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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: The Young Bank Messenger + +Author: Horatio Alger + +Release Date: April 23, 2008 [EBook #25150] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG BANK MESSENGER *** + + + + +Produced by Gary Sandino (text), Al Haines (HTML). (This +file was created from images generously made available by +The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +THE +<BR> +YOUNG BANK MESSENGER +</H1> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BY +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +HORATIO ALGER, JR. +</H2> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +AUTHOR OF "RAGGED DICK SERIES," "NEW WORLD SERIES," ETC. +</H4> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., +<BR> +PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, TORONTO. +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY HENRY T. COATES & CO. +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS. +</H2> + +<BR> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%"> +CHAPTER +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="75%"> + +</TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="10%"> +PAGE +</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">THE LONELY CABIN,</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">1</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">A DEATHBED REVELATION,</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">10</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">A SUCCESSFUL ROBBERY, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">19</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">ALONE IN THE WORLD, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">27</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">THE TRAMP TURNS UP AGAIN, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">36</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">A CRITICAL SITUATION, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">44</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">ON THE ROAD, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">53</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">THE QUAKER DETECTIVE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">61</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">AN ARMED ESCORT, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">71</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">THE ASTONISHED OUTLAW, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">77</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">UNDER WATCH AND WARD, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">88</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">THE OUTLAW'S ESCAPE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">97</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">THE OUTLAW'S MISTAKE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">106</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">ERNEST HAS AN ADVENTURE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">115</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">A NEW ACQUAINTANCE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">124</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">THE OUTLAW'S HOME, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">133</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">IN THE ROBBER'S CAVE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">142</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap18">THE OUTLAW AND HIS BAND, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">153</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap19">A DAY IN THE CAVE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">159</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap20">ERNEST EXPLORES THE CAVE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">168</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap21">OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">178</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap22">A FRIEND IN NEED, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">187</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap23">GIVEN IN TRUST, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">196</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap24">STEPHEN RAY AND HIS SON, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">206</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap25">A STARTLING DISCLOSURE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">216</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap26">BOUGHT OFF, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">228</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap27">THE TOWN OF OREVILLE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">236</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap28">AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE TURNS UP, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">246</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap29">TOM BURNS MAKES A CALL, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">256</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap30">A BURGLAR'S FAILURE, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">266</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap31">THE ADVERTISEMENT, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">276</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap32">MR. BOLTON AS A HUSTLER, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">285</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap33">THE RESULT OF AN ADVERTISEMENT, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">295</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap34">A STRANGE MEETING,</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">301</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap35">MR. BOLTON AND HIS CLIENT,</A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">309</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap36">AN IMPORTANT INTERVIEW, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">314</TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXXVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap37">CONCLUSION, </A></TD> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">320</TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +ILLUSTRATIONS +</H2> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-093"> +"Now tie him, Mason, while I keep him covered with the revolver." +</A> +</H3> + +<H3> +<A HREF="#img-287"> +"He stood at the window and looked in." +</A> +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +THE +<BR> +YOUNG BANK MESSENGER. +</H2> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE LONELY CABIN. +</H3> + +<P> +Just on the edge of the prairie, in western Iowa, some thirty years +since, stood a cabin covering quite a little ground, but only one +story high. It was humble enough as a home, but not more so than the +early homes of some who have become great. +</P> + +<P> +Let us enter. +</P> + +<P> +The furniture was scanty, being limited to articles of prime +necessity. There was a stove, a table, three chairs, a row of shelves +containing a few articles of crockery and tinware, and a bed in the +far corner of the room, on which rested a man. He had a ragged gray +beard and hair, and a face long and thin, with preternaturally black +eyes. +</P> + +<P> +It was evident that he was sick unto death. His parchment-colored skin +was indented with wrinkles; from time to time he coughed so violently +as to rack his slight frame, and his hand, thin and wrinkled, as it +rested on the quilt that covered him, shook as with palsy. +</P> + +<P> +It was hard to tell how old the man was. He looked over seventy, but +there were indications that he had aged prematurely. +</P> + +<P> +There was one other person in the room, one whose appearance +contrasted strongly with that of the old man. It was a boy of sixteen, +a boy with dark brown hair, ruddy cheeks, hazel eyes, an attractive +yet firm and resolute face, and an appearance of manliness and +self-reliance. He was well dressed, and, though the tenant of such an +humble home, would have passed muster upon the streets of a city. +</P> + +<P> +"How do you feel, Uncle Peter?" he asked, as he stood by the bedside. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall never feel any better, Ernest," said the old man, in a hollow +voice. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't say that, uncle," rejoined Ernest in a tone of concern. +</P> + +<P> +There seemed little to connect him, in his strong, attractive boyhood, +with the frail old man, but they had lived together for five years, +and habit was powerful. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Ernest, I shall never rise from this bed." +</P> + +<P> +"Isn't there anything I can get for you, uncle?" +</P> + +<P> +"Is there is there anything left in the bottle?" asked Peter, +wistfully. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest walked to the shelf that held the dishes, and took from a +corner a large black bottle. It seemed light and might be empty. He +turned out the contents into a glass, but there was only a +tablespoonful of whisky left. +</P> + +<P> +"It is almost all gone, Uncle Peter; will you have this much?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," answered the old man, tremulously. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest lifted the invalid into a sitting posture, and then put the +glass to his mouth. +</P> + +<P> +He drained it, and gave a sigh of satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +"It is good," he said briefly. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish there were more." +</P> + +<P> +"It goes to the right spot. It puts strength into me." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I go to the village and buy more?" +</P> + +<P> +"I--I don't know--" +</P> + +<P> +"I can get back very soon." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well--go then, like a good boy." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall have to trouble you for some money, Uncle Peter." +</P> + +<P> +"Go to the trunk. You will find some." +</P> + +<P> +There was a small hair trunk, in another corner. Ernest knew that this +was meant, and he knelt down before it and lifted the lid. +</P> + +<P> +There was a small wooden box at the left-hand side. Opening this, +Ernest discovered three five-dollar gold pieces. Usually his uncle had +gone to the trunk for money, but the boy knew where it was kept. +</P> + +<P> +"There are but three gold pieces, uncle," he announced, looking +towards the bed. +</P> + +<P> +"Take one of them, Ernest." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder if that is all the money he has left?" thought Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +He rose from his kneeling position and went to the door. +</P> + +<P> +"I won't be gone long, uncle," he said. He followed a path which led +from the door in an easterly direction to the village. It was over a +mile away, and consisted only of a few scattering houses, a +blacksmith's shop, and a store. +</P> + +<P> +It was to the store that Ernest bent his steps. It was a one-story +structure, as were most of the buildings in the village. There was a +sign over the door which read: +</P> + +<P> + JOE MARKS.<BR> + Groceries and Family Supplies.<BR> +</P> + +<P> +Joe stood behind the counter; there were two other men in the store, +one tall, gaunt, of the average Western type, with a broad-brimmed, +soft felt hat on his head, and in the costume of a hunter; he looked +rough, but honest and reliable, and that was more than could be said +of the other. He may best be described as a tramp, a man who looked +averse to labor of any kind, a man without a settled business or home, +who picked up a living as he could, caring less for food than for +drink, and whose mottled face indicated frequent potations of whisky. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest looked at this man as he entered. He didn't remember to have +met him before, nor was there anything to attract him in his +appearance. +</P> + +<P> +"How are you, Ernest?" said Joe Marks, cordially. "How's Uncle Peter?" +</P> + +<P> +"He's pretty bad, Joe. He thinks he's going to die." +</P> + +<P> +"Not so bad as that, surely." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I guess he's right. He's very weak." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, well, he's a good age. How old is he?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. He never told me." +</P> + +<P> +"He's well on to seventy, I'm thinking. But what can I do for you?" +</P> + +<P> +"You may fill this bottle, Joe; Uncle Peter is so weak he thinks it +will put new life in him." +</P> + +<P> +"So it will, Ernest; there's nothing like good whisky to make an old +man strong, or a young man, for that matter." +</P> + +<P> +It may be easy to see that Joe did not believe in total abstinence. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't drink, myself!" said Ernest, replying to the last part of +Joe's remark. +</P> + +<P> +"There's nothing like whisky," remarked the tramp in a hoarse voice. +</P> + +<P> +"You've drunk your share, I'm thinking," said Luke Robbins, the tall +hunter. +</P> + +<P> +"Not yet," returned the tramp. "I haven't had my share yet. There's +lots of people that has drunk more'n me." +</P> + +<P> +"Why haven't you drunk your share? You hadn't no objections, I reckon." +</P> + +<P> +"I hadn't the money," said the tramp, sadly. "I've never had much +money. I ain't lucky." +</P> + +<P> +"If you had had more money, you'd maybe not be living now. You'd have +drunk yourself to death." +</P> + +<P> +"If I ever do commit suicide, that's the way I'd like to die," said +the tramp. +</P> + +<P> +Joe filled the bottle from a keg behind the counter and handed it to +Ernest. The aroma of the whisky was diffused about the store, and the +tramp sniffed it in eagerly. It stimulated his desire to indulge his +craving for drink. As Ernest, with the bottle in his hand, prepared to +leave, the tramp addressed him. +</P> + +<P> +"Say, young feller, ain't you goin' to shout?" +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ain't you goin' to treat me and this gentleman?" indicating Luke +Robbins. +</P> + +<P> +"No," answered Ernest, shortly. "I don't buy it as drink, but as +medicine." +</P> + +<P> +"I need medicine," urged the tramp, with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't," said the hunter. "Don't you bother about us, my boy. If we +want whisky we can buy it ourselves." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't," whined the tramp. "If I had as much money as you,"--for he +had noticed that Ernest had changed a gold piece--"I'd be happy, but +I'm out of luck." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest paid no attention to his words, but left the store, and struck +the path homeward. +</P> + +<P> +"Who's that boy?" asked the tramp. +</P> + +<P> +"It's Ernest Ray." +</P> + +<P> +"Where'd he get that gold?" +</P> + +<P> +"He lives with his uncle, a mile from the village." +</P> + +<P> +"Is his uncle rich?" +</P> + +<P> +"Folks think so. They call him a miser." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he goin' to die?" +</P> + +<P> +"That's what the boy says." +</P> + +<P> +"And the boy'll get all his money?" +</P> + +<P> +"It's likely." +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to be his guardian." +</P> + +<P> +Joe and Luke Robbins laughed. "You'd make a pretty guardian," said +Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"I won't get it," said the tramp, mournfully. "I never had no luck." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A DEATHBED REVELATION. +</H3> + +<P> +Ernest made the best of his way home, for he knew his uncle would be +waiting for him. +</P> + +<P> +The old man's eyes were closed, but he opened them when Ernest entered +the room. +</P> + +<P> +"Was I gone long?" asked the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. I think I fell asleep." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I give you some of the drink?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +He drank a small amount, and it seemed to brighten him up so much that +Ernest said, "You look better, Uncle Peter. You may live some time." +</P> + +<P> +Peter shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"No, boy," he replied; "my time has come to die. I know it. I would +like to live for your sake. You will miss me when I am gone, Ernest?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, uncle, I shall miss you very much." +</P> + +<P> +The old man seemed gratified. Ernest was the only one he cared for in +all the world. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't care so much about dying, but I am anxious for you. I wish I +had money to leave you, Ernest, but I haven't much." +</P> + +<P> +"I am young and strong. I can get along." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope so. You will go away from here." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, uncle. I don't think I shall care to stay here after you are +gone." +</P> + +<P> +"You will need money to take you away." +</P> + +<P> +"There is a little more in the trunk." +</P> + +<P> +"But only a little. It is not quite all I have. I have a hundred +dollars in gold laid away for you." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest looked surprised. +</P> + +<P> +"I must tell you where it is while I still have life. Do you +remember the oak tree on the little knoll half a mile away?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I know it." +</P> + +<P> +"Dig under that tree five feet in a westerly direction. There is a +wooden box about half a foot below the surface of the earth. There's +nothing to mark the spot, for it was buried a year since, and the +grass has grown over it, hiding all traces of the earth's being +disturbed. After I am gone go there and get the money." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, uncle." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't let any one see you when you visit the spot. It will be best to +go at night. There are evil-disposed men who would rob you of it if +they had the chance. I am sorry it is so little, Ernest." +</P> + +<P> +"But it seems to me a good deal." +</P> + +<P> +"To a boy it may seem so. Once I thought I might have a good deal more +to leave you. Go to the trunk and search till you find a paper folded +in an envelope, and inscribed with your name." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I search now?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest went to the trunk, and followed the old man's directions. He +found the envelope readily, and held it up. +</P> + +<P> +"Is that it, uncle?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Put it in your pocket, and read it after I am gone. Then be +guided by circumstances. It may amount to something hereafter." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, uncle." +</P> + +<P> +"I have told you, Ernest, that I do not expect to live long. I have a +feeling that twenty-four hours from now I shall be gone." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no, uncle, not so soon!" exclaimed Ernest, in a shocked tone. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I think so. If you have any questions to ask me while I yet have +life, ask, for it is your right." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Uncle Peter, I have long wished to know something about myself. +Have I any relatives except you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am not your relative," answered the old man slowly. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest was amazed. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you not my uncle?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"No; there is no tie of blood between us." +</P> + +<P> +"Then how does it happen that we have lived together so many years?" +</P> + +<P> +"I was a servant in your father's family. When your father died, the +care of you devolved upon me." +</P> + +<P> +"Where was I born?" +</P> + +<P> +"In a large town in the western part of New York State. Your +grandfather was a man of wealth, but your father incurred his +displeasure by his marriage to a poor but highly-educated and refined +girl. A cousin of your father took advantage of this and succeeded in +alienating father and son. The estate that should have descended to +your father was left to the cousin." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he still living?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"But my father died?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; he had a fever, which quickly carried him off when you were five +years of age." +</P> + +<P> +"Was he very poor?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; he inherited a few thousand dollars from an aunt, and upon this +he lived prudently, carrying on a small business besides. Your mother +died when you were three years old, your father two years later." +</P> + +<P> +"And then you took care of me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"And I have been a burden to you these many years!" +</P> + +<P> +"No! Don't give me too much credit. A sum of money was put into my +hands to spend for you. We lived carefully, and it lasted. We have +been here three years, and it has cost very little to live in that +time. The hundred dollars of which I spoke to you are the last of your +inheritance. You are not indebted to me for it. It is rightfully +yours." +</P> + +<P> +"What is my uncle's name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Stephen Ray. He lives a few miles from Elmira, on the Erie road." +</P> + +<P> +"And is he quite rich?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; he is probably worth a quarter of a million dollars. It is money +which should have gone to your father." +</P> + +<P> +"Then the wicked are sometimes prospered in this world!" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but this world is not all." +</P> + +<P> +"Has there been any communication with my cousin in all these years?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, two years ago I wrote to him." +</P> + +<P> +"What did you write?" +</P> + +<P> +"You must forgive me, Ernest, but I saw you growing up without an +education, and I felt that you should have advantages which I could +not give you. I wrote to your cousin asking if he would pay your +expenses in a preparatory school and afterward at college." +</P> + +<P> +"What did he reply?" +</P> + +<P> +"Go to the trunk. You will find his letter there. It is in the tray, +and addressed to me." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest found it readily. +</P> + +<P> +"May I read it?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I wish you to do so." +</P> + +<P> +It ran thus: +</P> + +<P> +PETER BRANT. +</P> + +<P> +<I>Sir:</I> I have received your letter making an appeal to me in behalf of +Ernest Ray, the son of my cousin. You wish me to educate him. I must +decline to do so. His father very much incensed my revered uncle, and +it is not right that any of his money should go to him or his heirs. +He must reap the reward of his disobedience. So far as I am personally +concerned I should not object to doing something for the boy, but I am +sure that my dead uncle would not approve it. Besides, I have myself a +son to whom I propose to leave the estate intact. +</P> + +<P> +It is my advice that you bring up the boy Ernest to some humble +employment, perhaps have him taught some trade by which he can earn an +honest living. It is not at all necessary that he should receive a +collegiate education. You are living at the West. That is well. He is +favorably situated for a poor boy, and will have little difficulty in +earning a livelihood. I don't care to have him associate with my boy +Clarence. They are cousins, it is true, but their lots in life will be +very different. +</P> + +<P> +I do not care to communicate with you again. +</P> + +<P> + STEPHEN RAY.<BR> +</P> + +<P> +Ernest read this letter with flushed cheeks. +</P> + +<P> +"I hate that man," he said hotly, "even if he is a relative. Uncle +Peter, I am sorry you ever applied to him in my behalf." +</P> + +<P> +"I would not, Ernest, if I had understood what manner of man he was." +</P> + +<P> +"I may meet him some time," said Ernest, thoughtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Would you claim relationship?" +</P> + +<P> +<I>"Never!"</I> declared Ernest, emphatically. "It was he, you say, who +prejudiced my grandfather against my poor father?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"In order to secure the estate himself?" +</P> + +<P> +"Undoubtedly that was his object." +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing could be meaner. I would rather live poor all my life than +get property by such means." +</P> + +<P> +"If you have no more questions to ask, Ernest, I will try to sleep. I +feel drowsy." +</P> + +<P> +"Do so, Uncle Peter." +</P> + +<P> +The old man closed his eyes, and soon all was silent. Presently Ernest +himself lay down on a small bed near by. When he awoke, hours +afterward, he lit a candle and went to Peter's bedside. +</P> + +<P> +The old man lay still--very still. With quick suspicion Ernest placed +his hand on his cheek. +</P> + +<P> +It was stone cold. +</P> + +<P> +"He is dead!" cried Ernest, and a feeling of desolation came over him. +</P> + +<P> +"I am all alone now," he murmured. +</P> + +<P> +But he was not wholly alone. There was a face glued against the +window-pane a face that he did not see. It was the tramp he had met +during the day at the village store. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A SUCCESSFUL ROBBERY. +</H3> + +<P> +The tramp stood with his face glued to the pane, looking in at the +boy. He could not quite understand what had taken place, but gathered +that the old man was dead. +</P> + +<P> +"So much the better!" he said. "It will make my task easier." +</P> + +<P> +He had hoped to find both asleep, and decided to wait near the house +till the boy went to bed. He had made many inquiries at the store of +Joe Marks, and the answers to his questions led him to believe that +old Peter had a large amount of money concealed in his cabin. +</P> + +<P> +Now, Tom Burns was a penniless tramp, who had wandered from Chicago on +a predatory trip, ready to take any property he could lay his hands +on. The chance that presented itself here was unusually tempting to a +man of his character. +</P> + +<P> +Earlier in the evening he had reached the cabin, but thought it best +to defer his plans until later, for Ernest was awake and stirring +about the room. +</P> + +<P> +The tramp withdrew to some distance from the cabin and lay down under +a tree, where he was soon fast asleep. Curiously, it was the very oak +tree under which Peter's little hoard was concealed, but this, of +course, he did not know. Had he been aware that directly beneath him +was a box containing a hundred dollars in gold he would have been +electrified and full of joy. +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns in his long and varied career had many times slept in the +open air, and he had no difficulty in falling asleep now. But asleep +he took no note of time, and when he woke up it was much later than he +intended. However, without delay he made his way to the cabin, and +arrived just as Ernest discovered the death of the old man whom he had +supposed to be his uncle. +</P> + +<P> +What time it was the tramp did not know, for it was years since he had +carried a watch; but as he stood with his face glued to the +window-pane he heard a clock in the cabin striking the hour of three. +</P> + +<P> +"Three o'clock," he ejaculated. "Well, I did have a nap!" +</P> + +<P> +The boy was awake and he thought it best to wait a while. +</P> + +<P> +"Why didn't I get here a little sooner?" he grumbled. "Then I could +have ransacked the cabin without trouble. Probably the old man has +been dead some time." +</P> + +<P> +He watched to see what Ernest would do. +</P> + +<P> +"He won't be such a fool as to sit up with the corpse," he muttered, a +little apprehensively. "That wouldn't do no good." +</P> + +<P> +Apparently Ernest was of this opinion, for after carefully covering up +the inanimate body he lay down again on his own bed. +</P> + +<P> +He did not fall asleep immediately, for the thought that he was in the +presence of death naturally affected his imagination. But gradually +his eyes closed, and his full, regular breathing gave notice that he +was locked in slumber. +</P> + +<P> +He had left the candle burning on the table. By the light which it +afforded the tramp could watch him, and at the end of twenty minutes +he felt satisfied that he could safely enter. +</P> + +<P> +He lifted the window, and passed into the room noiselessly. He had one +eye fixed on the sleeping boy, who might suddenly awake. He had taken +off his shoes, and left them on the grass just under the window. +</P> + +<P> +When Tom Burns found himself in the room, he made his way at once to +the trunk, which his watchful eye had already discovered. +</P> + +<P> +"That's where the old man keeps his gold, likely," he muttered. "I +hope it isn't locked." +</P> + +<P> +Usually the trunk would have been fastened, but the conversation which +Ernest had had with old Peter so engrossed his mind as to make him +less careful than usual. Tom Burns therefore had no difficulty in +lifting the lid. +</P> + +<P> +With eager fingers he explored the contents, and was not long in +discovering the box which contained the two gold coins. +</P> + +<P> +The discovery pleased and yet disappointed him. +</P> + +<P> +"Only ten dollars!" he muttered. "There ought to have been a pile of +these yellow boys. Perhaps there are more somewhere." +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile he slipped the two coins into his vest pocket It was not +much, but it was more than he had had in his possession for months. +</P> + +<P> +He continued his search, but failed to discover any more money. He +felt indignant. It seemed to him that he was badly used. That a miser +should have but a paltry ten dollars in his trunk was very +discreditable. +</P> + +<P> +"He must have some more somewhere," Burns reflected. +</P> + +<P> +It occurred to him that there might be hoards hidden under the floor, +or in the immediate neighborhood of the cabin. But it was night, and +there would be no profit in pursuing the search now. +</P> + +<P> +"To-morrow," he reflected, "the boy will be off making preparations +for buryin' the old man, and then I can make another visit." +</P> + +<P> +He closed the lid of the trunk, and with a general glance to see if +there was anything more worth taking, he rose to his feet and +prepared to leave the room. +</P> + +<P> +Just at this moment Ernest, who was probably dreaming of the old man, +spoke in his sleep. +</P> + +<P> +"Uncle Peter," he murmured. +</P> + +<P> +The tramp stood still, apprehensive that Ernest would open his eyes +and detect his presence. But the boy did not speak again. +</P> + +<P> +"I had better get," soliloquized Burns. +</P> + +<P> +He got out of the window quietly, but as the boy stirred again, he +hurried away with out stopping to shut it. +</P> + +<P> +When, a little after seven o'clock, Ernest woke up, the sun was +streaming in at the open window, and the cool air entered with it. +</P> + +<P> +"How came the window up?" thought Ernest, wondering. "I am sure I +didn't leave it open last night." +</P> + +<P> +There was nothing else to indicate that the cabin had been entered. +But the more Ernest thought it over, the more convinced he was that +there had been a visitor. +</P> + +<P> +What could have been his motive? +</P> + +<P> +With sudden suspicion, he went to the trunk and opened it. It was +evident that things had been disturbed. His eyes sought out the box +that contained the gold pieces. He opened it, and found that he had +been robbed. +</P> + +<P> +"Who could have done it?" he asked himself. +</P> + +<P> +He could not think of any one. He was acquainted with every one in the +little village, and he knew none that would be capable of theft. He +never thought of the ill-looking tramp whom he had met in Joe Marks' +store. +</P> + +<P> +Ten dollars was a considerable loss to him, for he had estimated that +it would defray the expenses of old Peter's interment. It was not so +bad as it might have been, however, for the hundred dollars of which +Peter had told him were still safe. +</P> + +<P> +"When I get that I must be careful," he said to himself. +</P> + +<P> +Though his rest had been disturbed, he felt ready to get up. There was +work for him to do. He must arrange for the burial of the old man with +whom he had lived so long, the only friend he felt he could claim. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest rose, and after dressing himself, made a frugal breakfast. He +looked sadly at Peter. Death was to him something new and strange, for +he did not remember ever having seen a dead man before. He must get +help, and with that object in view he went to the village, and sought +the store of Joe Marks. +</P> + +<P> +"What brings you out so early, my lad?" asked Joe. +</P> + +<P> +"Matter enough, Joe. My uncle is dead." +</P> + +<P> +He still called him uncle, though he knew now that Peter was no kin to +him. +</P> + +<P> +"Old Peter dead!" ejaculated Marks. "When did he die?" +</P> + +<P> +"Some time during the night. I wish you'd help me, for I don't know +what to do." +</P> + +<P> +"So I will, boy. We'll stand by you, won't we, Luke?" +</P> + +<P> +This was said as Luke Robbins entered the store. +</P> + +<P> +"To be sure we will, Ernest. We all like you." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I forgot to say," continued Ernest, "the cabin was entered last +night, and some money taken." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ALONE IN THE WORLD. +</H3> + +<P> +Joe Marks and Luke Robbins looked at each other in amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"Your cabin entered!" exclaimed Joe. "What do you say to that, Luke?" +</P> + +<P> +"I did not know there were any thieves around here," answered Luke. +"What was taken?" +</P> + +<P> +"An old trunk was opened--I carelessly left it unlocked--and two +five-dollar gold pieces were stolen out of it. At any rate I couldn't +find them this morning." +</P> + +<P> +"Two five-dollar gold pieces?" said Joe quickly. "Then I know who took +them." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean, Joe?" said Luke. "Out with it!" +</P> + +<P> +"You know that tramp who was here yesterday, Luke?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"He came round an hour ago, just after I had opened, and called for a +glass of whisky. 'Where is your money?' I asked. 'I've got plenty. You +needn't be afraid,' he said. Then I called upon him to show it, and he +pulled out a five-dollar gold piece. Of course I was surprised. 'Where +did you get it?' I asked, suspiciously. 'Yesterday you said you had no +money.' 'I had that,' he answered, 'but I didn't want to spend it. You +see it was a gift from my dyin' mother, and I wanted to keep it for +her sake.' With that he rolled up his eyes and looked sanctimonious. +Then I asked him how it happened that he was ready to spend it now." +</P> + +<P> +"What did he say?" +</P> + +<P> +"He said that he was so parched with thirst that he felt obliged to do +it." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you take his money?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. I was short of change. You see I changed a gold piece for the boy +yesterday. Besides, I wasn't sure the piece was good, seeing who +offered it. I thought it might be bogus." +</P> + +<P> +"Then he didn't get his whisky?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. He went away disappointed. I don't doubt, Ernest, that the gold +piece was one of yours. How did the fellow get in?" +</P> + +<P> +"Through the window. I found it open when I woke up." +</P> + +<P> +"You must have slept sound?" +</P> + +<P> +"I did. I slept an hour later than I generally do." +</P> + +<P> +"Was anything else taken?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not that I could discover." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you mean to say that your uncle had but ten dollars?" asked Joe +incredulously. +</P> + +<P> +"It was all he had in the trunk." +</P> + +<P> +"I always thought him a rich man." +</P> + +<P> +"He was not," said Ernest quietly. +</P> + +<P> +"Was that all the money he had? He had the reputation of being a +miser, with hoards of gold hidden in or near the cabin." +</P> + +<P> +"I know of one sum of money he had concealed, but it was not a large +amount. He told me about it before he died." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad you won't be left penniless, lad; did he own the cabin?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nobody owned it," said Joe Marks. "It was built years ago by a man +who suddenly left it and went away, nobody knew where. It wasn't worth +much, and no one ever took the trouble to claim it. When your uncle +came here he found it empty and took possession of it, and there he +has lived ever since. So you'll have some money, Ernest?" +</P> + +<P> +"Only a hundred dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"What will you do? What are your plans?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. I haven't had time to think." +</P> + +<P> +"I might find a place for you in the store. We wouldn't like to have +you go away." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Joe. You are very kind. But there's no chance for me +around here. I'll take the money, and go somewhere. But first I must +see Uncle Peter buried. Will you help me?" +</P> + +<P> +"To be sure we will. Was he your only relation?" +</P> + +<P> +"He was not my relation at all." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, you have always called him uncle." +</P> + +<P> +"I supposed him to be my uncle, but yesterday he told me that he was +only a servant in my father's family, and that on my father's death +he was placed in charge of me." +</P> + +<P> +"I reckon that's so. You didn't favor the old man at all. You look as +if you came from better stock." +</P> + +<P> +"All the same I shall miss him," said Ernest sadly. "He was a good +friend to me, Peter was." +</P> + +<P> +"Did he tell you whether you had any kin?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I have a cousin of my father's living in New York State. He is a +rich man. He inherited the property that ought to have gone to my +father." +</P> + +<P> +"How did that happen?" +</P> + +<P> +"He prejudiced my grandfather against my father, and so the estate was +willed to him." +</P> + +<P> +"The mean scoundrel!" exclaimed Luke indignantly. "I'd like to have +him in my hands for a few minutes; I'd give him a lesson." +</P> + +<P> +"I should pity him if ever you got hold of him, Luke," said Joe Marks. +"But we must consider what we can do for the boy." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish we could get hold of that thief of a tramp!" +</P> + +<P> +"Probably we shall. He'll find his way back here sooner or later." +</P> + +<P> +But the burial of Peter Brant was the first consideration. No +undertaker was called, for in that small settlement one would not have +been supported. The ceremonies of death were few and simple. A rude +wooden box was put together, and Peter was placed in it, dressed as he +was at the time of his death. There was an itinerant minister who +preached in the village once in four weeks, but he was away now, and +so there could be no religious ceremony beyond reading a chapter from +the New Testament. Joe Marks, who had received a decent education, +officiated as reader. Then the interment took place. In the forenoon +of the second day Peter's body was laid away, and Ernest was left +practically alone in the world. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile some account must be given of Tom Burns, the tramp. +</P> + +<P> +When he found it impossible to obtain whisky with the gold he had +stolen, he felt very despondent. His throat was parched, and his +craving became intolerable. He felt that he had been decidedly +ill-used. What was the use of money unless it could be converted into +what his soul desired? But there was no way of changing the coin +except at the store of Joe Marks. To ask any of the villagers would +only have excited surprise and suspicion. Besides, the tramp felt sure +that Ernest would soon discover that he had been robbed. He would +naturally be suspected, especially as Joe Marks had knowledge of a +gold piece being in his possession. +</P> + +<P> +There was a small settlement about five miles off, called Daneboro. It +was probably the nearest place where he could get a glass of whisky. +He must walk there. It was not a pleasant prospect, for the tramp was +lazy and not fond of walking, though he had been compelled to do a +good deal of it. Still, it seemed to be a necessity, and when he left +the store of Joe Marks he set out for Daneboro. +</P> + +<P> +Thirst was not the only trouble with Tom Burns. He had not eaten +anything for about twenty-four hours, and his neglected stomach +rebelled. He tightened a girdle about his waist, and walked on in +great discomfort. He had perhaps gone two miles when he came to a +cabin similar in appearance to that of old Peter Brant. A woman stood +in the door-way. +</P> + +<P> +"My good lady," said Tom, putting on a pitiful expression, "I am a +very unfortunate man." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you?" said the woman, scanning him critically. "You look like a +tramp." +</P> + +<P> +"I do, madam, yet I was once a thriving merchant." +</P> + +<P> +"You don't look like it." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't; I acknowledge it." +</P> + +<P> +"How did you lose your property, if you ever had any?" +</P> + +<P> +"By signin' notes for my brother. It swept off all my possessions." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I pity you. That's the way my man lost five hundred dollars, +nearly all he had. What can I do for you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Madam, I am hungry, very hungry." +</P> + +<P> +"Set right down on the settle, and I'll give you what's left of our +breakfast." +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns obeyed with alacrity. +</P> + +<P> +A plate of cold bacon, a cold potato, and some corn bread were placed +before him, and he ate them almost voraciously. There had been times +in his life when he would have turned up his nose at such fare, but +not now. +</P> + +<P> +"My good lady," he said, "you have saved my life." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, you must 'a' been hungry," said the woman. "A man that'll eat +cold vittles, especially cold potato, ain't shammin'." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish I had money to offer you--" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, never mind that, you're welcome. Can I do anything more for you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I feel sick, and sometimes, though I am a temperance man, I take +whisky for my health. If you had just a sup--" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, we haven't, and if we had I wouldn't give you any." +</P> + +<P> +"You misjudge me, madam. You must not think I am a drinker." +</P> + +<P> +"It's no matter what I think. You can't get any whisky here." +</P> + +<P> +At Daneboro Tom fared better. He changed his gold piece, drank a pint +of whisky, and the next day retraced his steps to old Peter's cabin. +He felt satisfied that somewhere near the cabin there were treasures +concealed, and he meant to secure them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TRAMP TURNS UP AGAIN. +</H3> + +<P> +When Peter Brant was laid away under a tree not far from the cabin +where he had ended his days, Ernest felt that he was at liberty to +begin the new life that lay before him. Despite the natural sadness +which he felt at parting with his old friend, he looked forward not +without pleasant anticipations to the future and what it might have in +store for him. +</P> + +<P> +Oak Forks had few attractions for him. Time had often dragged wearily +with him. He had a literary taste, but could not get hold of books. +Peter Brant had about a dozen volumes, none of which he had read +himself, but Ernest had read them over and over again. None of the +neighbors owned any books. Occasionally a newspaper found its way into +the settlement, and this, when it came into Ernest's hands, was +devoured, advertisements and all. +</P> + +<P> +How, then, was his time passed? Partly in hunting, partly in fishing, +for there was a small river two miles away; but one could not fish or +hunt all the time. He had often felt a vague yearning to go to +Chicago, or New York, or anywhere where there would be a broader field +and large opportunities, and he had broached the subject to Peter. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't afford to go, Ernest," the old man would reply. "I must live +on the little I have, for I am too old to work." +</P> + +<P> +"But I am young. I can work," the boy would answer. +</P> + +<P> +"A boy like you couldn't earn much. Wait till I am dead and then you +can go where you like." +</P> + +<P> +This would always close the discussion, for Ernest did not like to +consider such a contingency. Peter represented his world, for he had +no one to cling to except the man whom he supposed to be his uncle. +</P> + +<P> +Now, however, the time had come when he could go forth and enter upon +a career. Accordingly he declined Joe Marks' offer to take him into +the store. He understood very well that it was only meant in kindness, +and that he was not really needed. +</P> + +<P> +"You don't need me, Joe," he said. "You are very kind, but there must +be real work for me somewhere." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, my lad, I won't stand in your way, but I've known you a long +time, and I shall hate to lose sight of you." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll come back some day, Joe--that is, if I am prosperous, and can." +</P> + +<P> +"If you are not prosperous, if you fall sick, and need a home and a +friend, come back, then. Don't forget your old friend Joe Marks." +</P> + +<P> +"I won't, Joe," said Ernest heartily. +</P> + +<P> +"You've got another friend here, Ernest," added Luke Robbins. "I'm a +poor man, and my friendship isn't worth much, but you have it, all the +same." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest grasped the hands of both. He felt that each was a friend worth +having. +</P> + +<P> +"You may be sure that I won't forget either of you," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"When do you expect to go, Ernest, and where?" asked Joe Marks. +</P> + +<P> +"I shall get away to-morrow, I think, but where I shall go I can't +tell yet." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you need any money?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; my uncle left me some." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest had not yet secured the gold, but he knew exactly where it was, +and now that all his business was ended, he felt that it was time to +possess himself of it. Accordingly he took a spade from the house and +bent his steps in the direction of the old oak tree. +</P> + +<P> +He went alone, for he thought it best not to take anyone into his +confidence. Indeed the only persons whom he would have thought of +trusting were Joe Marks and Luke Robbins, and they were both employed, +Joe in his store and Luke on a hunting expedition. +</P> + +<P> +Arrived at the tree, Ernest measured off five feet in the direction +mentioned by Peter and began to dig. It did not take him long to reach +the box, for it was only a foot beneath the surface of the ground. +</P> + +<P> +It proved to be a cigar-box, for Peter was fond of smoking, though he +usually smoked a pipe, as being more economical. Ernest lifted the lid +and saw a small roll enclosed in brown wrapping-paper, which, on being +removed, revealed twenty five-dollar gold pieces. He regarded them +with satisfaction, for they afforded him the means of leaving Oak +Forks and going out into the great world which he had such a curiosity +to enter. +</P> + +<P> +But Ernest was not the only one who regarded the gold pieces with +satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +Hidden behind a tree only a few feet away was a person with whom we +are already acquainted. It was Tom Burns, the tramp and vagabond. +</P> + +<P> +He, too, was out in search of gold. He had come from Daneboro and was +prowling round the neighborhood, searching for old Peter's hidden +treasure. He had deliberated as to whether the cabin or the fields was +the more likely place to have been selected. He had nothing in +particular to guide him. He did not, however, venture to approach the +house just yet, as it would probably be occupied by Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish I knowed where the old man hid his boodle," soliloquized Tom. +"I can't dig all over." +</P> + +<P> +In fact digging was not in Tom's line. It was too much like work, and +if there was anything to which Tom was bitterly opposed it was work of +any kind. +</P> + +<P> +"The boy must know. Likely the old man told him," he finally +concluded. "I'll watch the boy." +</P> + +<P> +He feared he might be too late. Had it been his own case, he would +have searched for the gold immediately after the funeral. He naturally +supposed that Ernest would do the same. He therefore lost no time in +prowling around the cabin, with the especial object of watching +Ernest's movements. He was especially favored, as he thought, when +from a distance he saw Ernest leaving the cabin with the spade in his +hand. +</P> + +<P> +The tramp's heart was filled with joy. +</P> + +<P> +"He is going to dig for the treasure," he said. "I'll keep him in +sight." +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns had no difficulty in doing this, for Ernest bent his steps +in his direction. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope he won't discover me," thought Burns; "at any rate, not till I +find out where he's going to dig." +</P> + +<P> +All things seemed to favor the tramp. Ernest stopped when he came to +the oak tree, and it was evident this was the spot of which he was in +search. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, that's where I was lying the other night!" thought Burns. "If I +had only knowed! Why, the gold was right under me all the time. If I'd +found it then, I should have gone off with it before this time. How +ever, it isn't too late now." +</P> + +<P> +He watched with subdued eagerness while Ernest was digging. He no +longer doubted that this was the place where the gold was hidden. +Ernest could have no other object in digging in this place. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder how much there is," thought Burns. "There ought to be as +much as a thousand dollars. Perhaps there's two or three. But even if +there is only a thousand, it will set me on my feet. I'll soon get out +of this neighborhood. I'll go to Chicago or New York, and I'll live in +clover. I'll make up for lost time. I've been a vagabond long enough. +I'll buy some new clothes, and set up as a respectable man." +</P> + +<P> +When Ernest found the roll of coins, and taking them out, put them in +his pocket, he was not disappointed, for he knew what to expect, but +Tom Burns was in dismay. +</P> + +<P> +"Only a hundred dollars?" he soliloquized. "What's a hundred dollars? +The old man ought to be ashamed of himself. Why, it isn't +respectable!" +</P> + +<P> +However, one thing was certain. A hundred dollars was better than +nothing. It would take him to Chicago, and enable him to live in +comfort for a while. Besides, he might multiply it many times at the +gaming table, for Tom Burns had been a gambler in his day. He +certainly did not propose to disdain the sum which fortune had placed +in his way simply because it was so small. Oh, no, Tom Burns was not +that sort of a man. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest put the gold pieces in his pocket and turned to go back to the +cabin, when a voice reached him. +</P> + +<P> +"Look here, boy, I'll trouble you to hand over that money." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A CRITICAL SITUATION. +</H3> + +<P> +Ernest turned and regarded the tramp in amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" he demanded. +</P> + +<P> +"I want that money you just dug up," replied Tom Burns boldly. +</P> + +<P> +Instantly Ernest comprehended his danger. He was a stout boy, but the +tramp was a large man, weighing probably fifty pounds more than +himself. Moreover, he looked desperate and reckless. The boy felt that +in strength he was no match for the thief who confronted him. +</P> + +<P> +Yet he could not bear the thought of allowing himself to be robbed. +Left penniless, how could he carry out the plans which he had in view? +He tried to gain time. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you want to rob me?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I have just as much right to that money as you," said the tramp. +</P> + +<P> +"How do you make that out?" +</P> + +<P> +"The man who put it there owed me money." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think I am a fool to believe that ridiculous story?" +</P> + +<P> +"You'd better be careful how you talk," said Burns menacingly. "What I +say I mean." +</P> + +<P> +"Then all I can say is that you have told a falsehood. You are the +man, I suppose, who entered our cabin at night and stole money out of +a trunk." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know anything about your trunk," said Burns mendaciously. +"But I have no time to talk--I want that money." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest looked about him, hoping to see some one to whom he could +appeal for help, but no one appeared in sight. Next he looked at the +tramp, to note if he were armed. To his relief Burns did not appear to +have any weapon with him. Rapidly he determined not to give up the +money without a struggle. +</P> + +<P> +"I won't give up the money to a thief," he said boldly. +</P> + +<P> +As he spoke he turned and ran as fast as he was able. +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns uttered an execration and prepared to pursue him. +</P> + +<P> +Winged with fear of losing his gold, Ernest flew rather than ran, not +heeding the direction he was taking. The tramp accepted the challenge +and put forth his utmost speed in the hope of overtaking him. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll pay for this, boy," he growled. "Just let me catch you." +</P> + +<P> +But Ernest did not mean to be caught. Being a fast runner for a boy of +his size, he bade fair to out-distance his pursuer. But directly in +his path was an excavation of considerable size and depth. Ernest +paused on the brink to consider whether to descend the sloping sides +or to go round it. The delay was fatal. The tramp saw his advantage, +and, pushing forward, seized him by the collar. +</P> + +<P> +"I've caught you!" he cried, triumphantly. "Now give me the money." +</P> + +<P> +There was a brief struggle, but a boy, even a strong boy, was no match +for a man taller and heavier than himself. The gold pieces were +snatched from him, and the tramp, releasing his hold, was about to +make off in triumph when he found himself seized in turn. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, you contemptible thief!" exclaimed Luke Robbins, for it was he +whose opportune coming had saved Ernest from being plundered. "Are you +trying to rob the boy?" +</P> + +<P> +He seized the tramp by the collar, forced him to give up the gold he +had just snatched from Ernest, and flung him on his back. +</P> + +<P> +The tramp's surprise deepened to dismay when, looking up, he saw the +stalwart hunter with stern face looking down upon him. +</P> + +<P> +"It was my money," he whined. +</P> + +<P> +"Your money, you owdacious liar! Don't tell me that or I'll treat you +worse." +</P> + +<P> +"But it was. I had hidden it under a tree. I came along just as the +boy dug it up. I told him to give it to me, for it was mine, but he +wouldn't, and then I chased him." +</P> + +<P> +"What's the truth of the matter, Ernest?" asked Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"It was money that Peter Brant had hidden away. He told me on his +deathbed where to look for it." +</P> + +<P> +"I thought it was Peter's." +</P> + +<P> +"I had just dug it up and put it in my pocket when this man came +along. He ordered me to give it him." +</P> + +<P> +"Did he say he hid it there?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. He said that Peter owed him money, and he wanted it." +</P> + +<P> +"You appear to be a very ingenious liar," remarked Luke, turning to +the tramp. "Which of these stories do you want me to believe?" +</P> + +<P> +"I hid it there!" said the tramp, doggedly. +</P> + +<P> +"Then why did you tell the boy that Peter owed you money?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because I didn't think he would believe that I hid it." +</P> + +<P> +"You are right there. He don't believe it, nor do I. One thing +more--were you the man that broke into his cabin and stole two gold +pieces from his trunk?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. I don't know anything about it." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course you would deny it. All the same, I have no doubt that you +were the man." +</P> + +<P> +"If I had done it he would have seen me." +</P> + +<P> +"That won't go down. He was asleep. Ernest, what shall I do with this +fellow? Shall I shoot him?" and Luke Robbins pulled out a revolver, +which he handled in a significant way. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't shoot! Spare my life, Mr. Robbins!" cried the tramp, in great +alarm. +</P> + +<P> +"Humph! I don't see the good. Your life is of no value to the world." +</P> + +<P> +"Let him go, Luke," said Ernest, "but tell him to clear out of this +neighborhood." +</P> + +<P> +"It is treating him too well. Still, I will do as you say. Hark, you +fellow, what is your name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Tom Burns." +</P> + +<P> +"You are a disgrace to the name of Burns. If I spare your life will +you leave this neighborhood and never come back?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, yes," answered the tramp, earnestly. +</P> + +<P> +"You'd better keep that promise. If I ever catch sight of you again, +I'll shoot with out asking you any questions. Now <I>get!</I>" +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns got up and started away with celerity. He thought it wise to +put as great a distance as possible between himself and the tall and +stalwart hunter, fearing that he would repent his leniency and end his +life by a stray bullet. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll scare him a little," said Luke. +</P> + +<P> +He fired after the fugitive, taking care not to hit him, however. Tom +Burns heard the bullet whistling by his head, and with a cry of terror +increased his speed till he reached a place where he felt secure. +Then, sinking down on the ground, he uttered an ejaculation of relief. +</P> + +<P> +"That is a terrible man!" he panted. "He'd as soon take my life as +not. I won't get in his way again if I can help it." +</P> + +<P> +Luke Robbins laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"That is my parting message," he said. "Well, Ernest, where do you +want to go? What are your plans?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," answered Ernest, gravely. "I am not sure that I have +any plans. I feel upset completely." +</P> + +<P> +"Sit down here and I'll talk to you." +</P> + +<P> +He pointed to a little ridge which would serve as a seat. +</P> + +<P> +The two sat down together. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, how much money have you got?" +</P> + +<P> +"A hundred dollars," +</P> + +<P> +"It isn't much. Is that all your uncle left?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think so. He said nothing about having more." +</P> + +<P> +"It isn't much to begin the world with. I wish for your sake, boy, +that I had some to give you, but I never knew how to get together +money." +</P> + +<P> +"I guess it will do, Luke. I have health and strength. I think I can +make my way." +</P> + +<P> +"But you have no trade." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Ernest. You've got me there. I am only a hunter, but I don't make +much of a living. I don't recommend you to follow in my steps. I'd +like to keep you with me, but it wouldn't pay you." +</P> + +<P> +"One thing is certain, Luke. I must get away from here. There is +nothing I can do in Oak Forks." +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you want to go, lad?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. I might go eastward to Chicago or New York, or I might +go West to California. Have you ever been to either place, Luke?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, lad, but if I had my choice I'd go westward. I've heard fine +stories of California. I think I should like to see that land, and +push on to the Pacific ocean." +</P> + +<P> +"Why don't you go?" +</P> + +<P> +"Stop a minute! Let me think!" +</P> + +<P> +The hunter assumed a thoughtful look. He remained silent for five +minutes. Then he said, as if to himself, "Why not?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest still kept silence, but his eyes were fixed upon the face of +the hunter. +</P> + +<P> +Finally Luke looked up. +</P> + +<P> +"How do you want to go, lad?" he asked. "Do you want to go by the +railroad, or are you in for a tramp over the mountains and plains?" +</P> + +<P> +"That depends on whether I am to go alone or not. If I go alone I +shall prefer to go by rail." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you in for a long tramp with me?" asked Luke, his face glowing +with new-born enthusiasm. +</P> + +<P> +"I will go anywhere with you, Luke." +</P> + +<P> +"Then it is agreed. We will start to-morrow." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ON THE ROAD. +</H3> + +<P> +Nothing could have pleased Ernest better than to travel with the +companionship of Luke Robbins. He felt that he should be safe with the +sturdy hunter, who was strong, resolute, and reliable. +</P> + +<P> +True, he was not a man who had succeeded, as men reckon success. He +had lived comfortably, but it had never occurred to him to lay up +money, nor indeed had he had any opportunity to do so. He mentioned +this as an objection to the trip which he had himself proposed. +</P> + +<P> +"My lad," he said, "I am afraid I can't go with you, after all." +</P> + +<P> +"Why not, Luke?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because you're rich, compared with me." +</P> + +<P> +"I have but a hundred dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"And I well, lad, I'm ashamed to say so, but I have only fifteen." +</P> + +<P> +"We'll share and share alike, Luke." +</P> + +<P> +"No, lad. Luke Robbins is too proud to live upon a boy. I reckon I'd +better stay at home." +</P> + +<P> +"But I want you to go and take care of me, Luke. How can I travel +alone?" +</P> + +<P> +Luke brightened up. +</P> + +<P> +"That puts a different face on it, Ernest. If you think you need me, +I'll go." +</P> + +<P> +"I do need you." +</P> + +<P> +"Then go I will; but one thing is understood--I won't take any of your +money." +</P> + +<P> +"There won't be any trouble on that score, Luke." +</P> + +<P> +So the two prepared for their trip. Ernest, with Luke's help, +purchased an outfit, and on the morning of the third day the two +started out together, neither having a very definite idea where they +were going except that their course was westward. +</P> + +<P> +Luke knew very little of the States and Territories that lay between +Oak Forks and the Pacific coast. Ernest, whose education was decidedly +superior to his companion's, was able to give him some information. So +they plodded on, making slow progress, but enjoying the unconventional +life, and the scenery on the way. +</P> + +<P> +They were in no hurry. They stopped to hunt and fish, and when the +weather was unfavorable they stayed overnight at some wayside cabin. +When the nights were fine they camped out, and enjoyed a sound rest +under the open canopy of heaven. +</P> + +<P> +Part of their way led through woods and over prairies, but here and +there they came to a thriving village. There was little occasion to +spend money, but still they were compelled to use some. +</P> + +<P> +One day--it was some weeks from the time when they started--Luke +turned to Ernest with a sober face. +</P> + +<P> +"Ernest," he said, "I think you'll have to leave me at the next +poor-house." +</P> + +<P> +"Why, Luke?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because my money is nearly all gone. I started with fifteen dollars. +Now I have but one." +</P> + +<P> +"But I have plenty left." +</P> + +<P> +"That doesn't help me." +</P> + +<P> +"I want to share it with you, Luke." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you remember what I said when we set out, lad?" +</P> + +<P> +"What was it?" +</P> + +<P> +"That I would not touch a dollar of your money." +</P> + +<P> +"Then do you mean to leave me alone, Luke?" pleaded Ernest +reproachfully. +</P> + +<P> +"You are a boy and I am a man. I'm forty years old, Ernest. Is it +right that I should live on a boy less than half my age?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest looked at him in perplexity. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there no way of getting more money?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"If we were in California now, and at the mines, I might make shift to +fill my purse; but there are no mines hereabouts." +</P> + +<P> +"Let us keep on, and something may turn up." +</P> + +<P> +When this conversation took place they were approaching Emmonsville, a +thriving town in Nebraska. As they walked through the principal +street, it was clear that something had happened which had created +general excitement. Groups of people were talking earnestly, and their +faces wore a perturbed and anxious look. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the matter?" asked Luke, addressing a well-to-do appearing +man. +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't you heard of the bank robbery over at Lee's Falls?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Two men, fully armed, rode up to the door, and, dismounting, entered +the bank. One stepped up to the window of the paying teller, and +covering him with his revolver, demanded five thousand dollars. At the +same time the other stood in the doorway, also with a loaded +revolver." +</P> + +<P> +"Why didn't the teller shoot him down?" asked Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"My friend, bank officers are not provided with loaded revolvers when +on duty. Besides, the ruffian had the drop on him." +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" asked Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"What could the teller do? Life is more than money, and he had no +alternative. The fellow got the money." +</P> + +<P> +"Did he get away with it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; they both mounted their horses and rode off, no one daring to +interfere. Each held his revolver in readiness to shoot the first man +that barred his way." +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you say this happened?" +</P> + +<P> +"At Lee's Falls." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it near at hand?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is fifteen miles away." +</P> + +<P> +"But why should that robbery create excitement here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because we have a bank here, and we are expecting a visit from the +same parties." +</P> + +<P> +"Who are they?" +</P> + +<P> +"They are supposed to be the Fox brothers, two of the most notorious +criminals in the West. Numberless stories are told of their bold +robberies, both from individuals and from banks." +</P> + +<P> +"How long have these fellows been preying upon the community?" +</P> + +<P> +"We have heard of them hereabouts for three years. It is said they +came from Missouri." +</P> + +<P> +"Is there no one brave enough or bold enough to interfere with them?" +</P> + +<P> +"More than one has tried it, but no one has succeeded. Twice they were +captured by a posse of men, but in each case they broke jail before it +was time for the trial. +</P> + +<P> +"It seems to me you haven't many men of spirit in Nebraska." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you think you would be a match for them," said the citizen in +a sarcastic tone. +</P> + +<P> +Luke Robbins smiled and handled his revolver in a significant way. +</P> + +<P> +"If you think you can kill or capture them, stranger, there's a chance +to make a good sum of money." +</P> + +<P> +"How is that?" +</P> + +<P> +"A thousand dollars is offered for either, dead or alive." +</P> + +<P> +"A thousand dollars!" repeated Luke, his face glowing with excitement. +"Is that straight?" +</P> + +<P> +"It will be paid cheerfully. You can bet on that." +</P> + +<P> +"Who offers it?" +</P> + +<P> +"The Governor of the State." +</P> + +<P> +Luke Robbins became thoughtful and remained silent. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you hear that, lad?" he asked, when he and Ernest were alone. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Luke." +</P> + +<P> +"A thousand dollars would do us a great deal of good." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true, Luke, but it would be as much as your life is worth to +hunt the rascals." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't try to make a coward of me, Ernest." +</P> + +<P> +"I couldn't do that, Luke. I only want you to be prudent." +</P> + +<P> +"Listen, lad. I want that thousand dollars, and I'm going to make a +try for it. Come along with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Where are you going?" +</P> + +<P> +"To the bank. I'm going to have a talk with the officers, and then +I'll decide what to do." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE QUAKER DETECTIVE. +</H3> + +<P> +At the Emmonsville bank they were on their guard. The expectation of a +visit from the Fox brothers caused anxiety and apprehension. The evil +reputation of these men, and their desperate character, made them +formidable. +</P> + +<P> +When Luke Robbins entered the place he was regarded with suspicion. +His hunting-costume was not unlike that of a bandit. But the fact that +he had a young companion tended to disarm suspicion. No one could +suspect Ernest of complicity with outlaws, and the Fox brothers had +never been known to carry a boy with them. +</P> + +<P> +Luke was unused to banks. So far as he knew, he had never entered one +before. He looked around him in uncertainty, and finally approached +the window of the receiving teller. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you the boss of this institution?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +The teller smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"No," he said. "Perhaps you want to see the president?" +</P> + +<P> +"I guess he's the man." +</P> + +<P> +"If you will give me a hint of the nature of your business, I will +speak to him." +</P> + +<P> +"I hear you're expectin' a visit from the Fox brothers." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you anything to do with them?" asked the teller with some +suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +"I want to have something to do with them," returned Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't understand you." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I'll tell you what I mean. I hear there's a big reward out for +their capture." +</P> + +<P> +"A thousand dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"I want that thousand dollars, and I want it bad." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be very glad if you become entitled to it. Any one who will +rid the State of either of these notorious outlaws will richly deserve +it." +</P> + +<P> +"That's the business I came about. Now can I see the president, if +that's what you call him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a minute and I will find out." +</P> + +<P> +The teller went to an inner room, and returned with a stout, +gray-headed man of about fifty. +</P> + +<P> +He looked curiously at Luke through the window. Then, as if reassured, +he smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"I understand you want to see me," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"About the Fox brothers?" +</P> + +<P> +"You're right there, squire." +</P> + +<P> +"Go to the last door and I will admit you." +</P> + +<P> +Luke Robbins did as directed, and soon found himself in the office of +the president of the bank. +</P> + +<P> +"You are anxious to secure the reward offered for the capture of these +outlaws, I believe." +</P> + +<P> +"That's straight." +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you come to me, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because a man told me you expected a visit from them." +</P> + +<P> +"That is not quite exact. I don't expect a visit, but I am afraid they +may take it into their heads to call here." +</P> + +<P> +"Suppose they do." +</P> + +<P> +A shade of anxiety appeared upon the face of the president. +</P> + +<P> +"We should try to foil their plans," he answered. +</P> + +<P> +"Wouldn't you like to have me on hand when they come?" +</P> + +<P> +The president looked over Luke Robbins carefully. He was impressed by +his bold, resolute air, and muscular figure. Evidently he would be a +dangerous man to meet. +</P> + +<P> +"You are a strong, resolute fellow, I judge," he said thoughtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Try me and see." +</P> + +<P> +"You would not be afraid to meet these villains single-handed?" +</P> + +<P> +"I never saw the man yet that I was afraid to meet." +</P> + +<P> +"So far, so good, but it is not so much strength that is needed as +quickness. A weak man is more than a match for a strong one if he gets +the drop on him." +</P> + +<P> +"That's so, but I reckon it'll take a smart man to get the drop on me. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you to propose? I suppose you have formed some plan." +</P> + +<P> +"I would like to stay around the bank, and be on the watch for these +fellows." +</P> + +<P> +"Remain here and I will consult with the cashier." +</P> + +<P> +Five minutes later the president rejoined his visitor. +</P> + +<P> +"I have no objection to securing your services," he said, "if it can +be done without exciting suspicion. In your present dress your mission +would at once be guessed, and the outlaws would be on their guard. +Have you any objection to changing your appearance?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not a particle. All I want is to get a lick at them outlaws." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I think we shall have to make you a little less formidable. Have +you any objections to becoming a Quaker?" +</P> + +<P> +Luke Robbins laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"What! one of those broad-brimmed fellows?" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Will I look the character?" +</P> + +<P> +"Dress will accomplish a good deal. I will tell you what put the idea +into my head. We used to employ as janitor an old Quaker--a good, +honest, reliable man. He was about your build. A year since he died, +but we have hanging up in my office the suit he was accustomed to +wear. Put it on, and it will make a complete change in your +appearance. Your face will hardly correspond to your dress, but those +who see the garb won't look any further." +</P> + +<P> +"That's all right, boss. I don't care how you dress me up. But what +will I do?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think it will be well for you to keep near the bank, watching +carefully all who approach. You never saw the Fox brothers, I +presume?" +</P> + +<P> +"I never had that pleasure." +</P> + +<P> +"Most people don't regard it as a pleasure. I will give you some +description of them, which may help you to identify them. One is a +tall man, very nearly as tall as yourself; the other is at least three +inches shorter. Both have dark hair, which they wear long. They have a +swaggering walk, and look their real characters." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think it'll be hard to spot them. They generally ride on +horseback, don't they?" +</P> + +<P> +"Generally, but not always. They rode into Lee's Falls and up to the +bank entrance on horseback. Perhaps for that reason they may appear in +different guise here." +</P> + +<P> +"You haven't any pictures of them, have you?" +</P> + +<P> +The president laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"No one was ever bold enough to invite them into a photographer's to +have their pictures taken," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"I see. Well, I think I shall know them." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps not. They often adopt disguises." +</P> + +<P> +"They won't come as Quakers?" +</P> + +<P> +"That is hardly likely. I can give you one help. However they may be +dressed, their eyes will betray them. They have flashing black ones, +and sharp, aquiline noses." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll know them," said Luke confidently. +</P> + +<P> +"I observe that you have a boy with you? +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it your son?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I wish he were. I'd be proud to have such a son as that." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps we can use him. The bank messenger--a young man--is sick, and +he can take his place temporarily." +</P> + +<P> +"Is there any pay for such work?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but it is small. We will give him ten dollars a week. Of course +he must be honest and trustworthy." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll stake my life on that boy, boss," said Luke warmly. +</P> + +<P> +"His appearance is in his favor. Will you call him?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest was waiting in the doorway. He was anxious to learn the result +of Luke's interview with the president of the bank. He had thought it +very doubtful whether his proposal would be looked upon favorably, but +hoped some good might come of it. +</P> + +<P> +"The boss wants to see you," announced Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"All right; I will follow you. What luck are you meeting with, Luke?" +</P> + +<P> +"Good. I've hired out to the bank as a Quaker detective." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest stared at his companion in astonishment. He thought it was a +joke. +</P> + +<P> +When he came into the presence of the president the latter said, "I +understand from your friend here that you would like employment?" +</P> + +<P> +"I should," answered Ernest promptly. +</P> + +<P> +"The post of bank messenger is temporarily vacant. Would you like it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir, if you think I can fill it." +</P> + +<P> +"You are rather young for the place, but I think you will fill it +satisfactorily. We will instruct you in the duties." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, sir; I accept it with thanks." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course it is necessary that you should be honest and reliable. But +upon those points I have no doubt. Your face speaks for you." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir. When do you wish me to begin my duties?" +</P> + +<P> +"To-morrow. I suppose you are not as yet provided with a +boarding-place. You can get settled to-day, and report at the bank +to-morrow morning at nine." +</P> + +<P> +"Wait here a minute, Ernest," said Luke. "I will join you at once." +</P> + +<P> +When Luke emerged from the president's room he was attired in the +Quaker costume of his predecessor. Ernest stared at him for a moment, +then burst into a loud laugh. +</P> + +<P> +"Why does thee laugh?" asked Luke mildly. +</P> + +<P> +This sent Ernest into a second convulsion. +</P> + +<P> +"Do I look like a man of peace?" asked Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; shall you live up to the character?" +</P> + +<P> +"Until I see the Fox brothers. Then the lamb will become a lion." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AN ARMED ESCORT. +</H3> + +<P> +Luke Robbins entered at once upon his duties as janitor of the +Emmonsville bank. It was rather difficult, however, to supply him with +employment enough to account for his being in constant attendance. +</P> + +<P> +He was provided with a broom, and in the morning swept the bank. +Sometimes he washed the windows; at other times he sat on a bench in +the rear of the bank, ready for any call upon his services. So far as +garb went, he resembled a Quaker, but his brown face and sharp eyes +hardly harmonized with his assumed character. Still less did the +revolver which he carried in an inside pocket. +</P> + +<P> +Several days passed, and though Luke kept a sharp lookout for the Fox +brothers, he did not catch a glimpse of anyone who suggested or +resembled them. +</P> + +<P> +Then one morning Luke went to the bank as usual and put on his Quaker +garb. +</P> + +<P> +About eleven o'clock an elderly man appeared and presented a check for +five hundred dollars. The money was paid him, and then he lingered a +moment, ill at ease. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't like to have so much money about me," he said, in a tone that +betrayed anxiety. +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt you will find plenty who would be willing to relieve you of +it," rejoined the paying teller, with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"That's what I am afraid of. They do say that the Fox brothers have +been seen not far away." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it absolutely necessary that you should have the money in your +possession? You could leave it in the bank, or most of it." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall want to use some of it to-morrow, and I live ten miles +away--in Claremont." +</P> + +<P> +"How are you going back?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have a buggy outside." +</P> + +<P> +"The road to Claremont is rather lonely, I believe." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Why don't you get some one to go with you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know any one I could get." +</P> + +<P> +"I can find you a companion, but he would want to be paid." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll pay him if he'll see me through all right." +</P> + +<P> +"I have the very man for you. Here, Luke!" +</P> + +<P> +Luke Robbins heard the call and approached. +</P> + +<P> +"The farmer looked at him doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"A Quaker?" he said, in a disappointed tone. +</P> + +<P> +"He is no more a Quaker than you are. He is a detective, and very +anxious to meet either of the Fox brothers." +</P> + +<P> +The farmer brightened up. +</P> + +<P> +"He's the man I'm after, then." +</P> + +<P> +A bargain was struck between Luke and Ezekiel Mason, whereby the +farmer promised to pay him five dollars to accompany him home and +remain over night at the farm-house until he had disposed of the money +the way he intended. +</P> + +<P> +Luke was glad to accept the proposal. It promised variety, and +possibly adventure. The farmer climbed into the buggy, and the Quaker +detective, following, took a seat by his side. +</P> + +<P> +After they had driven some time they reached a part of the road where +for a clear mile in advance there was not a house or building of any +kind to be seen. +</P> + +<P> +"This is the place I was most afraid of," said the farmer. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, it seems to be lonely. I wish one of the Fox brothers would +happen along." +</P> + +<P> +"Why?" asked the farmer, in a tone of alarm. +</P> + +<P> +"Because I would like to tackle him." +</P> + +<P> +"Why are you so anxious to tackle him? I cannot understand." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I'll tell you, my honest friend. There is a reward of a thousand +dollars offered for the capture of one of these famous outlaws, dead +or alive." +</P> + +<P> +Ezekiel Mason shrugged his shoulders. +</P> + +<P> +"I'd rather earn the money some other way!" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"You are only a peaceful farmer, while I am a fighting Quaker," +responded Luke. +</P> + +<P> +As he spoke he looked up the road, and his glance fell upon a short, +compactly built man, in a gray suit, who was walking towards them. He +seemed a quiet, commonplace person, but there was something about him +that attracted Luke's attention. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know that man?" he asked abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +"No," answered Mason, after a rapid glance. +</P> + +<P> +"Are the Fox brothers tall men?" asked Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"One only." +</P> + +<P> +"The other?" +</P> + +<P> +"Is about the size of the man who is approaching." +</P> + +<P> +Luke did not reply, but examined still more critically the advancing +pedestrian. +</P> + +<P> +"If this should be one of the Foxes," he began. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think it is?" asked the farmer in a terrified tone. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't tell. If it proves to be, do exactly as I tell you." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," replied the farmer, now thoroughly alarmed. +</P> + +<P> +By this time the new-comer was but twenty feet distant. Though his +appearance and dress were commonplace, his eyes, as they could see, +were dark and glittering. +</P> + +<P> +He made a halt. +</P> + +<P> +"Friends," he said, "can you oblige me with the time?" +</P> + +<P> +The farmer was about to produce his big, old-fashioned, silver watch, +when Luke nudged him sharply. +</P> + +<P> +"Leave him to me," he whispered, in a tone audible only to the farmer. +</P> + +<P> +"Thee has asked the wrong party," he said aloud. "We don't carry +watches." +</P> + +<P> +The pedestrian regarded him with contempt. Whoever he might be, he +looked upon a Quaker as a mild, inoffensive person, hardly deserving +the name of man. +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't speak to you," he said scornfully. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ASTONISHED OUTLAW. +</H3> + +<P> +The pedestrian's next move was a bold one. +</P> + +<P> +"I am tired," he said. "Give me a ride." +</P> + +<P> +"Will thee excuse us?" said the Quaker meekly. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, shut up!" cried the assumed pedestrian. "Quakers should be seen +and not heard." +</P> + +<P> +Then, to the farmer, "I am tired. Let me into your carriage." +</P> + +<P> +"There is no room," said the farmer nervously. +</P> + +<P> +"Then tell the Quaker to get out, and I will take his place." +</P> + +<P> +Ezekiel Mason was by no means a brave man, and he did not know what to +say to this impudent proposal. +</P> + +<P> +He looked appealingly at Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"I will accommodate the gentleman," said the latter meekly. With the +words he rose from his seat and jumped to the ground. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I assist thee?" he asked the stranger in a mild voice. +</P> + +<P> +"No; I am quite capable of getting into the carriage without help from +a meddlesome Quaker." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed, thee does me injustice." +</P> + +<P> +The stranger did not immediately get into the buggy. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't care to ride, after all," he said coolly. "Just hand me your +money, you old clodhopper." +</P> + +<P> +The worst had come. The new arrival was evidently one of the Fox +brothers, after all. +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed, I have no money," said the terrified farmer. +</P> + +<P> +This was true, for he had put the wallet, containing the five hundred +dollars, into the hands of Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"You lie! You have just come from the Emmonsville bank, where you drew +a large amount." +</P> + +<P> +At this proof of knowledge on the part of the outlaw the farmer was +almost paralyzed. +</P> + +<P> +It appeared to him that the robber must be supernaturally gifted. +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't got it now," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"You lie!" cried the outlaw sternly. "Come down here and give up the +money, or I'll shoot you." +</P> + +<P> +"You can search me," said Mason desperately. +</P> + +<P> +"Come down, then." +</P> + +<P> +"Thee is very unkind," observed Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"Shut up, you meddlesome Quaker! It none of your business." +</P> + +<P> +"Thee had better come down and let the man search thee," said Luke to +the farmer. +</P> + +<P> +Ezekiel Mason had been waiting for a hint from Luke, in whom he +recognized a master spirit. His only hope was in his companion. +</P> + +<P> +"Art thee Mr. Fox?" asked Luke in a tone of mild inquiry. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll let you know who I am," was the swaggering reply. +</P> + +<P> +Though he was but one man opposed to two, he had no fears. The farmer +was evidently cowed and terrified, while the Quaker seemed, though +large, to be peaceable and harmless. +</P> + +<P> +But in his judgment of Luke the outlaw was very much at fault. When +threatening the farmer he had covered him with his revolver, but as he +was preparing to leave the buggy he carelessly lowered it. Luke, who +was aching to attack him, noticed this. +</P> + +<P> +While Fox, for it was one of the notorious brothers, was standing in +careless security the Quaker sprang upon him like a panther upon his +prey. He knocked the revolver from his hand with one powerful blow, +felled him to the ground, and placed his foot upon his prostrate form. +</P> + +<P> +Never, perhaps, in a career crowded with exciting adventures had the +outlaw been so thoroughly surprised. +</P> + +<P> +"What the mischief does this mean?" he ejaculated, struggling to rise. +</P> + +<P> +"It means that thee has mistaken thy man," answered Luke coolly. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me go or I'll kill you!" shrieked the outlaw fiercely. +</P> + +<P> +"If you try to get up I'll put a bullet through your head," replied +Luke, pointing at him with his own revolver. +</P> + +<P> +In his excitement he had dropped his Quaker speech, and this the +outlaw noted. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you a Quaker? he asked abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +"No more than you are," answered Luke. "Farmer, bring out the rope." +</P> + +<P> +Ezekiel Mason, from the bottom of the buggy, produced a long and stout +piece of clothes-line. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean to do?" inquired the outlaw uneasily. +</P> + +<P> +"You will see soon enough. No, don't try to get up, as you value your +life. Now tie him, Mason, while I keep him covered with the revolver." +</P> + +<A NAME="img-093"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-093.jpg" ALT=""Now tie him, Mason, while I keep him covered with the revolver."" BORDER="2" WIDTH="367" HEIGHT="596"> +<H4> +"Now tie him, Mason, while I keep him covered with the revolver." +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +"We've had enough of this," said the outlaw sullenly. "Let me go, and +I'll do you no harm." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't mean that you shall, my honest friend." +</P> + +<P> +"But if you persist in this outrage, I swear that you will be a dead +man within thirty days." +</P> + +<P> +"Be careful how you talk, or you may be a dead man within thirty +minutes," answered Luke. +</P> + +<P> +While the outlaw was covered by Luke's revolver, farmer Mason, though +his tremulous hands showed that he was nervous, managed to tie him +securely. Fox began to under stand the sort of man with whom he was +dealing and remained silent, but his brain was busy trying to devise +some method of escape. +</P> + +<P> +At length the dangerous prisoner was securely tied. +</P> + +<P> +"What shall we do with him?" asked Ezekiel. +</P> + +<P> +"Where's the nearest prison? +</P> + +<P> +"At Crampton." +</P> + +<P> +"How far away?" +</P> + +<P> +"Twelve miles." +</P> + +<P> +"In what direction?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is four miles beyond Claremont," answered the farmer. +</P> + +<P> +"Where you live?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we will go there first." +</P> + +<P> +"But how shall we carry this gentleman?" asked the farmer, who could +not get over a feeling of deference for the celebrated outlaw. +</P> + +<P> +[Illustration: "NOW TIE HIM, MASON, WHILE I KEEP HIM COVERED WITH THE +REVOLVER."] +</P> + +<P> +"We'll put him into the back part of the buggy." +</P> + +<P> +By the united efforts of both, the outlaw, like a trussed fowl, was +deposited bodily in the rear of the carriage, where he lay in a most +uncomfortable position, jolted and shaken whenever the road was rough +or uneven. It was a humiliating position, and he felt it. +</P> + +<P> +"You'll repent this outrage," he said fiercely. +</P> + +<P> +"Doesn't thee like it?" asked Luke, relapsing into his Quaker dialect. +</P> + +<P> +"Curse you and your Quaker lingo!" retorted Fox, his black eyes +sparkling vindictively. +</P> + +<P> +"It wouldn't do thee any harm to turn Quaker thyself," suggested Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll be bruised to death before the ride is over," growled the +outlaw. +</P> + +<P> +"There is one way of saving you the discomfort of the ride." +</P> + +<P> +"What is that?" +</P> + +<P> +"I might shoot you through the head. As the reward is the same whether +I deliver you alive or dead, I have almost determined to do it." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw was made still more uncomfortable by these words. He had +wholly misunderstood Luke at first, and the revelation of his real +character had impressed him not only with respect, but with fear. He +did not know of what this pseudo Quaker might be capable. He longed in +some way to get out of his power. Force was impracticable, and he +resolved to resort to finesse. +</P> + +<P> +"Look here, my friend," he began. +</P> + +<P> +"So you regard me as a friend? Thank you, brother Fox; I won't forget +it." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, bother your nonsense! I suppose you are after the thousand +dollars offered for my apprehension." +</P> + +<P> +"You have guessed right the first time. I am not a rich man, and I +don't mind telling you that a thousand dollars will be particularly +acceptable just about now." +</P> + +<P> +"So I supposed. You don't feel particularly unfriendly to me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no. I might under different circumstances come to love you like a +brother." +</P> + +<P> +"Or join my band?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, no; I draw the line there. As a Quaker I could not consistently +join a band of robbers." +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you?" asked Fox abruptly. "You weren't raised around here." +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Where, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"I come from Iowa." +</P> + +<P> +"What is your name?" +</P> + +<P> +"My friend, I haven't any visiting cards with me. You can think of me +as the Quaker detective." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will come to business. You want a thousand dollars?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are correct there." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will show you a way to get it." +</P> + +<P> +"I know one way already." +</P> + +<P> +"You mean by delivering me up?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"That would not suit me. Let me go, and I will give you a thousand +dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you got it with you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, but I can arrange to give it to you within a week. You see," +added the outlaw dryly, "I have been prosperous in my business, and +can snare that sum in return for the favor you are going to do me in +giving me my liberty." +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid, friend Fox, that my chance of securing the money in that +way would be very slender." +</P> + +<P> +"I am a man of my word. What I promise, that I will do." +</P> + +<P> +"If you have so much money, why did you want to take the five hundred +dollars of my friend here?" +</P> + +<P> +"It was all in the way of business. Well, what do you say?" +</P> + +<P> +"That I won't trust you. If I should take your thousand dollars for +releasing you I should be as bad as you are." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well; drive on, then," said the outlaw sullenly. +</P> + +<P> +In less than an hour Ezekiel Mason's home was reached. When they drove +into the yard it made quite a sensation. Mrs. Mason and the hired man +stood staring at them with mouths agape. +</P> + +<P> +"Who have you got there, Ezekiel?" asked his wife. +</P> + +<P> +"One of the Fox brothers!" answered the farmer in an important tone. +"Me and my friend here took him." +</P> + +<P> +Luke smiled, and so did the prisoner, uncomfortable though he was. +</P> + +<P> +"It would have taken a dozen like that fool to have captured me," he +said in a low voice, but only Luke heard him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +UNDER WATCH AND WARD. +</H3> + +<P> +The farm-house was built after the model of many similar houses in New +England. It was of two stories, with the front door in the centre and +a room on each side. Over the two stories was an unfurnished attic. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you a secure place to keep our friend here?" asked Luke. +</P> + +<P> +The farmer paused before he answered. +</P> + +<P> +"I might put him in the attic," he said. +</P> + +<P> +But here his wife interfered. +</P> + +<P> +"I couldn't sleep if he were in the house," she said. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" asked Luke. "You see he is securely bound, and will be as +helpless as a child. Will you show me the attic?" +</P> + +<P> +"Follow me," said the farmer. +</P> + +<P> +They went up two flights of stairs, and found themselves in a long +room, the whole width of the house. Through the centre rose the +chimney. The sloping roof was not plastered. The only furniture +consisted of a cot-bedstead and a chair. +</P> + +<P> +"Is the attic occupied by any of the family?" asked Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"Not generally. When I hire an extra hand at harvest-time he sleeps +there." +</P> + +<P> +"But at present there is no one occupying it?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I suggest that the bed will prove a good resting-place for our +friend below. I have no doubt he has often found himself in lodgings +less comfortable." +</P> + +<P> +"But," said Mrs. Mason, nervously, "if he should get free during the +night he might murder us all in our beds." +</P> + +<P> +"There is little chance of that. When your husband bound him, he did a +good job. I wouldn't undertake to get free myself, if I were bound as +securely." +</P> + +<P> +"That's so!" said the farmer, pleased with the compliment. "He can't +get away nohow." +</P> + +<P> +Over in the corner there were a couple of horse-blankets, which seemed +to offer a comfortable resting-place. Luke Robbins eyed them +thoughtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"I have an idea," he said. "Let the outlaw lie there, and one of us can +occupy the bed. Then he won't be able to try any of his tricks." +</P> + +<P> +"I would rather not sleep there," observed the farmer nervously. "I +couldn't sleep in the same room with one of the Fox brothers." +</P> + +<P> +"Then if you couldn't sleep there you are just the man we want. You +will always be on the watch, and can frustrate any attempt to escape." +</P> + +<P> +"No, no," said Ezekiel Mason, hurriedly. "Kate could not close her +eyes if she thought I were alone with John Fox." +</P> + +<P> +"No," answered Mrs. Mason, with a shudder, "I won't let Ezekiel sleep +in the same room with that bold, bad man." +</P> + +<P> +"I wouldn't be afraid myself," said the farmer, trying to keep up his +reputation for courage, "but I don't want my wife to be anxious." +</P> + +<P> +Luke Robbins smiled, for he understood very well the timidity of his +host. "Then," he said, "as I have no wife to be anxious about me, +perhaps I had better sleep here." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, that will be much better," rejoined the relieved farmer. "You +are a brave man. Mr. Fox won't get the better of you." +</P> + +<P> +"Not if I can help it," said Luke. "Will that suit you, Mrs. Mason?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why don't you take him on to the jail at once?" asked the woman. "I +shall feel worried if he spends the night in this house." +</P> + +<P> +"I hear that he has escaped from jail no less than three times. If he +should do so to-night he would at once come here, and perhaps bring +some of his band with him. He knows there is a good sum of money in +the house." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be glad when it is paid out," said the farmer's wife. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't worry, Mrs. Mason. I have promised your husband that no harm +should come to him and that the money should be secure, and I will +keep my word." +</P> + +<P> +"So you did," said Ezekiel, brightening up, "and I will pay you what I +agreed, if you keep your promise." +</P> + +<P> +"Friend Mason," responded Luke, "I am playing for higher stakes than +five dollars. All depends on my keeping this outlaw secure. I mean to +do it." +</P> + +<P> +Having settled matters, they went down stairs again, where they found +their prisoner waiting impatiently for their reappearance. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," he said, "have you decided to let me go?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am sorry to disappoint you, my friend," answered Luke, "but I don't +see my way clear to do so." +</P> + +<P> +"I promised you a thousand dollars if you would release me." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but I haven't any confidence in that promise." +</P> + +<P> +"You need not fear. In three days I would bring or send the money to +you here." +</P> + +<P> +"Couldn't you oblige me with a check on the bank where you +keep your money?" asked Luke, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"I keep my money in several banks," returned the outlaw. +</P> + +<P> +"Where, for instance?" +</P> + +<P> +"I had some in the bank at Lee's Falls, but I drew it out the other +day." +</P> + +<P> +"So I heard. Have you any money in the Emmonsville bank?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but I am not quite ready to take it yet. I can give you an order +on the bank, if that will suit." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you; I doubt if the order would be honored." +</P> + +<P> +"All this talk amounts to nothing," said Fox, impatiently. "I tell you +that if you release me I will bring or send you the money." +</P> + +<P> +"And how soon would you want it back again?" +</P> + +<P> +"Whenever I saw my way clear to taking it," said the outlaw, boldly. +</P> + +<P> +"I like that talk. It looks square. I'll think over your offer, friend +Fox, and let you know in the morning what I decide to do." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw frowned. He evidently did not like the prospect of +remaining in captivity over night. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you going to do with me to-night?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"We have a comfortable place provided," answered Luke. "Mr. Mason, if +you will give your assistance, we will show our guest where we propose +to put him." +</P> + +<P> +"Unbind me, and I will save you the trouble." +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt, but there are some objections to that." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw was lifted from the wagon and carried up stairs to the +attic. His ankles as well as his wrists were securely tied, so that he +was unable to walk. +</P> + +<P> +"Friend Fox," said Luke, politely, "there is a bed, and there is a +shake-down," pointing to the blankets on the floor. "You can take your +choice. I hope you will like your hotel." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall like it better if it provides refreshments," replied Fox. "I +am simply famished." +</P> + +<P> +"I am sure Mrs. Mason will furnish you with a meal. I will speak to +her." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw seated himself on the bed, and the cord about his wrists +was loosened so that he might be able to eat. This might have been +regarded as dangerous, as affording him an opportunity to escape, but +for two reasons. +</P> + +<P> +In a chair opposite sat Luke Robbins, with a revolver in his hand, +watching his prisoner sharply. +</P> + +<P> +"If you make any attempt to escape," he said quietly, "I shall shoot. +Now you understand, and will be guided accordingly." +</P> + +<P> +In spite of his unpleasant situation, the outlaw could not help +admiring the coolness and resolution of his guard. +</P> + +<P> +"You would make a capital accession to my band," he remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"If that is meant for a compliment," said Luke, dryly, "I thank you." +</P> + +<P> +"You had better think it over. Join my band, and I will make it worth +your while." +</P> + +<P> +He fixed his eyes earnestly upon his captor, to see whether he had +made any impression upon him. +</P> + +<P> +"When I start on any road," he said, "I like to know where it is +coming out." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, this road will lead to wealth." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't read it that way." +</P> + +<P> +"How, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"It will more likely lead to a violent death--or the gallows." +</P> + +<P> +"I have been on that path for ten years, and I am alive, and--" +</P> + +<P> +"A prisoner." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, at present; but I can tell you this, my Quaker friend, that the +tree has not yet grown that will furnish a gallows for John Fox." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps so, but I don't feel sure of it." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw's predicament did not appear to interfere with his +appetite. He ate his dinner with evident relish, and left nothing on +the plate. When he had completed his meal, Luke called the farmer and +requested him to tie his wrists again. +</P> + +<P> +"You can do it better than I," he said. "Besides, I shall need to +stand guard." +</P> + +<P> +I was well that he did so, for John Fox, if there had been the least +chance of success, would have overpowered the farmer and effected his +escape. But with the eye of Luke Robbins upon him, and the pistol in +his hand ready to go off at an instant's notice, there was nothing to +do but to submit to being rebound. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE OUTLAW'S ESCAPE. +</H3> + +<P> +The outlaw was left for several hours alone in the attic of the +farmer's house. He felt far from comfortable, and he experienced great +mortification at the thought that he had been captured by a Quaker. +</P> + +<P> +"I might as well have been captured by a woman," he said to himself. +"I shall never hold up my head again--that is," he added, after a +pause, "unless I circumvent him and get away." +</P> + +<P> +Fox dragged himself to the window and looked out. +</P> + +<P> +"If only my brother knew where I was," he reflected, "he would soon +turn the tables on those clodhoppers." +</P> + +<P> +But, as he knew, his brother was twenty miles away, on a different +expedition. +</P> + +<P> +John Fox was a man of expedients. In his long career as an outlaw he +had more than once been "in a hole," but he had never failed by some +means or other to extricate himself. This was what he decided to do at +present, if it were possible. +</P> + +<P> +It was not for some time that he bethought himself of a knife that he +had in his pocket. If he could get it out so as to use it, he would be +able to cut the ropes that bound him and escape--that is, if he were +not interfered with. +</P> + +<P> +He looked out of the window again, and saw Luke Robbins and the farmer +walking up the road. +</P> + +<P> +"They think I am safe," soliloquized Fox, "but perhaps they may find +themselves mistaken." +</P> + +<P> +He reflected with satisfaction that there was no one in the house but +Mrs. Mason and himself. She was a timid, nervous woman, who would wilt +at a look from him. Yet as matters stood he was helpless even against +her. +</P> + +<P> +As it was uncertain how long his two jailers would be absent, it +behooved him to escape as soon as possible. There was of course a +difficulty in the way, as his hands were securely tied together at the +wrists, and he could not, therefore, thrust them into his pocket and +obtain the knife. But possibly by rolling over he might manage to make +it slip out. It seemed the only possible way to accomplish his object, +so he at once set to work. Rolling over and over, he at length found +himself in such a position that the knife--a large jack-knife--slipped +from the gaping mouth of the pocket. +</P> + +<P> +"Ha, that is the first step towards success," he cried triumphantly. +</P> + +<P> +Next he must pick up the knife and open it. This was easier than the +first step. His hands were tied at the wrists, but his fingers were +free to work. It seemed a simple thing to open the knife, but it took +him some time. At last, however, he succeeded. +</P> + +<P> +"That is the second step towards liberty," he said in a jubilant tone. +</P> + +<P> +The next thing was to cut the cord that bound his wrists. That was +difficult. In fact, it took him longer than both the first steps +together. It chanced, unfortunately for him, that the knife had not +been sharpened for a long time. Then the cord was stout and thick, and +even had his hands been free, it would have taken him some time to cut +it. As matters stood, he was placed at great disadvantage. +</P> + +<P> +"If they should come back it would be maddening," he reflected, and as +the thought came to him he looked out of the window. But nowhere were +the two men visible. They had evidently no fear of his escape. +</P> + +<P> +"They are fools! They don't know me!" said the outlaw to himself. +</P> + +<P> +He resumed his efforts to cut the cord. It was slow work, but +perseverance, even in a bad cause, is apt to be crowned with success, +and this was the case here. After twenty minutes, the last strand +parted, and, with a feeling of relief, John Fox stretched out his +hands, free once more. +</P> + +<P> +His feet were still tied, but with his hands at liberty, there was +very little difficulty in cutting the rope that tied them. +</P> + +<P> +In less that five minutes the outlaw rose to his feet a free man. +</P> + +<P> +He smiled--a smile of exultation and triumph. +</P> + +<P> +"My Quaker friend will be surprised to find me gone. He will +understand John Fox a little better. He will have to wait a little +longer for his thousand dollars." +</P> + +<P> +John Fox was himself again, but for the first time in ten years, +except when he was the temporary tenant of a jail, he was unarmed. +</P> + +<P> +"What has that fellow done with my revolver?" he asked himself. "If it +is any where in the house I won't go off without it." +</P> + +<P> +Half an hour earlier and he would have been content with his liberty. +Now he wanted his revolver, and his thoughts recurred to the money +which the farmer had drawn that morning from the bank. It was five +hundred dollars, as Luke had rather incautiously let out. +</P> + +<P> +John Fox was not without hopes of securing both. The coast was clear, +and only Mrs. Mason was left in the house. He might terrify her, and +so secure the articles he had set his heart upon. But, clearly, there +was no time to be lost, as Luke and the farmer might return at any +minute. +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw went down stairs, stepping as lightly as he could. +</P> + +<P> +On the lower floor Mrs. Mason was in the kitchen, preparing the +evening meal. She had at first been reluctant to remain alone in the +house with the outlaw, but Luke had reassured her by the statement +that he was securely bound, and could not possibly get away. So, upon +the whole, she was calm, and had no fear of being molested. +</P> + +<P> +She turned from the stove at the sound of a footfall. There was the +notorious outlaw standing in the doorway with an ironical smile upon +his face. +</P> + +<P> +The terrified woman sank back into a chair and regarded John Fox with +a scared look. +</P> + +<P> +"<I>You</I> here!" she exclaimed. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Mrs. Mason, it is I." +</P> + +<P> +"How did you get free? My husband told me that you were bound." +</P> + +<P> +"So I was, and I will do your husband the justice to say that he +understands his business. I had trouble to break loose." +</P> + +<P> +"How ever could you have done it?" asked the amazed woman. +</P> + +<P> +"I won't go into details, for there isn't time. Now listen to me and +obey my commands. Your Quaker friend took my revolver away. I want you +to get it and give it to me." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't do it, sir, for I don't know where it is." Mrs. Mason's tone +was a terrified one. +</P> + +<P> +"That won't do," said John Fox, sternly. "It is somewhere in the +house. Look for it." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed, sir, you are mistaken. I am sure that Mr.--the Quaker +gentleman has taken it with him." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't believe anything of the kind. He had no doubt a revolver of +his own, and would not care to carry two." +</P> + +<P> +"You may be right, sir, but I don't know where it is." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw felt that time was precious, and that it would not do to +indulge in prolonged discussion with the woman. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there any revolver in the house?" he demanded impatiently. "I +should prefer my own, but I will take any." +</P> + +<P> +"I will look, sir, if you wish me to." +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a moment. There is something else I must have. Where is that +five hundred dollars your husband drew from the bank this morning?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell the truth, or it will be the worse for you." +</P> + +<P> +"I am ready to tell the truth, but I don't know." +</P> + +<P> +"Where does your husband usually keep any money he may have in the +house?" +</P> + +<P> +"In the desk in the next room." +</P> + +<P> +"Probably he has put the money there. Is the desk locked?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you the key?" +</P> + +<P> +"Here it is, sir," and Mrs. Mason meekly passed him a small-sized key. +</P> + +<P> +"Good! I see you are growing sensible. Now come with me." +</P> + +<P> +Together they entered the room, and Mrs. Mason pointed to the desk. +</P> + +<P> +It was an ordinary upright desk. John Fox opened it with the key. He +was at first afraid the woman had given him the wrong one, but she +would not have dared to deceive him. The desk opened, the outlaw began +at once to search eagerly for the money. +</P> + +<P> +There was a multiplicity of small drawers which he opened eagerly, but +he found no cash except four silver half-dollars and some smaller +silver. +</P> + +<P> +"It isn't here!" he said in a tone of sullen disappointment, turning a +baffled look upon the farmer's wife. +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir, I didn't think it was there." +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you think it is? Do you think your husband has it with him?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Where then can it be? Surely you must have some suspicion. Don't dare +to trifle with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed I wouldn't, sir. I think the Quaker gentleman has it." +</P> + +<P> +"Curse him!" exclaimed the outlaw angrily. "He's forever standing in +my way. Have you any other money in the house?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"I have a great mind to kill you!" said Fox, with a look of ferocity. +The terrified woman uttered a scream of dismay that excited the fierce +outlaw still more. He sprang toward her and seized her by the throat. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE OUTLAW'S MISTAKE. +</H3> + +<P> +John Fox had been so occupied with his terrified victim that he quite +forgot the possibility of his two captors returning. +</P> + +<P> +It so happened that both were approaching the house when they heard +Mrs. Mason's cry of terror. +</P> + +<P> +"What's that?" exclaimed the farmer in alarm. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe that scoundrel has got loose," answered Luke. +</P> + +<P> +He quickened his pace and entered the house just in time to become a +witness of the outlaw's brutality. +</P> + +<P> +It was no time to hesitate or parley. He sprang upon the robber, +dashed him to the ground, and put his foot upon his breast. +</P> + +<P> +"What deviltry are you up to, you miserable man?" he demanded. Then +turning to Mrs. Mason, he asked, "Why did he attack you?" +</P> + +<P> +"He wanted my husband's money--and a revolver," answered the trembling +woman. +</P> + +<P> +"I have a great mind to give him the contents of the revolver," said +Luke, sternly. +</P> + +<P> +John Fox was not a coward--on the contrary, he was a man of boldness +and courage, but as he looked up at the stern face of the Quaker +detective he quailed, almost for the first time in his life. He tried +to rise, but the heavy foot of Luke Robbins was on his breast. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me up!" he growled. +</P> + +<P> +"You don't deserve to get up. You should lie there forever, for your +cowardice in attacking a woman." +</P> + +<P> +"I would rather it had been you!" said John Fox, bitterly. +</P> + +<P> +"You are safe in attacking a woman," said the detective in scornful +sarcasm. +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw was stung by his assailant's scorn. +</P> + +<P> +"I have attacked many better men than you," he replied, "and some have +not lived to tell the tale." +</P> + +<P> +"So you own up to being a murderer? I am ready to believe you. I have +a great mind to shoot you where you lie," and Luke pointed his +revolver at the prostrate outlaw. +</P> + +<P> +"That would be the act of a coward," said John Fox, hastily, his cheek +turning pale, for he felt that death might be close at hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Not exactly that, for I have mastered you in a fair fight, but there +is one thing that holds back my hand. Do you know what it is?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" +</P> + +<P> +"I should cheat the gallows of its due. Here, farmer!" +</P> + +<P> +Ezekiel Mason, pale and trembling, was standing on the threshold. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Go and get another rope." +</P> + +<P> +The farmer left the house, and going to an out-house, returned with a +stout clothes line. +</P> + +<P> +"Tie him again while I hold him," was Luke's command. "Tie him as +securely as before--more so, if possible. How did you get loose?" +</P> + +<P> +"Find out for yourself," said the outlaw sullenly. +</P> + +<P> +"I mean to, and I don't intend that you shall escape the second time." +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile John Fox was execrating his folly in not escaping when he +had the chance. If he had not waited for the revolver and money, he +might by this time have been out of danger. +</P> + +<P> +Yet he was not without hope. What he had done once he might do again. +He still had the knife in his pocket. It was ready for use, and he +meant to use it. +</P> + +<P> +No doubt he would be taken back to the attic, and probably pass the +night there. If Luke Robbins should be his companion, all the better. +After cutting his bonds, the knife could be put to another use, and +might end the life of the man who had inflicted such humiliation upon +him. +</P> + +<P> +He did not speak, but his eyes betrayed him. There was such a +revengeful gleam in them that Luke read their meaning without trouble. +</P> + +<P> +"If I am ever at the mercy of that ruffian," he thought, "I wouldn't +give much for my chance of keeping a whole skin." +</P> + +<P> +When the outlaw lay securely bound, Luke summoned the farmer. +</P> + +<P> +"Watch him for five minutes, Mr. Mason," he said. "I am going to the +attic to learn, if I can, how he got loose." +</P> + +<P> +Ezekiel Mason looked uncomfortable, but did not object. He was half +afraid of John Fox even in his helpless condition. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you a revolver?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Then take it out, and if he makes an effort to escape, shoot him +without a moment's hesitation." +</P> + +<P> +It gratified the outlaw to see how much afraid of him the farmer was, +even in his helpless condition. But he could not flatter himself that +he had inspired any terror in Luke Robbins. Against his will he was +compelled to pay tribute to the resolute courage of the Quaker +detective. As he met the gaze of the farmer he smiled to himself +sardonic ally. +</P> + +<P> +"You've got the advantage of me," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"I am bound and helpless, while you are free and are armed. Still you +are afraid of me." +</P> + +<P> +"Why should I be?" asked Mason, but his tone was not firm. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, why should you be? I'll tell you. If ever I have you where I am +now, I'll give you fifteen minutes to say your prayers." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, what a terrible man!" said Mrs. Mason, with a shudder. +</P> + +<P> +"You wouldn't kill him?" she ejaculated. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I would. But there is one way of escape." +</P> + +<P> +"What is that?" +</P> + +<P> +"Loose these bonds and let me go before your Quaker friend comes down +stairs, and your life will be safe, and your wife's." +</P> + +<P> +Ezekiel Mason shook his head feebly. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't dare to do it," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Do as you please, but the time will come when you will be sorry that +you refused. What are you afraid of? You are armed, while I have no +weapon." +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid of Luke." +</P> + +<P> +"You needn't be. He would find fault with you, but that would be all." +</P> + +<P> +Ezekiel Mason was weak, but not weak enough to yield to the +persuasions of his prisoner. Besides, he knew that Luke would come +down from the attic directly. +</P> + +<P> +In fact he was already close at hand. He brought in his hand the cut +fragments of the cord with which the outlaw had originally been bound. +</P> + +<P> +"This tells the story," he said, holding up the rope so that the +farmer and his wife could see it. "This rope has been cut. The man has +a knife." +</P> + +<P> +John Fox darted a malignant look at him, but said nothing. +</P> + +<P> +"You are smart, John Fox," Luke went on, "smarter than I thought. It +must have cost you considerable trouble to cut the rope. Where is your +knife?" +</P> + +<P> +John Fox did not reply. +</P> + +<P> +Luke Robbins knelt down and thrust his hand unceremoniously into the +outlaw's pocket. +</P> + +<P> +He drew out the knife which had done Fox so much service. +</P> + +<P> +"This will be safer with me than with you," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Would you rob me?" demanded the outlaw. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, of anything it is not proper for you to have." +</P> + +<P> +To John Fox the disappointment was bitter. He was, if anything, more +securely tied than before, and it would be quite impossible to loosen +the rope or free himself without the help of the knife. His hope of +getting loose during the night and killing Luke was at an end. +</P> + +<P> +For the first time he felt hopeless, and once more he execrated his +folly in not making good his escape as soon as he came down stairs. +</P> + +<P> +"Did he say anything while I was up stairs?" asked Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"What was it?" +</P> + +<P> +"He wanted me to set him free." +</P> + +<P> +"Did he offer you money?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, but he threatened that he would some time take my life." +</P> + +<P> +"He is a terrible man!" said Mrs. Mason, shuddering. "I shall not feel +safe to-night with him in the house." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't propose to let him stay in the house all night." +</P> + +<P> +The prisoner, the farmer and his wife looked at Luke inquiringly. +</P> + +<P> +"I think, farmer," said Luke, "you'd better harness up, and we will +take our friend here to the jail in Crampton." +</P> + +<P> +"What, to-night?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, the sooner he is safely disposed of the better at any rate, we +will have shifted the responsibility to the authorities." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, it will be better," said Mrs. Mason. +</P> + +<P> +The buggy was made ready, and the outlaw, very much against his will, +was packed in the back part of it. Towards nightfall the warden of the +prison at Crampton was startled by the arrival of the farmer and Luke, +bringing with them the notorious outlaw whose name was in every +mouth--John Fox. He hardly knew whether to be sorry or glad, for no +prison yet had been secure enough to hold him any length of time. +</P> + +<P> +"I will leave my name," said Luke, "and I shall hereafter claim the +reward for his capture." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ERNEST HAS AN ADVENTURE. +</H3> + +<P> +Luke Robbins remained at the farm-house over night and till the middle +of the next day. At that hour the sum of money which Mason had +withdrawn from the bank was transferred to the party for whom it was +intended, and Luke's mission was at an end. +</P> + +<P> +He received from the farmer the stipulated five dollars and started on +his return to Emmonsville, Ezekiel Mason driving him the greater part +of the way. +</P> + +<P> +Luke arrived at the bank half an hour before it closed and reported +his success, including the capture of John Fox. He was congratulated, +but noticed that the officers of the bank looked grave. +</P> + +<P> +"Is anything the matter?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," answered the cashier. "At one o'clock yesterday we sent your +young friend Ernest with a thousand dollars in United States bonds to +the bank at Lee's Falls. He did not return last night, and we have +received no tidings from him." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you fear?" asked Luke, hurriedly. +</P> + +<P> +"We fear that he may have been captured by some of the Fox gang, and +be at present in confinement, or else--" +</P> + +<P> +"What?" +</P> + +<P> +"Killed or wounded," added the cashier. +</P> + +<P> +"He could not have met John Fox, for I held him in custody." +</P> + +<P> +"There was the other brother, James, who was at large." +</P> + +<P> +"James is the tall brother?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said Luke, "I shall have to hunt him, too. Will you grant me +leave of absence?" +</P> + +<P> +"Gladly. We want to recover the bonds, but we care still more for the +safety of the boy." +</P> + +<P> +Indeed, Ernest had become popular with the bank officials, as well as +with the residents of Emmonsville. The cashier spoke truly when he +said he cared more for the boy's safety than for the recovery of the +bonds. +</P> + +<P> +"Can you tell me anything that will help me in my expedition?" asked +Luke. "Have you any idea where the Fox gang would be likely to carry +Ernest?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is generally supposed that the band have a secret rendezvous +somewhere within a dozen miles, but no one has been able to discover +where it is." +</P> + +<P> +"And you think that Ernest would be carried there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, they would hardly bring themselves to kill a young boy. He +would, of course, be easily overpowered by a grown man, so that there +would be no excuse for murderous violence." +</P> + +<P> +"This spoils all my pleasure at capturing John Fox," said Luke, +ruefully. "I should be willing to have him go free if only I could get +the boy back. How did the boy go?" +</P> + +<P> +"He walked." +</P> + +<P> +"But it was a long distance." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, about ten miles. We at first thought of providing him with a +saddle-horse, but there was one objection." +</P> + +<P> +"What was that?" +</P> + +<P> +"He would have been more likely to be suspected of being out on some +mission. But on foot he would not be apt to attract attention. A boy +of sixteen is not very apt to be a custodian of money." +</P> + +<P> +"True." +</P> + +<P> +Leaving Luke Robbins to start on his search for Ernest, we will go +back to the time when the boy messenger left the bank on the day +previous. +</P> + +<P> +The United States bonds were inclosed in an envelope and carried in an +inner pocket, which had been expressly made by an Emmonsville tailor +on his first connecting himself with the bank. The pocket was +unusually deep, so as to accommodate a long parcel. +</P> + +<P> +This was the most important commission on which Ernest had been +employed, and he was pleased with the confidence reposed in him. He +did not dread the long walk, for he was a strong and active boy. +Besides, he was authorized to accept a ride if one should be offered +him. +</P> + +<P> +He would, of course, arrive at Lee's Falls after the bank was closed, +but he was instructed to call at the residence of the cashier and +leave the bonds. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest had walked three miles when he met with an adventure. +</P> + +<P> +On the borders of a small pond he caught sight of a small Indian boy +playing. He was probably not more than three years of age. A stick he +was playing with fell into the pond, and the little fellow reached +over to recover it. In doing so he lost his balance and fell into the +water; there was a scream and a splash, and Ernest no sooner saw the +accident than he ran up, threw off his coat and vest lest he should +wet the bonds, and plunged into the pond. +</P> + +<P> +The young bank messenger was an expert swimmer, and in an instant had +seized the child and placed him out of danger. The little Indian boy +clung to him instinctively, feeling safe with his young protector. +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you live, little boy?" asked Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Out yonder," answered the child. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest had not been quite sure whether he would be able to understand +or speak English, but having been brought up among white people, he +was as familiar with English as most white boys of his age. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest looked in the direction pointed out by the boy. At the distance +of a hundred rods he saw a rude log house, which seemed to contain but +one room. Smoke was curling from a chimney projecting from the roof. +Outside sat an Indian, about forty years of age, smoking a pipe. +</P> + +<P> +He seemed busily thinking, having the grave face characteristic of the +average Indian. He did not immediately notice the approach of his +little son. But when they were near, the Indian boy uttered a cry, +pronouncing some Indian word which possibly meant "father." +</P> + +<P> +Then the red man looked up, and his grave face changed as he +recognized his boy in the company of a young white stranger. +</P> + +<P> +He rose hastily from his seat, and advanced quickly to meet the two +who were approaching. +</P> + +<P> +"What has happened?" he asked in clear and distinct English. +</P> + +<P> +"Your little boy fell into the water," explained Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"And you saved him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," answered Ernest, modestly. "I saw him fall, and jumped in after +him." +</P> + +<P> +"Was the water deep?" +</P> + +<P> +"About so deep," said Ernest, placing his hand about five feet from +the ground. +</P> + +<P> +"Then he would have been drowned if you had not been near?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, if he could not swim." +</P> + +<P> +"He is too young to swim. But you are wet," added the Indian, noticing +for the first time the condition of Ernest's clothes. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, a little." +</P> + +<P> +"Come in," said the Indian abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +He led the way into the log cabin. +</P> + +<P> +There was a stove in the centre of the room, and the air was so heated +as to be uncomfortable. As he led the child in, a stout Indian woman +came forward with a cry and took him in her arms. Her husband rapidly +explained what had happened. She instantly stripped the clothes from +the child, and put on a dry change. +</P> + +<P> +"Now," said the Indian, turning to Ernest, "take off your wet +clothes." +</P> + +<P> +Though Ernest knew that it was wise to do so, he felt bashful about +removing them in presence of the woman. But his Indian host brought +from a nail, on which they hung, a pair of buckskin breeches of his +own, and offered them to Ernest for his temporary use. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest no longer hesitated, but made the substitution. +</P> + +<P> +As the Indian was four or five inches taller than himself, the legs +covered his feet. He laughed as he saw how they looked, and the +Indian's serious face relaxed a little from the same cause. +</P> + +<P> +"Now I will dry your clothes," he said. +</P> + +<P> +He took a chair and, hanging the wet garments over the back, placed it +very near the stove. Ernest hardly liked to lose so much time, but he +knew that it would not be safe to wear the trousers in their soaked +condition. +</P> + +<P> +"You speak English very well," he said, turning to the Indian. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I have spent much time with white people," was the answer. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you support yourself by hunting?" went on Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I am a hunter, but I go with rich white people from the cities, +and with Englishmen, who want a guide." +</P> + +<P> +"And do they pay you well?" asked Ernest, not quite sure whether he +was not showing too much curiosity. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, they pay me well. I have some money in the bank." +</P> + +<P> +Then Ernest remembered having seen the Indian one day at the bank. He +was told at the time that his name was John Castro, and that he had +several hundred dollars on deposit. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A NEW ACQUAINTANCE. +</H3> + +<P> +While Ernest's clothes were drying the Indian woman was bustling about +the stove. The boy did not suspect her object till she placed on the +table a plate of Indian cakes hot from the oven, and he was invited to +partake. +</P> + +<P> +It was the first time he had ever been a guest in an Indian family, +and he hesitated, but saw that his refusal to partake might hurt the +feelings of his new friends. He seated himself at the table and found +the cakes really very good. +</P> + +<P> +When his clothes were dry he rose to go. +</P> + +<P> +"Won't you stay all night?" asked Castro. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you. I cannot spare the time. I must push on." +</P> + +<P> +"Where are you going?" asked the Indian. +</P> + +<P> +"To Lee's Falls." +</P> + +<P> +"I will go with you a short distance." +</P> + +<P> +So they set out together. +</P> + +<P> +At length John Castro stopped. +</P> + +<P> +"That is your way," he said. "I wish you a pleasant journey. I will +not forget what you have done for my little son. If ever you are in +trouble, send for John Castro." +</P> + +<P> +"I thank you." +</P> + +<P> +The Indian shook hands with him gravely, and turned back towards his +cabin. +</P> + +<P> +All this had taken time. Ernest had no watch with him, but he +estimated that the adventure had cost him two hours. However, he had +saved a boy's life. +</P> + +<P> +Again, he had made a friend. The friend was an Indian, but Ernest was +wise enough to consider that no friend, however humble, is to be +despised. +</P> + +<P> +It was clear that he would reach his destination late, and he began to +wish that some carriage would overtake him in which he might ask for a +ride. +</P> + +<P> +But he walked two miles farther without encountering any team. At +last, however, he heard the rumble of wheels, and turning round to see +whether there was room in the vehicle, he saw that it was a buggy +driven by a tall, thin man with dark hair, swarthy face, and a long, +aquiline nose. +</P> + +<P> +The driver eyed Ernest sharply and brought the buggy to a standstill. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are you going, boy?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"To Lee's Falls." +</P> + +<P> +"Where have you come from?" +</P> + +<P> +"From Emmonsville." +</P> + +<P> +"It is a long walk." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Do you think you could give me a lift?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps so. Jump in." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest lost no time in availing himself of the invitation. He was +footsore and weary, and it was with a sensation of relief that he +seated himself beside the driver. +</P> + +<P> +The latter, who had been going at good speed, pulled his horse down to +a walk and showed indications of becoming sociable. +</P> + +<P> +"Where were you going in Lee's Falls?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest felt that it would be imprudent to mention that his destination +was the bank, so he answered guardedly, "I am going to see the town. I +may stop over night." +</P> + +<P> +"At the hotel?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"It is not much of a place to see," said the driver, watching his +companion curiously. +</P> + +<P> +"It is larger than Emmonsville, isn't it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. How long have you been in Emmonsville?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not long." +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you live there?" +</P> + +<P> +"At Mrs. Larkins'." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you go to school?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest began to think that his companion was decidedly inquisitive, +and something told him that he would do well to be on his guard. Why +should he ask so many questions of a boy with whom he had no +acquaintance? +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile the horse was travelling very slowly, and it seemed to +Ernest that he would go over the road quite as fast if he had +continued to walk. However, it was easier riding, and this was a +consideration. He began to think it was his turn to ask questions. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you going all the way to Lee's Falls?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I may go nearly there." +</P> + +<P> +"I am very much obliged to you for giving me a lift. I was quite +tired." +</P> + +<P> +The driver smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps I have an object," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest looked an inquiry. +</P> + +<P> +"The pleasure of your company," explained his companion, with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you," answered Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Now I come to look at you, I think I have seen you before," continued +the driver. +</P> + +<P> +"Where?" +</P> + +<P> +"In Emmonsville--at the bank." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest became alarmed. There was a significance in his companion's +tone which excited his alarm. But he did not dare show his feelings. +He remained outwardly calm, though inwardly disturbed. +</P> + +<P> +"Very probably," he said; "I have been there." +</P> + +<P> +His companion laughed. He was playing with the boy as a cat plays with +a captive mouse. Ernest began to consider whether he could not think +of some pretext for getting out of the buggy. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the buggy stopped. +</P> + +<P> +"I will get out here," said Ernest, quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"Not quite yet. I have not got through questioning you." +</P> + +<P> +"I am in a hurry," said Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"You must wait till your hurry is over. Now tell me truly, are you not +bound for the Lee's Falls bank?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest was startled. +</P> + +<P> +"You see I know more about you than you suppose. You are the bank +messenger." +</P> + +<P> +It seemed useless to deny it. The important question now was, was his +secret packet in danger? +</P> + +<P> +"I have sometimes acted as bank messenger," he said warily. +</P> + +<P> +"And you are acting in that capacity now. What are you taking to the +Lee's Falls bank?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest turned pale. His worst fears were confirmed. +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you ask?" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Because I want to know." +</P> + +<P> +"What business can it be of yours?" demanded Ernest, boldly. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't be impudent, boy! Hand me the package of money." +</P> + +<P> +"I have no package of money." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you have bonds." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest remained silent. +</P> + +<P> +"I see that I have hit it. Now hand over the bonds, if you value your +life." +</P> + +<P> +He spoke sternly, and looked so fierce that the boy messenger became +more and more alarmed. He saw that he must give up the package, but +determined to hold out in his resistance as long as possible. +</P> + +<P> +"The package is not mine, and I have no right to surrender it," he +said. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll take the responsibility, boy. You can't be blamed, for you can't +help your self." +</P> + +<P> +As he spoke, he passed his hand over Ernest's vest, which he saw +projected more than was usual, and discovered the hiding-place of the +important package. +</P> + +<P> +Instantly he had torn open the vest and drawn out the envelope. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought I should find it," he said in a tone of triumph. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest felt very much dejected. It was a mortification to lose the +first large sum with which he had been intrusted. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you tell me who you are?" he asked abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +"First, let me know who you think I am." +</P> + +<P> +As the driver spoke he eyed Ernest sharply. "Is your name Fox?" asked +the young messenger. +</P> + +<P> +His companion laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"I know Mr. Fox," he answered. +</P> + +<P> +"You are either Fox or a member of his band." +</P> + +<P> +"You seem to be a sharp boy; I won't tell you whether you are right or +not." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose I may go now." +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you want to go?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest hesitated. This was a question which he could not at once +answer. To go on to Lee's Falls without the packet would do little +good. Yet the bank officers there ought to know that the bonds +intended for them had been stolen. Besides, he was too far from +Emmonsville to return that night. +</P> + +<P> +"I will go to Lee's Falls," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Not at present; I have other views for you." As he spoke the robber +turned his horse to the right. Wholly ignorant as to where he was to +be carried, Ernest sank back in his seat and resigned himself as well +as he could to the situation. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE OUTLAW'S HOME, +</H3> + +<P> +Where he was to be carried or what was to be his fate Ernest could not +conjecture, nor did he speculate much. It was enough for him to know +that he was in the power of one of the notorious outlaws. +</P> + +<P> +There was considerable difference between his appearance and that of +the man at his side. He was silent and depressed, while James Fox, for +it was he, seemed in excellent spirits. He turned to the boy with the +remark, "You don't say much." +</P> + +<P> +"No, for it would be no good." +</P> + +<P> +"Brace up, boy! There is no occasion to look as if you were going to a +funeral." +</P> + +<P> +"Give me back the bonds and I will look lively enough." +</P> + +<P> +"Come now, don't be foolish. These bonds don't belong to you." +</P> + +<P> +"They were given into my care." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well! You took as good care of them as you could." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be held responsible for them." +</P> + +<P> +"No, you won't. I shall send your employers a letter, letting them +know that you did the best you could to keep them out of my hands. But +perhaps they never heard of me," and he laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"If your name is Fox, they have heard of you." +</P> + +<P> +"There is no need to beat about the bush. My name is Fox--James Fox." +</P> + +<P> +"What made you take up such a business, Mr. Fox?" asked Ernest, +gravely. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I like that! You, a kid, undertake to lecture me." +</P> + +<P> +"You were once a kid yourself." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw's face grew grave suddenly, and his tone became thoughtful. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I was a kid once. At sixteen--is that your age?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, at sixteen I was as innocent as you. I had a good mother then. +If she had lived, perhaps I would have turned out different. Why, it +seems a great joke, doesn't it? I attended Sunday-school till I was +fifteen." +</P> + +<P> +"You haven't forgotten it, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, nor the lessons I learned there. But it is of no use to recall +those days. Are you afraid that you will come to harm?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest looked intently in the brigand's face. +</P> + +<P> +"No," he said, after a pause. "I think you won't do me any more harm. +But you can do me a great favor." +</P> + +<P> +"What is that--return you the bonds?" +</P> + +<P> +"I would ask that if I thought you would do it, but I don't expect it. +I should like to have you release me and let me go home." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't do that, for I want you to visit me. You may not think it, +but I always like young people. It will be quite a pleasure to me to +have you for a visitor." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, but I am afraid that I shall become an unwilling guest." +</P> + +<P> +"Besides, it will be a pleasure to my little boy to meet you. He does +not often meet other boys." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you a son?" asked Ernest in surprise. +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw's face softened. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," he answered. "He is a sweet little boy, as I can say, even if +he is my son. His name is Frank. Would you like to see his picture?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," answered Ernest with interest. +</P> + +<P> +James Fox drew from an inner pocket a small card photograph of a young +boy with a very winning face. Ernest was attracted, for, unlike many +boys of his age, he liked younger children. He looked at the picture +long and earnestly. +</P> + +<P> +"It is a sweet face," he said at last. "Isn't it?" asked the proud +father. +</P> + +<P> +"Is his mother living?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Was there no difficulty in getting it taken?" +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you mean on account of my profession. Well, there might be +around here, but this was taken in Minneapolis--about a year ago. It +was one of the few visits that Frank has made with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you going to bring him up to your business?" +</P> + +<P> +"Take care, boy," said the outlaw, frowning. "Don't be impertinent." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't mean to be. Do you think the question an improper one?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, perhaps I have no right to think so. Somehow the business, +though it seems all right for me, I couldn't think of for my boy. No, +I shall soon place him at school where no one will know that he is +related to the celebrated outlaw. I want him brought up to lead an +honest life." +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad you do. I respect you for that." +</P> + +<P> +"My lad, you seem to be one of the right sort. As you will see my son, +I want you to promise me that you won't say a word about the business +I am engaged in." +</P> + +<P> +"I will make that promise. Then the boy doesn't know?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; he has no suspicion. He is too young to think much about that. +Perhaps if he had associated with other boys much he would have found +out." +</P> + +<P> +While this conversation was going on they had entered a wood, and the +road became wilder and rougher. Indeed, it was hardly a road, but +rather a lane, narrow and grass-grown. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest began to wonder in what sort of a home his companion lived. His +evident affection for his son gave Ernest a different feeling towards +him. It was plain that he had a softer side to his nature, bandit +though he was. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest had never read the story of Jekyll and Hyde, but he felt +instinctively that the man beside him had a double nature. On the road +he was an outlaw, with corresponding traits, a rough and unscrupulous +man, but at home, and in the presence of his son, as Ernest judged, he +was a warm-hearted and affectionate father. +</P> + +<P> +In truth, the young bank messenger looked forward with interest to a +meeting with the boy who was so dear to the heart of a man whom the +world generally supposed to be a stranger to the softer emotions. +</P> + +<P> +At length they reached a rocky hillside. Here the outlaw pulled up his +horse and jumped from the buggy. Ernest looked at him in a questioning +way. +</P> + +<P> +"You can get out," he said. "We have arrived." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest alighted and looked about him. He naturally expected to see a +dwelling of some kind, but there was none in sight. If it was at a +distance, why should they not have driven to it? +</P> + +<P> +James Fox looked at him with a smile, enjoying his perplexity. +</P> + +<P> +From his pocket he drew a handkerchief. +</P> + +<P> +"Come here, my boy," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest did not quite understand what he proposed to do, but he felt +better acquainted with the outlaw now, and he knew that there was no +cause for apprehension. He accordingly approached without question. +</P> + +<P> +James Fox bandaged his eyes so that he could see nothing. Then he took +him by the hand and led him forward. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest could not tell what was being done, but he found himself +walking on a rocky path, hand in hand with his guide. How long he +walked he could not tell. It might have been two hundred feet. Then +his guide stopped, and of course he stopped, too. +</P> + +<P> +Next the handkerchief was removed, and he found himself in what seemed +a rocky cavern. At any rate it was a large room, of irregular shape, +but the stone floor had been made smooth, and was covered by a soft +carpet. It was furnished like a sitting-room in a private house. There +were comfortable chairs, including a rocking-chair, and a capacious +arm-chair. On one side of the room was an inviting-looking couch. +</P> + +<P> +Of course there would have been perfect darkness but for artificial +light. On a table was a large student's lamp, and in a niche in the +wall was another. Besides this, there was a lantern hanging from the +roof of the chamber, but this was not lighted. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest looked about him with curiosity and surprise. It was something +new to him, and recalled a story he had once read, in which a +cave-dwelling was described. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what do you think of it?" asked the outlaw, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"It is wonderful," said Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"You did not know where I was bringing you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. It is a cave, is it not?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, it looks like it." +</P> + +<P> +"There are other rooms, are there not?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but this is my private apartment; my parlor, you may call it. +This is my sleeping-room." +</P> + +<P> +He drew aside the hangings on the further side and revealed an inner +chamber, of less size. +</P> + +<P> +On a bed Ernest's attention was drawn to the figure of a sleeping boy +evidently the original of the picture which the outlaw had shown him. +</P> + +<P> +"That is your son?" asked Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, that is Frank." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw's stern countenance softened as he regarded the sleeping +boy. +</P> + +<P> +Suddenly the boy stirred; he opened his eyes, and when he recognized +his father a glad smile lighted up his innocent face. +</P> + +<P> +"Papa!" he said, and James Fox bent over and kissed him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +IN THE ROBBER'S CAVE. +</H3> + +<P> +After kissing his father the young boy looked inquisitively at Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is that boy, papa?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I have brought him here to stay with you. Shall you like to have his +company?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, papa. You know it is very lonely while you are away. What is his +name?" +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw looked at Ernest significantly. He took the hint and +answered, "My name is Ernest Ray." +</P> + +<P> +"How old are you, Ernest?" went on the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Sixteen." +</P> + +<P> +"I am only ten." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you ready to get up, Frank?" asked his father. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," answered the young boy briskly. "I got sleepy because I was +alone. Where did papa find you, Ernest?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, I met him outside, and he took me to ride." +</P> + +<P> +James Fox looked approval of this answer. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad you came with him. You seem like a nice boy, Ernest." +</P> + +<P> +"So do you, Frank." +</P> + +<P> +By this time Frank had slid from the bed and put his hand in Ernest's. +</P> + +<P> +"Come here," he said, "and I will show you my books." +</P> + +<P> +Led by his small companion, Ernest went up to a bookcase which he had +not before observed in the main room. About thirty books stood on the +shelves. +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you get your books?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Papa bought them for me in Minneapolis. Were you ever in +Minneapolis?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"It is a nice place. Sometimes I think I would like to live there +instead of here." +</P> + +<P> +"You are not getting tired of home, are you, Frank?" asked his father, +half reproach fully. +</P> + +<P> +"No, papa, but it is lonely here sometimes. Am I to live here always?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Frank. Some time I will send you to school. But you won't see me +every day then." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I don't want to go." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw stooped over and kissed the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, Frank, I have something to do, so you may amuse yourself with +Ernest." +</P> + +<P> +"Can you play dominos?" asked Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; have you a set?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +The boy opened a drawer in a bureau and drew out a box of dominos. He +poured them out on the table and they began to play the ordinary game. +When they tired of that, Ernest taught him a new one. +</P> + +<P> +After they grew tired of playing, Ernest read aloud to the boy from +one of his favorite books. +</P> + +<P> +They were sitting together in the arm-chair, when James Fox, who had +left the room, returned. He smiled approvingly at the picture. He was +pleased to think that he had found a companion whom his boy liked. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you been doing, Frank?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He has been reading to me, papa. He reads nicely, and I liked it very +much." +</P> + +<P> +"I am sorry to interrupt you, but are not you young people hungry?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think I could eat something," answered Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Frank, you may bring him into the dining-room." +</P> + +<P> +The drapery was lifted, and they passed into a room as large as the +one they were in. On a table in the centre a substantial meal, +consisting principally of roast beef, was set forth. An old colored +woman--intensely black and slightly deformed--hovered near, evidently +the cook. +</P> + +<P> +"Juba," said the outlaw, "this is a new boarder. His name is Ernest," +</P> + +<P> +"Glad to see you, Massa Ernest," rejoined the old woman, nodding her +turban. "Sit down here next to Massa Frank." +</P> + +<P> +It seemed very strange to Ernest to reflect that he was the guest of +one of the famous outlaws of whom he had heard so much. He was half +inclined to doubt whether it was real. If he had been alone he would +have pinched himself to see whether he was awake or dreaming. Here he +was, in the bowels of the earth, on intimate terms with an outlaw and +his family. How long was he to stay in the cavern? That was a +question impossible to answer. Meanwhile he was hungry, and the +dinner was well cooked. +</P> + +<P> +In spite of his being a prisoner and the loss of the packet, Ernest +was almost ashamed of himself for the appetite which he manifested. +But it seemed to give pleasure to Juba, who regarded it as a +compliment to her cookery. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is Uncle John, papa?" asked Frank, suddenly. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest remembered that one of the Fox brothers was named John, and he +awaited the answer with interest. +</P> + +<P> +James Fox seemed busily thinking, and Frank had to repeat the +question. +</P> + +<P> +"Your Uncle John?" repeated the outlaw. "He went away on business." +</P> + +<P> +"What kind of business, papa?" +</P> + +<P> +It was a natural question, but it startled James Fox. He saw that as +his son became older it might not be easy to evade embarrassing +questions. +</P> + +<P> +"You seem curious, Frank," he answered after a pause. "You wouldn't +understand if I were to tell you." +</P> + +<P> +"Will you teach me your business some day, papa?" +</P> + +<P> +It was on the tip of the outlaw's tongue to say, "Heaven forbid!" but +he only answered, "Wait till you are older, Frank. Then we will talk +about it." +</P> + +<P> +At length they rose from the table. +</P> + +<P> +They went back to the main room, and Ernest read a little more to the +young boy. But Frank's eyes grew heavy, and he finally dropped off to +sleep. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I lay him on the bed, Mr. Fox?" asked Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I will do so." +</P> + +<P> +He took the boy tenderly in his arms. +</P> + +<P> +"If I had known he would fall asleep I would have undressed him," he +said. +</P> + +<P> +After placing the boy on the bed he resumed his seat in the arm-chair +and began to smoke. Finally, he looked over at Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you like my little boy?" he asked abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +"He is a dear little fellow," answered Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"So he is," said the father in a soft voice. "You have no prejudice +against him because he is my son?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," answered Ernest. "Whatever you are, he is not responsible." +</P> + +<P> +"True, but all might not take that view of it. I don't know why I +should speak so confidentially to you, lad, but if I ever regret my +line of life it is when I look at him. I wouldn't like to have his +future marred by his association with me. I wouldn't like people to +turn from him because he was an outlaw's son." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope you will forgive my boldness," said Ernest, "but don't you +think you will ever change your mode of life?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is too late; I am too well known. Yet who knows?" he said, after a +pause. "Nothing is impossible." +</P> + +<P> +At nine o'clock Juba entered the room. +</P> + +<P> +"Has John returned?" asked the outlaw. +</P> + +<P> +"No, massa." +</P> + +<P> +A shade of anxiety overspread the outlaw's face. +</P> + +<P> +"He should have been here before this," he said. Then, looking at +Ernest, he said, "I am going out a while. Lie down on the bed with +Frank, and if he wakes up undress him." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +An hour later Frank and Ernest were sleeping peacefully side by side. +</P> + +<P> +When Ernest awoke the next morning Frank was still asleep on the bed +beside him. In the large room adjoining, James Fox lay on the lounge. +He had given his bed to Ernest. He had not himself undressed, but had +thrown himself on the couch in his ordinary clothes. +</P> + +<P> +Breakfast was ready by the time they were, and the three sat down +together. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is Uncle John, papa?" asked Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"He has not returned, Frank," said James Fox, soberly. +</P> + +<P> +"What made him stay away all night?" +</P> + +<P> +"Probably it was business," answered the outlaw, but Ernest noticed +that he looked disturbed. +</P> + +<P> +In truth he had been out till two o'clock seeking for his brother, who +he feared had got into trouble. We know that he was in the prison at +Crampton, whither he had been conveyed by Luke Robbins and Ezekiel +Mason. Of course it was in the mind of James Fox that his brother +might have been arrested, since this was a risk which he daily +incurred. +</P> + +<P> +Just as breakfast was over there was a new arrival. It was a tall, +stalwart fellow, whom James Fox addressed as Hugh. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you bring any news, Hugh?" asked the outlaw eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," answered Hugh Humphries. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it about John?" +</P> + +<P> +Hugh glanced significantly at the two boys. Ernest he saw for the +first time. +</P> + +<P> +James Fox understood and followed Hugh out of the room. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," he said inquiringly, when they were out of hearing. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. John is in trouble," answered Hugh, briefly. +</P> + +<P> +"Go on," said James Fox. "Do you know where he is?" +</P> + +<P> +"In Crampton jail." +</P> + +<P> +"Go on. Give me the particulars." +</P> + +<P> +"He was carried there by two persons." +</P> + +<P> +"Who were they?" +</P> + +<P> +"One I think was a farmer who lives in Claremont. The other seemed to +be a Quaker." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't remember any Quaker in this neighborhood. He must be a +stranger hereabouts." +</P> + +<P> +"I think I have seen him before." +</P> + +<P> +"Where?" +</P> + +<P> +"At the Emmonsville bank. I was passing there one day in disguise, and +chancing to look in, I saw this man sitting on a bench near the paying +teller's desk." +</P> + +<P> +"Ah!" said James Fox, thoughtfully. "He may be a detective." +</P> + +<P> +"That is what I thought." +</P> + +<P> +"That is bad news, but the jail at Crampton is not very strong. I have +been confined there myself and made my escape. However, John will need +assistance from the outside." +</P> + +<P> +"I see you have a new boy," said Hugh, curiously. "When did you pick +him up?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yesterday, a few miles from here. He is a bank messenger." +</P> + +<P> +"From what bank?" +</P> + +<P> +"The Emmonsville bank." +</P> + +<P> +"Then he may know something of this Quaker detective." +</P> + +<P> +"Well suggested. I will question him." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE OUTLAW AND HIS BAND. +</H3> + +<P> +When James Fox returned to the apartment where the boys were still +seated at the table he said, "Ernest, I should like to speak to you a +minute." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest followed him out of the room. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there any person connected with the bank at Emmonsville who wears +the dress of a Quaker?" began the outlaw. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest hesitated a moment. +</P> + +<P> +"Speak out, boy!" said Fox. "I must and will know." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he a detective?" +</P> + +<P> +"He may act as such." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he under pay at the bank?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think he is." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know where he is now?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Was he at the bank when you left it yesterday afternoon?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know where he was?" +</P> + +<P> +"I saw him ride away with a farmer." +</P> + +<P> +John Fox and Hugh exchanged glances. Their suspicions were confirmed. +</P> + +<P> +"Is he in any trouble?" asked Ernest, becoming a questioner in his +turn. +</P> + +<P> +"No. For aught I know he may be at the bank." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest looked relieved, and for two reasons. He was glad that Luke was +not in trouble. Then he knew that when his disappearance was +discovered, Luke would leave no stone unturned to rescue him. It was a +comfort to think that he had a powerful friend outside. +</P> + +<P> +"That will do," said the outlaw. "You may return to Frank." +</P> + +<P> +"How long are you going to keep me here?" asked Ernest, anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you already tired of remaining with us?" +</P> + +<P> +There was something in the outlaw's tone that savored of kindness. +Ernest felt that in some way he had ingratiated himself with him. +</P> + +<P> +"I would like my freedom. I am not used to confinement," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Very natural. I cannot let you go just yet, but I will not allow you +to be harmed. Do not be alarmed." +</P> + +<P> +"I am not," answered Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not? You know my reputation." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but thus far you have been kind to me." +</P> + +<P> +"True. I like you, for you are kind to my boy, and I see that he +enjoys your company. Listen! I shall be away all day, probably. Do +what you can to amuse Frank." +</P> + +<P> +"I will. I should be very lonely without him." +</P> + +<P> +"That is a good boy, Hugh," said John Fox, as Ernest left them. "I +should like to keep him with us." +</P> + +<P> +"Why don't you, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid he would be unhappy." +</P> + +<P> +"I never knew you to take such a liking to a boy before." +</P> + +<P> +"I never have. Indeed, I have seldom met any. All my dealings have +been with men. But, Hugh, we must lose no time. We must try to rescue +John, if possible. It is no more than he would do for me, if our cases +were reversed." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, captain. I am ready to follow wherever you lead." +</P> + +<P> +"I know that, Hugh. You have always been faithful to my brother and +myself." +</P> + +<P> +"I always will be, captain," said Hugh, with a look of loyal +devotion. +</P> + +<P> +"I know it. I am sure that we have no better friend than Hugh +Humphries." +</P> + +<P> +"You only do me justice, captain. Will you forgive me if I say +something?" +</P> + +<P> +"Say what you please, Hugh." +</P> + +<P> +"What you have said of me is just, but I don't think you can say it of +all in the band." +</P> + +<P> +"Is there any one whom you suspect? If so, it is your duty to tell +me." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't take much stock in Peter Longman." +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid you are suspicious, Hugh." +</P> + +<P> +"Not without cause. I have noticed some things about him that I don't +like. I think he is quite capable of turning against you." +</P> + +<P> +"I have never remarked anything of the sort, but I know you would not +speak without cause. Tell me what you want me to do." +</P> + +<P> +"Only to be on your guard. Don't trust Peter as you trust me." +</P> + +<P> +"I never have. And now have you any suggestions to make?" +</P> + +<P> +"You might visit this farmer who helped the Quaker arrest your +brother." +</P> + +<P> +"It may be a good plan. Who is the farmer?" +</P> + +<P> +"His name is Ezekiel Mason." +</P> + +<P> +"I know where he lives. He is the last man I should suppose would be +capable of such mischief." +</P> + +<P> +"He could have done nothing without the Quaker's help." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, we will take the farm on the way. Still I don't know that +we shall learn anything beyond what we already know." +</P> + +<P> +Before leaving the cave they disguised themselves as farm workmen. In +this dress they approached the farm-house, but there was something +that diverted them from their original purpose and led them to keep +their distance. +</P> + +<P> +Sitting on the portico was a tall man dressed as a Quaker. +</P> + +<P> +"That's the man!" Said Hugh, quickly. "That's the man who drove up to +the jail last evening with your brother." +</P> + +<P> +James Fox looked at him closely. +</P> + +<P> +"It is best to let sleeping dogs lie," he said. "We will push on to +the jail." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A DAY IN THE CAVE. +</H3> + +<P> +Meanwhile Ernest was left in the cave with Frank. He had been brought +in blindfolded, and was therefore ignorant as to the entrance or exit. +He thought he might, without arousing the boy's suspicion, seek +information from him on these points. +</P> + +<P> +"Are there many rooms here, Frank?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, a good many," answered the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you been in many?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have been around with papa." +</P> + +<P> +"I should like to go round," said Ernest. "Suppose we take a little +walk." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll go with you. I should be afraid to go alone." +</P> + +<P> +"Does Juba ever go out?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; she sometimes goes out to get things." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know where she goes?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you never went with her." +</P> + +<P> +"I went once, but papa does not like to have me go out." +</P> + +<P> +"Let us go about a little." +</P> + +<P> +The boy was quite ready to accept any suggestion from Ernest. So he +took his hand and they went from the main room farther into the +cavern. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest found that only the portion near the entrance had been +furnished. Beyond, there was a large amount of empty space. Here and +there a small light revealed trunks and boxes, arranged without regard +to regularity. These, Ernest conjectured, contained stolen articles +which had accumulated during the years in which the dreaded outlaws +had been a power and a menace in the neighborhood. +</P> + +<P> +It occurred to him that he would like to open some of these boxes, but +the companionship of the boy prevented. +</P> + +<P> +He ventured to ask, however, "What is in those boxes, Frank?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. Something of papa's and Uncle John's." +</P> + +<P> +As they kept on they reached parts of the cavern which were quite +empty. The Fox brothers were in the position of householders who +occupied a house too large for their needs. +</P> + +<P> +By and by the lamps ceased, and the portion farther on looked dark and +gloomy. +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid to go any farther, Ernest," said the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, Frank? What are you afraid of?" +</P> + +<P> +"There may be wild animals there." +</P> + +<P> +"But how could they live there?