, promptly.
+
+"Good! Have you ever been on a large river steamer?"
+
+"No, Mr. Shalley, but I am willing to do all I possibly can to make
+myself truly useful."
+
+"Well, if I am any judge of character, you'll get along. All you've got
+to do is to keep your eyes open and obey orders. We have one old
+deckhand, Pat Malloy. He will teach you what to do."
+
+"When can I go to work?"
+
+"The boat will be along down the river soon. I'll take you on board, as
+I want to see the captain. As soon as you are settled I'll have you
+fitted out with a uniform."
+
+"How much will that cost me?"
+
+"In your case it won't cost anything."
+
+"You are very kind."
+
+"Remember, I take a personal interest in you, Randy, and I want to see
+you get along. Do your duty and rest assured I shall not forget you."
+
+"I don't think I'll disappoint you, Mr. Shalley."
+
+Randy waited around the office until it was almost time for the
+steamboat to make a landing. Then he went down to the dock with his
+newly-found friend. Here were a number of passengers, and also a
+quantity of baggage and freight.
+
+Presently the _Helen Shalley_ hove into sight, with flags flying
+bravely in the breeze. As Randy had been told, she was not a
+particularly large steamboat, but she was well proportioned and
+graceful, and well liked by those who patronized her. We will get
+better acquainted with the craft as our story proceeds.
+
+As soon as a landing was made, Mr. Shalley went on board, taking Randy
+with him. Captain Hadley was at hand.
+
+"So this is the new deckhand, eh?" said the captain, in bluff tones.
+"Pretty strong, are you?"
+
+"I think so," answered Randy, respectfully.
+
+"Well, you'll have to be, to stand this work. Know anything about
+handling trunks and such stuff?"
+
+"Not a great deal, but I think I can learn."
+
+"We are shorthanded, so you can jump right in," went on the captain of
+the steamboat.
+
+"Yes, sir. Who will tell me what to do?"
+
+"Pat Malloy. He is the head man of the gang. Here, Malloy," he called
+out.
+
+"Aye, aye, sur," answered a brawny and jolly-looking Irishman, coming
+forward and touching his cap.
+
+"Here's your new hand."
+
+Pat Malloy looked at Randy in some astonishment. Our hero was neatly
+dressed and did not look as if he was used to hard labor.
+
+"Sure an' it's only a boy," murmured the head deckhand.
+
+"He says he can work. Give him a chance," put in Andrew Shalley.
+
+There was plenty to do, and Randy threw off his coat, took off his
+collar and tie, and pitched in. The labor was by no means easy, and he
+had not the trick of throwing up a trunk to the best advantage, yet he
+did very well, and Pat Malloy nodded approvingly.
+
+"Sure, an' ye do better nor some o' thim foreigners already," he
+declared. "Kape it up an' we'll git along foine together."
+
+Captain Hadley and Andrew Shalley watched the work for several minutes,
+and then walked to the cabin of the steamboat. Here the owner of the
+boat told something about Randy.
+
+"I want you to give him a chance even if he is a bit green," said he.
+"I want the lad to get along."
+
+"He shall have all the chance possible," answered Captain Hadley. "I am
+glad to get a hand who is intelligent."
+
+Then the two conversed upon private matters until the boat was ready to
+leave Nyack.
+
+"Good-by, my boy!" cried Mr. Shalley, on leaving. "Take good care of
+yourself, and let me know how you get along."
+
+"Thank you, I will," answered our hero.
+
+"It may be hard work at first, but you'll get used to it."
+
+"I am not afraid of hard work."
+
+"The captain will give you a uniform in a few days."
+
+The gangplanks were hauled in, the lines cast off, and with a hoarse
+whistle the _Helen Shalley_ continued on her course down the Hudson.
+There was a small Italian band on board, consisting of two violins, a
+harp and a clarionet, and they struck up a popular air.
+
+The work at the dock had somewhat exhausted Randy, who was not used to
+handling such heavy stuff so quickly, but he took pains to conceal his
+feelings.
+
+"I am not going to back down, no matter how hard the work is," he told
+himself. "Others can do it and so can I."
+
+Among the deckhands was a tall, limber American man named Jones. He
+came up to Randy after the work was done.
+
+"Malloy told me to show you around the boat and give you some
+pointers," said Jones. "Come ahead."
+
+They passed from one end of the steamboat to the other, through all of
+the three decks, and Jones named over the various parts and told what
+the deckhands were expected to do. Then they went below and he told of
+some work there. Lastly he took Randy to the sleeping quarters.
+
+"This is my bunk," said Jack Jones. "That will be yours over there.
+When you get the chance, I'll advise you to air your bedding. You can
+do it after we tie up in New York and the passengers go ashore."
+
+The quarters were small, but not any smaller than Randy's garret
+apartment in the cottage. Everything was kept as clean as wax, for both
+Malloy and Jones were enemies to dirt. Randy was glad to learn this and
+resolved to give the others no cause for complaint regarding his own
+personal habits.
+
+"Some boats are very dirty and the bunks not fit for a dog to sleep
+in," said Jack Jones. "But Malloy won't allow it on this boat, and I
+won't have it either."
+
+"And I am with you," answered our hero.
+
+"Came from a farm, didn't you?"
+
+"Yes, but our family wasn't on the farm long."
+
+"I came from a farm myself."
+
+"How long have you been on this boat?"
+
+"Came the middle of last season."
+
+"Do you like it?"
+
+"If I didn't I shouldn't be here."
+
+"I suppose that is so."
+
+"Captain Hadley is a fine man to work for. He is strict but fair, and
+that is what I like."
+
+"What about the others?"
+
+"The mate, Tom Blossom, is nice, too. The man we all hate is Peter
+Polk, the purser."
+
+"What's the matter with him?"
+
+"Well, between you and me, I think he is a sneak."
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"He is always making trouble for somebody. Nobody seems to like him
+much, although he attends strictly to business."
+
+"I hope I don't have trouble with Mr. Polk."
+
+"Well, you will have to watch yourself."
+
+Several other landings were made, and promptly at the appointed time
+the _Helen Shalley_ swung into her dock at New York City and the
+remaining passengers went ashore. Then began the labor of unloading the
+baggage and freight, after which the deck was swabbed up, the
+brass-work polished, and such baggage as was at hand taken on board for
+transportation up the river the next day.
+
+When he had finished his day's labors Randy was tired and perfectly
+willing to rest for a while. He had had a good supper and might have
+gone directly to bed, but instead he sat up to write a letter to the
+folks at home, telling his father and mother of his day's experience.
+
+Our hero had to go ashore to post the communication, and once out in
+the street he resolved to take a little walk around before returning to
+the steamboat. He was soon walking along West Street, and then took to
+a side street running up to the avenues.
+
+Now, although our hero did not know it, he had chosen one of the worst
+streets in this part of the great city. It was filled with tenements
+and groggeries of the lowest description, and the sidewalks swarmed
+with all sorts of low characters.
+
+He had scarcely walked two squares before a rough-looking fellow
+jostled him. The next instant Randy felt a hand in his pocket.
+
+"Stop that!" cried Randy. But the fellow was already running up the
+street. Our hero clapped his hand in the pocket and discovered that
+eighty cents in change was missing.
+
+"I am not going to lose that money!" he told himself, with vigor. "I
+may be a greeny, but I'll give that thief some trouble."
+
+At first he thought to cry out, but then reconsidered the matter and
+remained silent. He set off after the thief, and away went man and boy
+along the crowded thoroughfare.
+
+The man evidently thought he could lose himself in the crowd, but by
+the aid of the street lights, Randy kept him in sight. He passed along
+for two blocks and then turned into a side street and then into a blind
+alley.
+
+Our hero managed to keep him in view and saw him spring up the steps of
+a dilapidated tenement house. The man ran through the lower hallway and
+into the back yard, piled high with rubbish of all kinds. Here he hid
+behind some empty boxes.
+
+Randy was soon in the yard and gazing around eagerly. As he did so he
+saw a thin and pale girl of about ten standing near. Soon she came up
+to him timidly.
+
+"Did you see a man run in here?" said Randy.
+
+"Yes," she answered, but in a hesitating voice.
+
+"Where did he go?"
+
+"I don't dare tell you," whispered the girl.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"That is Bill Hosker."
+
+"And who is Bill Hosker?"
+
+"Don't you know him?" And the little girl's eyes opened in
+astonishment.
+
+"No, I don't."
+
+"Bill Hosker is the boss around here. He does just as he pleases. If
+anybody crosses him Bill 'most kills them."
+
+"Oh, he's a bully, is that it?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, where did he go?"
+
+"You won't tell him I told you?"
+
+"No."
+
+"He crawled in behind those boxes," answered the little girl and then
+ran away.
+
+Randy waited to hear no more, but made a dash for the boxes. As he did
+so, the fellow who had robbed him leaped up, club in hand.
+
+"Go out of here!" he cried, in a hoarse voice. "I don't want anything
+to do with a kid like you."
+
+"You give me my money," answered Randy, vigorously. "I am not going to
+let the like of you rob me."
+
+"Ho! ho! Hear the kid talk! Go away, before I maul ye!" And Bill Hosker
+brandished his club.
+
+But our hero was not to be daunted thus readily, and looking around he
+espied a stick and picked it up. Then he advanced upon Bill Hosker, who
+promptly leaped to the top of a big packing case. The next instant he
+came down upon Randy, bearing him to the ground. Our hero tried to
+defend himself, but it was useless. He was crushed beneath that heavy
+weight, and then the rascal gave him a crack on the head that stretched
+him senseless.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+IN NEW YORK CITY
+
+
+"Will he live, mamma?"
+
+"I think so, Rose. But he has been badly misused."
+
+"Bill Hosker ought to be locked up for it."
+
+"Nobody will lock Bill up. He has too much influence with the
+politicians," answered the woman.
+
+She was bending over Randy, who was still unconscious. Mother and
+daughter had carried our hero from the yard to their room in the rear
+of the tenement. Nobody else had been around. The girl had witnessed
+Bill Hosker's nefarious deed and had at once summoned her parent.
+
+Mrs. Clare was a poor widow lady who supported herself by sewing. Rose
+was her only child and did what she could to help her mother. Sewing
+did not pay well, and the Clares had all they could do to make both
+ends meet.
+
+But Mrs. Clare had a warm heart and so had Rose, and it pained them
+greatly to see Randy so mistreated. They carried him into their one
+room and placed him on their bed and did what they could for him.
+
+At last he opened his eyes and stared around him. Then he sat up
+slowly.
+
+"Where am I?" he asked, faintly.
+
+"We brought you into the house--mother and I," answered Rose. "Don't
+you remember, Bill Hosker struck you down?"
+
+"Oh, yes; I remember that now." Randy took a deep breath and put his
+hand to his head. "He hit me pretty hard, didn't he?"
+
+"I am afraid he did," answered Mrs. Clare. "It was a shame, too."
+
+"Where is he now?"
+
+"He ran away."
+
+"He stole eighty cents from me."
+
+"Perhaps he took more," said Rose. "He went through your pockets after
+he knocked you down. I saw him do it."
+
+With his head still aching, our hero felt in first one pocket and then
+another. He gave something like a groan.
+
+"Every cent is gone!"
+
+"How much did you have?"
+
+"Between four and five dollars."
+
+"I am sorry for you," said Mrs. Clare. "But I am afraid you will never
+see your money again."
+
+"Does that rascal live around here?"
+
+"Sometimes. He comes and goes to suit himself. I suppose he will stay
+away now for a while."
+
+"Is there any use of my reporting this to the police, do you think?"
+
+"I don't think so. He once took my pocket-book from the table here--I
+am sure of it--but when I reported it to the police nothing was done.
+They said his word was as good as mine."
+
+"How long have I been here?"
+
+"About half an hour."
+
+"Then he has had a good chance to get away. Did you bring me here?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You are very kind, Mrs. ----"
+
+"I am Mrs. Clare and this is my daughter Rose."
+
+"And I am Randy Thompson, a deckhand on the Hudson River steamboat
+_Helen Shalley_."
+
+"Oh!" Mrs. Clare paused for a moment. "Do you know Mr. Polk, the
+purser?"
+
+"Yes, but not very well. I just got the job as a deckhand to-day."
+
+"Mr. Polk is a relative of mine by marriage."
+
+"I see."
+
+"We--that is--well, we are not very good friends," went on Mrs. Clare.
+
+"Mamma thinks Mr. Polk hasn't been honest with us," put in Rose,
+quickly. "I don't think so either."
+
+"Rose, you must not talk so!"
+
+"But it is true, isn't it?" returned the daughter.
+
+"I may be misjudging Cousin Peter," said Mrs. Clare. "You see," she
+added, by way of an explanation, "my cousin Peter Polk had the
+settlement of my husband's affairs when he died, and I have always
+imagined that--well, that Rose and I did not get exactly what was
+coming to us."
+
+"Mamma thought the account was three hundred dollars short," said Rose,
+who was inclined to be blunt.
+
+"Couldn't you get a clear statement?" questioned Randy, with interest.
+
+"We got a statement, but it was not clear to me," answered Mrs. Clare.
+
+As soon as he felt able to do so, Randy got on his feet. He felt rather
+dizzy and he had a large lump over his left ear, where he had been
+struck by the club.
+
+"See here," he said, when he was ready to depart, "I am much obliged to
+you for what you have done. But I'd like you to do more, if you will.
+As soon as this Bill Hosker comes back to this neighborhood let me
+know. You'll always find me on board of the _Helen Shalley_."
+
+"I'll let you know," answered Rose. "But don't let Bill Hosker know who
+told you, or he'll want to kill me."
+
+When Randy got back to the steamboat he felt so weak he could scarcely
+walk on board. Jones came forward to meet him.
+
+"Say, you ain't been drinking, have you?" he demanded, as he saw our
+hero stagger.
+
+"No, I don't drink," answered Randy. "I've been knocked down and
+robbed."
+
+And sitting down on a bench he told his story to the other deckhand,
+and let Jones feel of the lump on his head.
+
+"I was going to warn you when you went ashore, but I thought you'd be
+wise enough to keep out of trouble. It's a shame."
+
+"They told me it wouldn't do any good to tell the police."
+
+"I am afraid not. Such things happen pretty often in that kind of a
+neighborhood."
+
+Randy was glad enough to turn in. He bathed the lump with cold water
+and put on some witch-hazel, which made it feel better. Despite the
+adventure he slept soundly until it was time to turn out in the
+morning.
+
+"I suppose you'll want some money," said Jones. "I can lend you a
+dollar till pay day, if you wish."
+
+"Thank you," returned Randy. "You are kind, and I'll accept the loan.
+I'll pay you back just as soon as I get my pay. I hate to be without a
+cent in my pocket."
+
+"I have been there myself and know just how it feels," answered Jones.
+He had, in his rough way, taken a fancy to our hero, which feeling was
+reciprocated.
+
+There was plenty to do before the steamboat left the dock at New York
+City, and Randy's arms ached when the command came to cast off the
+lines. He had done his full share of the labor, and Pat Malloy nodded
+approvingly.
+
+"Kape it up an' you'll be all roight," said the head deckhand.
+
+The trip to Albany that day had much of novelty in it for Randy. There
+was a good deal of work, of which he had not dreamed before, yet there
+were also times when he could look at the scenery as the big craft
+glided along. At the newsstand on board there was a big folding map of
+the river, showing the different towns and points of interest, and this
+the standkeeper loaned him for a couple of hours. He studied the map
+closely and was soon able to recognize certain points as they appeared.
+
+Several days slipped by and Randy felt quite at home on board. He had
+been supplied with the regulation deckhand's outfit; dark blue shirt
+and trousers, and a cap to match, and looked very well when thus
+attired. He was getting acquainted with the work and could handle a
+trunk, or a box or barrel almost as well as Jones or Malloy.
+
+"How does the boy do?" asked Captain Hadley of Malloy.
+
+"It's the new broom as swapes clane," answered the head deckhand. "I
+ain't braggin' yit, captain."
+
+"But he is doing all right so far?"
+
+"Aye, aye, sur--very well indade."
+
+"I am glad to hear it. Mr. Shalley told me the boy needed the job. His
+father is on the sick list, and he has got to do what he can to help
+support his parents."
+
+"I reckon he'll be all right," answered Pat Malloy. "He's better than
+thim foreigners, anyway." To him, the only foreigners were Italians and
+Germans. He did not think himself one, although he had come from the
+"ould sod" less than six years before.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+THE PURSER HAS HIS SAY
+
+
+One night, when the steamboat was tied up at Albany, Randy donned his
+street clothes and hunted up the place where Jack Bartlett lived. He
+found his former friend at home and glad to see him.
+
+"Come in," said Jack, shaking hands. "How have you been since we met
+last?"
+
+"Pretty fair, Jack. And how have you been?"
+
+"I'm all right. I've got a job. That is why I haven't used my boat
+pass."
+
+"A job?"
+
+"Yes, I am working in the same place where father has a position."
+
+"Then you are not going to school again?"
+
+"Not for the present." Jack lowered his voice. "You see, father isn't
+earning any too much, so I--well, I thought I'd help the family along."
+
+The two friends sat down in the parlor and our hero told his tale, and
+then Jack related some of his own experiences.
+
+"My father is in hopes that he can get at Mr. Bangs before long," said
+Jack. "The trouble is, some papers are missing. He had them in a desk
+at the works, but when he came away he couldn't find them."
+
+"Perhaps Mr. Bangs got them."
+
+"It is possible, but father can't prove it."
+
+"Have you seen or heard anything of Bob Bangs lately?"
+
+"He is along the Hudson somewhere--on a vacation with his mother."
+
+"I met him when he was getting a horse," answered our hero and told of
+what had happened.
+
+"I wish I had been there!" cried Jack, laughing heartily. "I'll wager
+Bob was as mad as seventeen hornets."
+
+"Yes, indeed. He must have had a good bill to pay for damages."
+
+Randy spent a pleasant two hours with Jack and then went back to the
+boat, Jack promising to visit the craft some night when the _Helen
+Shalley_ should tie up at Albany again.
+
+So far matters had gone well on board. Randy was much amused by the
+passengers, especially those who were peculiar in their manners. There
+was one fussy old gentleman who went up and down the river twice a
+week. He always wanted to sit in a corner in the shade and asked a
+dozen times a day if they weren't behindhand.
+
+"We are exactly on time," said Randy, to him, one day.
+
+"Hum!" cried the old gentleman, consulting a watch he carried. "I think
+we are twenty minutes behindhand."
+
+"We haven't been twenty minutes behindhand since I've been on the
+boat," said Randy, as he moved off.
+
+The old gentleman grumbled to himself and restored his timepiece to his
+pocket.
+
+A minute later Randy saw an Englishman saunter along the deck and stop
+close to the old gentleman. Randy had noticed the Englishman before,
+because he spoke with a strong Cockney accent--that is, he dropped h's
+where they were wanted and put them in when not needed. At this time
+the steamboat was just approaching the Highlands.
+
+The Englishman pointed to the Highlands with his cane and addressed the
+old gentleman.
+
+"Hexcuse me," he said, "but are those the 'Ighlands you brag about in
+this country?"
+
+"The islands?" was the astonished reply.
+
+"Why, no, sir, those are not islands at all. Have you never studied
+geography? An island is entirely surrounded by water," continued the
+fussy old gentleman.
+
+"Oh, you mean hilands. I don't mean them at all, don't you know. I
+repeat, are those the 'Ighlands you talk about so much?" went on the
+Cockney, blandly.
+
+"They are not islands, sir--they are the Highlands," shouted the old
+gentleman.
+
+"Just exactly what I said, sir--the 'Ighlands."
+
+"No, not islands--Highlands."
+
+"Hexactly."
+
+"But you said islands."
+
+"No, I did not say hilands, I said the 'Ighlands," went on the Cockney.
+"Hevidently you don't understand good, plain Henglish," and he walked
+off in disgust.
+
+"The imp, the blithering imp," growled the old gentleman. "May he never
+come near me again!"
+
+At one of the landings a barrel for use on the boat broke, spilling
+some fancy flour on the deck. Randy was clearing up the muss when the
+purser, Peter Polk, came along. Our hero did not witness his approach,
+and consequently the purser received some dust on his shoes, which had
+just been polished.
+
+"Hi! hi! Have a care there!" he cried. "What do you mean by covering me
+with dust?"
+
+"Excuse me, sir," said Randy, hastily. "I didn't see you coming."
+
+"I just had those shoes shined!"
+
+"I am sorry, sir."
+
+"You're the new man, eh?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"You're a blockhead, it seems to me," went on the purser, who was in
+particularly bad humor that day.
+
+An angry remark rose to Randy's lips, but he repressed it.
+
+"You be more careful in the future, or you'll get into trouble,"
+grumbled the purser, and walked away.
+
+The moment the purser was gone Jones came up to our hero.
+
+"Brute, ain't he?" he said, in a low voice.
+
+"He called me a blockhead." Randy's eyes were flashing.
+
+"Don't you mind him, lad. He is sour all the way through--he don't seem
+to be able to help it."
+
+"I didn't see him coming."
+
+"He should have looked where he was walking."
+
+"I don't wonder the hands don't like him," went on Randy. "I don't
+think Captain Hadley would have spoken so."
+
+"Not a bit of it--the captain's a gentleman, every inch of him."
+
+"How do he and the purser get along together?"
+
+"None too good, so I've been told. I wish we had a man in place of
+Polk."
+
+"So do I."
+
+"More than likely, when he comes to pay you your wages, he'll take out
+the price of a shoe shine."
+
+"Would he really be mean enough to do that?"
+
+"Polk is about mean enough to do anything."
+
+There the talk ended and Randy finished up his work. The day passed,
+and when the steamboat tied up that night Randy was more than usually
+sleepy. It was very warm, and he went on the upper deck to get a breath
+of fresh air.
+
+"See here," said the purser, coming up to him rather suddenly. "Are you
+talking about me?"
+
+"Talking about you?" repeated our hero, somewhat puzzled.
+
+"That is what I said."
+
+"Not particularly, Mr. Polk."
+
+"Somebody on this boat is telling tales about me, and I don't like it."
+
+To this Randy made no answer.
+
+"Have you heard any stories?" went on Peter Polk.
+
+"What kind of stories?"
+
+"That I was going to leave the steamboat?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"No stories at all?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Humph!" And with this the purser walked away.
+
+"What did he want now?" asked Jones, coming up a little later.
+
+"Wanted to know if I had been circulating stories about him."
+
+"Did you tell him no?"
+
+"I did."
+
+"I've heard a story--in a roundabout way--that Mr. Shalley is getting
+tired of the way Polk runs the money matters on this boat."
+
+"Does he run all the money matters?"
+
+"Sure--that is a purser's business. He does the buying--or most of
+it--too."
+
+"I see."
+
+"I don't believe he buys to advantage," went on Jones, closing one eye
+suggestively.
+
+"I don't understand."
+
+"Maybe he buys at two prices--some of 'em do, you know."
+
+Randy did not know, but he did not say so.
+
+"I knew a purser once--on the _Sea Shell_--who used to pay one price
+for a thing and then charge the owners of the vessel another price. At
+last they caught him at it and sent him to prison."
+
+This opened Randy's eyes to what his fellow-deckhand was driving at.
+
+"Do you imagine Polk is that sort?"
+
+"He is certainly close."
+
+"So you said before. Well, he ought to be watched."
+
+"Oh, it's not my affair," said Jones. "Say, I am going to bed," he
+added.
+
+"So am I," said Randy, and retired, thinking of what Jones had said and
+also of what the Clares had told him regarding Peter Polk.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+A MEETING ON THE RIVER
+
+
+Two weeks passed and Randy felt quite at home on board of the
+steamboat. He had learned his duties fully and was giving satisfaction
+to Captain Hadley and Pat Malloy.
+
+His only enemy seemed to be Polk the purser, who was as disagreeable as
+possible. Our hero did his best to steer clear of the fellow, and in a
+measure succeeded.
+
+One evening, while the boat was tied up at the dock in New York Randy
+chanced to look ashore when he saw Rose Clare motioning to him. He at
+once joined the girl.
+
+"I came down to tell you that Bill Hosker was around yesterday," said
+the girl to our hero.
+
+"Is he around now?" questioned Randy, quickly.
+
+"No, he went away yesterday evening. He was only around about two
+hours."
+
+"I wish I had seen him."
+
+"I thought you'd like to know about it. I came down last night, but a
+man here told me you were at Albany."
+
+"Yes, we come to New York every other night, not counting Sundays."
+
+"I think Bill Hosker will come again soon. I suppose he thinks you have
+given up trying to find him."
+
+"Well, I haven't given it up, Rose. How are things going with yourself
+and your mother?"
+
+"Not very good."
+
+"Can't she get much sewing to do?"
+
+"She and I made only five dollars and a quarter last week."
+
+"And what rent do you pay?"
+
+"Six dollars a month for just the one room."
+
+"That is certainly hard. I wish I could help you, but I can't--at
+least, not now."
+
+"We wouldn't want help, if only we could get more sewing."
+
+"I'll ask Captain Hadley about it. He has a wife and a family of
+girls."
+
+Randy was as good as his word. He met the captain the next day, when
+the officer appeared to have little to do.
+
+"Captain, may I speak to you a moment?" he asked, respectfully, and at
+the same time tipping his cap.
+
+"What is it, Randy?"
+
+"I know a poor lady in New York who does sewing for a living. She is
+anxious to get more work and I am anxious to help her, if I possibly
+can. Do you know of anybody who would like some sewing done--your wife
+or anybody else?"
+
+"Hm! I don't know," answered the steamboat captain. "I'll remember what
+you say and see. Is that all?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Where does the poor woman live?"
+
+"Not far from our landing place in New York." He gave the street and
+number. "It isn't a nice neighborhood, but it is the best the woman can
+afford," he added.
+
+"Yes, I know many folks in New York who live in bad neighborhoods
+simply because they cannot afford something better. I will speak to my
+wife about this."
+
+The captain did as he had promised. Mrs. Hadley was going to New York
+the next day and said she would call upon Mrs. Clare. The family lived
+in Albany, so that the captain was home every other night.
+
+Mrs. Hadley was as good as her word. She was a Christian woman, a
+worker in the church, and she became at once interested in Mrs. Clare
+and her daughter Rose.
+
+"This is no place for Rose," said she. "This foul air is bad for her."
+
+"I know it--but I do not see how I can turn myself," said Mrs. Clare,
+with a sigh. Poverty had completely broken her spirit.
+
+The captain's wife looked over some of the sewing that Mrs. Clare had
+done and soon learned that the woman was a clever seamstress. Then she
+made an offer.
+
+"If you wish, you can come to my home with me," she said. "You can sew
+for me, and Rose can go to school and also help around the house. I
+will give you five dollars a week and your board."
+
+"I will accept gladly!" cried the poor woman, and burst into tears of
+gratitude.
+
+It was arranged that Mrs. Clare should leave New York on the following
+Saturday. She was to sell off the most of her things--alas! there were
+not many articles to dispose of! and the others were to be transferred
+to Albany on the boat.
+
+"My cousin, Mr. Polk, will be surprised to learn of this move," said
+Mrs. Clare to the captain's wife.
+
+"What, is he your cousin?" queried Mrs. Hadley.
+
+"Yes, by marriage," and then Mrs. Clare told her tale of suffering, to
+which the captain's wife gave a willing ear.
+
+"I must speak of this to my husband," said Mrs. Hadley. "I do not think
+he likes Mr. Polk very much."
+
+On Saturday Randy was moving some baggage from one side of the lower
+deck to the other when Peter Polk came along. As luck would have it,
+some trunks were in the way, so that the purser could not pass.
+
+"Look here, you blockhead, why don't you keep this gangway clear?" he
+roared to Randy.
+
+"I am trying to clear it now," answered our hero, as calmly as he
+could.
+
+"It ought to be kept clear always. Who ordered this stuff here,
+anyway?"
+
+"Mr. Malloy."
+
+"He had no business to do it."
+
+"Why didn't I, I'd like to be after knowin'?" came in a voice from
+behind the purser, and the head deckhand appeared on the scene.
+
+"Oh, so you're here, are you?" sneered Peter Polk.
+
+"I am that, Mr. Polk. I ordered thim trunks there. Have ye anything
+against it?" demanded Malloy, boldly. "If ye have, report to the
+captain."
+
+"You're blocking the whole gangway."
+
+"Thim trunks had to be shifted, an' Thompson is shiftin' 'em."
+
+"Humph!"
+
+"I know me juty on this boat, Mr. Polk."
+
+"Well--er--hurry up then and clear this gangway," grumbled the purser,
+and walked away. Malloy closed one eye and looked at Randy suggestively
+with the other.
+
+"He knew he had no right to interfere--it's not his line o' juty," said
+the head deckhand.
+
+Randy completed his work and then went to one of the upper decks, to
+fix some of the awnings. To his surprise he found Mrs. Clare and Rose
+there, in conversation with Peter Polk.
+
+"Going to Albany?" the purser was saying. "What for?"
+
+"I have a situation there, and Rose is going also," answered the poor
+woman.
+
+"What kind of a situation?"
+
+"I am to sew for Mrs. Hadley."
+
+"Not the captain's wife?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+At this announcement the face of the purser dropped. Evidently the news
+did not please him.
+
+"You won't find that very pleasant," he said.
+
+"It will be better than starving in the city, Peter."
+
+"How much is she going to pay you?"
+
+Mrs. Clare told him.
+
+"That is not a fortune. You ought to be able to earn more in New York."
+
+"I couldn't get the work."
+
+"I might have gotten something for you, if you had let me know," went
+on Peter Polk.
+
+"Thank you--I prefer to look out for myself," answered Mrs. Clare,
+coolly.
+
+"This looks as if I was letting one of my relatives live on charity,"
+pursued the purser.
+
+"I do not consider it a charity."
+
+"How did the captain's wife hear of you?"
+
+"Why, she--there is a boy on this boat--there he is--he spoke to the
+captain about it."
+
+"You mean Randy Thompson?"
+
+"Yes, that is his name."
+
+"He got the place for you?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"How did you happen to know him?"
+
+"It's a long story. He was knocked down and robbed and Rose and I went
+to his assistance. But we must go now. Mrs. Hadley wanted us to do some
+sewing for the captain while on this trip," and Mrs. Clare walked away,
+followed by Rose. Peter Polk gazed after them thoughtfully.
+
+"I hope she doesn't get the captain's wife too much interested in her
+affairs," he muttered to himself. "I shouldn't care to have the old
+accounts raked up in court."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+AN UNLOOKED-FOR ENCOUNTER
+
+
+It was now early in September and the travel down the river was
+particularly heavy, for many folks who had been away for a vacation
+were returning to the metropolis. Baggage kept pouring in until the
+lower deck was practically filled.
+
+"This is a banner season, so Malloy tells me," said Jones to Randy.
+
+"I know there is lots of work," answered our hero, whose arms ached not
+a little.
+
+"Never mind, I've got good news."
+
+"What is that?"
+
+"Mr. Shalley is going to allow us an extra five dollars this month."
+
+"Good enough."
+
+Randy had received several letters from home. Matters were going
+smoothly and Mr. Thompson was feeling better every day. The garden was
+doing finely. In one letter Mrs. Thompson wrote that there had been two
+strikes at the iron works, each due to Mr. Bangs' overbearing manner
+towards his workmen.
+
+"I thought he'd have trouble sooner or later," said Randy to himself,
+as he perused the communication. "What a pity that Mr. Bartlett isn't
+in charge."
+
+One fine afternoon the _Helen Shalley_ was steaming down the river as
+usual and Randy was near the bow, coiling up a hawser, when he noticed
+a sloop some distance ahead. It was tacking in an uncertain manner, as
+if the party on board did not know much about sailing such a craft.
+
+The sloop was directly in the path of the big steamboat, and the latter
+gave a warning whistle and then turned to one side. As she did this the
+sloop turned in the same direction.
+
+"Hullo! What does that fellow in the sloop mean?" cried Randy to Jones,
+who was near.
+
+"What's the matter?"
+
+"He'll be run down if he doesn't look out."
+
+"Some fool that doesn't know how to sail a boat, I guess," said the
+other deckhand.
+
+Swiftly the steamboat and the sloop drew close to one another. The big
+boat let out another warning blast, and again the pilot turned her out
+of her course. But the sloop also turned.
+
+"There is only one young fellow on board," said Jones. "Look, he acts
+as if he was scared out of his wits."
+
+"I know him!" fairly shouted our hero.
+
+"You do?"
+
+"Yes, it is Bob Bangs, the rich young fellow I told you about."
+
+"The fellow who couldn't manage his hoss?"
+
+"The same."
+
+"Well, he doesn't seem to know no more about his boat than he did about
+that hoss," was the deckhand's comment.
+
+"We are going to run into him!" gasped Randy.
+
+"No, he is going to run into us."
+
+"It will amount to the same thing--so far as he is concerned."
+
+"Maybe--but it will be his fault if he gets drowned."
+
+Another warning whistle now rang out, but was of no avail. The sloop
+swerved again and then came squarely up to the big steamboat, which was
+now backing water furiously.
+
+"Stop! Don't run me down!" screamed Bob Bangs. He was fairly white with
+terror.
+
+His cries were cut short by the crash as the sloop struck. The bow was
+splintered, and the shock threw Bob Bangs overboard. Luckily he was far
+enough away to escape the paddle-wheel, as the _Helen Shalley_
+continued to go ahead despite the fact that her engines had been
+reversed.
+
+The first surprise over, Randy was quick to act. Not far away was a
+life preserver having a line attached to it and this he took from its
+hooks. He waited for the rich boy to appear. Soon he came up,
+spluttering.
+
+"Catch the preserver!" called out our hero and cast the article in such
+a skillful manner that it fell within easy reach.
+
+"Save me! Save me!" gasped the rich youth, throwing his arms wildly
+about him.
+
+"Take hold of the life preserver!" called out half a hundred people at
+once. Then several other cries rang out.
+
+At last the motion of the water washed the life preserver up against
+Bob Bangs' arm. He clutched at it desperately. By this time the
+steamboat had come to a standstill, and it was an easy matter for Randy
+and Jones to pull the rich youth towards the vessel. Then a rope ladder
+was lowered and Bob Bangs came up to the deck, dripping with water.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+"Well, young man, you had a narrow escape," said Captain Hadley, as he
+pushed his way through the crowd to the spot.
+
+"I know it, and it's all your fault!" whined Bob Bangs.
+
+"My fault? Nonsense!"
+
+"You ran me down! I'll have the law on you for it."
+
+"Don't talk like a fool, young man. I was in the wheelhouse myself with
+the pilot and saw just how you acted. Evidently you don't know much
+about handling boats."
+
+"I know all about them," insisted the rich youth. But this was a
+falsehood, as Randy well knew. Bob could row and that was about all.
+
+"You'll have to pay for smashing my boat," went on the rich boy, after
+a pause. "And you'll have to pay for wetting my new suit," he added,
+gazing ruefully at the natty outing suit he had donned but an hour
+before.
+
+"You'll not get a cent out of me," said Captain Hadley, firmly. "This
+accident was clearly of your own making. We gave you plenty of room,
+but you turned directly into our course twice. Be thankful that you
+weren't ground up under the paddle-wheel."
+
+"Yes, and be thankful that Randy Thompson threw you a life preserver,"
+put in Jones.
+
+At the mention of our hero's name Bob Bangs looked around in surprise.
+He had not noticed Randy before.
+
+"What, you here!" he exclaimed and did not seem particularly happy over
+the meeting.
+
+"I am," answered Randy.
+
+"Did you throw out that line with the preserver?" asked the captain.
+
+"I did, sir," and Randy touched his cap.
+
+"I am glad to know it," and the captain's face showed his appreciation
+of Randy's prompt action.
+
+"What are you doing here--in that outfit?" asked Bob Bangs, curiously.
+
+"I am a deckhand on this steamboat."
+
+"Pooh! a deckhand!" and the rich boy's nose went up into the air in
+disdain. He would give Randy no credit for helping to save his life.
+
+"Clear the deck, please!" called out Captain Hadley, to the crowd that
+was pressing in on all sides. "The excitement is over. The boy is
+safe."
+
+"I want you to put me ashore," said Bob Bangs.
+
+"We'll make a landing a mile below here," said the Captain.
+
+"I don't want to go to the next landing."
+
+"Sorry, but we can't turn back," answered Captain Hadley.
+
+"What about my boat?"
+
+"We'll take it in tow."
+
+This was done, and in a few minutes the _Helen Shalley_ had resumed her
+journey. Bob Bangs was led to one of the staterooms and offered a dry
+suit of clothes, which he put on.
+
+"I'll take your name and address," said Captain Hadley.
+
+"What for?"
+
+"As a matter of record. And remember, I want the clothing returned."
+
+"Humph! Maybe my father will sue you for damages!"
+
+"If he does he will lose the case."
+
+Inside of five minutes the next landing place was made, and Bob Bangs
+went ashore, taking his wet suit with him. The damaged sloop was tied
+up at the dock, and having discharged and taken on passengers and
+baggage the steamboat sped on her way once more.
+
+"He's as mad as a wet hen," said Jones to Randy. "And he ought to be
+thankful for having his life spared."
+
+"He always was a mean sort of fellow," answered our hero. "And his
+folks are just as mean as he is."