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know, but papa told me there were some." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest understood why the boy had been told this. It was to prevent +his going too far. But it made Ernest all the more eager to continue +his explorations. +</P> + +<P> +"Even if there were any wild animals I would protect you, Frank. I +would not let them hurt you." +</P> + +<P> +"But we may not find our way back. It is so dark," said the child with +a shudder. +</P> + +<P> +"I won't go farther. But, see, it seems to be lighter." +</P> + +<P> +It was at a point fifty feet farther on. +</P> + +<P> +Through a rift in the roof a gleam of light entered the cavern. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest was anxious to trace this, for, as he judged, it came from some +outlet, through which he might possibly obtain deliverance. +</P> + +<P> +"Stay where you are," he said. "I will just go forward, and see what I +can." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't stay long," entreated Frank, nervously. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I won't." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest was just as well pleased to go forward alone, for if there was +really, as he supposed, an outlet, it was as well that Frank should +not have his attention drawn to it lest he should speak of it to his +father, and so reveal the fact of their explorations. This might +excite the suspicion of James Fox and put a stop to their further +walks. +</P> + +<P> +Continuing on alone, Ernest then saw, perhaps fifteen feet above him, +an opening some three feet in diameter, through which he could obtain +a glimpse of the clear sky far above. +</P> + +<P> +It made his heart beat with exultation and longing. There was freedom, +if he could only manage somehow to lift himself up to the outlet and +make his way through it. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, Ernest?" asked Frank. "Come back. I am afraid." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, it is nothing," answered Ernest, with studied indifference. "It +isn't anything you would care to see." +</P> + +<P> +The little boy accepted this assurance, for he did not feel the +interest that excited Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Let us go back," he said, as he resumed his clasp of Ernest's hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, we will go back. Have you ever been as far as this before?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we had better not say anything about it. Your papa might not +like it." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, Ernest. Will you read to me when you go back?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Frank." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest was glad to comply with the little boy's request, as he thought +he might in this way put the thoughts of their exploration out of his +mind. +</P> + +<P> +They were fortunate enough to get back without exciting the attention +of Juba, who was busy in the kitchen. +</P> + +<P> +Her work, however, was soon over, and she brought her sewing into the +room where the two boys were seated. The garment on which she was +engaged seemed to be a dress of rough cloth. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Massa Frank, what am you doing?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ernest is reading to me. Why don't you ever read to me, Juba?" +</P> + +<P> +"O lor', chile, you know I can't read." +</P> + +<P> +"But why can't you read? You're old enough." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, honey, I'm old enough, but I never had no chance to learn." +</P> + +<P> +"Why didn't you?" persisted Frank. "Didn't you go to school when you +was little?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, chile, never went to school. They didn't have no schools where I +was raised." +</P> + +<P> +"Where was that?" +</P> + +<P> +"In ole Virginny." +</P> + +<P> +"Were you a slave, Juba?" asked Ernest, getting interested. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, massa, I was a slave." +</P> + +<P> +"And how did you get here?" +</P> + +<P> +"It was all along of the war. Ole massa, he went to the war and got +killed. Then young massa went, and he got killed, too. Then one day +there came an officer--one of Abe Linkum's officers--and he told us we +were free and might go where we pleased. That was a drefful time." +</P> + +<P> +"Why was it dreadful? Weren't you glad to be free?" asked Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"No, honey, we didn't know where to go, nor what to do. We'd allus had +some one to look after us and take care of us, but now there wasn't +anybody." +</P> + +<P> +"Were you married, Juba?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but I don't know whether my ole man is livin' or not. He was +sold down in Georgie, to a cousin of ole massa." +</P> + +<P> +"Then he may be living yet?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, honey." +</P> + +<P> +"How old are you, Juba?" asked Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know, chile. I's powerful old. Specs I's a hundred." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"No, Juba," he said, "you are not nearly a hundred. You may be sixty." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, massa, you know best." +</P> + +<P> +"Juba, did you ever hear about <I>Uncle Tom?</I>" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, chile, I knew Uncle Tom," was the unexpected reply. "He was +raised on Mr. Jackson's place, next to ours." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest asked some questions about this Uncle Tom, but learned, as he +expected, that it was quite a different person from the negro +immortalized by Mrs. Stowe. +</P> + +<P> +In looking over Frank's books Ernest found an old copy of "Uncle Tom's +Cabin," and taking it down, he read some portions, particularly those +relating to Topsy. +</P> + +<P> +Both Frank and Juba were very much entertained. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you know Topsy, Juba?" asked Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"No, chile, never knowed Topsy. She must have been a no account young +nigga. If she'd lived on our plantation she'd have got flogged for her +impudence." +</P> + +<P> +"How did you come here, Juba?" asked Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"One of them officers took me to Chicago. I lived out with a lady, but +when she died, after a good many years, I went to a 'telligence +office, and there I met your papa. He brought me out here. I didn't at +first like livin' down under the ground, but I don't mind it now. +Massa Fox treats me well, and I ain't no wish to change." +</P> + +<P> +This was the substance of what Juba had to communicate. The rest of +the day passed quietly. At nightfall James Fox came home looking very +sober. But he came alone. His brother was not with him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap20"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +ERNEST EXPLORES THE CAVE. +</H3> + +<P> +James Fox had very little to say during the evening. He was evidently +preoccupied and anxious. He paid scant attention to the boys, but left +them to their own devices. +</P> + +<P> +Frank knew so little of his father's business, or occupation, that he +could conceive of no cause for worriment. When his advances met with +little response he asked, "Have you got a headache, papa?" +</P> + +<P> +"No--yes, child. My head troubles me some. Be as quiet as you can." +</P> + +<P> +"Will it disturb you if I play checkers with Ernest, papa?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I should like to have you amuse your self," answered the outlaw. +</P> + +<P> +He directed the boys to go to bed early. As before, they slept +together, and he threw him self on the lounge without taking off his +clothes. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest slept well. When he woke up at eight o'clock he saw that Frank +was still sleeping, but his host was already up. +</P> + +<P> +Juba came into the room. +</P> + +<P> +"Get up, children," she said. "Breakfast is ready." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is papa?" asked Frank. +</P> + +<P> +"He took breakfast an hour ago, honey." +</P> + +<P> +"What made him get up so early?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Portant business called him away, he said." +</P> + +<P> +"Where's Uncle John?" +</P> + +<P> +"He hasn't been home." +</P> + +<P> +"Has he got 'portant business, too?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Specs he has, honey." +</P> + +<P> +"It doesn't seem nice to take breakfast without papa," said the +little boy. +</P> + +<P> +"You may consider me your papa, Frank," observed Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"But you're not big enough to be a papa." +</P> + +<P> +"At any rate, I am not old enough." +</P> + +<P> +When breakfast was over there was the long day before them to be +filled up in some way. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you ever wish to go out of the cave, Frank?" asked Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Where?" asked the little boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Into the bright sunshine, out on the green grass, and under the +trees." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I think I should like it," answered Frank, thoughtfully. "But +papa does not want me to go. I don't know why. Do many little boys +live in caves like me?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I don't think so." +</P> + +<P> +"Can they walk about in the sunshine, and play?" +</P> + +<P> +"I always did." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you like it better than living here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Then what made you come here?" +</P> + +<P> +This was an embarrassing question, and Ernest felt that he must be +careful in answering. "Your papa wanted me to make you a visit," he +replied after a pause. +</P> + +<P> +"And I am glad you came. It isn't so lonely for me. Before, I had only +Juba." +</P> + +<P> +"Wouldn't she play with you?" asked Ernest with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +Frank laughed merrily. +</P> + +<P> +"Juba is too old to play. I hope you will stay with me a good while." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest could not echo this wish, so he answered evasively, +</P> + +<P> +"I can't tell yet how long I shall stay. But the time will come when +you will leave the cave and live like other little boys in a house." +</P> + +<P> +"Did papa tell you that?" +</P> + +<P> +"He told me that he should send you to school before long." +</P> + +<P> +"What is a school like?" asked the little boy anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +Few boys of ten would have been obliged to put this question, but +Frank had been secluded from the world ever since he was a baby. +</P> + +<P> +"There will be a good many boys, some older, some younger, than +yourself. You will study lessons together, and play together." +</P> + +<P> +"I think that will be nice." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I am sure you will enjoy it." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you ever go to school?" +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, yes; I went to school for some years. I wish I could go again." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you will go to school with me." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't tell," answered Ernest, vaguely. "Perhaps Juba will go to +school with you." +</P> + +<P> +Frank laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"She would look funny going to school," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"What's dat you sayin' 'bout Juba, Massa Ernest?" asked the old woman, +entering the room. +</P> + +<P> +"I told Frank you might go to school with him." +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe I'd go and take care of him, honey." +</P> + +<P> +"But you wouldn't want to study." +</P> + +<P> +"I wouldn't study nohow. I's a poor, ignorant nigger. Never shall know +nuffin', I expect." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you think you could learn to read, Juba?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I couldn't. It takes white folks to read." +</P> + +<P> +"No, Juba; when I went to school there was a colored boy in my class, +and he was one of the smartest scholars we had." +</P> + +<P> +"And was he a nigger?" asked Juba, interested. +</P> + +<P> +"We didn't call him that, but he was a colored boy. If he could learn +to read, I am sure you could." +</P> + +<P> +"It's no use, chile. I'm too old now." +</P> + +<P> +Much as he liked Frank, it was irksome to Ernest to remain all day in +the cave. It was imprisonment under pleasant circumstances, but still +imprisonment. +</P> + +<P> +They got through the forenoon somehow, taking dinner at twelve +o'clock. +</P> + +<P> +About two o'clock Frank complained of being sleepy. +</P> + +<P> +"You won't mind if I go to sleep for an hour, Ernest?" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no," answered Ernest. "I can read, you know." +</P> + +<P> +Since his exploration of the day before, Ernest had been longing to +visit once more the same portion of the cave. But he wanted to go +alone. He had a hope that through the aperture in the roof he might +effect his escape. It would not do to have Frank with him, as this +would interfere with his plan. Now the longed-for opportunity was +almost at hand. +</P> + +<P> +He took a volume from the book-shelf, and sitting down beside the bed +began to read. But his mind was not on the book, though at another +time he would have enjoyed it. He watched Frank, and in less than +fifteen minutes had the satisfaction of seeing that he was fast +asleep. +</P> + +<P> +Then he left the room, Juba being occupied in the kitchen. He secured +his hat, as he would need it in case he effected his escape. +</P> + +<P> +As he passed through that apartment in the cave where there were +trunks and boxes, it occurred to him to open one of them. He was +rather surprised that it should be unlocked, but so it was. +</P> + +<P> +It was filled with a miscellaneous assortment of articles, but on top, +to his surprise and joy, he recognized the envelope containing the +bonds that had been taken from him. +</P> + +<P> +If he left the cave he would want these, and therefore he had no +hesitation in taking them. He put them in the inside pocket of his +vest, and kept on his way. +</P> + +<P> +In a short time he reached the spot lighted by the aperture in the +roof. +</P> + +<P> +The opening was quite large enough for him to get through, but the +difficulty was that it was fully fifteen feet above the floor of the +cave. Ernest was something of a gymnast, but it was out of his power +to reach the opening through which alone he could obtain deliverance. +</P> + +<P> +He looked about him to see if there were any articles which he could +pile upon one an other so as to attain the aperture. But the cave was +quite empty of articles of any description, nor could he find any that +he could move in the portions which he had already traversed. +</P> + +<P> +It was certainly very aggravating to be so near freedom, and yet +unable to obtain it. There just above him he could see the blue sky +and the cheerful sunshine, while he was a prisoner in a dark cavern. +</P> + +<P> +Was there no way of reaching the opening? he asked himself. +</P> + +<P> +If he had to give up hope, he would feel obliged to return the +envelope to the box from which he had taken it. Were its loss +discovered, he would of course be searched, and kept in stricter +seclusion than before. +</P> + +<P> +In the room used by the outlaw as a sitting-room--the apartment he had +just left--he might be able to find what he needed. But he could not +remove anything without being detected, and should he return there he +would possibly find Frank awake, which would spoil all. +</P> + +<P> +It looked as if he would have to give up the chance that had come to +him. In thoughtful mood he walked slowly back. All at once an idea +struck him. In the room where the trunks and boxes were stored he had +seen a long, stout rope. Could he do anything with it? +</P> + +<P> +Looking up at the aperture, he noticed a jagged projection on one +side. +</P> + +<P> +"If I could attach the rope to that," he reflected, "I could draw +myself up hand over hand till I reached the top, and then it would go +hard if I didn't get out." +</P> + +<P> +With new hope in his heart, he retraced his steps rapidly till he +reached the store-room. +</P> + +<P> +He knew just where to look for the rope. He examined it carefully, and +found it very stout and strong. +</P> + +<P> +He took it back with him. Then making a loop at one end, he stood +under the opening and threw it up as he would a lasso. He had to try a +dozen times before he contrived to circle the projection with the +loop. +</P> + +<P> +Then pulling it taut, he began to climb hand over hand, as he had many +a time done in sport. Now his deliverance depended upon it. +</P> + +<P> +Slowly, foot by foot, he approached the opening, not knowing whether, +even if he reached it, he would be able to draw himself through the +hole. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap21"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE. +</H3> + +<P> +Arrived at the opening, Ernest found that there was a trap-door which +was ordinarily closed, but through some misadventure had been left open. +It was, however, a serious problem to draw himself up so as to profit by +what he had already done. +</P> + +<P> +Twice he failed, and nearly lost his grip on the rope. Then he caught +hold of the projection from which the rope depended, and by a supreme +effort he succeeded, helping himself by means of the trap-door, in +emerging from his subterranean prison. +</P> + +<P> +Stretching himself, he took a deep breath, and realized joyfully not +only that he was free, but that he had recovered the valuable bonds of +which he had been placed in charge. +</P> + +<P> +He began to look around him, and tried to conjecture in what direction +he must go to reach Lee's Falls. He was quite at a loss, as he had +been carried into the cave blindfolded. But help seemed to be at hand. +He saw at a little distance, rapidly approaching him, a man of middle +height, whom he concluded to be a resident of some place in the +vicinity. +</P> + +<P> +"Can you tell me in what direction I must go to reach Lee's Falls?" he +asked. +</P> + +<P> +The stranger paused and examined him sharply. +</P> + +<P> +"So you want to go to Lee's Falls?" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you come from?" +</P> + +<P> +"From Emmonsville." +</P> + +<P> +"Direct?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"I saw you just now coming out of some opening in the earth." +</P> + +<P> +This alarmed Ernest. He felt that he might be called upon to explain +where he had been. +</P> + +<P> +"Who is this man?" he asked himself. "Is he one who is likely to be in +the confidence of the outlaws? If so, I have only got out of one +scrape to fall into another." +</P> + +<P> +He studied the face of the man with whom he was speaking, and to his +dismay noted a resemblance to James Fox, who had captured him. He +began to suspect that this was his brother. +</P> + +<P> +Whether it was or not, Ernest deemed it politic to say as little as +possible of his experiences, and of what he knew about the cave and +its occupants. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," he answered quietly; "there seems to be a cave underneath. I +found the trap door open, and went down, but I regretted it, for I +found it difficult to get out again." +</P> + +<P> +His new acquaintance eyed him scrutinizingly, as if to see whether he +knew more than he was willing to reveal. +</P> + +<P> +"So there is a cave underneath?" he said inquiringly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you any idea what it is used for?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think it is used at all. The room below seems empty." +</P> + +<P> +The man regarded him fixedly. +</P> + +<P> +"When did you leave Emmonsville?" he asked abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yesterday," answered Ernest in some confusion. +</P> + +<P> +"How does it happen that you have got no farther on your way to Lee's +Falls?" +</P> + +<P> +"I stopped at the cabin of an Indian," answered Ernest, making the +only explanation he could think of. +</P> + +<P> +The man smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"Young man," he said, "didn't you pass last night in this cave?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest saw that there was no further chance for subterfuge. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," he answered. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought so." +</P> + +<P> +"You were captured?" the other went on. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you any suspicion by whom this cave is occupied?" +</P> + +<P> +"I presume by the Fox brothers." +</P> + +<P> +"Correct. I am one of them." +</P> + +<P> +"I began to think so." +</P> + +<P> +"How were you able to escape?" +</P> + +<P> +"I was left with the little boy. He fell asleep, and then I began to +explore." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is my brother?" +</P> + +<P> +"He went out quite early, I presume in search of you. You are John +Fox, are you not?" +</P> + +<P> +"Exactly. I suppose my brother heard that I was in trouble." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"By the way, the Quaker detective through whom I got into difficulty +you doubtless know?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do." +</P> + +<P> +"I was put into jail at Crampton, but I managed to effect my escape. +Are you connected in any way with the Emmonsville bank?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"In what way?" +</P> + +<P> +"As bank messenger." +</P> + +<P> +"Did my brother take anything from you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Money?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; bonds." +</P> + +<P> +"You are a sensible boy. You answer my questions freely. You are a +smart boy, too. It isn't every lad of your age who would have managed +to effect an escape from the cave. Do you remember the entrance?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I was carried into it blindfolded." +</P> + +<P> +"I thought my brother would be prudent. So you couldn't find it +again?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I don't think so." +</P> + +<P> +"Still, I cannot run any risk. You will have to come with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you want to carry me?" asked Ernest, much disturbed. +</P> + +<P> +"I will carry you back to the cave." +</P> + +<P> +"Let me go free. I will promise not to reveal anything that I have +discovered." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"I am sorry, boy, but that is a request I cannot grant. You were made +prisoner by my brother, and I owe it to him to prevent your escape." +</P> + +<P> +It was intolerable to Ernest to think of having his captivity renewed. +He determined that he would at least make an effort for free dom. +</P> + +<P> +Accordingly he did not hesitate, but started to run, hoping that in +this way he might save himself. He had always the reputation among his +boy companions as a sprinter, and resolved to see whether this was a +lost art with him. +</P> + +<P> +"So that's your game, is it?" exclaimed the outlaw. "It will go hard +with me if I don't catch you. Stop, or it will be the worse for you!" +</P> + +<P> +But Ernest had no intention of giving up so soon. He only exerted +himself the more. +</P> + +<P> +The contest was not so unequal as might have been supposed. Ernest was +tall of his age, and the outlaw was rather below the average height. +So there was in reality only about an inch difference in their height. +</P> + +<P> +On the other hand John Fox had, as might be supposed, more strength +and endurance. He was not over weight, and therefore not scant of +breath. Ernest got the start, and this was an advantage. One ran about +as fast as the other, so it settled down into a contest of endurance. +Whoever could hold out the longest would win. +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw, however, was irritated at the unexpected difficulty of his +undertaking. He had thought that Ernest would surrender at discretion. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish I had my revolver," he muttered. +</P> + +<P> +Had the outlaw been aware that Ernest had in his possession the packet +of bonds which had impelled his brother to make him a captive, his +zeal would have been increased. This, however, he did not suspect. He +knew, of course, that the bonds would be taken from him, and he could +conceive of no chance of the boy's recovering them. +</P> + +<P> +They flew over the ground, maintaining the same relative distance. But +there was an unexpected contingency that worked to the disadvantage of +Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +Directly in his path was a projecting root, which in his haste escaped +his notice. He tripped over it, and as a natural consequence he +measured his length on the ground. +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw's face lighted up with exultation. Now the issue was no +longer doubtful. At last he had the boy in his power. +</P> + +<P> +Before Ernest could recover himself and rise to his feet, John Fox was +upon him. +</P> + +<P> +He flung himself on the prostrate boy, and clutched him in a firm +grasp. +</P> + +<P> +"Now I have you," he said. "You were a fool to run. You might have +known that you could not escape." +</P> + +<P> +"I came near it, though," gasped Ernest, quite out of breath. "Let me +up." +</P> + +<P> +"Will you promise to go with me without giving me any more trouble?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will make no promises," said Ernest, stoutly. +</P> + +<P> +"Then it will be the worse for you," said the outlaw vindictively. +</P> + +<P> +What he proposed to do must remain unknown, for as he spoke a hand +was thrust into his neckcloth, and he was jerked violently to his +feet. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap22"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A FRIEND IN NEED. +</H3> + +<P> +Bewildered and angry, John Fox looked to see who was his assailant. He +found himself confronted by a tall, muscular Indian, whom Ernest also +recognized as the man whose child he had saved from a watery grave. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean by this outrage?" demanded the outlaw angrily. +</P> + +<P> +"Why are you hurting <I>him?</I>" said the Indian, pointing to Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Because I choose to. What have you got to say about it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Me stop you," said the Indian calmly. +</P> + +<P> +"I have a great mind to shoot you." +</P> + +<P> +This was an empty threat, for his weapon had been taken by the Quaker +detective. +</P> + +<P> +The only answer made by the Indian was to produce a revolver, which he +pointed at the breast of the outlaw. +</P> + +<P> +"Two play at that game," he answered. +</P> + +<P> +John Fox shrank back, for it takes a man of nerve to face a revolver. +He began to remonstrate. +</P> + +<P> +"What interest have you in that boy?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"He save my little boy from drowning," answered the Indian. "Will you +go, or shall me shoot?" +</P> + +<P> +There was but one answer to make to this question. John Fox turned +about, and walked quietly away without a word. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest grasped the Indian's hand gratefully. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't thank you enough," he said. "You have perhaps saved my life." +</P> + +<P> +"You saved my little boy." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know that man?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"It was John Fox, one of the Fox brothers, the famous outlaws." +</P> + +<P> +"Humph! I have heard of him. How did he catch you?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest told the story. He also told of the commission he had from the +Emmonsville bank. +</P> + +<P> +"I am going to ask you a favor," he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I want you to go with me to the bank at Lee's Falls. I have a package +of bonds to carry there, and I don't think it safe to go alone. I will +see that you are paid for your time and trouble." +</P> + +<P> +"I will go." +</P> + +<P> +Under the guidance of his Indian friend, Ernest reached Lee's Falls. +The bank was closed, but the cashier was still in the bank building, +having been detained after hours. Seeing him through the window, +Ernest knocked and obtained admission. +</P> + +<P> +"The bank is closed, young man," said the bank officer. +</P> + +<P> +"I know it, but I have a package of bonds from the bank in +Emmonsville. I hope you will take them from me, for I don't want the +responsibility of them any longer." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, you are the young messenger. We had advice that you would be here +yesterday." +</P> + +<P> +"So I should have been, but for my capture by one of the Fox +brothers." +</P> + +<P> +"And how did you escape?" asked the wondering cashier. +</P> + +<P> +"Please take the bonds, and I will tell you. I spent two nights in the +outlaws' cave. This afternoon I managed to get away." +</P> + +<P> +"But were not the bonds taken from you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but I recovered them." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest, without waiting for further questions, told the story as +briefly as possible. +</P> + +<P> +"So, after all," he concluded, "I should have been taken again but for +my friend here," laying his hand upon the Indian's shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"I told him you would pay him for his trouble in accompanying me." +</P> + +<P> +"So I will," said the cashier, and he took a five-dollar bill and +tendered it to the Indian. +</P> + +<P> +The latter objected to taking it, alleging that Ernest had saved his +boy's life, but the cashier overruled his objections, and he accepted +it. +</P> + +<P> +They were going out of the bank when the familiar figure of Luke +Robbins came up the street. His face was overspread by an expression +of anxiety, and he seemed troubled. He had searched everywhere for +Ernest, and thus far had failed to find him. +</P> + +<P> +When he saw the boy emerging from the bank his face changed at once. +</P> + +<P> +"So you are safe, Ernest? I thought I had lost you," he exclaimed. +"Did you see anything of the outlaws?" +</P> + +<P> +"I should say that I did. I was captured by James Fox, and confined +two nights in the underground haunt of the robbers. When I escaped +this afternoon I fell into the clutches of the other brother." +</P> + +<P> +"What! John Fox?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"This cannot be, Ernest. I lodged him myself in Crampton jail." +</P> + +<P> +"All I can tell you is that he is at liberty now. He must have +escaped." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I am afraid I shan't receive the reward offered for his +capture." +</P> + +<P> +"You ought to get it. You delivered him over to the authorities. If +they could not keep him, that was their lookout." +</P> + +<P> +"You ought to be right, lad. I hope you are. Who is this man?" +</P> + +<P> +"My Indian friend, who proved to be a friend in need. It was he who +saved me from John Fox." +</P> + +<P> +"I am proud to know you," said Luke, grasping the hand of the red +warrior. "If you have helped Ernest, you are my friend." +</P> + +<P> +"He save my little boy; I will always be his friend." +</P> + +<P> +"You have saved <I>my</I> boy, my Indian friend, and you will always be +<I>my</I> friend," returned Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Luke, what shall we do? I have done my errand and delivered the +bonds. I suppose I ought to go back to Emmonsville." +</P> + +<P> +"We will go back. I have found you, and have no more to do here." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall we walk?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, it is too far. There is a stable a little way from here; I will +hire a conveyance, and our Indian friend will perhaps be willing to +drive us over." +</P> + +<P> +The Indian expressed his willingness, and the three were soon on their +way through the woods. They met with no adventure, nor did they fear +any, for it would have required a brave man to attack two such +stalwart persons as the Indian and the Quaker detective. +</P> + +<P> +Leaving them for the present, we will go back to the cave from which +Ernest had made so unceremonious a departure. +</P> + +<P> +Frank slept for two hours, but at length opened his eyes, expecting to +see Ernest sitting at his bedside. +</P> + +<P> +He looked in vain. There was no one in the room. This did not surprise +him much, however. He thought Ernest might have gone into the next +apartment. +</P> + +<P> +"Ernest!" he cried, but his call received no response. +</P> + +<P> +The little boy got out of bed and looked about, but his search was +vain. +</P> + +<P> +So he went into the kitchen, where he found Juba engaged in some +domestic work. +</P> + +<P> +"Juba," he said, "where is Ernest." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know, chile. Isn't he in the big room?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, Juba. I went to sleep, and when I woke up he was gone." +</P> + +<P> +"Lor', chile, he round somewhere. You look round, and maybe you find +him." +</P> + +<P> +But Frank was doomed to disappointment. He sat down ready to cry. He +felt very lonely. He had not realized how much he enjoyed Ernest's +company. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know where he can have gone, Juba. Do you think he's gone and +left me?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't tell, chile. Wait till your papa comes home. He will find +him." +</P> + +<P> +Frank had to wait an hour and a half before his father's return. All +this time he was buoyed up by the hope that Ernest would come back. He +was continually watching the portal to see if the runaway would not +come, but in vain. +</P> + +<P> +James Fox entered the room with grave face and heavy step. He had not +heard of his brother's escape, and thought him still an inmate of +Crampton jail. +</P> + +<P> +He looked about for his young captive. +</P> + +<P> +"Where is Ernest, Frank?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know, papa. I miss him ever so much," said the little boy +tearfully. +</P> + +<P> +"But he must be somewhere about. When did you miss him?" +</P> + +<P> +"He went away when I was asleep." +</P> + +<P> +The outlaw's suspicions were aroused. +</P> + +<P> +"I will look for him," he said. +</P> + +<P> +But Ernest was in none of the rooms, nor could Juba give any account +of him. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you walk with him into the interior of the cave, Frank?" he +asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, papa." +</P> + +<P> +"Ha, that explains it. Go with me, and tell me just where you went." +</P> + +<P> +The little boy led the way through the vacant apartments till he +reached the one through which the light came from above. +</P> + +<P> +The rope was still hanging from the projection, and this explained +Ernest's escape. James Fox went up and examined it. +</P> + +<P> +"He must have got out this way," said the outlaw. +</P> + +<P> +"Won't he come back, papa?" said Frank, sadly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said his father, resolutely. "I will bring him back." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap23"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +GIVEN IN TRUST. +</H3> + +<P> +"Well, lad, have you had enough of Emmonsville?" +</P> + +<P> +The speaker was Luke Robbins, and the time was two days after the +series of exciting incidents recorded in the last few chapters. +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you ask, Luke?" replied Ernest. "Are you tired of it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, lad, I want to move on. There is nothing more for us here." +</P> + +<P> +"But what about the reward you are entitled to for the capture of John +Fox?" +</P> + +<P> +"The cashier thinks I will only receive a part of it, as Fox has +escaped and is now at large." +</P> + +<P> +"That is unlucky. You will have to wait until the matter is decided, +won't you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. He has offered me an advance of a hundred dollars, and is +authorized to collect whatever prize-money may be awarded to me. You +have some money left?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, about seventy-five dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we both have enough to start on. I propose to go to California +by cars, getting there as soon as possible. When we reach there we +will see what we can do to increase our pile." +</P> + +<P> +"I like that plan. When shall we go?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is now Thursday. We will start on Monday." +</P> + +<P> +Before they departed there was some sensational news. Peter Longman, +one of the Fox band, taking offence at some slight put upon him by +James Fox, went to the authorities and revealed the existence and +location of the cave, with other information of a like nature. The +result was that a strong police force was sent to surprise and capture +the notorious outlaws. The visit was made at night, and under guidance +of Peter himself. Wholly unsuspicious of treachery, the outlaws were +captured in their beds, and the valuable articles contained in trunks +and boxes in the store-room were confiscated. +</P> + +<P> +James Fox was reclining on the sofa when the officers entered. +</P> + +<P> +"Is your name Fox?" asked the leader of the invading party. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," answered the outlaw, proudly. +</P> + +<P> +"Then you are my prisoner." +</P> + +<P> +"Who has betrayed me?" demanded Fox, quickly. +</P> + +<P> +There was no answer, but just behind the invading party the outlaw +caught sight of Peter Longman, apparently trying to screen himself +from observation. +</P> + +<P> +"I need not ask," he said. "There is the treacherous hound. He shall +not live to profit by his baseness." +</P> + +<P> +Before any one could interfere, James Fox leveled his revolver at +Longman, and a sharp scream showed that his aim was true. His +treacherous follower fell to the ground mortally wounded. +</P> + +<P> +James Fox looked at him disdainfully, then threw the revolver upon the +floor of the cave, and held out his hands. "Now bind me if you will," +he said; "I am your captive." +</P> + +<P> +Little Frank was a terrified witness of this scene. +</P> + +<P> +"What are they doing to you, papa?" he asked. "They are bad men." +</P> + +<P> +In spite of his fortitude the outlaw showed traces of emotion. "That +is my little son," he said to the lieutenant commanding. "Don't let +him suffer for the sins of his father." +</P> + +<P> +"He shall be taken care of. Do not be anxious about him." +</P> + +<P> +"There is an old colored woman here--Juba," went on the outlaw. "The +boy is used to her. If possible, let them be together." +</P> + +<P> +Under a strong guard the famous robbers were carried to jail, and the +cave which had been for years their meeting-place was dismantled and +was never again used for a criminal resort. +</P> + +<P> +When Ernest read the story his feelings were mixed. He rejoiced that +the outlaws were taken, but he felt a sympathy for little Frank, and +understood what a shock it must be to the father and son to be +separated, and to have their home so suddenly and violently broken up. +</P> + +<P> +He learned where Frank was, and called upon him. He had been taken to +his own home by the police commander, and it was there that Ernest +found him. +</P> + +<P> +When he entered the room where Frank sat disconsolately at the window, +the little fellow uttered a cry of joy. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it you, Ernest?" he said, running forward. "I thought I should +never see you again." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest stooped over and kissed the little boy. +</P> + +<P> +"You see I am here," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"What made you go away? Why didn't you tell me you were going?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will tell you some time, Frank. I hope you are feeling well." +</P> + +<P> +"Why did those bad men take papa away?" +</P> + +<P> +"I do not think you would understand. Where is Juba?" +</P> + +<P> +"She is now in the kitchen. I will call her." +</P> + +<P> +Juba came in, and seemed pleased to see Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"I have got a letter for you, honey," she said, fumbling in her +pocket. +</P> + +<P> +She brought out a yellow envelope. It was directed to Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +The contents ran thus: +</P> + +<P> +Now that misfortune has come upon me, my chief thought is for my boy. +Whatever befalls me, I want him cared for. You are scarcely more than +a stranger to me, but when you were in the cave you seemed to love +Frank. Poor boy, he will stand in need of some friend who loves him. +So far as you can, will you be his friend and guardian? He has some +property--a few thousand dollars--which you will hold in trust for +him. It is not stolen property. It was left him by his mother. +</P> + +<P> +Call upon Mr. Samuel Hardy, a lawyer in Lee's Falls, and he will make +over to you the custody of the money, and look upon you as the +authorized guardian of Frank. You know my wish that he should be sent +to a good school and properly educated. Will you carry out my wishes +in that respect? I do not wish to tie you down, but wherever you may +go, keep up an active interest in my boy, and from time to time write +to him. +</P> + +<P> +I do not know what my fate may be. I am not a coward, and shall not +complain or beg for mercy. +</P> + +<P> +When you speak of me to Frank in after years, always paint me at my +best, and let him understand that at least I loved him. +</P> + +<P> +JAMES FOX. +</P> + +<P> +P.S. Should Frank die before maturity, I desire that his property +should go to you. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest read the foregoing with mingled feelings. He knew that the +writer was an outlaw, deeply stained with crime; but this letter +showed him at his best. Paternal love softened the harsh outlines of +his character, and spoke of a nature that might have made him a +blessing instead of a curse to his kind. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest lost no time in communicating with Mr. Hardy. +</P> + +<P> +The lawyer read the letter in some surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Fox seems to have appointed a young guardian for his son," he +remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir; but he appeared to have no choice. It would have been +better had he appointed you." +</P> + +<P> +"No; I do not care to assume that responsibility. I am ready to assist +you, however." +</P> + +<P> +"I will depend upon you, then, for I shall start for California as soon +as possible. Can you recommend a satisfactory boarding-school?