+
+"Then maybe they will try to make trouble for the steamboat owner."
+
+Amos Bangs did try to make trouble. Two days after the accident on the
+river Andrew Shalley received a letter which ran in part as follows:
+
+    "As you perhaps know, my son, Robert Bangs, was out on the Hudson
+    on the 6th inst., in his sloop, when, without any cause whatsoever,
+    your steamboat, the _Helen Shalley_, ran into his boat, smashed it
+    completely and put him in peril of his life.
+
+    "I am a man of few words, sir, and I demand damages for this
+    outrage. If you wish to settle, you may send me your check for one
+    thousand dollars; if not, I will sue you for that amount."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND
+
+
+The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at
+once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing
+at Nyack.
+
+"It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.
+
+"He tried to run us down," answered the captain, quietly.
+
+"Was he hurt?"
+
+"Not in the least."
+
+"His father wants a thousand dollars' damages."
+
+"I wouldn't pay him a cent."
+
+"Did you run him down?"
+
+"No, he tried to run us down."
+
+"This is no joke, Captain Hadley."
+
+"I know it, Mr. Shalley. But to threaten us with a suit at law is
+absurd. I can bring a dozen witnesses to prove that the accident was
+entirely of the boy's making."
+
+"I am glad to hear that," and Andrew Shalley breathed a sigh of relief.
+He did not care so much for the money, but he wanted to know that
+Captain Hadley was not to blame.
+
+"That boy acted like a little fool from beginning to end," went on the
+captain of the steamboat and then told his story. Later Randy was
+called up, to relate what he had done, and also Jones.
+
+"If there is any trouble some of the passengers will testify for us,"
+said Captain Hadley, and mentioned half a dozen who had said they would
+stick to the captain, in case of trouble. The passengers were
+well-known citizens, whose testimony would be sure to carry weight in
+any court of law.
+
+Having satisfied himself that Amos Bangs had no case against him, the
+steamboat owner wrote to the rich manufacturer to that effect. By
+return mail he received this reply:
+
+    "Your bluff will not work with me. You are to blame and must pay.
+    If I do not receive your check for one thousand dollars by the
+    middle of next week I shall bring suit. My son is now in bed and
+    under the doctor's care because of the accident."
+
+"Humph! Under the doctor's care, eh?" mused the steamboat owner. "This
+certainly seems to be serious after all. He will certainly make trouble
+for me even if he doesn't win his case."
+
+Again the steamboat owner interviewed Captain Hadley, and then the pair
+called in Randy, to learn what he could tell about the Bangs family in
+general. Our hero told all he knew, including the trouble Mr. Bartlett
+was having with the iron manufacturer.
+
+"Evidently he is a man to get money in any manner possible," mused
+Andrew Shalley. "He will certainly bring suit."
+
+"I don't believe Bob is sick," said Randy. "He must be shamming."
+
+"I wish I knew for sure."
+
+"Perhaps I can find out for you--if you'll give me a day or two off,"
+said our hero, struck by a sudden idea.
+
+"A good plan!" cried Captain Hadley. "Let the lad see what he can do,
+by all means."
+
+The matter was talked over, and the upshot was that on the next trip of
+the steamboat Randy went ashore at Catskill, near which town Bob Bangs
+and his mother were spending their vacation.
+
+From some men at the dock our hero was enabled to find out all about
+the damaged sloop, which had been returned to Catskill. It was to cost
+twenty dollars to put the craft in good condition again.
+
+"Those folks are stopping at a small hotel on the Burnham road," said
+one of the dock men. "It's called the Sharon House."
+
+"Thank you," returned our hero.
+
+He was soon on the way to the Sharon House--since demolished by fire.
+It did not take him long to cover the distance. As he approached he
+looked around for some signs of the Bangs family and presently espied
+Mrs. Bangs lounging in a hammock on a side veranda, reading a novel.
+
+"I wonder if it is possible that Bob is really in bed sick?" he mused.
+"If he is it's a wonder Mrs. Bangs isn't with him. But then I guess she
+is a selfish woman, anyway."
+
+Randy walked around the hotel and down to the stable. Here he met a
+colored boy who helped around the horses.
+
+"Say, can you tell me where I can find Bob Bangs?" he asked, boldly.
+
+"Bob Bangs jest went down to the ball grounds," was the answer, which
+surprised Randy not a little.
+
+"Where are the grounds?"
+
+"That way," and the colored boy pointed with his hand.
+
+"I thought maybe Bob was sick."
+
+"He ain't sick--he's only pertendin'," answered the colored boy.
+
+Randy said no more but hurried off in the direction of the baseball
+grounds. Just as he came in sight of the place, he saw a figure ahead
+that looked familiar to him.
+
+"Unless I am mistaken, that is Bob," he told himself, and hurried
+closer.
+
+It was indeed Bob Bangs, walking along as if nothing had ever happened
+to him. He was smoking a cigarette. He passed into the grounds and
+Randy did the same, and took a seat on a bench directly behind the rich
+youth.
+
+It was easy to see that Bob Bangs was not suffering physically. He
+smoked half a dozen cigarettes, and applauded as loudly as anybody when
+a good play was made.
+
+"Fine game," said a man sitting next to Randy.
+
+"It is," said our hero. He looked at the man and saw that he was
+evidently a merchant. "Excuse me, are you from Catskill?"
+
+"I am."
+
+"Do you want to do me a favor if I pay you for it?"
+
+"Well, it won't be a favor if you pay me."
+
+"I may want your assistance and I may not. Do you see that boy there?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"He doesn't look as if he was sick abed, does he?"
+
+"Sick abed? What sort of a game is this?" and the merchant looked Randy
+over with much curiosity.
+
+"That boy's father says he is sick in bed. I want to prove that it
+isn't so."
+
+"What is the game, anyway?"
+
+"He had an accident on the river and he wants damages from a man I work
+for. It is a put-up job."
+
+"Oh! I've heard of such things before. I know a rascal who cut his foot
+with an ax and then went down to the railroad and laid the blame on a
+train. He got five hundred dollars, but, later on, was found out and
+sent to prison for the deception."
+
+"Well, this isn't exactly like that. Didn't you hear about a sloop
+running into the _Helen Shalley_ a few days ago?"
+
+"Oh, yes, a friend of mine, a passenger on the boat, told me about it.
+He said the boy didn't know how to handle the craft."
+
+"Well, that is the boy."
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"Does he act as if he was hurt or suffering?"
+
+"Not in the least."
+
+"Would you be willing to testify to that fact, if it came to law?"
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"Will you give me your name and address?"
+
+"Here is my card," and the merchant handed it over. He did not add that
+he occasionally sold Captain Hadley some goods and was glad to do the
+master of the steamboat a service.
+
+The game was almost at an end when the ball was sent among the
+spectators. Seeing it coming towards him, Bob Bangs leaped up and tried
+to catch the sphere. It hit the tips of his fingers, stinging them
+greatly. Then the ball came towards Randy and he caught it and threw it
+back into the field.
+
+"What are you doing here?" demanded Bob Bangs, as he caught sight of
+our hero.
+
+"Watching the game," answered Randy, quietly.
+
+"Humph!"
+
+"Pretty nice game, Bob."
+
+"Humph!" muttered the rich boy again.
+
+"I see you are feeling fine again."
+
+"I am not--I am real sick," answered the rich boy, quickly.
+
+"Sick in bed, eh?" went on our hero, with a grin.
+
+"I was in bed."
+
+"Last night, I suppose. So was I."
+
+"I'm sick yet."
+
+"You showed it--by the way you were cheering and yelling."
+
+"When did you come in?"
+
+"Right after you."
+
+"Humph! Have you been watching me?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You might be in a better business," sneered the rich boy.
+
+"I don't think so. You need watching. You and your father want to cheat
+the steamboat company by pretending that you were hurt in that
+collision, and here you are as well and hearty as ever," added Randy in
+a loud voice, so that those nearby might hear.
+
+"I ain't well--I'm sick."
+
+"You said that before--but nobody will believe it."
+
+"You're well enough to go to a ball game and yell and smoke cigarettes,
+anyway," put in the merchant sitting next to Randy.
+
+A good play brought forth a cheer from the crowd which drowned out
+further talk. In the midst of the temporary excitement Bob Bangs
+sneaked from the stand and from the ball grounds.
+
+"He feels sick over this," laughed the merchant.
+
+"Well, he can't sue the steamboat company for that sickness," laughed
+our hero in return.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+RANDY VISITS HIS HOME
+
+
+As soon as he returned to the steamboat, Randy acquainted Captain
+Hadley with all he had seen and heard and gave the captain the card of
+the merchant.
+
+"You have done well, Randy," said the master of the steamboat. "I fancy
+this will cook Mr. Amos Bangs's goose."
+
+At Nyack, Mr. Shalley came on board and heard what our hero had to say.
+
+"I am glad you have a witness," said he. "I have heard of Mr. Budmister
+before."
+
+"A good business man," said Captain Hadley. "He will make a good
+witness--if the case comes to a trial."
+
+But it never did come to a trial. Andrew Shalley received one letter
+from a lawyer, threatening the suit, and in return wrote back the
+particulars of what Randy had learned, and added that if he heard any
+more of the matter he would bring suit against Amos Bangs for
+conspiracy to defraud. There the matter ended.
+
+The captain was so pleased that when Randy asked for a three-days'
+leave of absence, that he might visit his home, it was readily granted.
+The boy was also given some extra pay for his work at Catskill.
+
+Randy's homecoming brought a warm smile to the faces of his father and
+his mother. His mother kissed him tenderly and his father shook hands.
+
+"How are you feeling, father?"
+
+"I am almost well, Randy. I expect to go to work next week."
+
+"But not in a cellar," said the son, quickly.
+
+"No, Mr. Jackson is going to build a wing on his house and has given me
+the whole contract."
+
+"That is good."
+
+"I will be able to make more money than if I was working for a boss,"
+went on Mr. Thompson.
+
+"Well, you won't be sorry for that," said Randy, with a smile.
+
+He found matters on the farm moving along nicely. The late vegetables
+were coming in well and their neighbor, Jerry Borden, had given them a
+helping hand.
+
+"Say, you're a-gittin' to be a regular sailor, ain't you?" said Sammy
+to Randy.
+
+"Hardly a sailor," answered Randy, with a laugh. "I am a steamboat
+deckhand."
+
+"It's about the same thing. Wish I was a sailor."
+
+"Maybe if you sailed on the ocean you'd get seasick, Sammy."
+
+"I wouldn't, nuther. I was readin' about Robinson Crusoe onct. I wish I
+was cast away on a barren island. It would be lots of fun."
+
+"Especially if you had nothing to eat and to drink."
+
+"Oh, I'd get something from the ship, as Crusoe did."
+
+"If the ship didn't go down in the middle of the ocean."
+
+"When I was on the island I'd sleep every morning as long as I wanted
+to."
+
+"What would you do if the savages came after you?"
+
+"I'd fight and kill them all--that is, all but one. I'd want that one
+for my man Friday."
+
+"He ain't going to be no sailor," broke in Mrs. Borden, who overheard
+the conversation. "He is going out to hunt eggs an' he is a-goin' to do
+it right now, or I'll get the whip."
+
+"I'll get the eggs," answered Sammy, and hurried off without further
+delay.
+
+"That boy is crazy to go somewhere all the time," said Mrs. Borden. "He
+doesn't seem to like the farm a bit."
+
+"Better let him look for work somewhere," said Randy. "Maybe it will
+cure him of some of his notions."
+
+"Maybe," sighed the mother.
+
+All too soon Randy's visit had come to an end. He remained at the
+little farm over Sunday, going to church with his father and his
+mother, and left for the Hudson River early Monday morning.
+
+Several days passed quietly and once more our hero fell into his
+routine work. Jones was sick, so the deckhands had a little more to do
+than usual. Randy pitched in with vigor, much to the satisfaction of
+Malloy and Captain Hadley.
+
+One day, while handling baggage at the dock in New York, Randy was
+surprised to see Amos Bangs and a stranger come aboard. He soon lost
+sight of the pair and did not see them again until the middle of the
+afternoon, when he discovered them in a corner of the cabin, talking
+earnestly.
+
+"It is queer Mr. Bangs should use this boat--after his quarrel with
+Captain Hadley and Mr. Shalley," said our hero to himself.
+
+He had occasion to pass the pair a little later and was surprised to
+hear the name of Mr. Bartlett mentioned.
+
+"Don't worry; we'll down Bartlett easily enough," said the strange man,
+a fellow with bushy black whiskers.
+
+"I hope so," answered Amos Bangs.
+
+Curious to know what they could be saying about Jack's father, and
+remembering what he had heard in the past, Randy walked outside of the
+cabin and close to a window which was wide open. From this point he
+could hear what was said without being seen very readily.
+
+"I don't like the way matters are standing," he heard Amos Bangs say.
+"We must make our position more secure, Tuller."
+
+"I don't see how we are to do it," answered the man with the heavy
+whiskers.
+
+"I wish I could get Bartlett to sell his stock and sign over all his
+interest."
+
+"Can you do that without making him suspicious of what is going on?"
+
+"Humph! He is suspicious already, that's the trouble."
+
+"Does he know about the deal with Kastner?"
+
+"I think not."
+
+"It will be a blow, when he hears of it."
+
+"I don't intend he shall hear of it just yet. If I had Robinson where I
+wanted him, I'd go ahead."
+
+"Can't you get him?"
+
+"Get him? I don't dare breathe a word to him." Amos Bangs laughed. "And
+the funny part of it is, Bartlett thinks Robinson is in with us."
+
+"You are sure of that?"
+
+"Dead certain."
+
+"Then you must keep Bartlett and Robinson apart."
+
+"If I can."
+
+"What did you do with the papers you took from Bartlett's desk?"
+
+"They are in my safe at home."
+
+"Why don't you destroy them?"
+
+"I will, some time."
+
+"It is dangerous to leave them around."
+
+"I am the only person who knows the combination of the house safe. The
+papers can't get out without me."
+
+So the talk ran on for a good hour, during which time Randy heard many
+things which appeared to be of value to Mr. Philip Bartlett. Then the
+two men arose and went to the smoking room, and that was the last our
+hero saw of them until they left the boat, half an hour later.
+
+The talk he had heard set Randy to thinking. Plainly Amos Bangs and his
+companion were a pair of rascals and were trying to defraud Mr.
+Bartlett out of some if not all of his belongings.
+
+"I'll have to call on Mr. Bartlett and tell him what I have heard,"
+Randy told himself.
+
+"See here!" called out Peter Polk, striding up as Randy was going to
+the lower deck. "What are you loafing around here for?"
+
+"I am going below now," answered our hero.
+
+"You can't shirk your work that way, Thompson." The purser came closer.
+"Listen," he whispered. "After this you keep your nose out of my
+business."
+
+"I didn't know I had my nose in your business, Mr. Polk."
+
+"Oh, you can't fool me, Thompson. I know it was you went to Captain
+Hadley with the story of how I was treating my relatives."
+
+"You mean the Clares?"
+
+"Of course I do. After this you keep your mouth shut," pursued the
+purser. "If you don't--well, you'll wish you had, that's all." And
+Peter Polk went away in extremely bad humor.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+MR. BARTLETT MAKES A MOVE
+
+
+As soon as the boat had tied up at Albany, and his work was at an end,
+Randy attired himself in his best and took a street car for the
+residence of the Bartletts. It was a humble place on a side street,
+quite in contrast to the fine residence the family had occupied in
+Riverport.
+
+"Hullo, Randy!" cried Jack, as he came to the door to answer our hero's
+ring. "This is a surprise. Walk right in. Did you send word that you
+were coming?"
+
+"I did not, Jack. Is your father home?"
+
+"Yes, he is just finishing his supper."
+
+"I want to see him."
+
+"Had your supper?"
+
+"Yes, I got a bite before I left the boat."
+
+"All right--otherwise I know mother will welcome you at our table."
+
+Jack went off to tell his father, and presently Mr. Bartlett walked in.
+He looked rather care-worn and tired. Evidently his new situation was a
+hard one to fill and did not agree with him.
+
+"How do you do, Randy?" said Mr. Bartlett. "Glad to see you. Jack says
+you want to see me."
+
+"I do, Mr. Bartlett. Can I talk to you in private?"
+
+"Certainly. Come into the parlor."
+
+Mr. Bartlett led the way and closed the door. Then both sat down.
+
+"I want to tell you something about Mr. Bangs and a man named Tuller,"
+began Randy. "They were on the boat to-day and I overheard some of
+their talk."
+
+"Tuller, eh?" said Mr. Bartlett, and his brow darkened.
+
+As well as he could Randy repeated the talk he had heard. Jack's father
+listened with keen interest. He was astonished when Randy mentioned the
+papers which had been abstracted from his desk.
+
+"So Bangs has them in his safe at home, eh?" he cried. "Well, I am
+going to get them, be the cost what it may. They belong to me, and I am
+going to take them no matter where I find them."
+
+He was equally astonished to hear that a certain Mr. Robinson was not
+acting with Amos Bangs and certain other men, Tuller included.
+
+"They gave me to understand that Robinson was with them," said Philip
+Bartlett. "If Robinson will only act with me, perhaps I can do a great
+deal."
+
+"Then why don't you write to Mr. Robinson and find out?"
+
+"I will go and see him."
+
+"Oh, then he lives here."
+
+"No, in Springfield. But our works are going to shut down for a few
+days, so I will have ample time. Randy, I am very thankful to you for
+bringing me this news."
+
+"I hope it does you some good, Mr. Bartlett."
+
+"I think it will. Perhaps I'll only be able to scare Bangs, but that
+may make him careful, so I can get something out of my stock in the
+iron works company."
+
+"If you ever want me as a witness I will do what I can for you."
+
+"Thank you, my lad; you are kind and I will remember what you say."
+
+After that Mrs. Bartlett and Jack came in and learned something of what
+had brought our hero to the house.
+
+"Good for you, Randy!" cried Jack. "Father, if I were you, I'd break
+into old Bangs's safe."
+
+"Pray do nothing rash," pleaded Mrs. Bartlett. "Remember he is rich and
+has many friends."
+
+"He is certainly rich," said Randy, "but I doubt if the family have
+many friends. All of them are too overbearing."
+
+"Bangs broke into father's private desk and took the papers," went on
+Jack. "It would be only tit for tat to break open the safe and get the
+papers back."
+
+"I shall see Robinson first and then make up my mind what to do,"
+answered his father.
+
+Randy spent a pleasant evening with Jack, and when it came time to go
+to the boat Jack walked half the distance with our hero.
+
+"I wish father could get what is due him," said Jack on the way. "He
+can't stand the hard work he is now doing."
+
+The next morning Randy sailed down the river on the steamboat.