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have a son at school in Lincoln. The school is under the charge of +a clergyman, who is an efficient teacher, yet is popular with his +pupils." +</P> + +<P> +"Can you arrange to enter Frank at his school?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will do so, if you authorize me." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think we can do any better. Were you aware that Mr. Fox was +the notorious outlaw?" asked Ernest, after a pause. +</P> + +<P> +"I did not know, but latterly I have suspected it. You may be +surprised that under the circumstances I should have consented to +serve him. But I felt that I might be of assistance to the boy, and +that my refusal would occasion him embarrassment. Your letter is +satisfactory, as showing that the fortune of your ward is not made up +of ill-gotten gains. Were it otherwise, he would hardly be allowed to +keep it. Does Frank know his father's character and reputation?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think so." +</P> + +<P> +"It had best be kept from him. I will see that it does not become +known at school. It would wound the boy to be twitted with it by his +schoolmates." +</P> + +<P> +Thanks to Mr. Hardy, Ernest found that the new charge imposed upon him +would not materially interfere with his plans. A week later than he +had originally intended he and Luke Robbins left Emmonsville by a +Western-bound train. +</P> + +<P> +As they rushed rapidly over the prairies, Luke Robbins turned to his +young companion and said, "Our journey thus far has been adventurous. +I wonder what lies before us?" +</P> + +<P> +"We won't trouble ourselves on that score, Luke. I feel hopeful." +</P> + +<P> +"So do I; and yet we have less than two hundred dollars between us." +</P> + +<P> +"That's true." +</P> + +<P> +"Still, I have captured an outlaw, and you, at the age of sixteen, are +the guardian of an outlaw's son." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think we shall meet with anything stranger than that." +</P> + +<P> +Two days later, in a newspaper bought at an important station, there +was an article that deeply interested both travellers. It related to +the Fox brothers, recounting their daring attempt to escape from the +jail where they were confined. John Fox got away, but James was shot +dead by one of the prison guards. +</P> + +<P> +So Frank was an orphan, and Ernest felt that his responsibility was +increased. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap24"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +STEPHEN RAY AND HIS SON. +</H3> + +<P> +Leaving Ernest and Luke Robbins on their way to California, our +attention is called to other characters who must play a part in the +drama of the boy from Oak Forks. +</P> + +<P> +A few miles from Elmira, upon an eminence from which there was a fine +view of the surrounding country, stood the handsome country mansion of +Stephen Ray, already referred to as the cousin of Ernest's father. It +passed into his possession by inheritance from poor Ernest's +grandfather, the will under which the bequest was made cutting off his +son for no worse a crime than marrying a girl thoroughly respectable +but of humble birth. +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray, since he came into possession of his uncle's estate, had +improved it considerably. He had torn down the old stable and built an +imposing new one. The plain carriage which had satisfied his uncle had +been succeeded by an elegant coach, and the sober but rather slow +horse by a pair of spirited steeds. +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Ray had become pompous, and by his manner made it clear that he +considered him self a man of great consequence. He was a local +magistrate, and had for years endeavored to obtain a nomination for +Congress. +</P> + +<P> +Had he been of popular manners he would probably have succeeded, but +he was not a favorite among the poorer classes, and their vote must be +considered. +</P> + +<P> +There is an old saying, "Like father, like son," and Clarence, now +turned sixteen, the only child of the country magnate, was like his +father in all objectionable qualities. He was quite as much impressed +with ideas of his own consequence. +</P> + +<P> +It was about three o'clock in the afternoon. Mr. Ray sat on the +piazza, the day being unusually warm, reading a newspaper. In the +street, near by, his son Clarence was moving swiftly on a new bicycle +which his father had just purchased for him. +</P> + +<P> +"Out of the way, there!" he called out, as a shabbily-dressed stranger +with a weary step plodded along the pathway. +</P> + +<P> +Whether because he was hard of hearing or because his mind was +preoccupied, the stranger did not heed the warning, and Clarence, who +might easily have avoided the collision, ran into him recklessly. Had +the bicycle been moving at a greater rate of speed, he might have been +seriously hurt. As it was, he was nearly thrown down. +</P> + +<P> +But he rallied, and seizing the offending rider with no gentle grasp, +dragged him from the wheel and shook him vigorously. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me alone, you tramp!" exclaimed Clarence, furiously. +</P> + +<P> +But the stranger did not release his hold. +</P> + +<P> +"Not till you apologize for running into me," he answered sternly. +</P> + +<P> +"Apologize to a man like you!" ejaculated Clarence, struggling +furiously for his freedom. "What do you take me for?" +</P> + +<P> +"For an impudent young rascal," was the reply. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me alone, I tell you!" +</P> + +<P> +"Will you apologize?" +</P> + +<P> +"There is no need of an apology. You got in my way." +</P> + +<P> +"You have no business on the sidewalk with your bicycle. It is meant +for foot-passengers." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know who I am?" demanded Clarence, haughtily. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I don't, nor do I care." +</P> + +<P> +"I am Clarence Ray, son of Squire Stephen Ray. He is a magistrate, and +he can send you to jail." +</P> + +<P> +These words of Clarence had the effect he desired. The stranger +released him and eyed him with close scrutiny. +</P> + +<P> +"So you are the son of Stephen Ray?" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. What have you to say now?" +</P> + +<P> +"That you had no right to run into me, whoever your father may be." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall report your insolence to my father. I shall charge you with +violently assaulting me." +</P> + +<P> +"I might have known you were Stephen Ray's son," said the stranger +thoughtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know my father?" asked Clarence in considerable surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"I am on my way to call upon him." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think it will do any good. He never gives money to tramps." +</P> + +<P> +"I have a great mind to give you another shaking up," said the man, +and in some fear Clarence edged away from him. +</P> + +<P> +It was evident that this shabby-looking stranger had not a proper +respect for those who were in a higher station. +</P> + +<P> +"I will tell him not to give you anything," continued Clarence. +</P> + +<P> +"Like father, like son," said the stranger thoughtfully, apparently +not disturbed by the boy's threats. +</P> + +<P> +Evidently he was no common tramp, or he would have been more +respectful to the son of the man from whom he was probably about to +ask a favor. +</P> + +<P> +"You just wait till you see my father. He'll give you a lecture that +you won't soon forget." +</P> + +<P> +"You'd better get on your wheel, boy, and go right along," said the +stranger calmly. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know where my father lives?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, at yonder fine house. I see him sitting out on the piazza. Shall +we go along together?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I don't keep such company as you. Tramps are not my style." +</P> + +<P> +"And yet some day you may be as poor and friendless as myself." +</P> + +<P> +"That isn't very likely; my father is a very rich man." +</P> + +<P> +"I knew him when he was poor." +</P> + +<P> +More and more puzzled by the independent manner of this shabby +stranger, Clarence made a spurt, and soon found himself in the grounds +of his father's house. +</P> + +<P> +"With whom were you talking, Clarence?" asked Stephen Ray, as his son +joined him on the piazza. +</P> + +<P> +"One of the most impudent tramps I ever came across," answered +Clarence. "He made an attack upon me, and pulled me from my bicycle." +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray's cheek flamed with anger. An insult to his son was an +insult to him. +</P> + +<P> +"Why did he do this? How dared he?" he demanded angrily. +</P> + +<P> +"Because I happened to touch him as I passed," answered Clarence. +</P> + +<P> +"He actually pulled you from your bicycle?" asked Stephen Ray, almost +incredulous. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"I should like to meet him. I should feel justified in ordering his +arrest." +</P> + +<P> +"You will have a chance to meet him. He told me he was going to call +upon you there he is now, entering the gate." +</P> + +<P> +Stephen was glad to hear it. He wanted to empty the vials of his wrath +on the audacious offender. He prided himself on his grand manner. +</P> + +<P> +He was accustomed to seeing men of the stamp of this stranger quail +before him and show nervous alarm at his rebukes. He had no doubt that +his majestic wrath would overwhelm the shabby outcast who had +audaciously assaulted his son and heir. +</P> + +<P> +He rose to his feet, and stood the personification of haughty +displeasure as the poor man, who dared his anger, walked composedly up +the path. He now stood by the piazza steps. +</P> + +<P> +"It is well you have come here," began the squire in a dignified tone. +"My son tells me that you have committed an unprovoked outrage upon +him in dragging him from his wheel. I can only conclude that you are +under the influence of liquor." +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray waited curiously to hear what the man would say. He was +prepared for humble apologies. +</P> + +<P> +"I am no more drunk than yourself, if that is what you mean, Stephen +Ray," was the unexpected reply. +</P> + +<P> +Squire Ray was outraged and scandalized. +</P> + +<P> +"You must be drunk or you would not dare to talk in this way. Who +authorized you to address me in this familiar way?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are only a man, I believe, Stephen Ray. I have addressed you as +respectfully as you have spoken to me." +</P> + +<P> +"Respect to you?" repeated Mr. Ray, disdainfully. "Has the time come +when we must be respectful to tramps?" +</P> + +<P> +"A poor tramp is quite as deserving of respect as a rich rascal." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean by that?" demanded the squire suspiciously. +</P> + +<P> +"It was a general remark." +</P> + +<P> +"It is well that it was. But it has no application in the present +instance. If you are poor I will give you a quarter, but only on +condition that you apologize to my son." +</P> + +<P> +The stranger laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"Why should I apologize to your son?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"You pulled him off his bicycle. Do you deny it?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I do not. Do you know what he did?" +</P> + +<P> +"He brushed against you with his wheel, he tells me, accidentally." +</P> + +<P> +"So that is his version of it? He deliberately ran into me." +</P> + +<P> +"I gave you warning. I said 'Out of the way, there!'" interrupted +Clarence. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but you had no right on the side walk. That is meant for +foot-passengers." +</P> + +<P> +"It seems to me, sir, that you are remarkably independent for a man of +your rank. Even if it had been as you say, you had no right to assault +my son. I might have you arrested on your own confession, but I will +forbear doing so on condition that you leave town at once." +</P> + +<P> +"I have a little business with you, first, Stephen Ray." +</P> + +<P> +"If you expect alms, you have come to the wrong man. I don't believe +in encouraging beggars." +</P> + +<P> +"I know very well that you are not charitable. You see, I used to be +acquainted with you." +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Benjamin Bolton." +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray looked startled. +</P> + +<P> +"Benjamin Bolton!" he repeated, half incredulous. "I can't believe +it." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap25"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A STARTLING DISCLOSURE. +</H3> + +<P> +"Look at me closely, Stephen Ray," said the strange visitor. "I think +you will see some traces of the Bolton you used to know." +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray, somewhat discomposed, did examine his visitor closely. +Against his will he was obliged to acknowledge the resemblance of the +man before him to one who in past times had had an intimate +acquaintance with his affairs. +</P> + +<P> +"You may be Benjamin Bolton," he said after a pause, "but if so, you +have fallen off greatly in your appearance. When I first knew you, you +were well dressed and--" +</P> + +<P> +"Respectable, I suppose you mean to say?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, respectable, if you will have it so. Now you look more like a +tramp than a lawyer." +</P> + +<P> +"True as gospel, every word of it. But it isn't too late to mend. +That's an old proverb and a true one. It is quite in the line of +possibility that I should get back to the position from which I fell." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps so, but I'm not sanguine of it." +</P> + +<P> +"With your powerful help nothing is impossible--not even that." +</P> + +<P> +"You must not count upon that," said Stephen Ray, stiffly. "It is a +good while since we parted company. I don't myself care to renew the +acquaintance." +</P> + +<P> +"But I do," rejoined Bolton with emphasis. "I told you that I had +business with you." +</P> + +<P> +"I have very little time at my disposal," said Ray, pulling out an +elegant gold watch--a Jurgensen--and consulting it. +</P> + +<P> +"I think it may be well for you to spare me a little time," went on +Bolton, quietly. +</P> + +<P> +There was something in his tone that sounded like a threat, and +Stephen Ray could not wholly conceal his uneasiness. +</P> + +<P> +"Well," he said, "I will give you ten minutes. Get through your +business, whatever it is, as soon as possible." +</P> + +<P> +"Hadn't you better send your son away?" suggested Bolton, +significantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Why should I?" +</P> + +<P> +But on second thoughts Mr. Ray concluded to act on the hint, and +turning to Clarence he said, "Clarence, you might take another spin on +your wheel." +</P> + +<P> +This did not suit Clarence at all. His curiosity had been excited by +his father's change of front towards the objectionable stranger, and +he counted on finding out the reason for it. +</P> + +<P> +"Why can't I stay?" he grumbled. "I am tired of riding." +</P> + +<P> +"Then go up stairs. This man and I have a little private business +together." +</P> + +<P> +He spoke firmly, and Clarence knew by his tone that further +remonstrance would be un availing, so with a dissatisfied look he left +the room. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, sir," said Stephen Ray, sharply, when his son had taken his +departure, "I gave you ten minutes. You will need to be expeditious." +</P> + +<P> +"It will take more than ten minutes--what I have to say," returned +Bolton, coolly. "I am rather tired of standing, so you will excuse me +if I sit down." +</P> + +<P> +As he spoke he dropped into a comfortable chair three feet from his +host. +</P> + +<P> +"Confound his impudence!" thought Ray, much annoyed. +</P> + +<P> +"I think we had better go indoors," he said. +</P> + +<P> +He did not care to be seen in an apparently friendly conversation with +a man like Bolton. +</P> + +<P> +"Very well. I think myself it may be better." +</P> + +<P> +He followed Ray into a room which the latter used as a library and +office, and took care to select a comfortable seat. +</P> + +<P> +"Really, Stephen Ray," he remarked, glancing around him at the +well-filled bookcases, the handsome pictures, and the luxurious +furniture, "you are very nicely fixed here." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you didn't come to tell me that," responded Stephen Ray +with a sneer. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, not altogether, but it is as well to refer to it. I have known +you a good many years. I remember when you first came here to visit +your uncle in the character of a poor relation. I don't believe you +had a hundred dollars to your name." +</P> + +<P> +Such references grated upon the purse-proud aristocrat, who tried to +persuade himself that he had always been as prosperous as at present. +</P> + +<P> +"There is no occasion for your reminiscences," he said stiffly. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I suppose you don't care to think of those days now. Your cousin, +Dudley, a fine young man, was a year or two older. Who would have +thought that the time would come when you--the poor cousin--would be +reigning in his place?" +</P> + +<P> +"If that is all you have to say, our interview may as well close." +</P> + +<P> +"It isn't all I have to say. I must indulge in a few more +reminiscences, though you dislike them. A few years passed. Dudley +married against his father's wishes; that is, his father did not +approve of his selection, and he fell out of favor. As he lost favor +you gained it." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true enough, but it is an old story. Why recall it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Does it seem just that an own son should be disinherited and a +stranger--" +</P> + +<P> +"A near relative," corrected Stephen Ray. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, a near relative, but less near than an only son. Does it seem +right that Dudley should have been disinherited and you put in his +place?" +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly. My cousin disobeyed his father, while I was always dutiful +and obedient." +</P> + +<P> +"So he was left in poverty." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't see how that concerns you, Benjamin Bolton. My uncle had the +right to dispose of his property as he pleased. It was not for me to +question his right nor you." +</P> + +<P> +"Probably Dudley Ray is living in poverty now." +</P> + +<P> +"You are mistaken. He is dead." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed! Poor fellow. He was a generous and high-minded man." +</P> + +<P> +"Whatever he may have been, he offended his father and suffered the +consequences." +</P> + +<P> +"Too true!" +</P> + +<P> +"But I fail to understand why you should have come to discuss this +matter with me." +</P> + +<P> +"When did Dudley die?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't be sure as to the year. I think it was about a year after his +father's death." +</P> + +<P> +"I presume that his father's injustice helped to hasten his end." +</P> + +<P> +"I won't permit any reflections upon my dear uncle and benefactor. He +did what he liked with his own. He felt that the estate would be +better in my hands than in Dudley's." +</P> + +<P> +"Admitting for a moment that this was so, did your heart prompt you to +bestow a part of the estate on your unfortunate cousin?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; for I am sure my uncle would have disapproved of such action on +my part." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know if he suffered much from poverty?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I did not concern myself with that, nor need you." +</P> + +<P> +"I would like to comment on one of your statements. You say that your +uncle had a right to dispose of his estate as he pleased." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you dispute it?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I agree with you. Stephen Ray, was his estate disposed of +according to his wishes?" +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Ray started, and his face became flushed. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I mean that he bequeathed the estate to his son, and you took +possession of it." +</P> + +<P> +Bolton spoke slowly, and eyed Stephen Ray keenly. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you mad?" gasped Stephen. "How could I do that? His will, +devising the estate to me, was duly probated, and I entered upon my +inheritance by due process of law." +</P> + +<P> +"I know such a will was probated." +</P> + +<P> +"Then what have you to say?" demanded Stephen Ray, defiantly. "Do you +mean to deny that the will was genuine?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Because if you do, you can go to the probate office, and submit the +will to any judge of my uncle's handwriting." +</P> + +<P> +"There will be no occasion. I admit that the will was written by him." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean, then?" asked Stephen Ray, showing relief. +</P> + +<P> +"I mean this--that it was not his <I>last</I> will and testament." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is the later one? Produce it if you can," said Stephen Ray, +triumphantly. +</P> + +<P> +"You say this fearlessly because you found a later will--and destroyed +it." +</P> + +<P> +"It is a vile slander!" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I will swear that such a will was made." +</P> + +<P> +"If it was destroyed, he destroyed it himself." +</P> + +<P> +"No, he did not. I am willing to swear that when he died that will was +in existence." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think your swearing will do much good," sneered Stephen Ray. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps so; but one thing has not occurred to you." +</P> + +<P> +"What is that?" +</P> + +<P> +"A duplicate of the last will was placed in my hands. <I>That will +exists to-day!</I>" +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray started violently. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't believe it," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Seeing is believing." +</P> + +<P> +"Then bring it here, and let me see it. However, there is one material +circumstance that would make it of no value." +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"My cousin Dudley is dead, and so is his son Ernest. There would be no +one to profit by the production of the alleged will." +</P> + +<P> +Bolton was quite taken aback by this statement, as Stephen Ray +perceived, and he plumed himself on the success of his falsehood. +</P> + +<P> +"When did the boy die?" asked Bolton. +</P> + +<P> +"About five years ago." +</P> + +<P> +"And where?" +</P> + +<P> +"At Savannah," answered Ray, glibly. +</P> + +<P> +"What should have taken him down there?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am not positive, but I believe after his father's death a Southern +gentleman became interested in him and took him to Georgia, where the +poor boy died." +</P> + +<P> +Bolton looked keenly at the face of his companion, and detected an +expression of triumph about the eyes which led him to doubt the truth +of his story. But he decided not to intimate his disbelief. +</P> + +<P> +"That was sad," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; and as you will see, even had your story about the will been +true it would have made no difference in the disposal of the +property." +</P> + +<P> +"Still the revelation of your complicity in the suppression of the +last will would injure your reputation, Mr. Ray." +</P> + +<P> +"I can stand it," answered Ray with assumed indifference. "You see, my +dear fellow, you have brought your wares to the wrong market. Of +course you are disappointed." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, especially as I am dead broke." +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt." +</P> + +<P> +"And it prompts me to take my chances with the will in spite of the +death of the rightful heirs." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you propose to do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Lay the matter before a shrewd lawyer of my acquaintance, and be +guided by his advice." +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray looked uneasy. The lawyer might suggest doubts as to the +truth of his story concerning Ernest's decease. +</P> + +<P> +"That would be very foolish," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Would it? Then perhaps you can suggest a better course." +</P> + +<P> +"You are a man of education and have been a lawyer yourself. Get a +place in the office of some attorney and earn an honest living." +</P> + +<P> +"You see how I am dressed. Who would employ me in this garb?" +</P> + +<P> +"There is something in what you say. I feel for you, Bolton. Changed +as you are, you were once a friend. I certainly haven't any reason to +feel friendly to you, especially as you came here with the intention +of extorting money from me. But I can make allowance for you in your +unfortunate plight, and am willing to do something for you. Bring me +the document you say you possess, and I will give you fifty no, a +hundred dollars." +</P> + +<P> +Bolton eyed his prosperous companion with a cunning smile. +</P> + +<P> +"No, Stephen Ray, I prefer to keep the will," he replied, "though I +can do nothing with it. Give me the money unconditionally, and if I +get on my feet you will have nothing to fear from me." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap26"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BOUGHT OFF. +</H3> + +<P> +Bolton's reply did not quite suit Mr. Ray, but he felt that if he said +too much about the will it would give it an exaggerated importance in +the eyes of the man before him. So he answered carelessly, "Oh, very +well! The document is of no value, and though I should prefer to have +it, I won't insist. I will give you the hundred dollars, but I wish it +understood that it is all I can give you at any time. Don't apply to +me again, for it will be of no use." +</P> + +<P> +"I understand," said Bolton, non-committally. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I give you a check?" +</P> + +<P> +"I could do better with the money. My name is not known now at any +bank." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I think I can accommodate you. I believe I have that sum in my +desk." +</P> + +<P> +He opened a drawer in his secretary, and produced a hundred dollars in +crisp new bills. They had been taken from the bank the day before for +a different purpose. +</P> + +<P> +Bolton took them joyfully. It was long since he had had so much money +in his possession. He had been his own worst enemy. Once a prosperous +lawyer, he had succumbed to the love of drink, and gradually lost his +clients and his position. But he had decided to turn over a new leaf, +and he saw in this money the chance to reinstate himself, and in time +recover his lost position. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you," he said; but while there was relief there was no +gratitude in his tone. +</P> + +<P> +"And now," said Stephen Ray, "I must ask you to leave me. I have +important business to attend to. You will excuse me if I suggest it +would be better to go away--to a distance--and try to build yourself +up somewhere where you are not known." +</P> + +<P> +"I might go to Savannah." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, to Savannah, if you think it will be to your advantage," said +Ray with equanimity. +</P> + +<P> +The other noticed his manner, and he said to himself, "He is willing +to have me visit Savannah. <I>It is clear that Ernest did not die +there.</I>" +</P> + +<P> +Benjamin Bolton left the house in a pleasant frame of mind. It was not +the sum which he had received that exhilarated him. He looked upon it +only as the first instalment. It was clear that Stephen Ray feared +him, for he was not an open-handed man, and would not have parted with +his money unnecessarily. +</P> + +<P> +Bolton had not arranged his campaign, but he was determined to raise +himself in the world by playing on the fears of the man he had just +visited. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder," he said to himself, "whether Dudley Ray's son is really +dead. He was a strong and healthy boy, and he may still be living." +</P> + +<P> +This was a point not easy to ascertain. +</P> + +<P> +He went to a restaurant and obtained a substantial meal, of which he +stood very much in need. Then he went out for a stroll. He did not +propose to leave the place yet. +</P> + +<P> +As he was walking along he met Clarence Ray again, but not now on his +bicycle. The boy recognized him. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you going to stay in town?" asked Clarence, curiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Not long." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you get through your business with pa?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, for the present. By the way, I suppose you know that you have a +cousin about your own age. I used to know him and his father." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you? His father is dead." +</P> + +<P> +"So I have understood. Do you happen to know where the son is?" +</P> + +<P> +"Somewhere out West, I think." +</P> + +<P> +Bolton pricked up his ears. So it seemed that Stephen Ray had deceived +him. +</P> + +<P> +"I would give five dollars to know where he is," he said slowly. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you got five dollars?" Clarence asked, doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +By way of answer Bolton took a roll of bills from his pocket. They +were those which Stephen Ray had given him. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you mean it?" asked Clarence, in a more respectful tone. Since +Bolton had money, he regarded him differently. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I mean it." +</P> + +<P> +"Why didn't you ask pa?" +</P> + +<P> +"He never liked the boy nor his father, and I don't think he would +tell me." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true. He didn't like either of them." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you couldn't find out for me?" said Bolton, tentatively. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know but I could," answered Clarence, briskly. +</P> + +<P> +He had a special use for five dollars, and it struck him that he might +just as well earn the money offered by the stranger. +</P> + +<P> +"If you could, I would cheerfully pay you the five dollars. You see I +used to know Ernest Ray and his father, and I would be pleased to meet +Ernest again." +</P> + +<P> +"Just so," said Clarence, complaisantly. "How long are you going to +remain in town?" +</P> + +<P> +"I did think of going to Elmira to-night, but I think on the whole I +will stay at the hotel here till to-morrow morning." +</P> + +<P> +"That will give me time to find out," said Clarence. +</P> + +<P> +"All right! You had better not ask your father, for he is so +prejudiced I don't think he would tell you." +</P> + +<P> +"That's so. He will be going out this evening, and then I will search +in his desk. I saw a letter there once in which the boy's name was +mentioned. But I say, if you've got money why don't you buy some new +clothes? You look awfully shabby." +</P> + +<P> +"Your suggestion is a good one," said Bolton, smiling. "Come to look +at myself I <I>do</I> appear shabby. But then I'm no dude. I dare say when +you rode into me this morning you took me for a tramp." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, you <I>did</I> look like one." +</P> + +<P> +"That's so. I can't blame you." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I find you at the hotel this evening?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I'll see what I can do." +</P> + +<P> +About seven o'clock Squire Ray went out to attend to a business +meeting, and Clarence was left in possession of the study. He locked +the door and began to ransack his father's desk. At length he +succeeded in his quest. +</P> + +<P> +Benjamin Bolton was sitting in the public room of the hotel an hour +later smoking a cigar, and from time to time looking towards the door. +Presently Clarence entered, and went up to him. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you got it?" asked Bolton, eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," nodded Clarence. +</P> + +<P> +He took a piece of paper from his vest pocket and handed it to Bolton. +</P> + +<P> +It read thus: <I>"Ernest Ray, Oak Forks, Iowa."</I> +</P> + +<P> +"How did you get it?" asked Bolton. +</P> + +<P> +"I found a letter in pa's desk from an old man named Peter Brant, +asking pa for some money for the boy, who was living with him." +</P> + +<P> +"When was that letter written?" +</P> + +<P> +"About two years ago." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you. This gives me a clue. Come out of doors and I will give +you what I promised. It isn't best that any one should think we had +dealings together." +</P> + +<P> +Five minutes later Clarence started for home, happy in the possession +of a five-dollar bill. +</P> + +<P> +"I never paid any money more cheerfully in my life," mused Bolton. +"Now I must find the boy!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap27"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE TOWN OF OREVILLE. +</H3> + +<P> +When Ernest and Luke Robbins started for California they had no very +definite plans as to the future. But they found among their +fellow-passengers a man who was just returning from the East, where he +had been to visit his family. He was a practical and successful miner, +and was by no means reluctant to speak of his success. +</P> + +<P> +"When I landed in Frisco," he said, "two years ago, I had just forty +dollars left after paying the expenses of my trip. I couldn't find +anything to do in the city, so I set out for the mines." +</P> + +<P> +"Where did you go?" asked Luke, becoming interested. +</P> + +<P> +"To Oreville. At least, that's what they call it now. Then it didn't +have a name." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope you prospered," said Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, not just at first, but luck came after a while. When I reached +the mines I was dead broke, and went to work for somebody else. After +a while I staked out a claim for myself. Well, I won't go into +particulars, but I've got six thousand dollars salted down with a +trust company in Frisco, and I've got a few hundred dollars about my +clothes besides." +</P> + +<P> +"That's the place for us, Ernest," said Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"So I think," answered Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you want to go to the mines?" asked the miner. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; we have our fortunes to make, and are willing to work." +</P> + +<P> +"Then go out to Oreville with me. Have you got any money?" +</P> + +<P> +"We have enough to get there, and perhaps a little over." +</P> + +<P> +"That will do. I'll set you to work on one of my claims. We will share +and share alike. How will that suit you?" +</P> + +<P> +"It seems fair. Do you think we can make enough to live upon?" +</P> + +<P> +"That depends partly on yourselves and partly upon luck. Luck has +something to do with it." +</P> + +<P> +"At any rate, we are willing to work," said Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Then I'm your friend, and will help you," said the miner heartily. +"Tom Ashton never goes back on his friends." +</P> + +<P> +This was very encouraging. Luke and Ernest were not dead broke, but +were near it. They had less than forty dollars between them, and they +had already found out that living was high in California. They +remained but a day in San Francisco, and then started for Oreville +with Mr. Ashton. +</P> + +<P> +The two friends knew nothing of mining, but as practised in those +early days it took very little time to learn. They found that their +new friend was a man of consideration at Oreville. He owned several +claims, and had no difficulty in finding them employment. They set to +work at once, for they were almost penniless. +</P> + +<P> +It may be easily supposed that the miners were not fastidious about +living. The cabins or huts which they occupied were primitive to the +last degree. Generally they did their own cooking, such as it was. +Three of these cabins Tom Ashton owned, and one was assigned to the +use of Ernest and his friend. +</P> + +<P> +For years, Ernest, with his old friend and supposed uncle, Peter +Brant, had lived in a cabin at Oak Forks, but it was superior to their +new residence. Yet his former experience enabled him the better to +accommodate himself to the way of living at Oreville. +</P> + +<P> +For a month the two friends worked steadily at their claim, which +Ashton had finally given them. They made something, but not much. In +fact, it was with difficulty that they made expenses. +</P> + +<P> +"It will be a long time before we make our pile, Ernest," said Luke +one evening, as he sat in front of his cabin smoking. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Luke, things don't look very promising," replied Ernest, +gravely. +</P> + +<P> +"If it weren't for my pipe I should feel blue. Smoking cheers me up." +</P> + +<P> +"That is where you have the advantage of me, Luke." +</P> + +<P> +"You have the same chance that I have. I have an extra pipe. Won't you +take a smoke?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"I think I'm better off without it." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you're right, lad. I remember my poor father warned me +against smoking. The question is, how long we'd better keep at it." +</P> + +<P> +"Is there anything else, Luke?" +</P> + +<P> +"Well, no; not here." +</P> + +<P> +"And we haven't money enough to get away." +</P> + +<P> +Just then a tall man with reddish hair strode across the field to +their cabin. +</P> + +<P> +"Good evening, neighbors," he said. "How are you making out?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not over-well," answered Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"There's a difference in claims. You've got a poor one." +</P> + +<P> +"Probably you are right." +</P> + +<P> +"There's been considerable gold dust gathered in Oreville within six +months. I have been one of the lucky ones." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed! I am glad of it." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I found a nugget two months since that I sold for two thousand +dollars. I have made five thousand within a year." +</P> + +<P> +"You've been in luck. I wish the boy and I could be as successful." +</P> + +<P> +"The claim is not good enough to support two. Why not let the boy find +something else?" +</P> + +<P> +"You wouldn't have me freeze him out?" said Luke, in a tone of +displeasure. +</P> + +<P> +"No, but suppose I find something for him to do? What then?" +</P> + +<P> +"That's a different matter. Have you an extra claim?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; but that isn't what I offer him. I have a plan in which he can +help me." +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"All our supplies come from Sacramento. What we need is a retail store +in Oreville--a general store for the sale of almost everything that +miners need." +</P> + +<P> +"It would be a good plan to open one," said Luke, approvingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, you must know that I am an old storekeeper. I had for years a +store about twenty miles from Boston. I succeeded fairly with it, but +my health gave out. The doctor told me I must not be so confined--that +I needed out-of-door exercise. So I came out here and got it. Well, +the advice proved good. I am strong and robust, and I feel +enterprising. Now, what I propose is this: I will open a store, and +put the boy in charge under me." +</P> + +<P> +"I should like it," said Ernest, eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"You know what we pay for supplies. There's at least a hundred per +cent, made, and no one objects to the prices. Why shouldn't we make it +as well as the Sacramento storekeepers?" +</P> + +<P> +"True!" said Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't ask you to work for me, my friend, for I don't think it would +suit you." +</P> + +<P> +"It wouldn't. At home--that's in Oak Forks, Iowa--I was a hunter. I +was always in the open air. The sort of life we live here suits me, +though I haven't made much money as yet." +</P> + +<P> +"The boy, I think, would do. He looks like a hustler. I need only look +at his face to know that he'd be honest and faithful. What is your +name, boy?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ernest Ray." +</P> + +<P> +"That's a good name. You'll only have to live up to it--to the first +part of it, I mean. Then you accept my offer?" +</P> + +<P> +"You haven't made any," said Ernest, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, you mean about wages. Well, I don't offer any stated wages. I +will give you one-third profits, and then your pay will depend on your +success. The fact is, you are to keep the store." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest looked an inquiry. +</P> + +<P> +"One person can attend to it by day. I will come in the evening, and +take a general look after things. Just at first I'll stay with you +till you've got the hang of things. But during the day I shall be +looking after my claims. Do you know how to keep books?" +</P> + +<P> +"I understand single entry bookkeeping." +</P> + +<P> +"That will be all you will require." +</P> + +<P> +"How soon shall you start?" asked Ernest, who began to feel very much +interested. +</P> + +<P> +"I will go to Sacramento to-morrow, now that we have come to terms. +You know that frame building near Ashton's cabin?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know what it was originally used for, but it is empty and I +can secure it for our store. It isn't large, but it will hold all we +need. I can get new supplies as we need them." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, that will do." +</P> + +<P> +"You haven't said how you like my offer." +</P> + +<P> +"Of one-third profits? I like it better than if you paid me wages. I +will make it amount to a good deal." +</P> + +<P> +"That will suit me. I don't care how much you make out of it, for I +shall make twice as much." +</P> + +<P> +"How did you happen to think of me?" +</P> + +<P> +"I've watched you ever since you came. I can judge of any one, boy or +man, if I have time enough to take stock of him. I saw that you were +just the man for me." +</P> + +<P> +"Boy," suggested Ernest, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, well, I'll make a man of you. By the way, an idea has just +occurred to me. You'd better go to Sacramento with me to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"I should like to do it," said Ernest, brightening up. +</P> + +<P> +"Then you can notice where I buy my supplies. You may need to go alone +sometimes." +</P> + +<P> +"At what time will we start?" +</P> + +<P> +"The stage leaves at seven o'clock." +</P> + +<P> +"I will be ready." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap28"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE TURNS UP. +</H3> + +<P> +The journey to Sacramento was made, the goods selected, and in less +than a week the new store was stocked. In the arrangement of goods +Ernest took a zealous part. He had never served in a store, yet it +seemed to come natural to him, and he felt more interest in it than in +the work of mining. +</P> + +<P> +After the store was in full working order Horace Ames left Ernest as +sole manager, coming in only in the evening to look at the books, for +Ernest, as far as possible, kept a record of every sale. +</P> + +<P> +Storekeeping in those days and in that country was unusually +profitable. Ernest made a little comparison between the cost of goods +and the selling price, and arrived at the conclusion that the average +profits were a hundred per cent. And still the miners were able to buy +goods cheaper than when they sent to Sacramento for them. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of the first week Ernest figured up the sales and found +they aggregated two hundred dollars. His share of the profits amounted +to a little over thirty dollars. +</P> + +<P> +This was encouraging, being three times as much as he had ever +realized in the same length of time from mining. +</P> + +<P> +There was one embarrassment. There was no bank in the place where +money could be deposited, and of course the chance of loss by robbery +was much increased. However, his partner purchased a small safe, and +this afforded some security. +</P> + +<P> +One day a man entered the store, and purchased a pipe and tobacco. He +was a stranger to Ernest, but there was something familiar in his +look, yet he could not place him. +</P> + +<P> +The newcomer looked about with considerable curiosity. +</P> + +<P> +"You have quite a snug store here," he remarked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Does it belong to you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have an interest in it, but it belongs to Mr. Ames." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he here much?" +</P> + +<P> +"He usually comes in evenings, but he is interested in mining." +</P> + +<P> +"You seem to have a good trade." +</P> + +<P> +"What makes you think so?" +</P> + +<P> +"You have a good stock. You would not keep so many goods unless you +had a call for them." +</P> + +<P> +"Have I ever seen you before?" asked Ernest abruptly, for the idea +grew upon him that he and his new customer had met somewhere under +peculiar circumstances. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. I don't remember you," answered the customer, shrugging +his shoulders. "I haven't been in California long. I suppose you were +born here." +</P> + +<P> +"No; very few of those now living in California were born here. I once +lived in Iowa. Were you ever there?" +</P> + +<P> +"Never," answered the customer. "I've been in Missouri, but never in +Iowa." +</P> + +<P> +"I have never been in that State. Are you going to stay here?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. It depends on whether I can make any money. I suppose +you don't want to hire a clerk?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest said to himself that this man, with his shifty looks and +suspicious appearance, would be about the last man he would think of +engaging. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps Mr. Ames would give you a chance to work some of his claims," +he suggested. +</P> + +<P> +"I will look about me a little before I apply to him," replied the +customer. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you come here alone?" he asked after a pause. +</P> + +<P> +"No. A friend came with me--Luke Robbins." +</P> + +<P> +The stranger started a little when Ernest pronounced this name, so +that young Ray was led to inquire, "Do you know Luke?" +</P> + +<P> +"How should I know him? Is he a young man?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; he is probably about your age." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose he came with you from Nebraska?" +</P> + +<P> +"Iowa." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, yes, Iowa. He isn't in the store, is he?" +</P> + +<P> +"He is working for Mr. Ashton on one of his claims." +</P> + +<P> +At this point a new customer came in, and the visitor, after a brief +delay, left the store. +</P> + +<P> +When Ernest had waited upon the new customer he look for the first +visitor, but missed him. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder who he was," he reflected, puzzled. "I am sure that I have +seen him before." +</P> + +<P> +But think as he might, he could not trace him. +</P> + +<P> +Yet with this man he had had a very exciting experience in Oak Forks, +for it was no other than Tom Burns, the tramp who had entered his +cabin during the night and robbed him, and later had attacked him when +digging for Peter's hidden treasure. It had been only a few months +since they had met, but Tom Burns, during that time, had grown a thick +beard, which had help to disguise him. +</P> + +<P> +It is hardly necessary to explain how Burns had found his way out to +Oreville. It was his business to tramp about the country, and it had +struck him that in the land of gold he would have a chance to line his +pockets with treasure which did not belong to him. So fortune had +directed his steps to Oreville. +</P> + +<P> +When he entered the store in which Ernest was employed, he +immediately, and in some surprise, recognized the boy of Oak Forks. He +was glad to find that Ernest did not recognize him, and he immediately +began to consider in what way he could turn the circumstance to his +own advantage. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder if the boy sleeps there," he said to himself. "If so, I will +make him a visit to night. Probably the money he has taken in during +the day will be in some drawer where I can get hold of it." +</P> + +<P> +As he was leaving the store in the stealthy way habitual to him he met +a man walking towards the place with a long and careless stride. +</P> + +<P> +He started nervously, for this man was one whom he dreaded, and had +reason to fear. +</P> + +<P> +It was Luke Robbins, who, tired with working the claim, was going to +the store to replenish his stock of tobacco. +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns pulled his soft hat down over his eyes and pushed swiftly +on. +</P> + +<P> +Luke Robbins halted a moment and looked at him. As in Ernest's case, +he seemed to see something familiar in the appearance of the tramp. He +realized, at all events, that he was a stranger in Oreville, for he +knew every one in the mining settlement. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you, stranger? Have I seen you before?" asked Luke, hailing +him. +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns did not dare to reply, for he feared that Luke might prove +to have a better memory than Ernest. So he was passing on without a +response, when Luke, who considered his conduct suspicious, demanded, +in a peremptory tone, "Who are you? Do you live here?" +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns shrugged his shoulders, and said, disguising his voice, "Me +no understand English, boss." +</P> + +<P> +"What countryman are you?" asked Luke, suspiciously. +</P> + +<P> +"Italian," answered Tom. +</P> + +<P> +"Humph! You are the first Italian I have seen in Oreville." +</P> + +<P> +"Si, signor," answered Tom, and this comprised all the Italian he +knew. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I don't think you will find any inducement to stay." +</P> + +<P> +"Si, signor," replied Burns, meekly. +</P> + +<P> +Without another word Luke entered the store. +</P> + +<P> +"Ernest," he said, "I am out of tobacco and must have a smoke. Give me +half a pound." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, Luke." +</P> + +<P> +"I ran across an Italian just outside. He seemed to be leaving the +store." +</P> + +<P> +"An Italian?" queried Ernest, his tone betraying surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Wasn't he in here?" +</P> + +<P> +"There was a man in here--a stranger, but I don't think he was an +Italian." +</P> + +<P> +"This man answered me in some Italian gibberish. He said he couldn't +understand English." +</P> + +<P> +"What was his appearance?" +</P> + +<P> +Luke described him. +</P> + +<P> +"It's the same man that was in here just now, but he could speak +English as well as you or I." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you have some conversation with him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. He looked familiar to me and I asked him who he was. He said he +had come from Missouri. He was in search of work." +</P> + +<P> +"You say he understood and spoke English?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I wonder what could be his game." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't he look familiar to you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; there was something familiar about his appearance, but I +couldn't place him." +</P> + +<P> +"He asked me if I couldn't employ him in the store. I told him Mr. +Ames might give him a chance at mining." +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" +</P> + +<P> +"He said he would look round a little before deciding." +</P> + +<P> +"Did he buy anything?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, tobacco." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you mention my name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and he looked uneasy." +</P> + +<P> +"Ernest," said Luke Robbins, with a sudden inspiration, "I know the +man." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you recall any man at Oak Forks with whom you had trouble?" +</P> + +<P> +"Tom Burns?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. That's the man." +</P> + +<P> +"Why didn't we recognize him then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because he has grown a full beard." +</P> + +<P> +"That's so, Luke. I understand now why he looked so familiar. I am +sorry to see him here." +</P> + +<P> +"He'd better not undertake any of his rascalities or he will find +himself in hot water." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap29"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TOM BURNS MAKES A CALL. +</H3> + +<P> +When Burns left the store he walked to the outskirts of the mining +settlement, not wishing to attract attention. He wished especially to +avoid encountering Luke Robbins, with the strength of whose arm he was +disagreeably familiar. +</P> + +<P> +He proposed to keep out of sight until night, and then make a visit to +the store. It would go hard with him if he did not make a raise there +either in the shape of money or articles of value. +</P> + +<P> +He came to a cabin standing by itself, at a considerable distance from +the homes of the other miners. Sitting in front of it was a man with +grizzled beard whose appearance indicated advanced age. There were +lines upon his face that betrayed ill health. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder if anything can be got out of him," thought Tom Burns. "I'll +see." +</P> + +<P> +"Good day, sir," he said affably. +</P> + +<P> +The old man looked up. +</P> + +<P> +"Good day," he replied. "Who are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm an unfortunate man, in search of employment." +</P> + +<P> +"When people are unfortunate there is generally a reason for it. Are +you intemperate?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir," answered Burns, as if horror-stricken. "I hate the taste of +liquor." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad to hear it." +</P> + +<P> +"I belong to three temperance societies," continued Tom, by way of +deepening the favorable impression he thought he had made. +</P> + +<P> +"And still you are poor?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," answered Burns. "Once I was prosperous, but I was ruined by +signing notes for an unprincipled man who took advantage of my +friendship. Do you think I can find work here?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. Probably you can get a chance to work on one of Mr. +Ames claims." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it Mr. Ames who owns the store?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"I called there to buy some tobacco. Is the boy there his son?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; he is a recent arrival in Oreville. He is a very smart boy." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he? Mr. Ames trusts him, I suppose?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Why shouldn't he?" +</P> + +<P> +"I--I would rather not answer that question." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you ever met the boy before? Do you know him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I met him at the East," answered Burns. +</P> + +<P> +"Since you have said so much, you must say more. I am a cousin of Mr. +Ames, and if you know anything unfavorable of the boy it is your duty +to tell me." +</P> + +<P> +"I have nothing against the boy, and would prefer not to speak." +</P> + +<P> +"I insist upon your doing it." +</P> + +<P> +"It is only this. When I knew him he was employed in a store. He was +trusted, as he appears to be here. One night the store was robbed, +that is some money disappeared, and the boy claimed it was broken into +by thieves, who took the money, whereas he took it himself." +</P> + +<P> +"That seems bad. Was it proved that he took the money?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. That's why he was compelled to leave the place. That is why he +is now in Oreville." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you come here to expose him?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I didn't know he was here. I was very much taken by surprise when +I saw him in the store." +</P> + +<P> +"This is important, if true. Mr. Ames ought to be informed." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't tell him while I am here. The boy is very revengeful, and he +might try to do me an injury." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you afraid of a boy?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am a man of peace. I don't want to get into any difficulty." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you wonder that I am sitting here while others are at +work." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, it did cross my mind." +</P> + +<P> +"My spine is affected. I look well, but I cannot walk. I hope to be +better after a while, but at present I am comparatively helpless." +</P> + +<P> +"Can't I help you?" +</P> + +<P> +"You may go into the cabin, and bring me a bottle of medicine which +you will find in the cupboard." +</P> + +<P> +Burns entered the cabin gladly. He thought that he might find +something worth taking. +</P> + +<P> +On the wall, hanging from a nail, was a gold watch. It was too good a +chance to be lost. It might or it might not be valuable, but at any +rate it was worth something. +</P> + +<P> +So, while securing the bottle, Burns slyly possessed himself of the +watch, which he slipped into his inside breast pocket. +</P> + +<P> +"Here is the bottle, sir," he said, meekly. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you. Now bring a spoon, which you will find on the table." +</P> + +<P> +Burns did so. +</P> + +<P> +"Now pour out a teaspoonful, which I will take." +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad to be of service to you. Don't you want a kind attendant, +while you are sick, to take care of you?" +</P> + +<P> +"There would not be enough for you to do. I have a son at work in the +mines who is here morning and night, and he gives me all the care I +require." +</P> + +<P> +"I am sorry to hear that," thought Burns. "The son may be dangerous." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, sir, I will bid you good-by. I will pray for your recovery." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you. The prayers of the righteous avail much. Are you +righteous?" +</P> + +<P> +"It isn't for me to say, sir. I don't want to boast." +</P> + +<P> +"That is creditable to you. By the way, are you hungry?" +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't broken my fast since morning." +</P> + +<P> +"You will find some cold meat and a loaf of bread in the cupboard. It +is plain, but if you are hungry you will enjoy it." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir. I will accept your kind invitation." +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns was really hungry, and he did justice to the food offered +him. +</P> + +<P> +When his lunch was over he came outside. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you," he said, "for your kindness. I am sure you will be +rewarded." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't want any reward. Out here we are always glad to give a meal +of victuals to a stranger who needs it. Are you going to stay long in +Oreville?" +</P> + +<P> +"If I can get anything to do I may. You see I am a poor man, and stand +in pressing need of employment." +</P> + +<P> +"Keep up your courage! Something will turn up for you. I will ask my +son if he cannot find something for you to do." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir. I will bid you good-by, with thanks for your +kindness." +</P> + +<P> +"If you are not pressed for time, I will send you on an errand." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, sir. I shall be glad to be of service to you." +</P> + +<P> +"Here is a Mexican dollar. You may go to the store and bring me a +dozen eggs. If there is any change you may keep it." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"A dollar in!" thought Burns, as he turned away from the cabin. "I +think I can turn it to a better use than spending it in eggs. That was +a profitable call. I made a gold watch and a dollar by it. The old man +can't pursue me, that's one comfort, thanks to his spinal complaint." +</P> + +<P> +"That is a very clever fellow," reflected the old man when Burns had +started on his errand. "A bit too religious to suit my taste. Still he +seemed grateful for the little I did for him. If he had a little more +push and get-up-and-get about him he would succeed better. Why, he +isn't more than forty, and he confesses himself a failure. Why, at +forty I considered myself a young man, and was full of dash and +enterprise. Now I am sixty and tied to my seat by this spinal trouble. +However, I've got something laid by, and, old as I am, I feel +independent, as far as money goes." +</P> + +<P> +Half an hour--an hour--passed, and still the old man found himself +alone. His messenger had not come back. +</P> + +<P> +But there came up the path a tall, muscular figure, who greeted the +old man in a bluff, off hand way. +</P> + +<P> +"How are you, Luke?" said the old man. "I was feeling lonely. I am +glad to see you." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you been alone since morning?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not quite all the time. I had quite a long call from a stranger." +</P> + +<P> +"A stranger!" repeated Luke, suspiciously. +</P> + +<P> +"What was his appearance?" +</P> + +<P> +The old man described Burns, and Luke knew him at once. +</P> + +<P> +"What did he say to you?" +</P> + +<P> +"That reminds me--he said he knew the boy whom Horace has put in the +store--young Ray." +</P> + +<P> +"Did he?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and he doesn't speak well of him." +</P> + +<P> +"What does he say about him?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't like to tell you, Luke, for I believe he is a protege of +yours." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't mind that. If there is anything to be said unfavorable of +Ernest I ought to know it." +</P> + +<P> +"He says the boy robbed a store in which he was employed, and then +pretended it was entered by thieves. It was on that account, he says, +that the boy was compelled to leave the town where he lived and come +to California." +</P> + +<P> +"Really, that is very interesting. To my own personal knowledge the +boy was never before employed in a store, and he came out to +California with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Then what could the man mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't say. I can only tell you that he is a professional thief." +</P> + +<P> +"Look quick, Luke, and see if my gold watch is hanging on a nail near +the cupboard." +</P> + +<P> +"No, it is not there." +</P> + +<P> +"Then the rascal must have stolen it. I gave him, besides, a Mexican +dollar to buy some eggs at the store." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think you will ever see it again, unless I catch the thief, +as I may to-night." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap30"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A BURGLAR'S FAILURE. +</H3> + +<P> +If Tom Burns had been more prudent he would have made good his escape +with the money and gold watch he had already secured. But he was too +greedy for gain. +</P> + +<P> +He pictured to himself the store with its goodly stock of money taken +in during the day, and he felt an irresistible craving for it. There +might be one or two hundred dollars, and no one in charge but a boy +whom he could easily overpower. +</P> + +<P> +Apart from the pecuniary gain he felt that he should enjoy getting the +best of Ernest, who had already foiled him at Oak Forks. +</P> + +<P> +"This time he will come out second best," chuckled Burns to himself. +</P> + +<P> +Then he laughed when he remembered how his appearance had puzzled +Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"It was a good idea, growin' a beard," he said to himself. "Seems to +have disguised me pretty well. The boy thought he had seen me before, +but he couldn't make out where. The next time he'll know me, I reckon. +</P> + +<P> +"I must keep out of the way till night," he said to himself. "It won't +do for me to be seen prowlin' round the settlement." +</P> + +<P> +He retired a mile or two among the hills, and waited impatiently for +night to come. +</P> + +<P> +"It is lucky that the old man gave me a meal," he reflected, +"otherwise I should be about starved. I wonder if that watch is worth +much." +</P> + +<P> +He examined the watch, and decided that its value was probably not far +from a hundred dollars. In fact the old man had bought it in St. +Louis, and had selected a high-priced article. +</P> + +<P> +It did occur to Burns that perhaps he had better remain satisfied with +what he had got, for the watch would probably bring him fifty dollars +at a sacrifice sale; but the temptation to stay was too strong. +</P> + +<P> +"It would be a sin to give up such a fine chance," he reflected. +"There's next to no risk, and I may get two hundred dollars." +</P> + +<P> +Then he began to consider what he would do in that case. He decided +that he would go to San Francisco, and see what pickings he could find +there. +</P> + +<P> +He had already found out that mining men and others in the far West +were more careless about their money than those in the East, probably +because money came easier. +</P> + +<P> +"I did well when I came out here," he said to himself in a tone of +congratulation. "I'll make hay while the sun shines." +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile, though he did not know it, his visit was expected, and +preparations were being made to receive him. +</P> + +<P> +After supper Luke Robbins came to the store, and held a conference +with Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"I am going to pass the night with you, lad," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish you would, Luke." +</P> + +<P> +"I want to help you do the honors to my old friend Burns." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps he won't call." +</P> + +<P> +"If he knows what's best for himself he won't, but he will be like the +foolish moth, and won't be contented till he has singed his wings. I will +look about me and see where to bestow myself for the night." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest occupied a bed in the rear of the store, just behind one of the +counters. It was near a window in the rear of the building. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll take that bed, Ernest, and you can find another place." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I fasten the window?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. I am going to make it easy for my friend Burns to get in. Whether +he will find it as easy to get out will be another matter." +</P> + +<P> +Nothing was said to the miners about the presence of a thief in the +settlement. At that time there was no toleration for thieves. The +punishment visited upon them was short, sharp, and decisive. The judge +most in favor was Judge Lynch, and woe be to the offender who ventured +to interfere with the rights of property. +</P> + +<P> +Had Luke breathed a word about Burns, half a dozen miners would have +volunteered to stand guard, and would thus have interfered with Tom +Burns' visit. +</P> + +<P> +"I want to keep all the fun to myself, Ernest," said Luke. "We'll give +him a lesson he won't soon forget. If I told the boys, they'd hang him +up in short order. I don't want to take the fellow's life, but I'll +give him a first-class scare." +</P> + +<P> +It was about ten minutes of twelve when Tom Burns, leaving his place +of concealment, walked with eager steps towards the mining settlement. +The one street was not illuminated, for Oreville had not got along as +far as that. The moon gave an indistinct light, relieving the night of +a part of its gloom. +</P> + +<P> +Burns looked from one cabin to another with a wistful glance. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose some of these miners have got a lot of gold dust hidden +away in their shanties," he said to himself. "I wish I knew where I +could light on some of their treasure. If I only knew which cabin to +choose!" +</P> + +<P> +But then it occurred to him that every miner was probably armed, and +would make it dangerous to any intruder. +</P> + +<P> +So Tom Burns kept on his way. He was troubled by no conscientious +scruples. He had got beyond that long ago. Sometimes it did occur to +him to wonder how it would seem to settle down as a man of +respectability and influence, taking a prominent part in the affairs +of town and church. +</P> + +<P> +"It might have been," he muttered. "My father was a man of that sort. +Why not I? If I hadn't gone wrong in my early days, if I had not been +tempted of the devil to rob the storekeeper for whom I worked, and so +made myself an outcast and a pariah, who knows but I might have been +at this moment Thomas Burns, Esq., of some municipality, instead of +Tom Burns the tramp. However, it is foolish to speculate about this. I +am what I am, and there is little chance of my being anything else." +</P> + +<P> +So he dismissed the past, and recalled the work he had set for +himself. Everything was still. In the mining village probably there +was not a person awake. It was like a dead town. Everything seemed +favorable to his designs. +</P> + +<P> +There was the store. He could see it already. And now there was +nothing to do but to get in and take the money, which he had no doubt +was waiting ready to his hand. +</P> + +<P> +Perhaps he might be fortunate enough to secure it without waking the +boy. He hoped so, at any rate, for he was not a desperate or cruel +man. He did not wish to injure Ernest unless it should be absolutely +necessary. If he could get along without it, so much the better. +</P> + +<P> +Arriving at his destination, he paused to reconsider. +</P> + +<P> +He did not expect to enter by the front door. He did not as yet know +whether there was any other. But at any rate there must be a window +somewhere, and he preferred to get in that way. +</P> + +<P> +He walked around to the rear of the store, and there he discovered the +window. He had been afraid it might be blockaded with shelves, which +would make entrance difficult, but fortunately this did not appear to +be the case. He stood at the window and looked in. +</P> + +<A NAME="img-287"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-287.jpg" ALT=""He stood at the window and looked in."" BORDER="2" WIDTH="383" HEIGHT="588"> +<H4> +"He stood at the window and looked in." +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<P> +The faint moonlight did not enable him to penetrate the interior very +far, but he could make out something. There were goods of various +kinds scattered about, and he could just see a recumbent figure on a +bed near the counter. +</P> + +<P> +"That's the boy," he said to himself. "I wonder if he is asleep." +</P> + +<P> +There did not seem to be any doubt on this point. +</P> + +<P> +But for the indistinct light, Tom Burns might have thought the +outstretched figure rather large for a boy. But he only glanced at it +furtively. +</P> + +<P> +The next thing to consider was whether the window was fastened. In +that case he would have some difficulty, though for this he was +prepared, having an instrument with which he could cut a pane of +glass, and, thrusting in his hand, unfasten the catch. +</P> + +<P> +But through some strange inadvertence, apparently, the window was not +locked, and much to his relief he had no difficulty in lifting it. In +this way he made his entrance into the store. +</P> + +<P> +He was as careful as possible, fearing lest he might stumble over some +article, and by the noise betray his presence. +</P> + +<P> +What if there was a dog inside? This thought brought alarm to the +burglar. In that case his visit would probably be a failure. He +remembered, however, with a feeling of relief, that he had seen no dog +about during his visit to the store. +</P> + +<P> +Now that he had passed through the window, and was fairly in the +store, he looked round for the money-drawer. He had not seen the safe, +or probably he might not have entered the store at all, for he was not +expert in breaking open safes, and at any rate it would be a matter of +time and difficulty. So he was looking about, when, as he passed by +the bed, he felt himself seized by the leg. Evidently the sleeper had +awakened and discovered his presence. +</P> + +<P> +Burns got down on his knees and grasped the recumbent by the throat. +</P> + +<P> +"Lie still, or I'll choke you!" he said, fiercely. +</P> + +<P> +But as he spoke he felt the rough beard of a man, and with dismay he +realized that he had tackled a more formidable foe than the boy for +whom he was prepared. +</P> + +<P> +He then felt himself seized with an iron grasp. +</P> + +<P> +[Illustration: "HE STOOD AT THE WINDOW AND LOOKED IN."] +</P> + +<P> +"I've got you, you rascally burglar!" were the words he heard, and gave +himself up for lost. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are you?" he asked faintly. +</P> + +<P> +"I am Luke Robbins, and I know you of old. You are Tom Burns!" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap31"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE ADVERTISEMENT. +</H3> + +<P> +If there was any one of whom Tom Burns stood in fear it was Luke +Robbins. When he found himself in the grasp of his dreaded enemy he +grew weak with terror. +</P> + +<P> +It was no longer a question of successful robbery. It was a matter of +personal safety. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, what have you to say for yourself?" demanded Luke, tightening +his grasp. +</P> + +<P> +"Have mercy on me, Mr. Robbins! Don't kill me!" ejaculated Burns, half +choked. +</P> + +<P> +"What did you come here for?" +</P> + +<P> +"I--I had no money, and--" +</P> + +<P> +"You thought you could get some here. That is the explanation." +</P> + +<P> +"Ye-es," faltered Burns. +</P> + +<P> +"You thought you would be more than a match for the boy. Well, you +have no boy to deal with." +</P> + +<P> +"I know that very well," confessed Burns. +</P> + +<P> +"How long have you been in Oreville?" +</P> + +<P> +"I only came this morning." +</P> + +<P> +"You have improved your time," said Luke, dryly. "You have stolen a +gold watch, besides making this attempt at robbery." +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns could not deny it, though he was surprised at Luke's +knowledge. He did not reply. +</P> + +<P> +"Hand over that watch!" said Luke, in a tone of authority. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you let me go if I do?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will make no conditions with you. Hand over that watch!" +</P> + +<P> +Burns drew it from his inside pocket and handed it over. +</P> + +<P> +"Humph! So far so good. Now how about that dollar you took to buy +eggs?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is the only money I have, except a few pennies. Please let me keep +it." +</P> + +<P> +"If I tell the miners what you have done you won't need any more +money," said Luke, grimly. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" asked Burns, trembling. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" repeated Luke. "Because they will hang you to the nearest +tree. You won't need to trouble about money matters after that." +</P> + +<P> +"You won't give me up, Mr. Robbins," pleaded Burns in an agony of +terror. "I--I am not fit to die. Besides, I am a young man. I am not +yet forty. I will turn over a new leaf. I will, truly." +</P> + +<P> +"It's high time you did. It is a long time since you earned an honest +living." +</P> + +<P> +"I know it, Mr. Robbins. I have been a bad man, but it is not too late +to reform. If you'll let me go I will leave Oreville to-night, and I +will never trouble you again." +</P> + +<P> +"It isn't me you have troubled. It is the boy. You robbed him, or +tried to do it, at Oak Forks, and now you have turned up here." +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't know he was here. Truly I didn't." +</P> + +<P> +"You didn't know I was here, or I think you would have given the place +a wide berth." +</P> + +<P> +"I am very sorry for what I did, and if you'll only spare my life I'll +promise to reform." +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't much faith in your promises, but I'll leave it to the boy. +Ernest, what shall I do with this man?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest had come forward, and was standing but a few feet from Luke and +his captive. +</P> + +<P> +"If he promises to reform," said Ernest, "you'd better give him +another chance, Luke." +</P> + +<P> +"I am not sure that I ought to, but it is you to whom he has done the +most harm. If you give him over to the miners we shall never be +troubled by him again." +</P> + +<P> +Tom Burns turned pale, for he knew that life and death were in the +balance, and that those two--Luke and the boy--were to decide his +fate. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest could not help pitying the trembling wretch. He was naturally +kind hearted, and at that moment he felt that he could forgive Burns +all that he had done. +</P> + +<P> +"Since you have left it to me, Luke," he said, "let him go." +</P> + +<P> +"It shall be as you say, Ernest." +</P> + +<P> +As he spoke he released his hold, and Tom Burns stood erect. He +breathed a deep sigh of relief. +</P> + +<P> +"May I go?" he asked submissively. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +Before leaving he turned to Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"You are a good-hearted boy," he said, "and I shall not forget that +you have saved my life. If I am ever able to do anything for you, I +will do it. You will find that Tom Burns, bad as he has been, knows +how to be grateful." +</P> + +<P> +"I think you mean what you say," returned Ernest. "I hope you will +keep your promise and will turn over a new leaf. Is it true that you +are penniless?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not quite. This is all I have." +</P> + +<P> +Burns drew from his pocket a handful of small change--less than a +dollar in all--and held it out for inspection. +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will help you along." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest took from his pocket a five-dollar gold piece, and offered it +to the tramp. +</P> + +<P> +"That is more than I would do for him," said Luke. +</P> + +<P> +"It is more than I deserve," replied Burns, "but you won't be sorry +for your kindness. If ever you see me again, I shall be a different +man." +</P> + +<P> +He passed out of the window, and they saw him no more. +</P> + +<P> +Luke and Ernest said very little of their night's adventure, but the +gold watch and the Mexican dollar were returned to the man from whom +they had been taken. +</P> + +<P> +Six months passed. Oreville had doubled its population, the mines had +yielded a large sum in gold dust, and the store presided over by +Ernest was considerably enlarged. +</P> + +<P> +His services had been so satisfactory that Horace Ames, whose time was +taken up elsewhere, had raised his share of the profits to one half. +</P> + +<P> +At the end of six months, besides defraying his expenses, Ernest found +himself possessed of a thousand dollars. +</P> + +<P> +"Luke, I feel rich," said he, when his faithful friend came round for +a chat. +</P> + +<P> +"You've done better than I have," rejoined Luke. "The most I have been +able to scrape together is four hundred dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"I will give you a part of my money, so that we may be even." +</P> + +<P> +"No, you won t, Ernest. What do you take me for? I should be ashamed +to touch any of your hard earnings." +</P> + +<P> +"They are not hard earnings, Luke. Mr. Ames has been very liberal, and +that is why I have got so much. I don't feel that I ought to have so +much more than you." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't bother about me, lad; I feel rich with four hundred dollars. I +never was worth so much before, though I'm almost three times your +age. And I wouldn't have that but for you." +</P> + +<P> +"How do you make that out, Luke?" +</P> + +<P> +"Because I never had any ambition till I met you. I never thought of +saving money; as long as I got enough to eat I cared for nothing else. +I should have died without enough to bury me if you had not set me the +example of putting something by for a rainy day." +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad if I have done you any good, Luke, for you have been a kind +friend to me." +</P> + +<P> +A. week later Luke came into the store holding a letter in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Here is a letter for you, Ernest," he said. "I was passing the +post-office just now when I was hailed by the postmaster, who asked me +if I would take the letter to you. I didn't know that you had any +correspondents." +</P> + +<P> +"Nor I, Luke. I think it is the first letter I ever received. Whom can +it be from?" +</P> + +<P> +"From some one who knows you are here. It is postmarked St. Louis." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, I can easily discover who wrote it," said Ernest, as he cut +open the envelope with his penknife. +</P> + +<P> +He turned at once to the signature, and exclaimed, in great surprise, +"Why, it's from Tom Burns." +</P> + +<P> +"The man who tried to rob the store?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"He has probably written to ask you for some money." +</P> + +<P> +"No, Luke, you are mistaken. I will read it to you." +</P> + +<P> +The letter started thus: +</P> + +<P> +ERNEST RAY: +</P> + +<P> +You will probably be surprised to hear from me. Let me begin by saying +that I have kept the promise I made to you and Mr. Robbins when you +let me off six months ago. I have turned over a new leaf, and have +been strictly honest ever since, as I promised you I would be. +</P> + +<P> +I won't trouble you with an account of my struggles to get along. I +will only say that I am employed at present as a waiter at the +Planters Hotel, and though I can't save up much money, I am able to +live comfortable. But you will wonder why I am writing to you. It is +because I have seen your name mentioned in an advertisement in one of +the St. Louis daily papers. I inclose the advertisement, and hope it +is something to your advantage. I have taken the liberty to write to +Mr. Bolton, telling him where you were six months since, and now I +write to you so that you may communicate with him also. +</P> + +<P> +Yours respectfully, TOM BURNS. +</P> + +<P> +The advertisement appended ran thus: +</P> + +<P> +INFORMATION WANTED.--Should this meet the eye of Ernest Ray, some time +residing at Oak Forks, Iowa, he is requested to communicate with +Benjamin Bolton, Attorney-at-Law, 182 Nassau Street, New York City. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap32"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MR. BOLTON AS A HUSTLER. +</H3> + +<P> +When Benjamin Bolton left the house of Stephen Ray with a hundred +dollars in his pocket, it was with the clearly-defined purpose in his +mind to find the boy who had been so grossly wronged, and force the +present holder of the Ray estate to make restitution. But he was not +yet in a position to move in the matter. +</P> + +<P> +Only a few hours previous he had been nearly penniless. Even now, +though he was provided with a sum of money that made him feel +comparatively rich, he knew that it would not last very long. Clearly +he must obtain employment. +</P> + +<P> +He provided himself with a respectable suit of clothing, and took the +next train for New York. He had been in the metropolis two or three +times in the course of his life, but he knew no one there. He must +push his own way without help. +</P> + +<P> +While other paths might be open to him, for he was a man of education +and worldly experience, he felt that he should like to get back into +his own profession. He flattered himself that if properly started he +could make himself valuable to an established attorney in the way of +hunting up cases, and taking part in any description of legal work +that might be intrusted to him. +</P> + +<P> +But how could he, a man altogether unknown, recommend himself to any +lawyer whose standing and business would make a connection with him +desirable? Perhaps in any other business there would be less +difficulty in making a start. +</P> + +<P> +But Mr. Bolton was resolute and determined, and fortune favored him. +</P> + +<P> +Within thirty miles of the city a stout gentleman of perhaps fifty +entered the car and sat down beside him. He looked like a well-to-do +business man, prosperous and free from care, but for the anxious +expression on his face. He appeared like a man in trouble who stood in +need of advice. +</P> + +<P> +The train had gone several miles before he made up his mind to confide +in the quiet-looking man who sat beside him. He had already taken +stock of Bolton in several furtive glances before he decided to speak +of the matter that troubled him. +</P> + +<P> +"There is something on his mind," thought Bolton. "He looks as if he +wished to speak to some one." +</P> + +<P> +He addressed a casual remark to his companion, who instantly +responded. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't like to trouble you," he said, "but I am somewhat perplexed." +</P> + +<P> +"My dear sir, if in any way I can help you I shall be glad to do so," +answered Bolton. "I am a lawyer--" +</P> + +<P> +"Are you?" said the other eagerly. "I want to meet a good, honest, and +<I>smart</I> lawyer, who will undertake a case for me." +</P> + +<P> +Bolton pricked up his ears. This seemed to be a providential +opportunity of which he resolved to avail himself. +</P> + +<P> +"I should not like to praise myself," he said modestly, "but I think +you would find me faithful to your interests." +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt of it, sir. Are you a New York lawyer?