+Twenty-four hours later Mr. Bartlett crossed the Hudson and took a
+train for Springfield. He hoped to find Mr. Robinson at one of the
+banks and he was not disappointed.
+
+The bank official--for such Mr. Robinson was--listened with interest to
+all Philip Bartlett had to tell. He shook his head when Amos Bangs and
+Tuller were mentioned.
+
+"I suspected as much," said he. "I was given to understand that Bangs
+had bought you out. I couldn't understand it either, for you once told
+me that you did not wish to leave the works. I have just gotten back
+from a trip to Europe and have a good deal to attend to here, but I
+will take this matter up as soon as I possibly can."
+
+"And you will stand in with me?" asked Mr. Bartlett, anxiously.
+
+"If you wish it."
+
+"I do."
+
+"Then we must act together."
+
+"And what would be your advice regarding those papers in Bangs's
+private safe at his house?"
+
+"Get out a search warrant and take a professional safe man along, to
+open the strong box," answered the bank official, promptly. "And do not
+delay either. He may take it into his head to burn the papers up."
+
+"I will do as you say," answered Mr. Bartlett with decision.
+
+Some of his old-time will power had come back to him and he lost not a
+moment in carrying out his plans. He visited a firm dealing in safes
+and from them got the address of a man who claimed to be able to open
+any ordinary safe made. Then he called on this individual.
+
+"You open safes?" he asked.
+
+"I do--if I have the proper authority," answered the man.
+
+"Can you open a first-class house safe?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"How long will it take?"
+
+"From five minutes to three hours."
+
+"What are your charges?"
+
+"Ten to fifty dollars. I'll have to see the safe before I can set a
+definite figure."
+
+"Will you be at liberty to-morrow?"
+
+"I'll be at your service if you engage me now."
+
+"Very well, you may consider yourself engaged. I wish you to meet me in
+Riverport at about noon."
+
+"Your own safe?"
+
+"No."
+
+"You'll have authority to open it?"
+
+"I think so. I've got to go to court to get it, though."
+
+"Ah! a legal case, eh?"
+
+"Yes. You don't object, do you?"
+
+"Oh, no, I have many legal cases. Had to force a safe for some lawyers
+in Bridgeport only last week."
+
+"You will not disappoint me?"
+
+"Not at all, Mr. Bartlett."
+
+With this understanding Philip Bartlett left the safe opener and took a
+train back to his home. But, as it happened, a certain man saw him
+leaving the safe opener's office. This man was none other than Tuller,
+the friend to Amos Bangs.
+
+"Bartlett, eh?" murmured Tuller to himself. "What is he doing in
+Springfield?"
+
+He chanced to know the safe opener, whose name was Westinghouse, and
+presently dropped into the other's office as if by accident.
+
+"How is business, Westinghouse?" he said, indifferently.
+
+"Fair," was the answer. "Had two jobs last week."
+
+"Good enough."
+
+"How is business with you?"
+
+"Booming. I suppose you get jobs ahead, is that it, or do you go out on
+the run, so to speak?"
+
+"Sometimes I get orders ahead, but most of the jobs come in on the
+run--safe out of order, or something like that. I've got to go to
+Riverport to-morrow."
+
+"Is that so? Bank?"
+
+"No, a private party, I reckon. Going to have a safe opened by an order
+from the court, I think."
+
+"Is that so! Well, I wish you luck on the job. Good-day."
+
+"Good-day!" answered the safe opener.
+
+Once on the street Tuller's face changed.
+
+"Bartlett must have given that order, and if so he means to either open
+up the safe at the iron works or else the safe at Bangs's house. I must
+see Bangs and warn him, so that nothing is found which will do us
+harm!"
+
+At first he thought to telegraph, but then came to the conclusion that
+it would be too risky. A letter might not be received in time.
+
+"I'll go myself," he said, and an hour later was on his way to
+Riverport.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+THE PAPERS IN THE SAFE
+
+
+At Riverport the next day Mr. Bartlett called upon a lawyer with whom
+he was well acquainted and told to the legal gentleman all that he had
+learned and proposed to do.
+
+"I wish your assistance, Mr. Soper," he said.
+
+"You shall have it," was the lawyer's prompt answer.
+
+"Can you get an order from the court to open that safe?"
+
+"I believe I can. Come, we will go and see the judge at once."
+
+Fortunately for Mr. Bartlett the judge was easily found, and when the
+matter was explained he issued the necessary papers and placed them in
+the hands of one of the constables.
+
+"But how are you going to open the safe if it is locked?" asked the
+judge. "Constable Carley is not equal to it."
+
+"I have engaged a professional safe opener," answered Mr. Bartlett. "He
+can do the trick for the constable."
+
+"Very well."
+
+Mr. Bartlett, the lawyer, and the constable waited until the stage came
+in. The safe opener was one of the passengers and at once joined the
+crowd and was introduced.
+
+In the meantime Jasper Tuller had also arrived in Riverport. In the
+morning he lost no time in calling at the iron works.
+
+"I want to see Mr. Bangs," he said, to the clerk who came to wait on
+him.
+
+"Sorry, sir, but Mr. Bangs went out of town late last night."
+
+"When will he be back?"
+
+"Not until some time this afternoon--possibly not until evening."
+
+"Where did he go? I must communicate with him at once."
+
+"He went to Rochester, but I can't give you the exact address,"
+answered the clerk.
+
+Jasper Tuller groaned in spirit. Could he have telegraphed to Amos
+Bangs he would have done so, but the telegram would have remained at
+the office awaiting a call.
+
+"I must make a move on my own account, if I can," he muttered.
+
+He called a carriage and was driven to the Bangs mansion. A servant
+answered his rather impatient ring at the front door.
+
+"Is anybody at home?" he asked, abruptly.
+
+"Mr. Bangs has gone away, sir."
+
+"I know that," he snapped. "Is Mrs. Bangs at home?"
+
+Now it happened Mrs. Bangs had come home the night before, intending to
+go away again two days later. But she had given orders that she wished
+to see no one.
+
+"I--I don't know," said the servant girl. "I can see. What is the
+name?"
+
+"Jasper Tuller. It is highly important that I see somebody of the
+family at once," went on the visitor.
+
+Mrs. Bangs was in an upper hallway and overheard the talk. She knew her
+husband had had some trouble with a book agent over the payment of a
+bill and took Tuller to be that person.
+
+"A gentleman to see you, Mrs. Bangs," said the maid. "He is very
+anxious about it."
+
+"I cannot see anybody," returned the fashionable woman, coldly. "Tell
+him I am not at home."
+
+The girl went down into the hallway, where she had left Jasper Tuller
+standing.
+
+"Mrs. Bangs is not at home, sir. You will have to call some other
+time."
+
+"Is Mr. Bangs's son at home?"
+
+"No, sir; he is away for the summer."
+
+"When will Mrs. Bangs be back?"
+
+"I can't say, sir."
+
+"It is too bad. The matter is very important. I came all the way from
+Springfield to see Mr. Bangs. They told me at the works he had gone to
+Rochester. I wanted to see him or his wife on business. Have you any
+idea where I can find Mrs. Bangs?"
+
+The girl hesitated.
+
+"N--no, sir," she faltered.
+
+Mrs. Bangs was listening as before and now realized that something
+unusual was in the air. She slipped down a back stairs and out of a
+rear door. Then she came around to the front piazza just as the door
+opened to let Tuller out.
+
+"Mamie, who is this?" she asked, looking at the servant girl meaningly.
+
+"Are you Mrs. Bangs?" asked Jasper Tuller, quickly, and, as she nodded,
+he continued: "I am glad you have come. I am Jasper Tuller, one of the
+stockholders in the iron works. Perhaps you have heard your husband
+mention my name."
+
+"I have, Mr. Tuller. What can I do for you?"
+
+"I would like to see you in private"--this with a side glance at the
+servant girl.
+
+"Very well, step into the library, Mr. Tuller," and the fashionable
+woman led the way to that apartment. Then the door was carefully
+closed.
+
+"Something is wrong," said the servant girl to herself. "I wonder what
+it can be?"
+
+She was of a decidedly inquisitive nature and not above playing the
+eavesdropper. She tiptoed her way to the library door and listened
+intently, while at the same time applying her eye to the keyhole.
+
+"Now, what is it, Mr. Tuller?" asked Mrs. Bangs, after the door to the
+library was shut.
+
+"Briefly, it is this," said the visitor. "Your husband has certain
+papers in his safe--papers which belong to another man,--Philip
+Bartlett."
+
+"Proceed."
+
+"I warned him to destroy the papers but he has not done so. Now Mr.
+Bartlett is going to come here, force open your safe, and take the
+papers away."
+
+"Come here--force our safe!" gasped the fashionable woman. "He dare not
+do it."
+
+"He is going to do it legally, I presume."
+
+"You mean he will bring an officer of the law here?"
+
+"Yes. If those papers are found it will look black for your husband,
+for he has no right to have them in his possession."
+
+"Oh, Mr. Tuller, what shall I do?"
+
+"It is easy enough. Open the safe, take out the papers, and put them
+where they cannot be found."
+
+"Yes, but I do not know how to open the safe!"
+
+"Don't you know the combination? Your husband said something about
+that, but I felt there must be some mistake."
+
+"I did know the combination once, but I believe I have forgotten it,"
+went on the fashionable woman. She knitted her brows. "Let me see. It
+was three 9's, I remember--9, 18, and 27."
+
+"Yes! yes! And what else. See if you cannot think. It is so very
+important--not alone for your husband, but also for myself and others."
+
+"I am trying to think. Let me see--yes, there was a 2 and a 3 and then
+another 2,--I mean so many times around."
+
+"I believe I understand, Mrs. Bangs. You mean twice around to 9, three
+times around to 18, twice to 27, and then off at 0."
+
+"Yes, yes, that is it!" burst out the lady of the mansion. "How clever
+some men are!" and she beamed on her visitor, who chanced to be well
+dressed and not bad-looking.
+
+"If that is correct, I'll soon have the safe open," said Jasper Tuller,
+and walked over to where the strong box stood, in a corner of the
+apartment.
+
+The lady of the mansion hovered near while Jasper Tuller got down on
+his knees and began to try the combination. He had to work the knob all
+of a dozen times before the door of the safe came open.
+
+"At last!" he murmured, as the contents of the safe stood revealed.
+
+"Do you see the papers, or rather, do you know them?" asked Mrs. Bangs.
+
+"I will know them--if I can lay eyes on them," was the reply, as Tuller
+began to rummage around in the safe.
+
+The papers were sorted out in different piles and he went through each
+pile as rapidly as possible. Presently he found what he wanted.
+
+"Here they are!" he cried in triumph, as he held them up.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+ANOTHER HIDING PLACE
+
+
+Mrs. Bangs breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the papers.
+
+"You are certain you are right, Mr. Tuller?" she asked, anxiously.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Where did those papers come from?"
+
+"Mr. Bartlett's desk at the iron works."
+
+"As they were in my husband's safe I think you ought to give them to
+me."
+
+"I will do so, Mrs. Bangs. But you must put them where they cannot be
+found."
+
+"Trust me for that."
+
+"The officers of the law may search the whole house."
+
+"Dare they do such a thing?"
+
+"Yes, but if everything is found square your husband can sue Bartlett
+for damages," and Jasper Tuller chuckled loudly. "It will be a good
+joke on him."
+
+"There are no more of the papers?"
+
+"I will take another look and make sure."
+
+This was done, but no more papers belonging to Philip Bartlett could be
+found. Then the safe was locked once more.
+
+"I will put these papers away at once," said Mrs. Bangs and left the
+library with the documents in her hand. She was gone all of five
+minutes and came back smiling quietly to herself.
+
+"Now they are safe," she said. "Nobody can possibly find them."
+
+"I am glad to hear it," answered Tuller. "Now I had better be
+going--before Bartlett appears. Don't say anything about my having been
+here."
+
+"I will not."
+
+"And another thing, Mrs. Bangs. Pretend not to know how to open the
+safe. That will compel them to break it open, and your husband's case
+against Bartlett will be so much stronger."
+
+"I shall follow your advice, Mr. Tuller. But look, somebody is coming
+already!" went on the fashionable woman, as a carriage turned in from
+the road and came toward the horse block.
+
+"I must get out of this! Can I go by a back door?"
+
+"To be sure," said Mrs. Bangs, and showed the way. As Tuller slipped
+out and passed toward the back road where Randy had had an encounter
+with Bob Bangs, there came a ring at the front door.
+
+"Good-morning, Mrs. Bangs," said Mr. Bartlett. "Is your husband at
+home?"
+
+"He is not," answered the fashionable woman, coldly.
+
+"I've got a search warrant for this place," said the constable, pushing
+his way in, and he proceeded to read the document aloud.
+
+"This is an outrage!" cried Mrs. Bangs, with assumed dignity. "An
+outrage, and you shall pay dearly for it, Mr. Bartlett. My husband is
+no thief, to steal your papers."
+
+"Perhaps not," answered Philip Bartlett. "Nevertheless, I am going to
+have his safe searched and also this house."
+
+"Well, since you have the law on your side, go ahead. But you shall
+answer to my husband for this indignity."
+
+The constable began his work, and the safe opener approached the strong
+box and inspected it.
+
+"Can you open it?" asked Mr. Bartlett, anxiously.
+
+"With ease," was the answer. "This is one of the old-style safes."
+
+"How much will it cost?"
+
+"Ten dollars."
+
+"Then go ahead."
+
+The safe opener was soon at work. He turned the knob around slowly,
+listening intently in the meanwhile. He worked thus for perhaps ten
+minutes, when the door to the safe came open without an effort.
+
+Mrs. Bangs was disappointed. She had expected that the safe would have
+to be blown open in the most approved burglar fashion, and was
+wondering what bill for damages she could render.
+
+"You must have known the combination," she said, tartly, to the safe
+opener.
+
+"This is my business," was the quiet answer.
+
+The constable, with Mr. Bartlett's aid, went through all the papers in
+the safe. Of course the all-important documents were not found.
+
+"Well?" asked the lawyer, after a long wait.
+
+"They are not here," replied Mr. Bartlett. He felt sick at heart over
+his failure to bring the papers to light.
+
+"Not here!"
+
+"No, they must have been removed."
+
+The library was searched, and then a look was taken through the whole
+house. Mrs. Bangs followed the men everywhere.
+
+"You shall suffer for this outrage," she said to Mr. Bartlett several
+times.
+
+"I presume I shall have to stand for what I have done," he answered,
+meekly. "Of one thing I am certain, Mrs. Bangs. Your husband has those
+papers, or else he has destroyed them."
+
+"You can say what you please, Mr. Bangs is an honest man and a
+gentleman," retorted the fashionable woman.
+
+At last there was nothing left to do but to leave the mansion, which
+Mr. Bartlett did with reluctance.
+
+"I am afraid I have made a mess of it," he said to his lawyer. "I was
+certain we would find those papers."
+
+"I am afraid you have hurt your case, Mr. Bartlett," answered the legal
+light, bluntly. "Bangs will now be on his guard and will take good care
+to keep those papers away from you."
+
+"Perhaps he has destroyed them."
+
+"That is not unlikely, since it would do him small good to keep them."
+
+"What do you advise me to do next?"
+
+"You had better wait and see what develops," said the lawyer.
+
+The safe opener and the constable were paid off and Philip Bartlett
+returned to Albany in anything but a happy frame of mind. A day or two
+later he called upon Randy, when the steamboat tied up at the dock for
+the night.
+
+"My fat is in the fire," he said to our hero, and told of his failure
+to locate the missing documents.
+
+"Mr. Bartlett, I am sure Mr. Bangs said the papers were in his safe!"
+cried Randy. "He must have taken them out when he returned home."
+
+"You can be a witness if the matter is brought into court?"
+
+"Of course. I remember very well all I heard."
+
+"Well, that is something," answered Philip Bartlett, hopefully.
+
+He went home and the next day received a strong letter from Amos Bangs
+denouncing him for the action he had taken. Part of the letter ran as
+follows:
+
+    "I should sue you for damages, only I do not wish to drag you into
+    court on account of your wife and family. In the future you need
+    expect no favors from me. I am done with you. If you want to sell
+    your stock in the iron company I will give you the market price,
+    not a cent more. Remember, I shall be on my guard against you in
+    the future, and if you dare to molest me again you shall take the
+    consequences."
+
+"He will do what he can to ruin us," said Mrs. Bartlett when her
+husband read the letter to her.
+
+"I suppose so."
+
+"What is the market price of the stock?"
+
+"It has no regular market value now. Bangs will buy it for about ten
+cents on the dollar."
+
+"Oh, Philip, that is so little!"
+
+"I'll not sell the stock," said Mr. Bartlett. "I'd rather lose every
+cent than play into Amos Bangs's hands!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+A VICTORY FOR RANDY
+
+
+One day Randy was out in Albany buying a new pair of shoes when he met
+Rose Clare, who was also doing some shopping for her mother.
+
+"Oh, Randy, how do you do!" cried the girl, running up and shaking
+hands.
+
+"Very well, Rose," he answered. "You look well."
+
+"Oh, I am feeling splendid."
+
+"It did you good to get out of New York."
+
+"Indeed it did, and mamma is ever so much better too."
+
+"I am glad to hear that. Do you like it at Captain Hadley's home?"
+
+"Yes, mamma and Mrs. Hadley have become great friends."
+
+"Do you go to school?"
+
+"Yes. And, oh, I 'most forgot to tell you. I got a letter from New York
+to-day. It was from another girl, one who lived in the house with us.
+She says Bill Hosker has come back to that neighborhood."
+
+"To stay?"
+
+"She says he is around every night."
+
+"Then I am going to hunt him up."
+
+"Oh, Randy, please don't get into any more trouble," pleaded Rose.
+
+"He has got to give back my money, or take the consequences."
+
+"You know what a ruffian he is!"
+
+"I will be on my guard this time, Rose, and maybe I'll take a friend
+along," added our hero.
+
+When he returned to the steamboat he told Jones about what he had
+heard. Jones was now feeling very well once again, and he readily
+volunteered to go with Randy and hunt up Hosker as soon as the boat got
+to the metropolis. Then Pat Malloy got wind of what was up and said he
+would go too.
+
+"It's no use of going to the police wid such a mather," said the head
+deckhand. "We'll bring the rascal to terms ourselves."
+
+It was a clear, cool night when the landing was made at New York. The
+deckhands hurried through their labors and then made off for the
+neighborhood where Randy had been attacked.
+
+"Here is the spot where I was first robbed," said our hero, and pointed
+it out.
+
+They walked around the neighborhood for nearly an hour, and were
+growing somewhat disheartened when Randy gave a cry:
+
+"There he is!"
+
+"You are sure?" asked Jones.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Let me speak to him first. Then we'll know there ain't no mistake,"
+went on Jones.
+
+Randy was willing and he and Malloy dropped behind.
+
+Bill Hosker had just come out of a saloon and was wiping off his mouth
+with the back of his hand. He turned down a side street.
+
+"Hullo there, Bill Hosker!" cried Jones, pleasantly.
+
+The bully and thief swung around on his heel and looked at the deckhand
+in perplexity.
+
+"Who are you?" he asked, roughly.
+
+"Am I right? Is this Bill Hosker?"
+
+"Dat's my handle."
+
+"Then you are the man I want to see," said Jones and beckoned for the
+others to come up.
+
+When the street ruffian saw Randy his face changed color and he wanted
+to run away, but Jones grabbed him and so did Malloy. As both were
+powerful men, Hosker was as a kitten in their grasp.
+
+"Youse fellers let me go!"
+
+"I want you to give up the money you took from me," said Randy.
+
+"I don't know you, young feller!"
+
+"Yes, you do. Will you give up the money or not?"
+
+"I ain't got no cash."
+
+"Then you'll come to the station house with me."
+
+"I bet yer I won't!" cried Bill Hosker.
+
+He started to struggle when Jones hauled off and slapped him hard on
+the right ear.
+
+"Now be good, or I'll shove a few of your teeth down your throat," said
+the deckhand. "This ain't no foolin' affair. Give up the boy's money
+and be quick about it. If you don't give up I'll maul you so your own
+mother won't know you!"
+
+Bill Hosker was thoroughly alarmed. He did not mind going to the
+station house but he did mind a good drubbing, and he saw that those
+who held him were in no mood to be trifled with.
+
+"Say, let us straighten dis t'ing out," said he at length.
+
+"I want my money," answered Randy.
+
+"Will yer drop de matter if I cough up de cash?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"All right den. How much was it?"
+
+"Four dollars and eighty cents."
+
+The street ruffian pulled a small roll of bills from his pocket.
+
+"Dare you are," he said, as he passed over five dollars. "Youse kin
+keep de change."
+
+Randy took the bills and stowed them away in his pocket.
+
+"I'll give the change to some poor person," he said. "I want only what
+is coming to me."
+
+"Are ye done wid de rascal?" asked Malloy.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, I'm not," answered the head deckhand.
+
+"And neither am I," added Jones.
+
+And then both hauled off and let Bill Hosker have it, right and left.
+The street ruffian had one eye blackened and a tooth knocked out, and
+went down in a heap more than dazed.
+
+"Let that teach you a lesson," said Jones.
+
+"It's better nor a month in jug," was Pat Malloy's comment. "The state
+won't have to feed the blackguard."
+
+Randy had already walked on and his friends joined him, and all hurried
+back to the steamboat.
+
+It was several minutes before Bill Hosker got up. "I'd like ter kill
+dem fellers!" he muttered.
+
+He hurried for the nearest saloon, where he tried to drown his troubles
+in drink. In the saloon were several who knew him, and one man jeered
+him because of the black eye. This brought on another quarrel, and as a
+consequence both men were pushed out of the drinking resort. They
+continued to fight on the sidewalk, until a policeman came along and
+tried to stop them. Then Hosker attacked the officer, and as a
+consequence was placed under arrest. The next day he was brought up in
+court and sentenced to a year in prison for his misdeeds.
+
+"I don't think he'll forget us," said Jones, as the steamboat was
+reached.
+
+"Maybe he will lay for us," said Randy.
+
+"Well, we can kape our eyes open," put in Pat Malloy.
+
+"I shall not visit that neighborhood again," said our hero. "Now I have
+my money back I am satisfied."
+
+"New York has altogether too many such toughs," put in Jones. "The
+police ought to clean them all out. When I first came here I was
+attacked in my boarding place on the Bowery."
+
+"Were you robbed?"
+
+"The fellow tried to rob me, but he didn't succeed. I played a neat
+trick on him."
+
+"What did you do?"
+
+"I had a roll of bills and these I placed in an inside pocket. I also
+had an imitation bank-bill--one of these advertisements you often see.
+Well, I took a small roll of paper and put the imitation bill around
+it, and put the roll in my vest pocket. The would-be thief got the roll
+and ran off with it."
+
+"He must have been angry when he saw how he had been duped," laughed
+Randy.
+
+"I didn't see that fellow again for nearly six months. Then I met him
+on the steamboat where I was working. When he saw me he sneaked out of
+sight in a hurry, I can tell you."
+
+"Did you follow him up?"
+
+"I tried to, but I didn't see him again until we were making a landing.
+Then I tried to grab him, but he slipped me in a crowd and went ashore
+as fast as his legs could carry him," concluded the deckhand.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+NEW TROUBLES
+
+
+On the following day Randy noticed that Peter Polk seemed unusually
+sour and thoughtful.
+
+"Something has gone wrong with him, that is certain," thought our hero.
+"I wonder what it can be?"
+
+He did his best to keep out of the way of the purser and succeeded
+until nightfall. But then, when he was carrying an extra heavy trunk,
+Peter Polk got in his way and made him stumble and drop the piece of
+baggage. The trunk was split open at one end and some of the contents
+fell on the deck. It was a lady's trunk, filled with feminine wearing
+apparel, and a good many passengers laughed.
+
+"What do you mean by running into me, you blockhead!" cried the purser,
+in a loud voice. "Why don't you look where you are going!"
+
+"It was not my fault," answered Randy, warmly, not liking the man's
+manner of address. "You made me drop that trunk."
+
+"I did not. It was your own clumsiness."
+
+"No, sir," said our hero, firmly; and a crowd began to collect.
+
+"Don't dare to contradict me!" fumed the purser. "It was your fault,
+and the damage shall come out of your wages."
+
+"Mr. Polk, it was not my fault and I shall not stand for the damage
+done."
+
+"Ha! you defy me, eh, you cub! Go on about your work and I'll settle
+with you later."
+
+"What is the trouble here?" asked Captain Hadley, coming up through the
+crowd.
+
+"The blockhead of a boy dropped that trunk and broke it open."
+
+"He ran into me and made me drop it," retorted our hero. He felt just
+reckless enough to stand up for his rights, be the consequences what
+they might.
+
+"Put the trunk to one side, along with the other baggage," said the
+captain. "We have no time to waste on this just now. Get that other
+baggage ashore."
+
+"My trunk!" shrieked the maiden lady, rushing forward. "Oh, who broke
+my trunk?"
+
+"It was an accident, madam."
+
+"And all my dresses spilt out, too! I shall sue the steamboat company
+for damages."
+
+"We will settle with you, madam. I am sorry it happened," went on the
+captain, soothingly.
+
+"It was a mean thing to do," said the maiden lady and began to weep.
+"Two of those dresses are brand-new."
+
+"I guess they are not injured much."
+
+Randy and the others had gone to work again. Our hero's thoughts were
+busy.
+
+"I believe Polk ran into me on purpose," he whispered to Jones.
+
+"Maybe he wants to get you discharged," answered the other deckhand.
+
+"I don't see why."
+
+"He's down on you because of that Clare affair."
+
+"Do you think so?"
+
+"Sure. He hated it worse than poison, for the captain now knows just
+how meanly he acted towards the widow."
+
+The damaged trunk was passed over to a man on the dock and after some
+excited talk the maiden lady accepted ten dollars, with which to have
+the box repaired and her things put in proper order. It was more than
+was actually coming to her and she went off secretly pleased.
+
+In the meantime one of the passengers, an elderly man who traveled on
+the line a great deal, went to Captain Hadley.
+
+"What is it, Mr. DeLong?" asked the master of the vessel, kindly.
+
+"I wish to speak to you about that trunk that was broken open."
+
+"What of it?"
+
+"I saw the accident. I was standing quite near at the time."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"I take an interest in that young deckhand of yours--he has done me
+several small favors from time to time. It was not his fault that the
+trunk was smashed, and I wanted you to know it."
+
+"How did it happen?"
+
+"Your purser got in the way and made the boy stumble. To me it looked
+as if the purser did it on purpose."
+
+"This is interesting, Mr. DeLong. But I don't see why the purser should
+do such a thing."
+
+"Neither do I, excepting he may have a grudge against the boy."
+
+"Humph!" The captain grew thoughtful. "I will investigate this."
+
+"Do so, and believe me, the boy is not to blame," said the elderly
+passenger, and withdrew.
+
+As soon as the end of the trip came, and the work on deck was finished,
+Randy was called to the captain's office.
+
+"Now what have you to say about that smashed trunk, Thompson?"
+
+"I am not to blame, Captain Hadley," answered our hero, and told
+exactly how the incident had occurred.
+
+"Do you mean to say Mr. Polk tripped you up?"
+
+"He ran into me and made me drop the trunk. If I hadn't dropped the
+trunk I would have fallen down with the box on the top of me, and
+gotten hurt."
+
+"This is a strange statement, Thompson. Why should Mr. Polk run into
+you?"
+
+"He hates me, because through me your family learned how he had treated
+Mrs. Clare when he helped to settle her husband's affairs."
+
+This threw a new light on the matter and the captain nodded slowly and
+thoughtfully.
+
+"I did not think this of Mr. Polk."
+
+"I think he hopes I'll lose my job," went on our hero. "He continually
+calls me a blockhead, just to get me mad. I think he'd like to see me
+lose my temper and pitch into him, and then he could get me my walking
+papers."
+
+"I think I will have to put the damage to the trunk down to the regular
+expense account," said the captain at last. "In the future be more
+careful, and keep out of Mr. Polk's way."
+
+"I will certainly be careful, and I'll watch him, too," answered Randy.
+
+Evidently Peter Polk was surprised to see our hero go to his work
+whistling after his interview with the captain. He went to the master
+of the vessel himself a little later.
+
+"Is that boy going to pay for the trunk?" he asked, sourly.
+
+"No, you can put it down to the regular expense account," answered
+Captain Hadley.
+
+"Humph! It was his fault."
+
+"He says not."
+
+"Did he blame it on me?"
+
+"He did."
+
+"It was his own fault."
+
+"We won't argue the matter, Mr. Polk. Put it down to the regular
+expenses and let it go at that," and Captain Hadley turned again to the
+magazine he had been reading.
+
+"Sticking up for the boy," muttered the purser, as he walked away.
+"Well, I'll get that cub yet, see if I don't!"
+
+A day passed and Randy stuck closely to his duties. He saw but little
+of Peter Polk and gave the purser a wide berth. The purser watched the
+youth narrowly, but said nothing.
+
+"He has got it in for you," said Jones to Randy. "Take my advice and
+keep your eyes open."
+
+"I am watching him."
+
+"He is a man I shouldn't trust nohow. He has got a bad pair of eyes. I
+don't see how Mr. Shalley trusts him with all the boat's money
+matters."
+
+"Neither do I," answered our hero.
+
+"He could walk off with thousands of dollars if he wanted to," said
+Jones, and there the talk was dropped.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+RANDY MAKES A DISCOVERY
+
+
+The next day Randy wanted to change some of his underwear and went into
+his locker for his things. To his surprise he found in the locker a lot
+of wearing apparel that did not belong to him.
+
+"Hullo, what does this mean?" he asked himself but could not answer the
+question.
+
+He looked the articles over and made sure they did not belong to any of
+the other deckhands. Then as he was folding up an extra-fine outing
+shirt, he saw a letter drop to the floor. He picked it up and saw that
+it was addressed to Peter Polk.
+
+"Can these things belong to Polk?" he asked himself. "If so, how did
+they get here?"
+
+Curiosity prompted him to look into the envelope in his hand. Inside
+was a single sheet of paper on which was scrawled in a bold, heavy hand
+this brief communication:
+
+    "Peter Polk: If you don't pay me that commission of twenty dollars
+    at once, I will go to old man Shalley and let him know how you are
+    boosting up the expense account.
+
+    G. A. G."
+
+Randy read the letter with great interest. It was postmarked New York
+and the date was four days back.
+
+"There is some mystery here," he reasoned. "What can it mean? Can Mr.
+Polk be cheating Mr. Shalley in some way?"
+
+Then he remembered how the purser purchased all the supplies for the
+steamboat and paid the bills, and gave a low whistle.
+
+"I must see Captain Hadley about this, and at once," he thought. "But
+no, maybe it would be better to go and see Mr. Shalley direct."
+
+He placed the letter in a safe place and then went out on deck. He had
+just started to look for Captain Hadley,--to tell him about the strange
+wearing apparel--when Peter Polk rushed up to him.
+
+"Look here, Thompson, I want you!" shouted the purser, wrathfully.
+
+"What is it, Mr. Polk?"
+
+"I've got you, you young thief!"
+
+"I am no thief," answered our hero, warmly.
+
+"You are!"
+
+"Who says Randy is a thafe?" demanded Pat Malloy.
+
+"I do."
+
+"And I say it is false."
+
+"He has stolen some of my underwear," went on the purser. "Tell me what
+you have done with the stuff at once!"
+
+"Your stuff is in my locker, Mr. Polk, but I did not take it."
+
+"Ha! what a yarn to tell. Hand the stuff over at once!"
+
+"You can get it if you wish," answered Randy, with a shrug of his
+shoulders.
+
+"I will. Malloy, come along as a witness," answered the purser.
+
+He walked to the compartment where the deckhands slept and from our
+hero's locker hauled the articles that belonged to him.
+
+"What do you say to that?" he cried, turning to our hero.
+
+"I did not put the things there, Mr. Polk."
+
+"If you didn't, who did?" sneered the purser.
+
+"Perhaps you did yourself."
+
+"Me!"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You are crazy, boy! Why should I do such a thing?"
+
+"To get me into trouble. You hate me and want to injure me, that's
+why."
+
+"Nonsense. You stole these things, it is useless for you to deny it."
+
+"But I do deny it. I am no more a thief than you are--maybe not as much
+of a one," added Randy, significantly.
+
+At these words the purser turned pale for a moment. But he quickly
+recovered.
+
+"I shall report this to the captain."
+
+"I'll report too."
+
+"I'll have you discharged."
+
+"We'll see about that."
+
+Taking his things, Peter Polk went to the captain's office and told his
+story. Captain Hadley at once sent for Randy.
+
+"This is a queer happening, Thompson," he said.
+
+"Captain Hadley, I am not guilty," answered Randy. "It is only another
+plot of Mr. Polk to get me into trouble."
+
+"And you think he put the things there himself?"
+
+"I certainly do. I wish you would give me a day off," went on our hero,
+after an awkward pause.
+
+"What for?"
+
+"I wish to see Mr. Shalley."
+
+"He is in New York, on business."
+
+"So much the better. I can call on him there, after we tie up."
+
+"Do you want to take this matter to him?"
+
+"Not this alone. I have something else of importance. I know he will
+want to see me."
+
+"Well, you can go. I hope you are not going to run away," and the
+captain smiled faintly.
+
+"I have nothing to run away for, sir. Mr. Polk is down on me and I am
+going to do what I can to show him up, that is all. But please don't
+let him know that I am going to see Mr. Shalley."
+
+"You have learned something important?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"About the purser?"
+
+"Yes, sir. But I can't speak of it just yet to you."
+
+"Well, what about this clothing affair?"
+
+"Won't you let it rest for a few days?"
+
+"If you wish," answered Captain Hadley, and then he was called away to
+attend to some important duties.
+
+Although Randy did not know it, Peter Polk was nearby and caught a good
+bit of the talk between our hero and the captain. His face grew deathly
+pale when he learned that Randy was going to see Mr. Shalley and about
+his own personal doings.
+
+"What has that cub discovered now?" he asked himself. "What can he tell
+about my doings?"
+
+He was so worried he could not attend to his work. He turned the matter
+over in his mind and suddenly remembered the threatening letter he had
+received. He had paid the claim, but what had he done with the
+communication? He searched everywhere for it, but without avail.
+
+"Fool that I was, that I did not tear it up and throw it overboard," he
+muttered to himself. "If that boy has the letter it may lead to an
+investigation, and then----" He did not finish but clenched his hands
+in rage and fear.
+
+He watched Randy narrowly, and after New York was reached saw our hero
+make preparations to go ashore. He did not know that Mr. Shalley was in
+the metropolis and could not comprehend Randy's move.
+
+"Are you going ashore?" he asked of our hero, when he got the chance.
+
+"I am."
+
+"Where are you going?"
+
+"Excuse me, Mr. Polk, but that is my private business."
+
+"Did Captain Hadley say you could go?"
+
+"He did."
+
+"Well, come to my office a minute, I want to talk to you," went on the
+purser, in a lower tone.
+
+"Very well," answered Randy, and followed the man to the office, which
+at this time was deserted.
+
+"Thompson, I want to know what you found in your locker besides my
+clothing," said the purser, after he had made certain that no outsiders
+were around.
+
+"I found a cigar holder and a match safe."
+
+"And what else?"
+
+"I must decline to answer that question."
+
+At this blunt refusal the brow of the purser darkened.
+
+"You won't tell me?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Did you find a--er--a letter?"
+
+"Perhaps I did."
+
+"I want you to give it up."
+
+"I didn't say I found it."
+
+"But you did find it. It is my property and you must give it to me."
+
+To this Randy was silent.
+
+"Do you hear me?"
+
+"I am not deaf, Mr. Polk."
+
+"I know what you want to do!" hissed the purser. "You want to get me
+into trouble. But I'll not let you do it."
+
+"Maybe you'll get yourself into trouble."
+
+"Bah! I am not afraid of a boy, but----" He paused and his manner
+changed. "See here, Thompson, you are a poor boy, aren't you?"
+
+"I admit it."
+
+"Well, some extra money will come in handy, won't it?"
+
+"What do you mean, Mr. Polk?"
+
+"I'll give you--er--five dollars for that letter."
+
+"I haven't said that I had it yet."
+
+"But I know you have it. Come, what do you say?"
+
+"I say, I am going about my business," answered Randy, and started for
+the doorway.
+
+"Not yet!" cried the purser, wrathfully, and flung him back into a
+corner. "You'll settle with me first, even if I have to call a police
+officer!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+OUT OF A TIGHT CORNER
+
+
+Randy was surprised and dazed by the treatment he received at the hands
+of the enraged purser and for the moment knew not what to do. He rose
+slowly to his feet.
+
+"Don't you do that again!" he cried, a dangerous glitter coming into
+his eyes.
+
+"I will do it--unless you give up that letter."
+
+"You shall never have the letter, Peter Polk."
+
+"Ha! so you admit at last that you have it!"
+
+"I do."
+
+"Then hand it over or I will call an officer and have you locked up."
+
+"Call the officer, if you dare," and our hero shrugged his shoulders.
+
+"You stole more than the clothing and the letter," went on the purser,
+craftily. "You took fifty dollars in money."
+
+"I took absolutely nothing, and you know it."
+
+"Then you want me to call in the officer?"
+
+"Do as you please," said Randy, recklessly.
+
+Peter Polk was nonplused. He did not want to call an officer. Yet he
+wanted to get the precious letter.
+
+"You will save yourself a lot of trouble by giving up that letter,
+Thompson," he said, in a more subdued tone.
+
+"Well, I don't intend to give it up."
+
+"If I have you arrested I can send you to state's prison for five or
+ten years."
+
+"I will risk it."
+
+"What do you intend to do with that letter?" said the purser.
+
+"That is my affair."
+
+"Going to Mr. Shalley, eh?"
+
+"Perhaps."
+
+"It won't do you any good."
+
+Again Randy was silent. He had stepped close to the door. On the
+instant Peter Polk did the same.
+
+"You are not going just yet," cried the purser, meaningly.
+
+Randy looked through the little window of the office. He heard
+footsteps approaching.
+
+"Hullo there, Jones!" he called out.
+
+"What's wanted?" came from the other deckhand.
+
+"Come to the office, please."
+
+In a moment Jones appeared. He was carrying a bucket of water and a
+deck swab.
+
+"Now open that door," said Randy to Peter Polk. "No more nonsense,
+please."
+
+"You are not wanted here, Jones!" cried the purser, angrily.
+
+"You are wanted," said Randy. "Open the door. I want to get out."
+
+Jones set down his pail and pulled on the door. Seeing resistance would
+be useless, Peter Polk allowed the door to come open. At once Randy
+stepped out into the gangway.
+
+"I'll explain this to you some other time!" he called to the other
+deckhand, and then ran off before Peter Polk could stop him.
+
+"Where are ye goin'?" called out Malloy, as he crossed the gang-plank.
+
+"I'm off on business," answered our hero, and then paused for a moment.
+"Tell Jones to keep an eye on Mr. Polk, will you, please? It is very
+important."
+
+"I will," was the reply.
+
+In a minute more Randy was hurrying up the street. He knew where Andrew
+Shalley was stopping and took a car to the location.
+
+The place was a well-known hotel and in the corridor he met the
+steamboat owner, just ready to go out.
+
+"Oh, Mr. Shalley, I want to see you!" he cried.
+
+"What is it, Randy?"
+
+"It's quite a story and very important."
+
+"Then come to my room," and the steamboat owner led the way to the
+elevator.
+
+As soon as they were in the room our hero told his story in all of its
+details and then produced the letter he had found. Andrew Shalley
+listened closely to the story and pondered over the letter for some
+time.
+
+"Randy, have you any idea who this person who signs himself G. A. G.
+can be?"
+
+"I've been thinking that over, Mr. Shalley, and I have found out that
+there is a head clerk who works for Bann & Shadow, the wholesale
+grocers, whose name is George A. Gaffney. Gaffney used to come and see
+Polk once in a while."
+
+"And we buy a great many things from Bann & Shadow," put in the
+steamboat owner.
+
+"So we do."
+
+"I will look this man Gaffney up at once."
+
+With the steamboat owner to think was to act, and going below with our
+hero he consulted a directory and found that George A. Gaffney lived on
+West Twenty-sixth Street.
+
+"I will call upon this fellow," said he. "You can go along."
+
+They took a car on one of the avenues and got out at the corner of
+Twenty-sixth Street. They had to walk half a block. The neighborhood
+was not of the best, and Gaffney's residence proved to be a four-story
+apartment house. The man lived on the top floor with his wife and four
+small children.
+
+
+George Gaffney was at home, sitting in his shirt sleeves by a front
+window, smoking a pipe. He was surprised to receive visitors at that
+hour.
+
+"Is this Mr. George A. Gaffney?" questioned Andrew Shalley.
+
+"That's my name."
+
+"Are you a clerk for Bann & Shadow, the wholesale grocers?"
+
+"I am."
+
+"I would like to see you privately, Mr. Gaffney."
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"I am Andrew Shalley, the owner of the steamboat _Helen Shalley_."
+
+"Oh!"
+
+George Gaffney was taken aback and showed it plainly. His wife had come
+to a back doorway and was looking at the visitors curiously.
+
+"Step in, sir," said the clerk, in a husky voice. "Mary, I will see
+this gentleman alone," he went on to his wife, who at once retired,
+closing the door after her.
+
+Andrew Shalley was a good judge of character and he saw that George
+Gaffney was a family man of fairly good qualities. He was extremely
+nervous.
+
+"I think I can get him to confess easily enough--if he has anything to
+tell," thought the steamboat owner.
+
+"Please be seated," said the clerk, and Mr. Shalley and Randy sat down.
+Then there was a slight pause.
+
+"Mr. Gaffney, I am afraid I have an unpleasant duty to perform," began
+Andrew Shalley, in a cold, hard voice.
+
+"Why--er--what do you mean?" stammered the clerk.
+
+"I refer to your dealings with my purser, Peter Polk."
+
+"I--er--I haven't had anything to do with him--that is--we had some
+little business, but----" The clerk was unable to go on.
+
+"You sent him a threatening letter the other day."
+
+"Me? Who says so?"
+
+"I have the letter in my possession."
+
+The clerk winced and the steamboat owner saw that the shot struck home.
+
+"This affair is a very serious one--you know that as well as I do,"
+continued Andrew Shalley. "The fact of the matter is, it is a state's
+prison offense."
+
+The mention of prison had the desired effect. George Gaffney broke down
+completely.
+
+"Oh, sir,--I--I didn't mean to do any wrong--Polk said it would be all
+right. He got me to go into it--it was all his doings. All I ever got
+out of it was thirty-five dollars and that I will pay back. Mr.
+Shalley, I--er--I hope you won't prosecute me, for the sake of my wife
+and children!" And the clerk wrung his hands in despair.
+
+"Didn't you get any more than thirty-five dollars?"
+
+"No, sir, not a cent more, I swear it. And Polk said that was due to me
+legally."
+
+"If that is true, I will not prosecute you,--but on one condition."
+
+"Name it."
+
+"That you tell me everything you know about Peter Polk's doings."
+
+"I will do it, Mr. Shalley."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+GEORGE GAFFNEY'S STATEMENT
+
+
+"I cannot tell you all Peter Polk has done," said George Gaffney, on
+beginning his story, "but I can tell you all so far as it concerns his
+purchase of goods from Bann & Shadow."
+
+"That will be enough," answered Andrew Shalley, and brought out a book
+and a pencil, to take notes.
+
+"He came to our firm three years ago and began to purchase various
+goods for the _Helen Shalley_. At first he met all bills promptly and
+never asked for any rebate or commission. That lasted for about three
+months."
+
+"He must have been feeling his way."
+
+"He was. At the end of six months he made a claim of a rebate on a bill
+for a hundred and fifty dollars and we allowed him ten dollars. Then he
+got ten dollars more on another bill, and after that he claimed a
+rebate of ten per cent. on everything he bought of us."
+
+"You have all those bills on your books?"
+
+"We have."
+
+"Good. Go on."
+
+"He gradually got bolder and wanted me to aid him in getting a
+commission elsewhere on regular steamboat supplies. I was willing to
+make a little extra money and introduced him to the firm of Leeson &
+Bronette. Leeson is an easy-going man and he promised Polk a big
+commission on all goods purchased. Polk bought hundreds of dollars'
+worth of goods from them, and got, I am pretty sure, from fifteen to
+twenty per cent. on every bill paid."
+
+"Oh, what a rascal!" murmured Randy.
+
+"Then I introduced him to another man, Aaron Denman, and he got goods
+from that man too and got his commission--how much I do not know. For
+introducing him to Denman I was promised that commission of twenty
+dollars. I saw Polk was making money hand over fist, and when he did
+not pay me I got mad and wrote the letter."
+
+"And you are sure you never got a cent more out of him than thirty-five
+dollars?"
+
+"Not a cent. Once in a while he treated me to a dinner and twice he
+sent me a box of cigars, and that is all. To tell the honest truth, I
+did not press him very hard, for I did not believe in what he was
+doing. I want to be an honest man, and I was led into this thing almost
+before I knew it," continued George Gaffney.
+
+After that he went into a great many more details, to which Andrew
+Shalley and Randy listened with interest.
+
+"I can get the actual figures for you from our books," said the clerk.
+
+"What does your firm say to this?" asked the steamboat owner.
+
+"Oh, they wanted the business, so they simply shut their eyes and
+didn't say anything."
+
+"But that was dishonest."
+
+"True--but such things are done every day," and the clerk shrugged his
+shoulders.
+
+"If Peter Polk has been getting ten to fifteen per cent. on all goods
+he has been buying for me he has robbed me of thousands of dollars,"
+said Andrew Shalley.
+
+"It will be a hard matter to prove some of the transactions, Mr.
+Shalley. I guess he knew how to cover up his footprints pretty well."
+
+"Well, if I can only prove some of them it will be enough for my
+purpose," answered the steamboat owner.
+
+Before he left that night he drew up a long document containing the
+main facts of the case, and had George Gaffney sign it and had Randy
+put his name down as a witness.
+
+"What do you want me to do, Mr. Shalley?" asked our hero, after they
+had left the clerk's house.
+
+"You can go back to the steamboat. I am going to hire a first-class
+private detective to investigate this matter thoroughly. When I expose
+Polk I want all the evidence on hand with which to convict him."
+
+"He will want to know what I did."
+
+"That is true." Andrew Shalley mused for a moment. "Randy, you mind
+your own business," he said suddenly and sharply. Then he began to
+chuckle. "Now you can go back and tell Polk that I told you to mind
+your own business."
+
+"I will, sir," and our hero grinned broadly.
+
+"I will also give you a line to Captain Hadley," pursued the steamboat
+owner. "That will help to keep you out of further trouble."
+
+The letter was penned, and a few minutes later our hero was on his way
+back to the boat. Andrew Shalley went in another direction, to hunt up
+a detective to work on the case.
+
+It must be confessed that Randy felt much lighter in heart. He now knew
+exactly what kind of a rascal Peter Polk was, and felt that the purser
+could no longer drag him into trouble.
+
+"He will soon come to the end of his rope, and that will be the last of
+him," said our hero to himself.
+
+When he arrived at the boat it was very late and everybody but the
+watchman had gone to bed. He turned in without awakening any of the
+others and slept soundly until morning.
+
+Much to his surprise Peter Polk did not come near him that morning, and
+our hero was kept so busy at one thing and another that he had little
+time to think about the purser and his nefarious doings. As soon as he
+got the chance he delivered the letter Mr. Shalley had given him to
+Captain Hadley.
+
+The captain read the communication in silence. Then he uttered a low
+whistle and looked at Randy thoughtfully.
+
+"I've been suspecting this," he said. "Randy, I believe you are to keep
+mum for the present."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"I doubt if he troubles you any more."
+
+"I'll be glad of it."
+
+"Well, get to work, and some time we'll see what we will see," answered
+the captain; and there the talk was dropped.
+
+It was a windy and cloudy day, and a majority of the passengers were
+glad enough to remain in the cabin during the trip up the river. About
+noon it began to thunder and the sky grew very black.
+
+"We are up against a storm now," said Jones to Randy. "We'll have to
+take in some of the bunting."
+
+The order was issued, and Randy set to work, with the other deckhands,
+to strip the decks. Soon it was raining furiously and all of the
+deckhands got pretty wet. All of the passengers had gone inside, so the
+decks were practically deserted.
+
+Randy was folding up some bunting when he heard a quick step behind
+him. Turning, he saw himself confronted by Peter Polk. The purser's
+face was dark and full of hatred.
+
+"Now, Thompson, I want to know what you did last night," snarled the
+man.
+
+"I went ashore," answered our hero, as coolly as he could.
+
+"To see Mr. Shalley?"
+
+"Yes, if you must know."
+
+"And you gave him that letter?"
+
+"I did."
+
+"What did he say?"
+
+"He told me to mind my own business."
+
+"What!" For the instant Peter Polk's face took on a pleased look. "So
+he really told you that?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Humph! I reckon you didn't expect such a reception."
+
+To this remark our hero made no reply.
+
+"Is the old man going to investigate?" went on Peter Polk.
+
+"You had better go and ask him."
+
+"You answer my question, Thompson!"
+
+"I have nothing more to say."
+
+At this the purser grew furious. There were many occasions when his
+temper got the better of him and this was one of them. He suddenly
+grabbed Randy by the throat, bending him backward over the rail.
+
+"You little cur!" he hissed. "You are trying to get the best of me! But
+you shan't do it!"
+
+"Le--let go!" gasped Randy. He could hardly speak.
+
+"I'll let go--when I am through with you. But first I----"
+
+What further Peter Polk had to say was drowned out by a violent crash
+of thunder. Then came a perfect deluge of rain, driven over the decks
+by a wind that blew almost with hurricane force.
+
+Randy struggled harder than ever, but the purser continued to hold him.
+Then the steamboat, caught by the blast, careened to one side, and in a
+twinkling the youth was over the rail. Peter Polk released his hold,
+and down went poor Randy, until, with a splash, he sank beneath the
+waters of the Hudson River.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+A SWIM FOR LIFE
+
+
+The shock came so suddenly that for the moment poor Randy scarcely
+realized what was happening. He went down and down and swallowed not a
+little of the river water.
+
+When he came up, blowing and spluttering, he could see but little
+around him. Fortunately, he had gone off to the rear of the steamboat,
+thus escaping the danger of being struck by a paddle-wheel. All was so
+dark and the rain was so thick he could not make out the shore line.
+
+"I've got to swim for it," he reasoned and struck out bravely.
+
+It was no easy matter to keep afloat with so much clothing on. He
+listened, thinking he might hear the steamboat, but the roaring of the
+wind and rain drowned out every other sound.
+
+Presently came another flash of lightning and then he saw the boat far
+ahead of him. No one but Peter Polk had witnessed his fall from the
+deck and nobody appeared to be coming to his assistance.
+
+He kept his head well above water and at the next flash of lightning
+caught a glimpse of one of the river banks. Without further hesitation
+he struck out in that direction.
+
+It was a long and exhausting swim and poor Randy thought he would never
+reach the shore. The current carried him far down the river, to where
+there was a small cove, lined with rocks on one side and bushes and
+trees on the other. He caught at some of the bushes desperately and at
+last pulled himself to a place of temporary safety.
+
+For the time being our hero did nothing but try to get back his breath
+and his strength. In a general way he had an idea that he was some
+distance below the town of Catskill. What to do next he hardly knew.
+
+"The first thing to do is to get out of this storm, I suppose," he told
+himself. "But that won't do a great deal of good, since I can't get any
+wetter than I already am."
+
+Feeling a little bit rested, he presently got up and walked around the
+edge of the cove. Then he began to climb the river bank proper. It was
+hard work, but soon he came out on a river roadway and saw at a
+distance a hotel and half a dozen fashionable cottages.
+
+"This looks familiar," he told himself. "Well, I declare, that place
+yonder must be the house at which Bob Bangs and his mother are
+stopping!"
+
+Back of the house was a big barn and further to the rear was another
+building, used as a summerhouse and a place where oars and other things
+for small boats might be stored.
+
+The summer storm was now letting up a bit. It was still raining, but
+the thunder and lightning had ceased and the wind had gone down. To get
+out of the rain and rest, Randy took himself to the summerhouse.
+
+He was busy emptying the water from his shoes, when he heard somebody
+utter an exclamation and turning saw Bob Bangs standing near, umbrella
+in hand. The rich youth was staring at him in astonishment.
+
+"Where did you come from?" he demanded, as he entered the summerhouse.
+
+"From the river."
+
+"You look pretty wet."
+
+"I have been in the water quite some time."
+
+"Oh! Did you fall overboard from the steamboat?"
+
+"I did."
+
+"You must be pretty careless," went on Bob, with a sneer.
+
+"I certainly didn't fall overboard because I wanted to," answered Randy
+as lightly as he could.
+
+"Say, I understand you are trying to get my father into trouble,"
+pursued the rich boy, throwing himself on a bench.
+
+"Who told you that?"
+
+"Never mind. You are hand-in-glove with the Bartlett crowd."
+
+"Well, why shouldn't I be, Bob Bangs? Jack is my dearest friend."
+
+"Humph! I shouldn't care for him for a friend."
+
+"And he wouldn't pick you for a chum," added Jack, quickly.
+
+"I consider myself better than Jack Bartlett."
+
+To this our hero did not answer.
+
+"My dad is going to make it hot for old Bartlett," went on Bob. "He is
+going to sue him for defamation of character."
+
+"When?"
+
+"Oh, before a great while. Bartlett had no right to search our house
+and break open the safe."
+
+"He had the law on his side."
+
+"No, he didn't. Just you wait till my dad brings suit. It will ruin the
+Bartletts."
+
+"I hope not."
+
+"How do you like being a steamboat deckhand?" went on the rich youth,
+to change the subject.
+
+"Very well."
+
+"It must be a dirty job," and Bob Bangs tilted his nose in the air.
+
+"It might be worse."
+
+"When I leave school I am going to be a lawyer."
+
+"I hope you make a success of it."
+
+"I shall--I am going to be one of the greatest lawyers in this
+country," added the rich boy, boastfully.
+
+"Are your folks here?"
+
+"My mother is. Dad is at the iron works."
+
+"They tell me he isn't doing very well there," said Randy.
+
+"He is doing fine. He discharged some of the good-for-nothing hands,
+that's all. Bartlett used to hire a lot of sticks."
+
+"I don't believe it. Mr. Bartlett knows his business."
+
+"Humph!"
+
+The rain was letting up and Randy prepared to walk to Catskill. As wet
+as he was, he resolved not to ask any favor at the hands of Bob Banks.
+
+"Going, eh?" said the rich youth.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Humph!" murmured Bob Bangs, and that was all he said.
+
+Despite the steady rain, Randy walked rapidly to the town--doing this
+that he might not take cold. Once at the town he hurried to the
+steamboat landing.
+
+"Hullo, where did you come from?" exclaimed the dock master, who knew
+him well.
+
+"From a bath," answered Randy with a laugh, and then said he had fallen
+overboard from the _Helen Shalley_ just before the landing at Catskill
+was made.
+
+"Nobody said anything about it," said the dock master.
+
+"I guess they didn't know it," answered our hero.
+
+"What are you going to do now?"
+
+"Telegraph to Captain Hadley and then stay in town until the boat comes
+back to-morrow."
+
+"Better get dried off first. You can come to my house if you wish. It
+is not far off."
+
+"Thank you, Mr. Ball."
+
+Randy's telegram was a short one. It ran as follows:
+
+    "Fell overboard. Am safe at Catskill. Join boat to-morrow."
+
+The telegram sent, our hero went with Mr. Ball to the latter's house.
+Here he was loaned some dry clothing and Mrs. Ball treated him to a
+late but satisfying supper. After the meal was over, and as it was now
+clear, he decided to take a walk around the town before retiring. Had
+he known of what that walk was to reveal he would have been very much
+surprised.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+NEWS OF IMPORTANCE
+
+
+As was natural, our hero drifted down to the long steamboat landing.
+While he was standing around, he saw a ferryboat coming across the
+river, filled with passengers from the railroad station on the opposite
+shore.
+
+As the passengers alighted he recognized Amos Bangs in the crowd. The
+rich manufacturer looked around anxiously, and presently caught sight
+of Mrs. Bangs, who had come to meet him in a carriage. Randy slipped
+out of sight.
+
+"Well?" demanded Amos Bangs, as soon as he and his wife were together.
+
+"Oh, Amos!" the woman cried, and could not go on.
+
+"Is that all you can say, Viola?" demanded the husband, harshly.
+
+"I can do nothing with the girl."
+
+"And she knows where the papers are?"
+
+"She does."
+
+"How did it happen?"
+
+"When Mr. Tuller called upon me she played the eavesdropper. She saw us
+open the safe and take out the papers, and when I went and hid the
+papers she followed me."
+
+"But you said you were sure nobody knew where the papers were."
+
+"I thought so at the time, but I was mistaken."
+
+"How did it come out?"
+
+"The girl did not sweep and dust the parlor to suit me, and I took her
+to task about it. She threw down her broom and said she would take no
+words from me. Then I told her to pack her trunk and leave the house.
+She grew more impertinent than ever, and said she would go, but I would
+have to pay her her wages regularly anyway. I asked what she meant.
+Then she told me to go and look for the papers I had hidden."
+
+"And they were gone?"
+
+"Yes. I was so overcome I nearly fainted," and Mrs. Bangs's face showed
+her deep concern.
+
+"What next?"
+
+"I went back to the girl and told her she must give the papers up or I
+would have her arrested. She laughed in my face. Oh, Amos, think of
+that horrid creature doing that!"
+
+"She knew she had you," growled the rich manufacturer. "What did you do
+then?"
+
+"Why--I--broke down, I couldn't help it. I asked her what she wanted
+for the papers. She wouldn't tell, and I said I would give her five
+dollars. Then she laughed in my face again. I wanted to drive her from
+the house, but I didn't dare."
+
+"Did she say what she was going to do?"
+
+"At last she said she would make a bargain--think of it--a bargain with
+a servant girl! She wants me to pay her wages regularly and also twelve
+dollars a month for her board."
+
+"Will she work for you?"
+
+"No, indeed, she says she will go and live with her married sister."
+
+"Humph! Let me see, her name is Jackson, isn't it?"
+
+"Yes, Mamie Jackson. Her sister lives over in Oakdale."
+
+"Did she go to Oakdale?"
+
+"I suppose she did."
+
+"She must have the papers with her."
+
+"No, I think she hid them, for she said we wouldn't find the papers
+even if we searched her and her trunk."
+
+"I will have to go to Oakdale and see her," said Amos Bangs, after a
+pause in which he rubbed his chin reflectively.
+
+The rich manufacturer and his wife had withdrawn to a corner of the
+dock while talking. Randy had kept nearby, behind some boxes and
+barrels, and had heard every word that was spoken. That he was
+immensely interested goes without saying.
+
+"On the track of Mr. Bartlett's papers at last," he told himself. "Now,
+what had I best do about it?"
+
+His one thought was to outwit Amos Bangs, and with this in mind he left
+the dock and walked rapidly toward the telegraph office.
+
+"I wish to send another telegram," said he as he drew the pad of forms
+toward him.
+
+"Must be your night for sending messages," answered the clerk, by way
+of a joke.
+
+"I want this rushed through--it is highly important."
+
+"All right, hand it over."
+
+Randy hardly knew what to say, but soon wrote down the following,
+addressed to Mr. Bartlett:
+
+    "Papers taken from Mrs. Bangs by Mamie Jackson, a servant, now at
+    sister's in Oakdale. Hurry if you want to get them. Address me at
+    Catskill."
+
+Having sent the message, there seemed nothing for Randy to do but to
+retire. This he did, and was awakened two hours later by a message from
+Mr. Bartlett, which was in these words:
+
+    "Coming down first morning train. Meet me at Catskill Station,
+    Hudson River Railroad."
+
+Having received this message Randy consulted a time table and found
+that the first Albany train would arrive at the station across the
+river at about seven o'clock. He arranged to be on hand, and then tried
+to go to sleep again. But the most he could do was to take a few fitful
+naps.
+
+As soon as the train rolled in Philip Bartlett alighted. Randy rushed
+towards him.
+
+"Are you going to Oakdale?" he asked, quickly.
+
+"Do you think it worth while, Randy?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"Then I will go. You must come along."
+
+"I will," answered our hero, and then Mr. Bartlett got back on the
+train and Randy followed him.
+
+"I left word with Mr. Ball, so Captain Hadley won't worry about me,"
+Randy explained when seated.
+
+"Now tell me what this means?" asked Philip Bartlett, impatiently. "I
+have been on the anxious seat ever since I received your telegram."
+
+"I want you to get in ahead of Mr. Bangs," said our hero, and then told
+all he had overheard.
+
+"I will make that servant girl give me those papers," said Mr.
+Bartlett, with decision.
+
+"Perhaps you can scare her just as Mr. Shalley scared a fellow who was
+aiding another man to rob him," answered our hero. "I will tell you
+about that another time. I am pledged not to say anything just at
+present."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+BROUGHT TO TERMS--CONCLUSION
+
+
+They had to make one change of cars and then take a stage running to
+Oakdale, which was but a small village four miles from Riverport. When
+they arrived it was close on to midday.
+
+Fortunately for them, one of the storekeepers of the village knew Mamie
+Jackson's married sister and also knew Mamie, and he told them where to
+go. It was a dilapidated cottage on the outskirts, surrounded by a
+garden filled mostly with weeds.
+
+"Not very thrifty people, that is certain," was Mr. Bartlett's comment.
+
+"I think I shall know the servant if I see her," said Randy.
+
+They paused at the gate and saw the two sisters near the side porch.
+One was on a bench shelling peas and the other was lolling in a
+hammock. Each looked very untidy and both wore wrappers that were full
+of holes.
+
+"That is the servant," said Randy, pointing to the person in the
+hammock. "And see, she has some papers in her hands!"
+
+"Step behind the wellhouse," said Mr. Bartlett, and this both of them
+quickly did.
+
+"Well, go ahead and read the papers, Mamie," said the woman on the
+bench.
+
+"Ain't no use, Sarah, I can't make head nor tail of 'em," answered
+Mamie Jackson.
+
+"What do you suppose makes 'em so valuable?"
+
+"I don't know. But I do know the Bangses don't want that Mr. Bartlett
+to get hold of 'em."
+
+"I think you made a good bargain with the Bangses--that is, if they pay
+up."
+
+"I'll make 'em pay. Oh, Mrs. Bangs was scart, I could see it." Mamie
+Jackson laughed shrilly. "And to think she was going to discharge me!"
+
+"Well, I guess you gave her a piece of your mind."
+
+"So I did. She is too stuck-up to live," went on the former servant
+girl. "When I get my money I'm going to have a fine dress too--and I'll
+buy you one, Sarah."
+
+"Oh, Mamie, will you? I want a blue silk so!"
+
+"I'm going to have a green silk, and a parasol to match, and then--Oh,
+dear! look at them bees!" And with a shriek Mamie Jackson threw up her
+arms and sprang out of the hammock.
+
+For the moment the papers were forgotten, and quick to take advantage
+of the situation, Randy darted forward and secured them. Then he turned
+the documents over to Philip Bartlett.
+
+"Who are you?" demanded the woman of the cottage, rising in alarm.
+
+"It's that Mr. Bartlett himself!" shrieked Mamie Jackson, forgetting
+all about the two bees that had disturbed her, and which had now flown
+away. "Oh, how did you get here?" she faltered.
+
+"I came after my papers--and I got them sooner than I anticipated,"
+answered Mr. Bartlett, and there was a tone of triumph in his voice.
+
+"Are those your papers?" asked the girl, trying to appear innocent.
+
+"You know they are."
+
+"I do not. I--I found them."
+
+"I know better. You took them from where Mrs. Bangs hid them."
+
+"Well, she didn't have any right to them."
+
+"I know that well enough."
+
+"I--I was going to send them to you," faltered the girl. She scarcely
+knew what to say.
+
+"Really," returned Philip Bartlett, dryly. "Well, I will save you the
+trouble."
+
+"It's a shame to suspect an innocent girl like me," said Mamie Jackson,
+bursting into tears.
+
+"My sister never did anything wrong," put in the other woman.
+
+"As I have my papers I won't argue with you," returned Mr. Bartlett.
+"But when the proper time comes you may have to explain how you
+happened to get the papers."
+
+"Are you going to haul Mr. Bangs into court?"
+
+"Perhaps."
+
+"Well, I will tell what I know about them, if it will do any good. Mrs.
+Bangs and a man named Tuller plotted to keep the papers out of your
+reach. They opened the safe and took the papers out just before you
+came with that constable."
+
+After that Mamie Jackson seemed anxious enough to confess and told her
+whole story, omitting to state how she had asked Mrs. Bangs to pay so
+much a month to her for keeping silent.
+
+"We may as well go back to the town, and take the stage for Riverport,"
+said Mr. Bartlett to Randy. "I will then telegraph to Mr. Robinson to
+come on, and we will settle with Bangs, Tuller & Company in short
+order."
+
+"Will you make him give up the control of the iron company?"
+
+"Either that or have him arrested for fraud."
+
+The journey to Riverport was quickly made, and the telegram sent to Mr.
+Robinson. The bank official sent word back that he would be on in the
+morning. Then Mr. Bartlett went to a hotel and Randy hurried home.
+
+"Why, Randy, is it really you!" cried his mother as she kissed him.
+"This is certainly a surprise."
+
+"I didn't expect to come home," said he. "How are you and how is
+father?"
+
+"I am real well as you see, and your father is doing splendidly. He
+says he feels better now than for three years back."
+
+"That is good news."
+
+"But what brings you?"
+
+"I will tell you," said Randy, and sitting down he told his story, just
+as I have related it here. In the midst of the recital Mr. Thompson
+came in, and he listened also to what our hero had to say.
+
+"I hope Mr. Bartlett gets what is coming to him," said Mr. Thompson.
+"And I hope Mr. Shalley brings that Peter Polk to terms also."
+
+The next morning Randy received word to come to the iron works. He went
+and there witnessed a stormy meeting between Amos Bangs on one side and
+Mr. Bartlett and Mr. Robinson on the other. Randy was called in as a
+witness, and what he had to say made Amos Bangs gasp for breath and
+sink into a chair.
+
+"You are going to expose me--to ruin me!" gasped Amos Bangs, at last,
+addressing the two men who had accused him.
+
+"We shall expose you unless you give up the control here and do as we
+think is fair," said Philip Bartlett. "As for ruining you, I think you
+have about ruined yourself."
+
+"But my wife, and my son----"
+
+"Mrs. Bangs does not deserve my sympathy after what she has done. As
+for your son, he can go to work, as my son has done."
+
+"Bob! What can he do?"
+
+"Work may make a man of him. He will never amount to anything if you
+bring him up in idleness."
+
+"It is hard!" groaned Amos Bangs. "I--I shall have to go to work
+myself!"
+
+"That is what I was forced to do," answered Philip Bartlett, dryly.
+"But you will not be so badly off, Mr. Bangs. Your stock is worth at
+least four or five thousand dollars."
+
+"Humph! That is not much. Well, I suppose I am cornered and must do as
+you say," and he gave a deep sigh. Secretly, however, he was glad to
+escape arrest.
+
+A lawyer was called in, and the best part of the day was spent in
+drawing up and signing various legal documents. The iron works were
+thereby placed in the control of Mr. Bartlett, Mr. Robinson, and a
+stockholder named Wells, and Philip Bartlett was made the general
+manager of the company. All of the books and accounts were placed in
+charge of an expert accountant, and in the end Amos Bangs had to make
+good a deficiency of cash. The former rich man had to give up his
+elegant mansion, and soon after he and his family moved to the West
+without leaving their new address behind them.
+
+When Randy went back to the steamboat, two days later, a surprise
+awaited him. An accountant, assisted by a detective, had gone over
+Peter Polk's affairs and discovered that the purser had robbed Andrew
+Shalley of between eight and ten thousand dollars. Polk had taken time
+by the forelock and fled. He tried to get to Canada, but telegrams were
+sent out, and he was caught just as he was trying to cross the
+Suspension Bridge at Niagara Falls. Later on he was brought back and
+tried, and received three years in prison for his crimes. He had nearly
+six thousand dollars of the stolen money in the bank, and this was
+turned over to Andrew Shalley. Two hundred and fifty dollars went to
+Mrs. Clare as part of her husband's estate.
+
+"Bringing Peter Polk to justice is due to you, Randy," said the
+steamboat owner, after the affair was a thing of the past. "I feel I
+must reward you for what you did."
+
+"I don't ask any reward, Mr. Shalley. I am glad that I cleared my own
+name."
+
+"Here is something for you, nevertheless," said Andrew Shalley, and
+handed a big document to our hero.
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"It is the deed to the farm on which your folks are living. It is made
+out in your name. I bought the place from Peter Thompson, your uncle.
+Now you have something that you can really call your own," and Mr.
+Shalley laughed pleasantly.
+
+"Mr. Shalley, you are more than kind," cried Randy, warmly. "Do my
+parents know of this?"
+
+"No. You can go home over Sunday and surprise them."
+
+"I will, and I thank you very much, sir."
+
+Randy went home, and there was a general rejoicing over the good news.
+But more was to follow.
+
+"I met Mr. Bartlett to-day," said Mr. Thompson. "He says they want a
+first-class carpenter at the iron works to take charge of the repairs
+He offered me the place at a dollar a day more than I am getting."
+
+"Good enough, father!" cried Randy. "That is just like Mr. Bartlett."
+
+"He said he wanted to do something for us on your account. And he sent
+you this," added Mr. Thompson, and brought out a neat silver watch and
+chain. It was a nice present and pleased Randy greatly.
+
+Not long after that the season on the river closed and Randy came home
+for the winter. As his father now had a steady place at good wages, the
+youth went to school, in company with Jack Bartlett, who had moved back
+to Riverport with the rest of his family. Randy was a good scholar and
+made rapid progress.
+
+"I want you to get a good education," wrote Andrew Shalley to our hero.
+"Then, later on, you can enter my office if you wish, or take a better
+place on the steamboat."
+
+Six years have passed since that time and Randy has finished his
+education. He is now the general manager for the steamboat company, and
+rumor has it that he is soon to marry Rose Clare, who still lives with
+the Shalleys. He is prosperous, but come what may, will never forget
+the time when he was only a deckhand.
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+The Famous Rover Boys Series
+
+By ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
+
+No stories for boys' Reading ever published have attained the immense
+popularity of this new and extremely favorite series. They are full of
+fun, fancy, enterprise, and adventure; and each volume is hailed with
+delight by boys and girls everywhere.
+
+12mo. Cloth. Handsomely printed and illustrated.
+
+Price, 60 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS ON THE FARM
+  Or, The Last Days at Putnam Hall
+    The latest and best of all the Rover Boy Books.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS IN SOUTHERN WATERS
+  Or, The Deserted Steam Yacht
+    A trip to the coast of Florida.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS ON THE PLAINS
+  Or, The Mystery of Red Rock Ranch
+    Relates adventures on the mighty Mississippi River.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS ON THE RIVER
+  Or, The Search for the Missing Houseboat
+    The Ohio River is the theme of this spirited story.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS IN CAMP
+  Or, The Rivals of Pine Island
+    At the annual school encampment.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS ON LAND AND SEA
+  Or, The Crusoes of Seven Islands
+    Full of strange and surprising adventures.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS IN THE MOUNTAINS
+  Or, A Hunt for Fame and Fortune
+    The boys in the Adirondacks at a Winter camp.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS ON THE GREAT LAKES
+  Or, The Secret of the Island Cave
+    A story of a remarkable Summer outing; full of fun.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS OUT WEST
+  Or, The Search for a Lost Mine
+    A graphic description of the mines of the great Rockies.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS IN THE JUNGLE
+  Or, Stirring Adventures in Africa
+    The boys journey to the Dark Continent in search of their father.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS ON THE OCEAN
+  Or, A Chase for a Fortune
+    From school to the Atlantic Ocean.
+
+THE ROVER BOYS AT SCHOOL
+  Or, the Cadets of Putnam Hall
+    The doings of Dick, Tom, and Sam Rover.
+
+Always Ask for the Grosset & Dunlap Editions
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP, -- NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Putnam Hall Series
+
+Companion Stories to the Famous Rover Boys Series
+
+By ARTHUR M. WINFIELD
+
+Open-air pastimes have always been popular with boys, and should always
+be encouraged, as they provide healthy recreation both for the body and
+the mind. These books mingle adventure and fact, and will appeal to
+every healthy and manly boy.
+
+12mo. Handsomely printed and illustrated. Bound in cloth, with
+stampings in Colors.
+
+Price, 60 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.
+
+THE PUTNAM HALL CHAMPIONS
+  Or, Bound to Win Out
+    In this new tale the Putnam Hall Cadets show what they can do in
+    various keen rivalries on the athletic field and elsewhere. There
+    is one victory which leads to a most unlooked-for discovery. The
+    volume is full of fun and good fellowship, calculated to make the
+    Putnam Hall Series more popular than ever.
+
+THE PUTNAM HALL CADETS
+  Or, Good Times in School and Out
+    The cadets are lively, flesh-and-blood fellows, bound to make
+    friends from the start. There are some keen rivalries, in school
+    and out, and something is told of a remarkable midnight feast and a
+    hazing that had an unlooked-for ending.
+
+THE PUTNAM HALL RIVALS
+  Or, Fun and Sport Afloat and Ashore
+    It is a lively, rattling, breezy story of school life in this
+    country, written by one who knows all about its ways, its snowball
+    fights, its baseball matches, its pleasures and its perplexities,
+    its glorious excitements, its rivalries, and its chilling
+    disappointments. It is a capitally written story which will
+    interest boys vastly.
+
+Other Volumes in Preparation.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP,--NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+THE RISE IN LIFE SERIES
+
+By Horatio Alger, Jr.
+
+These are Copyrighted Stories which cannot be obtained elsewhere. They
+are the stories last written by this famous author.
+
+12mo. Handsomely printed and illustrated. Bound in cloth, stamped in
+colored inks.
+
+Price, 60 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.
+
+THE YOUNG BOOK AGENT
+  Or, Frank Hardy's Road to Success
+    A plain but uncommonly interesting tale of everyday life,
+    describing the ups and downs of a boy book-agent.
+
+FROM FARM TO FORTUNE: Or, Nat Nason's Strange Experience
+    Nat was a poor country lad. Work on the farm was hard, and after a
+    quarrel with his uncle, with whom he resided, he struck out for
+    himself.
+
+OUT FOR BUSINESS: Or, Robert Frost's Strange Career
+    Relates the adventures of a country boy who is compelled to leave
+    home and seek his fortune in the great world at large. How he wins
+    success we must leave to the reader to discover.
+
+FALLING IN WITH FORTUNE
+  Or, The Experiences of a Young Secretary
+    This is a companion tale to "Out for Business," but complete in
+    itself, and tells of the further doings of Robert Frost as private
+    secretary.
+
+YOUNG CAPTAIN JACK: Or, The Son of a Soldier
+    The scene is laid in the South during the Civil War, and the hero
+    is a waif who was cast up by the sea and adopted by a rich Southern
+    planter.
+
+NELSON THE NEWSBOY: Or, Afloat in New York
+    Mr. Alger is always at his best in the portrayal of life in New
+    York City, and this story is among the best he has given our young
+    readers.
+
+LOST AT SEA: Or, Robert Roscoe's Strange Cruise
+    A sea story of uncommon interest. The hero falls in with a strange
+    derelict--a ship given over to the wild animals of a menagerie.
+
+JERRY, THE BACKWOODS BOY
+  Or, The Parkhurst Treasure
+    Depicts life on a farm of New York State. The mystery of the
+    treasure will fascinate every boy. Jerry is a character well worth
+    knowing.
+
+RANDY OF THE RIVER
+  Or, The Adventures of a Young Deckhand
+    Life on a river steamboat is not so romantic as some young people
+    may imagine. There is hard work, and plenty of it, and the
+    remuneration is not of the best. But Randy Thompson wanted work and
+    took what was offered. His success in the end was well deserved,
+    and perhaps the lesson his doings teach will not be lost upon those
+    who peruse these pages.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP,--NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Flag of Freedom Series
+
+By CAPTAIN RALPH BONEHILL.
+
+A favorite Line of American Stories for American Boys.
+Every volume complete in itself, and handsomely illustrated.
+12mo. Bound in cloth. Stamped in Colors.
+
+Price, 60 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.
+
+WITH CUSTER IN THE BLACK HILLS
+  Or, A Young Scout among the Indians.
+    Tells of the remarkable experiences of a youth who, with his
+    parents, goes to the Black Hills in search of gold. Custer's last
+    battle is well described. A volume every lad fond of Indian stories
+    should possess.
+
+BOYS OF THE FORT
+  Or, A Young Captain's Pluck.
+    This story of stirring doings at one of our well-known forts in the
+    Wild West is of more than ordinary interest. The young captain had
+    a difficult task to accomplish, but he had been drilled to do his
+    duty, and does it thoroughly. Gives a good insight into army life
+    of to-day.
+
+THE YOUNG BANDMASTER
+  Or, Concert, Stage, and Battlefield.
+    The hero is a youth with a passion for music, who becomes a
+    cornetist in an orchestra, and works his way up to the leadership
+    of a brass band. He is carried off to sea and falls in with a
+    secret service cutter bound for Cuba, and while there joins a
+    military band which accompanies our soldiers in the
+    never-to-be-forgotten attack on Santiago.
+
+OFF FOR HAWAII
+  Or, The Mystery of a Great Volcano.
+    Here we have fact and romance cleverly interwoven. Several boys
+    start on a tour of the Hawaiian Islands. They have heard that there
+    is a treasure located in the vicinity of Kilauea, the largest
+    active volcano in the world, and go in search of it. Their numerous
+    adventures will be followed with much interest.
+
+A SAILOR BOY WITH DEWEY
+  Or, Afloat in the Philippines.
+    The story of Dewey's victory in Manila Bay will never grow old, but
+    here we have it told in a new form--as it appeared to a real, live
+    American youth who was in the navy at the time. Many adventures in
+    Manila and in the interior follow, give true-to-life scenes from
+    this portion of the globe.
+
+WHEN SANTIAGO FELL
+  Or, the War Adventures of Two Chums.
+    Two boys, an American and his Cuban chum, leave New York to join
+    their parents in the interior of Cuba. The war between Spain and
+    the Cubans is on, and the boys are detained at Santiago, but escape
+    by crossing the bay at night. Many adventures between the lines
+    follow, and a good pen-picture of General Garcia is given.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP,--NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Frontier Series
+
+Stories of Early American Exploration
+and Adventure for Boys.
+
+By CAPTAIN RALPH BONEHILL
+
+The Historical Background Is Absolutely Correct.
+
+12 mo. Well printed and well illustrated. Handsomely bound in cloth,
+stamped in Colors.
+
+Price, 60 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.
+
+PIONEER BOYS OF THE GOLD FIELDS
+  Or, The Nugget Hunters of '49
+    A tale complete in itself, giving the particulars of the great rush
+    of the gold seekers to California in 1849. In the party making its
+    way across the continent are three boys, one from the country,
+    another from the city, and a third just home from a long voyage on
+    a whaling ship. They become chums, and share in no end of
+    adventures.
+
+PIONEER BOYS OF THE GREAT NORTHWEST
+  Or, With Lewis and Clark Across the Rockies
+    A splendid story describing in detail the great expedition formed
+    under the leadership of Lewis and Clark, and telling what was done
+    by the pioneer boys who were first to penetrate the wilderness of
+    the northwest and push over the Rocky Mountains. The book possesses
+    a permanent historical value and the story should be known by every
+    bright American boy.
+
+WITH BOONE ON THE FRONTIER
+  Or, The Pioneer Boys of Old Kentucky
+    Relates the true-to-life adventures of two boys who, in company
+    with their folks, move westward with Daniel Boone. Contains many
+    thrilling scenes among the Indians and encounters with wild
+    animals. It is excellently told.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP,--NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Great Newspaper Series
+
+BY HOWARD R. GARIS
+
+The author is a practised journalist, and these stories convey a true
+picture of the workings of a great newspaper.
+
+12mo. Well printed and finely illustrated. Handsomely bound in cloth,
+stamped in Colors.
+
+Price, 60 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.
+
+FROM OFFICE BOY TO REPORTER
+  Or, The First Step in Journalism
+
+LARRY DEXTER, REPORTER
+  Or, Strange Adventures in a Great City
+
+                    *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+The Deep Sea Series
+
+BY ROY ROCKWOOD
+
+No manly boy ever grew tired of sea stories--there is a fascination
+about them, and they are a recreation to the mind. Every bright boy is
+interested in our Pacific Coast, which the "great Squadron" will soon
+occupy.
+
+12mo. Handsomely printed and illustrated. Bound in cloth, stamped in
+Colors. Price, 60 cents per volume. Postpaid.
+
+ADRIFT ON THE PACIFIC
+  Or, The Secret of the Island Cave
+
+THE CRUISE OF THE TREASURE SHIP
+  Or, The Castaways of Floating Island
+
+THE RIVAL OCEAN DIVERS
+  Or, The Search for a Sunken Treasure
+
+                    *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+The Railroad Series
+
+BY ALLEN CHAPMAN
+
+Railroad Stories are dear to the heart of the American Boy, and these
+are certain to become deservedly popular. Ralph is determined to be a
+"railroad man." He starts in at the foot of the ladder; makes both
+friends and enemies; but is full of manly pluck and "wins out." Boys
+will be interested in his career.
+
+12mo. Handsomely printed and illustrated. Bound in cloth, stamped in
+Colors. Price, 60 cents per volume. Postpaid.
+
+RALPH OF THE ROUNDHOUSE
+  Or, Bound to Become a Railroad Man
+
+RALPH IN THE SWITCH TOWER
+  Or, Clearing the Track
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP,--NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Enterprise Books
+
+Captivating Stories for Boys by Justly Popular Writers
+
+The episodes are graphic, exciting, realistic--the tendency of the
+tales is to the formation of an honorable and manly character. They are
+unusually interesting, and convey lessons of pluck, perseverance and
+manly independence.
+
+12mo. Handsomely illustrated. Printed on excellent paper, and
+attractively bound in colored cloth, stamped in Colors.
+
+Price, 60 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.
+
+MOFFAT, WILLIAM D.
+
+THE CRIMSON BANNER.
+  A Story of College Baseball
+    Books have been written about college baseball, but it remained for
+    Mr. Moffat, a Princeton man, to come forward with a tale that grips
+    one from start to finish. The students are almost flesh and blood,
+    and the contests become real as we read about them. The best
+    all-around college and baseball tale yet presented.
+
+GRAYDON, WILLIAM MURRAY
+
+CANOE BOYS AND CAMP FIRES.
+  Or, Adventures in Winding Waters
+    Where is there a youth who does not love a gun, a fishing rod, a
+    canoe, or a roaring camp-fire? In this book we have the doings of
+    several bright and lively boys, who go on a canoeing trip on a
+    winding stream, and meet with many exciting happenings. The breath
+    of the forest blows through this tale, and every boy who reads it
+    will be sorry that he was not a member of the canoe club that took
+    that never-to-be-forgotten outing.
+
+HARKNESS, PETER T.
+
+ANDY, THE ACROBAT.
+  Or, With the Greatest Show on Earth
+    Andy is as a bright as a silver dollar. In the book we can smell
+    the sawdust, hear the flapping of the big white canvas and the
+    roaring of the lions, and listen to the merry "hoop la!" of the
+    clown.
+
+FOSTER, W. BERT
+
+THE QUEST OF THE SILVER SWAN.
+  A Tale of Ocean Adventure
+    A Youth's story of the deep blue sea--of the search for a derelict
+    carrying a fortune. Brandon Tarr is a manly lad, and all lads will
+    be eager to learn whether he failed or succeeded in his mission.
+
+WHITE, MATTHEW, Jr.
+
+TWO BOYS AND A FORTUNE.
+  Or, The Tyler Will
+    If you had been poor and were suddenly left a half-million dollars,
+    what would you do with it? Do you think the money would bring you
+    happiness, or would it bring only increased cares? That was the
+    problem that confronted the Pell family, and especially the twin
+    brothers, Rex and Roy. A strong, helpful story, that should be read
+    by every boy and every young man in our land.
+
+WINFIELD, ARTHUR M.
+
+BOB, THE PHOTOGRAPHER.
+  Or, A Hero in Spite of Himself
+    Relates the experiences of a poor boy who falls in with a "camera
+    fiend," and develops a liking for photography. After a number of
+    stirring adventures Bob becomes photographer for a railroad, and
+    while taking pictures along the line thwarts the plan of those who
+    would injure the railroad corporation and incidentally clears a
+    mystery surrounding his parentage.
+
+ROCKWOOD, ROY
+
+JACK NORTH'S TREASURE HUNT.
+  A Story of South American Adventure
+    Jack is sent to South America on a business trip, and while there
+    he hears of the wonderful treasure of the Incas located in the
+    Andes. He learns also of a lake that appears and disappears. He
+    resolves to investigate, and organizes an expedition for that
+    purpose. The book is a thriller.
+
+BONEHILL, CAPTAIN RALPH
+
+LOST IN THE LAND OF ICE.
+  Or, Daring Adventures Round the South Pole
+    An expedition is fitted out by a rich young man who loves the
+    ocean, and with him goes the hero of the tale, a lad who has some
+    knowledge of a treasure ship said to be cast away in the land of
+    ice. On the way the expedition is stopped by enemies, and the
+    heroes land among the wild Indians of Patagonia. When the ship
+    approaches the South Pole it is caught in a huge iceberg, and
+    several of those on board become truly lost in the land of ice.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP,--NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+The Dorothy Chester Series
+
+By EVELYN RAYMOND
+
+A series of stories for American girls, by one of the most popular
+writers of fiction for girls' reading. The books are full of interest,
+winsome and thoroughly wholesome.
+
+12mo. Handsomely printed on excellent paper, and finely illustrated.
+Handsomely bound in cloth, stamped in Colors.
+
+Price, 60 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.
+
+DOROTHY CHESTER
+  The Haps and Mishaps of a Foundling
+    The first volume tells how Dorothy was found on the doorstep, taken
+    in, and how she grew to be a lovable girl of twelve; and was then
+    carried off by a person who held her for ransom. She made a warm
+    friend of Jim, the nobody; and the adventures of the pair are as
+    interesting as they are surprising.
+
+DOROTHY CHESTER AT SKYRIE
+  Shows Dorothy at her country home near the Highlands of the Hudson.
+  Here astonishing adventures befell her, and once again Jim, the
+  nobody, comes to her assistance.
+
+Other Volumes in Preparation.
+
+                    *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+The Bobbsey Twins Books
+
+For Little Men and Women
+
+By LAURA LEE HOPE
+
+Copyright publications which cannot be obtained elsewhere. Books that
+will charm the hearts of the little ones, and of which they never will
+tire. Small 12mo. Handsomely printed and illustrated. Bound in cloth,
+stamped in Colors.
+
+Price, 35 Cents per Volume. Postpaid.
+
+THE BOBBSEY TWINSc Or, Merry Days Indoors and Out
+THE BOBBSEY TWINS IN THE COUNTRY
+THE BOBBSEY TWINS AT THE SEASHORE
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP,--NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+_GET THE BEST OUT-DOOR STORIES_
+
+Stewart Edward White's Great Novels of Western Life.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP EDITIONS
+
+THE BLAZED TRAIL
+  Mingles the romance of the forest with the romance of man's heart,
+  making a story that is big and elemental, while not lacking in
+  sweetness and tenderness. It is an epic of the life of the lumberman
+  of the great forest of the Northwest, permeated by out of door
+  freshness, and the glory of the struggle with nature.
+
+THE SILENT PLACES
+  A powerful story of strenuous endeavor and fateful privation in the
+  frozen North, embodying also a detective story of much strength and
+  skill. The author brings out with sure touch and deep understanding
+  the mystery and poetry of the still, frost-bound forest.
+
+THE CLAIM JUMPERS
+  A tale of a Western mining camp and the making of a man, with which a
+  charming young lady has much to do. The tenderfoot has a hard time of
+  it, but meets the situation, shows the stuff he is made of, and "wins
+  out."
+
+THE WESTERNERS
+  A tale of the mining camp and the Indian country, full of color and
+  thrilling incident.
+
+THE MAGIC FOREST: A Modern Fairy Story.
+  "No better book could be put in a young boy's hands," says the New
+  York _Sun_. It is a happy blend of knowledge of wood life with an
+  understanding of Indian character, as well as that of small boys.
+
+Each volume handsomely bound in cloth. Price, seventy-five cents per
+volume, postpaid.
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+GROSSET & DUNLAP, NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+_THE GROSSET & DUNLAP EDITIONS OF STANDARD WORKS_
+
+A FULL AND COMPLETE EDITION OF TENNYSON'S POEMS.
+  Containing all the Poems issued under the protection of copyright.
+  Cloth bound, small 8 vo. 882 pages, with index to first lines. Price,
+  postpaid, seventy-five cents. The same, bound in three-quarter
+  morocco, gilt top, $2.50, postpaid.
+
+                    *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON AND HER TIMES, by Mrs. Roger A. Pryor.
+  The brilliant social life of the time passes before the reader,
+  packed full of curious and delightful information. More kinds of
+  interest enter into it than into any other volume on Colonial
+  Virginia. Sixty illustrations. Price, seventy-five cents, postpaid.
+
+                    *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLAND, by William Winter
+  A record of rambles in England, relating largely to Warwickshire and
+  depicting not so much the England of fact, as the England created and
+  hallowed by the spirit of her poetry, of which Shakespeare is the
+  soul. Profusely illustrated. Price, seventy-five cents, postpaid.
+
+                    *     *     *     *     *     *
+
+THEODORE ROOSEVELT THE CITIZEN, by Jacob A. Riis.
+  Should be read by every man and boy in America. Because it sets forth
+  an ideal of American Citizenship. An Inspired Biography by one who
+  knows him best. A large, handsomely illustrated cloth bound book.
+  Price, postpaid, seventy-five cents.
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP, Publishers
+52 DUANE STREET :: NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+BOOKS ON GARDENING AND FARMING
+
+THREE ACRES AND LIBERTY. By Bolton Hall.
+  Shows the value gained by intensive culture. Should be in the hands
+  of every landholder. Profusely illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, 75 cents.
+
+  Every chapter in the book has been revised by a specialist. The
+  author clearly brings out the full value that is to be derived from
+  intensive culture and intelligent methods given to small land
+  holdings. Given untrammelled opportunity, agriculture will not only
+  care well for itself and for those intelligently engaged in it, but
+  it will give stability to all other industries and pursuits. (_From
+  the Preface._) "The author piles fact upon authenticated instance
+  and successful experiment upon proved example, until there is no
+  doubt what can be done with land intensively treated. He shows where
+  the land may be found, what kind we must have, what it will cost, and
+  what to do with it. It is seldom we find so much enthusiasm tempered
+  by so much experience and common sense. The book points out in a
+  practical way the possibilities of a very small farm intensively
+  cultivated. It embodies the results of actual experience and it is
+  intended to be workable in every detail."--_Providence Journal._
+
+NEW CREATIONS IN PLANT LIFE. By W. S. Harwood and Luther Burbank.
+  An Authoritative Account of the Work of Luther Burbank. With 48
+  full-page half-tone plates. 12mo. Cloth, 75 cents.
+
+  Mr. Burbank has produced more new forms of plant life than any other
+  man who has ever lived. These have been either for the adornment of
+  the world, such as new and improved flowers, or for the enrichment of
+  the world, such as new and improved fruits, nuts, vegetables,
+  grasses, trees and the like. This volume describes his life and work
+  in detail, presenting a clear statement of his methods, showing how
+  others may follow the same lines, and introducing much never before
+  made public. "Luther Burbank is unquestionably the greatest student
+  of human life and philosophy of living things in America, if not in
+  the world."--_S. H. Comings, Cor. Sec. American League of Industrial
+  Education._
+
+A WOMAN'S HARDY GARDEN. By Helena Rutherfurd Ely.
+  Superbly illustrated with 49 full-page halftone engravings from
+  photographs by Prof. C. F. Chandler. 12mo. Cloth.
+
+  "Mrs. Ely is the wisest and most winsome teacher of the fascinating
+  art of gardening that we have met in modern print. * * * A book to be
+  welcomed with enthusiasm."--_New York Tribune._
+
+  "Let us sigh with gratitude and read the volume with delight. For
+  here it all is: What we should plant, and when we should plant it;
+  how to care for it after it is planted and growing; what to do if it
+  does not grow and blossom; what will blossom, and when it will
+  blossom, and what the blossom will be. It is full of garden lore; of
+  the spirit of happy out-door life. A good and wholesome
+  book."--_The Dial._
+
+GROSSET & DUNLAP, NEW YORK
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Randy of the River, by Horatio Alger Jr.
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