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am about to connect myself with a law firm in the city," answered +Bolton, heartily hoping that this statement might prove accurate. +</P> + +<P> +"Then you will be able to help me." +</P> + +<P> +"State your case, if you don't mind." Bolton took out a small +memorandum book, and, pencil in hand, sat ready to take down the +important points. +</P> + +<P> +"You must know, sir, that twenty years ago my father died, leaving an +estate of fifty thousand dollars. It was divided equally between my +sister Martha and myself. I married, and Martha, for the last twenty +years, has been a member of my family. Being a spinster, with only +herself to provide for, her property has doubled, while I, having +several children, have barely held my own. Of course I expected that +my children and my self would inherit Martha's money when she died." +</P> + +<P> +"Very natural, sir, and very just." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Martha died last August. Imagine my dismay when her will was +opened and proved to bequeath her entire estate to various charities +in which she never took any particular interest when living." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you suspect any one of influencing her to this disposition of her +property?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, she had had various conversations with a collector for these +societies, who resided in the town during the summer, and who sought +an introduction when he learned that she was a lady of independent +fortune. He called frequently, and flattered up my poor sister, who, +between ourselves, had lately shown signs of mental weakness." +</P> + +<P> +"Did she cut off your family entirely in her will?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; she didn't leave even a dollar to any one of my children, though +one of my daughters was named for her." +</P> + +<P> +"Was the collector entitled to a commission on sums secured for the +societies which he rep resented?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, that is the cause of his zeal. He would make a very handsome +percentage on an estate as large as my sister's." +</P> + +<P> +"But for him would she have been likely to cut off her relatives?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; we should probably have received every dollar." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think the collector cherished any matrimonial designs with +reference to your sister?" +</P> + +<P> +"I did think so at one time, but Martha's condition as an invalid led +her to discourage his attentions, though she was evidently flattered +by them." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course you wish to break the will?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Do you think it can be done?" +</P> + +<P> +"Upon the basis of what you have told me I should think the chances +were greatly in your favor." +</P> + +<P> +His companion brightened up very perceptibly at this assurance. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you ever been employed in any similar cases?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"My dear sir, I have an important case of the kind on my hands at this +moment. The amount involved is a quarter of a million dollars." +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Bolton rose greatly in the estimation of his new client after he +had made this statement. +</P> + +<P> +"Is the case at all similar?" +</P> + +<P> +"Hardly. It is the case of a will concealed, or rather suppressed, and +acting upon a will previously made. I cannot go into details for +obvious reasons, as I wish to keep our enemy in the dark." +</P> + +<P> +"I understand. Have you your card with you, so that I can call at your +office?" +</P> + +<P> +This was a puzzling question for Bolton, but he was equal to the +occasion. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me what hotel you propose to stop at, and I will call upon you +at eleven o'clock to-morrow morning." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know much about the New York hotels." +</P> + +<P> +"Then let me recommend a house," naming a comfortable but not +expensive hostelry on upper Broadway. +</P> + +<P> +"I will go there." +</P> + +<P> +"I think you have not yet mentioned your name." +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Ephraim Paulding." +</P> + +<P> +Bolton noted it down in his memorandum-book, and soon after the train +ran into the station at Forty-second Street. +</P> + +<P> +There was no time to be lost. Bolton made inquiries and obtained the +name of a successful, go-ahead lawyer, having an office at 182 Nassau +Street. He did not wait till the next day, but made a call that same +evening at his house on Lexington Avenue. +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Norcross, the lawyer, entered the parlor with Bolton's card in his +hand and a puzzled expression on his face. +</P> + +<P> +"Have I ever met you before, Mr. Bolton?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Please state your business." +</P> + +<P> +"I should like to enter your office. I am a lawyer with fifteen years +experience." +</P> + +<P> +"I should hardly think so, considering the strange, and I may say +unprecedented, proposal you are making." +</P> + +<P> +"I am quite aware that it seems so, but I can make it worth your +while." +</P> + +<P> +"How?" +</P> + +<P> +"By bringing you business. I can put in your hands now a will case +involving an estate of fifty thousand dollars, and further on probably +a much more important case." +</P> + +<P> +"You seem to be a hustler." +</P> + +<P> +"I am." +</P> + +<P> +"Where has your professional life been spent?" asked Norcross. +</P> + +<P> +"At Elmira. Now I wish to remove to this city. It will give me a +larger and more profitable field." +</P> + +<P> +"Give me some idea of the case you say you can put in my hands." +</P> + +<P> +Bolton did so. His terse and crisp statement--for he was really a man +of ability--interested the lawyer, and disposed him favorably toward +the matter. +</P> + +<P> +The result of the interview was that he engaged Bolton at a small +salary and a commission on business brought to the office for a period +of three months. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you," said Bolton, as he rose to go. "You will not regret this +step." +</P> + +<P> +The next morning Bolton brought his rail road acquaintance to the +office, and Mr. Norcross formally undertook his case. +</P> + +<P> +"I think we shall win," he said. "It is an aggravated case of undue +influence. Mr. Bolton will from time to time communicate to you the +steps we have taken." +</P> + +<P> +It is unnecessary to go into details. It is enough to say that the +will was broken, and a goodly sum found its way to the coffers of +lawyer Norcross. +</P> + +<P> +By this time Benjamin Bolton had established himself in the favor of +his employer, who, at the end of three months, made a new and much +more advantageous arrangement. Bolton had not as yet taken any steps +in Ernest's case, but he now felt that the time had come to do so. He +wrote to the postmaster at Oak Forks, inquiring if he knew a boy named +Ernest Ray, but learned, in reply, that Ernest had left the place some +months before, and had not since been heard from. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap33"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE RESULT OF AN ADVERTISEMENT. +</H3> + +<P> +The advertisement for Ernest in a St. Louis daily paper came about in +this way: +</P> + +<P> +Bolton was in the habit of inquiring from time to time, of Western +clients, if they were acquainted with any persons bearing the name of +Ray. One gentleman, who frequently visited St. Louis, answered, "Yes, +I know a boy named Ray." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me all you know about him," said Bolton, eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"I was staying at the Southern Hotel last winter," answered Mr. +Windham, "when my attention was called to a bright-looking newsboy +who sold the evening newspapers outside. I was so attracted by him +that I inquired his name. He said it was Ray, and that he was alone in +the world." +</P> + +<P> +"What was his first name?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't recall. I am not sure that I heard it." +</P> + +<P> +"Was it Ernest?" +</P> + +<P> +"Very possibly. But, as I said before, I cannot speak with any +certainty." +</P> + +<P> +"How old did the boy appear to be?" +</P> + +<P> +"About sixteen." +</P> + +<P> +"That would have been the age of Dudley Ray's son," said Bolton to +himself. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you didn't learn where the boy lived?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +This was all the information Mr. Windham was able to impart, but +Bolton felt that it was possibly of importance. It was, in fact, the +first clue he had been able to obtain. +</P> + +<P> +That Dudley Ray's son should be forced by dire necessity to sell +newspapers was not in the least improbable. He went to an advertising +agency, and inserted the advertisement already mentioned. +</P> + +<P> +A few days later he received two letters post-marked St. Louis. +</P> + +<P> +He opened them with a thrill of excitement. +</P> + +<P> +He felt that he was on the verge of making an important discovery. +</P> + +<P> +One letter was addressed in a school-boy hand, and ran thus: +</P> + +<P> +DEAR SIR: +</P> + +<P> +I saw your advertisement in one of the morning papers. I hope it means +me. My name is not Ernest, but it may have been changed by some people +with whom I lived in Nebraska. I am sixteen years old, and am a poor +boy obliged to earn my living by selling papers. My father died when I +was a baby, and my mother three years later. So I am alone in the +world, and I am having a hard time. I suppose you wouldn't advertise +for me unless you had some good news for me. You may send your answer +to this letter to the Southern Hotel. The clerk is a friend of mine, +and he says he will save it for me. +</P> + +<P> +Yours respectfully, ARTHUR RAY. +</P> + +<P> +"That isn't the boy," said Bolton, laying down the letter in +disappointment. "The name is different, and, besides, the writer says +that his father died when he was a baby. Of course that settles the +question. He is a different boy." +</P> + +<P> +He opened the second letter, hoping that it might be more +satisfactory. +</P> + +<P> +It was the letter of Tom Burns, setting forth his meeting Ernest at +Oak Forks, and afterwards running across him at Oreville in +California. +</P> + +<P> +"Eureka!" exclaimed Bolton, his face beaming with exultation. "This is +the boy and no mistake. I will at once answer this letter, and also +write to Ernest Ray in California." +</P> + +<P> +This was the letter received by Burns: +</P> + +<P> +DEAR SIR: +</P> + +<P> +I am very much indebted to you for the information contained in your +letter of two days since. I have reason to think that the boy you +mention is the one of whom I am in search. If it proves to be so, I am +free to tell you that he will be much benefited by your communication. +There is a considerable estate, now wrongfully held by another, to +which he is entitled. Should things turn out as I hope and expect, I +will see that you lose nothing by the service you have rendered him +and myself. I will write to him by this mail. Should you change your +address, please notify me. +</P> + +<P> +Yours truly, BENJAMIN BOLTON, 182 Nassau Street, New York. +</P> + +<P> +The letter written to Ernest ran thus: +</P> + +<P> +ERNEST RAY, OREVILLE, CALIFORNIA: +</P> + +<P> +I have for some time been seeking to find you. Finally, in response to +an advertisement inserted in a St. Louis daily paper, I learn that you +are at present living in Oreville, California. This information was +given me by one Thomas Burns, who is employed at the Planters Hotel. +The name is, I hope, familiar to you. It is very desirable that I +should have an interview with you. If you are the son of Dudley Ray, +formerly residing at or near Elmira, what I have to say will be +greatly to your advantage. +</P> + +<P> +Will you write me at once, letting me know whether this is the case? +Also, state your present circumstances, and whether you need pecuniary +help. It is unfortunate that we are so far apart. I am connected with +a New York legal firm, and can not very well go to California, but I +might assist you to come to New York if, as I suppose, your means are +limited. Will you write to me at once whether this is the case? I +shall anxiously await your reply. +</P> + +<P> +BENJAMIN BOLTON, Attorney-at-law, 182 Nassau Street, New York City. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest read this letter with eager interest, and showed it to Luke +Robbins. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you think of it, Luke?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"What do I think of it? It looks very much as if you were entitled to +some money." +</P> + +<P> +"What shall I do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Write this Mr. Bolton that you will go at once to New York, and call +upon him." +</P> + +<P> +"But how about the store? I should not like to leave Mr. Ames in the +lurch." +</P> + +<P> +"I will take your place here, and in order to qualify myself for it, I +will come in to morrow and begin to serve an apprenticeship." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest wrote to Bolton that he would start for New York in a week. He +added that he had the money necessary for the journey. He said also +that he was the son of Dudley Ray, and that he remembered visiting +Elmira with his father. +</P> + +<P> +When Bolton received this letter he exclaimed, triumphantly, "Now, +Stephen Ray, I have you on the hip. You looked down upon me when I +called upon you. In your pride and your unjust possession of wealth +you thought me beneath your notice. Unless I am greatly mistaken, I +shall be the instrument under Providence of taking from you your +ill-gotten gains, and carrying out the wishes expressed in the last +will of your deceased uncle." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap34"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A STRANGE MEETING. +</H3> + +<P> +Ernest left Oreville with four hundred dollars in his pocket. The +balance of his money he left in the hands of his friend Horace Ames, +upon whom he was authorized to draw if he should have need. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't intend to carry all my money with me," he said to Luke +Robbins. "I might lose it." +</P> + +<P> +"Even if you did, Ernest, you could draw on me. If you need it, do so +without any hesitation." +</P> + +<P> +"You are a good friend, Luke," said Ernest warmly. "What should I do +without you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am beginning to wonder what I shall do without you, Ernest. +Suppose, now, this lawyer puts a fortune in your hands?" +</P> + +<P> +"If he does, Luke, I am sure to need your help in some way. I will see +that we are not separated." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Ernest. I know you mean what you say. You may find a +better friend, but you won't find one that is more ready to serve you +than Luke Robbins." +</P> + +<P> +"I am sure of that, Luke," said Ernest with a bright smile, as he +pressed the rough hand of his faithful friend. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest did not loiter on his way, though he was tempted to stop in +Chicago, but he reflected that he would have plenty of chances to +visit that bustling city after his business had been attended to. +</P> + +<P> +As he approached Buffalo on the train his attention was attracted to +two persons sitting in front of him. They were a father and son, as he +gathered from the conversation. +</P> + +<P> +The son was about his own age and size, apparently, but rather more +slender in figure. He had a peevish expression, and Ernest doubted +whether he would like him. +</P> + +<P> +"Father," Ernest heard him say, "won't you give me a little money? I +am dead broke." +</P> + +<P> +The father frowned. +</P> + +<P> +"I gave you five dollars when we set out on this journey," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, five dollars won't last forever," was the pert rejoinder. +</P> + +<P> +"It ought to last more than four days, Clarence." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest started. He knew that his cousin's name was Clarence. Could +this be Stephen Ray and his son? +</P> + +<P> +Even if it were so, he felt that it would not be advisable to make +himself known. This business which was carrying him to New York might +bring him into conflict with Stephen Ray. If so, he would not care to +let his presence be known. +</P> + +<P> +On arriving at Buffalo Ernest left the train. He had never visited +Niagara, and being now so near, he felt that he could not forego the +opportunity. +</P> + +<P> +He registered at the Tefft House, and decided to remain twenty-four +hours. This would give him time to see the Falls. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest had a room assigned him, and went up to it at once in order to +have the luxury of a good wash. +</P> + +<P> +Five minutes afterwards, Stephen Ray and his son Clarence entered the +hotel. +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Ray, in a pompous manner, went up to the desk and said to the +clerk, "Can you give me a good room?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"I want a front room, if you have it." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't give you a front room, but I can give you a good side room." +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray grumbled a little, but finally decided to take the room +offered him. He saw that his haughty manner did not impress the clerk, +who was accustomed to men of his class. +</P> + +<P> +Clarence looked over his father's shoulder as he registered. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, pa," he exclaimed in surprise, "there's another guest of our +name." +</P> + +<P> +"Where?" asked his father. +</P> + +<P> +"There, three names above your signature." +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray looked at the register, and started violently as he read +the entry: +</P> + +<P> +ERNEST RAY, Oreville, California. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the matter, pa?" asked Clarence, noticing his father's +agitation. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, nothing, nothing," answered his father, with an effort. +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't we a cousin named Ernest Ray?" +</P> + +<P> +"We had, but he is dead." +</P> + +<P> +"It is strange that there should be another person of the name." +</P> + +<P> +"Not at all. The world is large, and there are probably a good many +persons of one name." +</P> + +<P> +"This one is from California." +</P> + +<P> +"So I see. By the way," here Mr. Ray addressed the clerk, "did you +observe the person who registered under the name of Ray?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. It is a boy about the size of this young gentleman." +</P> + +<P> +"It is strange!" said Clarence. "It may be our cousin." +</P> + +<P> +"Didn't I tell you that the person you refer to is dead?" said his +father, testily. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't believe it," thought Clarence, but he did not express his +unbelief. He determined, however, to have an interview with the boy, +and find out for himself all about him. +</P> + +<P> +He saw Ernest at the table soon after, and so did Stephen Ray. The +latter noted with alarm the resemblance of the boy to his cousin +Dudley Ray, whose estate he had usurped. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope Bolton won't get hold of him." he said to himself. "It would +be bad for me." +</P> + +<P> +After supper Mr. Ray went out, leaving Clarence to himself. +</P> + +<P> +He improved the opportunity. Seeing Ernest sitting alone, he went up +to him. +</P> + +<P> +"Is your name Ray?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Ernest Ray." +</P> + +<P> +"My name is Clarence Ray." +</P> + +<P> +"So I thought. We are cousins." +</P> + +<P> +"That's what I told pa, but he said it was not so--that Ernest Ray was +dead." +</P> + +<P> +"Your father's name is Stephen Ray?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"I have known of him and you since I was old enough to remember +anything." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you are really my cousin Ernest?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder why pa said you were dead. I will tell pa he is mistaken." +</P> + +<P> +"No, Clarence, I would rather you wouldn't. There are reasons why it +is better not to say anything about it." +</P> + +<P> +"All right. Are you well off?" +</P> + +<P> +Ernest smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"I am not rich," he said, "but I am comfortably fixed." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you live in California?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have lived there for the last few months." +</P> + +<P> +"Why did you come East?" +</P> + +<P> +"On a little business." +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad you are well off. I think pa was afraid you were a poor +relation." +</P> + +<P> +"Your father is rich?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, ever so rich. We've got a fine place near Elmira. If pa wasn't +so cranky I would invite you there to visit me." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you all the same," said Ernest, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +Later in the evening, when Stephen Ray came in, Ernest noticed that he +looked at him critically. He, too, examined the man who, he had reason +to believe, was enjoying the estates that should be his, and was not +attracted towards him. +</P> + +<P> +"What will he say," thought Ernest, "when I make a formal demand for +the property?" +</P> + +<P> +"What in the name of all that's unlucky can have brought that boy here +at this time?" Stephen Ray was saying to himself. +</P> + +<P> +He never for an instant doubted Ernest's identity--in fact, he could +not well have done so, for he bore a strong resemblance to Dudley Ray, +who had been a strikingly handsome man, very much the superior of +Stephen in personal attractions. +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray's curiosity was excited. Ernest did not appear like the +average poor relation. He was quite as well dressed as Clarence. +Besides, he had registered at a high-priced hotel, and this alone +showed that he was not cramped for means. +</P> + +<P> +This gave him some satisfaction, as it made it less likely that he +would appeal to him for assistance. +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray was rather surprised that Clarence made no further +reference to Ernest. Had he known that the two had had a conversation +he would have been seriously disturbed. He only hoped that Bolton +would not get hold of the boy. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap35"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MR. BOLTON AND HIS CLIENT. +</H3> + +<P> +Benjamin Bolton sat at his desk in the law office of Albert Norcross, +on Nassau Street. He was well, even handsomely dressed, and looked +very unlike the shabby tramp who had called months before at the house +of Stephen Ray. +</P> + +<P> +He was really a man of ability, and this his employer had found out. +He had raised Bolton's salary to a liberal figure, and felt that in +securing his services he had made a real acquisition. +</P> + +<P> +Bolton was absorbed in preparation for a case which had been assigned +to him, when a boy came to his desk with a card. +</P> + +<P> +Bolton no sooner read the name, "Ernest Ray," than he became eager and +excited. +</P> + +<P> +"Tell him to come in," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest, quiet and self-possessed, entered the office and approached +the lawyer's desk. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you Mr. Bolton?" he asked +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, and you--" +</P> + +<P> +"I am Ernest Ray." +</P> + +<P> +Benjamin Bolton looked keenly at the boy, admiring his handsome face +and manly bearing. +</P> + +<P> +"I see your father's looks in you," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Then you knew my father?" said Ernest, eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. We were young men together." +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad to meet you then." +</P> + +<P> +"You come from California?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"I judge from your appearance that you have not suffered from +poverty." +</P> + +<P> +"I have been fortunate at Oreville. At Oak Forks I lived very humbly +with Peter Brant, an old servant of my father." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I remember Peter. Is he alive still?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, he died a little less than a year since. Till his death I thought +him my uncle, and knew no other relatives. Before he died he told me +who I was." +</P> + +<P> +"How did he live?" +</P> + +<P> +"On a small sum left by my father. When he died it was all exhausted +except a hundred dollars. I took that and went to California with a +man named Luke Robbins, who has proved my faithful friend." +</P> + +<P> +"What were you doing in California? Were you working at the mines?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. I was keeping a store where I sold miners supplies." +</P> + +<P> +"Did it pay you well?" +</P> + +<P> +"I was very well paid for a boy. When I left Oreville I was worth a +thousand dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"That is well, but it is only a drop in the bucket compared with the +fortune you are entitled to." +</P> + +<P> +"Now held by Mr. Stephen Ray?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; he will be surprised to see you here in the East." +</P> + +<P> +"He has seen me," said Ernest, quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"What!" exclaimed the lawyer. "You have not called upon him?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. I met him on the train and afterwards at a Buffalo hotel. My +cousin Clarence was with him." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you have any conference with them?" +</P> + +<P> +"I talked with Clarence, not with his father." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you think the father knew you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, but he did not speak to me." +</P> + +<P> +"He told me when I called upon him some time ago that you were +dead--that you had died in Georgia." +</P> + +<P> +"What could have been his object?" +</P> + +<P> +"He did not wish me to find you, for I had the proof that the estate +was rightfully yours." +</P> + +<P> +"What led you to think I was alive?" +</P> + +<P> +"I cross-examined Clarence, who did not know his father's desire to +keep us apart." +</P> + +<P> +"Is the estate a large one?" +</P> + +<P> +"Quarter of a million, at least." +</P> + +<P> +Ernest's eyes opened wide with amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"But I will introduce you to Mr. Norcross, my principal, and we will +talk over our plan of operations. You must assert your rights, and +demand that your grandfather's will be carried out. Are you content to +place yourself in our hands?" +</P> + +<P> +"Entirely so. But I am sorry for Cousin Stephen. It will be a great +blow to him." +</P> + +<P> +"Don't waste any pity upon him. He defrauded your father, and meant to +defraud you." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap36"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AN IMPORTANT INTERVIEW. +</H3> + +<P> +"A gentleman to see you, sir." This was the message brought to Stephen +Ray by the servant one morning. +</P> + +<P> +"Did he give his name?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well; bring him up." +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Ray was sitting at the desk in his library. He was looking over +some plans for the improvement of his already handsome residence. +</P> + +<P> +He proposed to enlarge a lower room by a bay-window, and to carry the +piazza round on each side. It would cost something, but his income was +ample--at least four times his expenditure. +</P> + +<P> +He looked up as a handsomely dressed gentleman entered the room. +</P> + +<P> +"What is your business, sir?" asked Stephen Ray, formally. +</P> + +<P> +The visitor smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"You don't recognize me, Stephen Ray?" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Benjamin Bolton!" exclaimed the other, his countenance changing. +</P> + +<P> +"The same." +</P> + +<P> +"I judge from your appearance that your circumstances have improved," +said Mr. Ray, coldly. +</P> + +<P> +"Fortunately, yes." +</P> + +<P> +"You have probably come to receive my congratulations. Well, I +congratulate you." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you. The money you kindly loaned me when I was last here did me +a great deal of good." +</P> + +<P> +"I presume you have come to repay it," said Ray, with a sneer. +</P> + +<P> +"You are right," and Bolton drew from his pocket two fifty-dollar +bills, which he tendered to his host. +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray was fond of money, and he received the notes with +satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +"You have acted honorably," he said more graciously. "Are you located +in the neighborhood, Mr. Bolton?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, in New York City. I am in a law office there." +</P> + +<P> +"I am pleased with your success. I would ask you to remain, but I am +busy this morning." +</P> + +<P> +"Excuse me, Mr. Ray, but the repayment of the loan was not my only +errand. I am here on more important business." +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray's countenance changed. He began to fear that Bolton had +found Ernest. +</P> + +<P> +"Well?" he said stiffly. +</P> + +<P> +"When I was here last year you told me that Dudley Ray's son Ernest +was dead." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, he died in Alabama." +</P> + +<P> +"When I was here before you told me he died in Georgia." +</P> + +<P> +"I believe it was in Georgia," said Stephen Ray, disconcerted. +</P> + +<P> +"You will be glad to hear that it is a mistake--about his death, I +mean. He is as much alive as you are." +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Bolton," said Ray angrily, "you are trying to impose upon me. The +boy is dead, I tell you." +</P> + +<P> +"And I tell you he is not dead. I saw him only yesterday." +</P> + +<P> +"You may have seen some one who pretended to be Ernest Ray." +</P> + +<P> +"I should not be easily deceived. He is the image of his father." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't believe the boy is alive." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I bring him here?" +</P> + +<P> +"You need not trouble yourself. I can have nothing to say to him, +whether he is really Ernest Ray or an impostor." +</P> + +<P> +"I beg your pardon. If he is Ernest Ray, under the will which I have +in my possession he is the owner of this property." +</P> + +<P> +Bolton spoke firmly, and looked Ray resolutely in the eye. +</P> + +<P> +Stephen Ray flushed and then paled. There was a great fear in his +heart, but he resolved to brave it out. +</P> + +<P> +"This is a base conspiracy," he ejaculated. "Your share in it ought to +land you in State's prison." +</P> + +<P> +"I am willing to take my chance of it," said the lawyer calmly. "Didn't +you recognize the boy when you saw him?" +</P> + +<P> +"What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"You saw him in the hotel at Buffalo. He recognized you, and had a +conversation with your son." +</P> + +<P> +"Had a conversation with Clarence? That is a lie. Clarence never spoke +to me about it." +</P> + +<P> +"You had better question him. But there is no need of sparring. I tell +you confidently that Ernest Ray is alive, and demands the estate which +you hold, under his grandfather's will." +</P> + +<P> +"This is simply ridiculous. Of course there is but one answer to such +a proposal." +</P> + +<P> +"And what is that?" +</P> + +<P> +"I refuse absolutely to make any concession to an impostor." +</P> + +<P> +"That is your final answer?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I give you notice that the boy will at once bring suit for the +restoration of the estate and the vindication of his rights." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you are his lawyer," sneered Ray. +</P> + +<P> +"The firm with which I am connected has undertaken the case." +</P> + +<P> +"What is the firm?" asked Stephen Ray, with an anxiety which he could +not conceal. +</P> + +<P> +"Norcross & Co.," answered Bolton. +</P> + +<P> +Great drops of perspiration appeared on the brow of Stephen Ray. He +knew very well the high reputation and uniform success of the firm in +question. +</P> + +<P> +He did not immediately answer, but began to pace the room in +agitation. Finally he spoke. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know what to say. This has come upon me as a surprise. I +thought the boy dead. I may be willing to make some arrangement. Bring +him here some day next week say Tuesday and we will talk the matter +over." +</P> + +<P> +"You must do something more than talk the matter over, Stephen Ray. A +great injustice has been done, and the wrong must be righted." +</P> + +<P> +"Come here next Tuesday," was the only answer made. +</P> + +<P> +The lawyer bowed and withdrew. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap37"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXXVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CONCLUSION. +</H3> + +<P> +On Tuesday Bolton returned with Ernest. Two hours were spent in +conference with Stephen Ray. The latter fought hard, but had to yield +in the end. He understood perfectly well the strength of his +opponent's case. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest consented to receive the estate as it was bequeathed to his +father, without any demand for back revenues. Whatever Stephen Ray had +accumulated besides, he was allowed to retain. +</P> + +<P> +As this amounted to a hundred thousand dollars, Ray felt that it might +have been worse. Had he not been dissuaded by Bolton, Ernest would +have consented to share the estate with the usurper, but the lawyer +represented that this would be condoning the wrong done to his father. +</P> + +<P> +</P> + +<P> +In a month the whole matter was settled, and Stephen Ray departed, +removing to Chicago, in which city he had some business interests. +</P> + +<P> +"But what shall I do with this large house?" asked Ernest. "I don't +want to live here." +</P> + +<P> +"I know of a gentleman who would like to hire it for term of years," +responded Bolton. "He will pay a rental of five thousand dollars a +year. The bonds which you inherit will yield an income equally large." +</P> + +<P> +"So that my income will be ten thousand dollars a year?" said Ernest, +dazzled. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"What shall I do with it all?" +</P> + +<P> +Bolton smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"You are but seventeen," he said. "A few years hence you will probably +marry. Then you can occupy the house yourself. Meanwhile--" +</P> + +<P> +"I will go back to California. Luke will expect me. While I am away I +appoint you my man of business. I wish you to have charge of my +property at a proper commission." +</P> + +<P> +"I will undertake the charge with pleasure." +</P> + +<P> +Bolton knew how much this would increase his importance in the eyes of +the firm by which he was employed. Still, Ernest could not have made a +better choice. Bolton was no longer intemperate. He was shrewd and +keen, and loyal to his young employer. +</P> + +<P> +Ernest returned to California, but he had lost his old zest for +business, now that his fortune was secure. He soon came East again, +and entered upon a plan of systematic study, ending with a collegiate +course. He brought with him Frank Fox, the son of the dead outlaw, who +regarded him with devoted affection. They lived together, and he +placed Frank at a well-known school, justly noted for the success of +its pupils. +</P> + +<P> +Of the many boys with whom Frank was associated not one suspected that +the attractive lad, who was a favorite with all, was a son of the +noted desperado whose deeds had been commemorated in dime novels and +were a matter of common knowledge in the West. Ernest had cautioned +the boy to say as little as possible of his past history. +</P> + +<P> +Years have gone by, and what Bolton predicted has come to pass. Ernest +is a young man, a college graduate, and he will soon be married to a +young lady of high position in the city of New York. He will go abroad +for a year, and on his return will take up his home on his ancestral +estate. +</P> + +<P> +Last week he received a letter from a patient in a New York City +hospital. It was signed John Franklin, a name with which he was not +familiar. +</P> + +<P> +In some wonder he answered the call, and was led to a bed on which lay +a gaunt, spectral man, evidently in the last stage of existence. +</P> + +<P> +"Is this John Franklin?" asked Ernest, doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"That is the name I go by now," answered the dying man. +</P> + +<P> +"Do I know you? Have I ever met you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't remember you." +</P> + +<P> +"If I tell you my real name, will you keep it secret?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I am John Fox." +</P> + +<P> +"What! the noted outlaw?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am all that is left of him. You will not betray me?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; certainly not. Can I do anything for you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; you were left the guardian of my brother's child?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he alive? Is he well?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Will you bring him here? Will you let me see him before I die?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will. I cannot refuse the request of a dying man." +</P> + +<P> +So Ernest brought Frank to the bedside of his dying uncle. It was a +sad interview. Frank was moved, but John Fox, seeing him strong, +handsome, robust, felt comforted. +</P> + +<P> +"He at least has profited by the fate that overtook his father and +myself. I shall die content, for I leave him in good hands. Don't let +him think too hardly of us!" +</P> + +<P> +"I will not. And so far as I can compass it, his future life shall be +happy." +</P> + +<P> +The dying outlaw reached out his hand and pressed Ernest's gratefully. +A day later, and he was dead. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<HR ALIGN="center" WIDTH="60%"> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3> +THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.'S POPULAR JUVENILES. +</H3> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +L. T. TROWBRIDGE. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Neither as a writer does he stand apart from the great currents of +life and select some exceptional phase or odd combination of +circumstances. He stands on the common level and appeals to the +universal heart, and all that he suggests or achieves is on the plane +and in the line of march of the great body of humanity. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Jack Hazard series of stories, published in the late <I>Our Young +Folks</I>, and continued in the first volume of <I>St. Nicholas</I>, under the +title of "Fast Friends," is no doubt destined to hold a high place in +this class of literature. The delight of the boys in them (and of +their seniors, too) is well founded. They go to the right spot every +time. Trowbridge knows the heart of a boy like a book, and the heart +of a man, too, and he has laid them both open in these books in a most +successful manner. Apart from the qualities that render the series so +attractive to all young readers, they have great value on account of +their portraitures of American country life and character. The drawing +is wonderfully accurate, and as spirited as it is true. The constable, +Sellick, is an original character, and as minor figures where will we +find anything better than Miss Wansey, and Mr. P. Pipkin, Esq. The +picture of Mr. Dink's school, too, is capital, and where else in +fiction is there a better nick-name than that the boys gave to poor +little Stephen Treadwell, "Step Hen," as he himself pronounced his +name in an unfortunate moment when he saw it in print for the first +time in his lesson in school. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +On the whole, these books are very satisfactory, and afford the +critical reader the rare pleasure of the works that are just adequate, +that easily fulfill themselves and accomplish all they set out to do. +<I>--Scribner's Monthly.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +JACK HAZARD SERIES.<BR> +6 vols. By J.T. TROWBRIDGE $7.25 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + Jack Hazard and His Fortunes<BR> + The Young Surveyor.<BR> + Fast Friends.<BR> + Doing His Best.<BR> + A Chance for Himself.<BR> + Lawrence's Adventures.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +CHARLES ASBURY STEPHENS. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This author wrote his "Camping Out Series" at the very height of his +mental and physical powers. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"We do not wonder at the popularity of these books; there is a +freshness and variety about them, and an enthusiasm in the description +of sport and adventure, which even the older folk can hardly fail to +share." <I>--Worcester Spy.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The author of the Camping Out Series is entitled to rank as decidedly +at the head of what may be called boys' literature."<I>--Buffalo Courier.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +CAMPING OUT SERIES. By C. A. STEPHENS.<BR> +All books in this series are 12mo. with eight full page illustrations. +Cloth, extra, 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +CAMPING OUT. As Recorded by "Kit." +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This book is bright, breezy, wholesome, instructive, and stands above +the ordinary boys books of the day by a whole head and shoulders." +<I>--The Christian Register</I>, Boston. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +LEFT ON LABRADOR; OR, THE CRUISE OF THE SCHOONER YACHT "CURLEW." As +Recorded by "Wash." +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The perils of the voyagers, the narrow escapes, their strange +expedients, and the fun and jollity when danger had passed, will make +boys even unconscious of hunger." <I> --New Bedford Mercury.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +OFF TO THE GEYSERS; OR THE YOUNG YACHTERS IN ICELAND. As Recorded by +"Wade." +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"It is difficult to believe that Wade and Read and Kit and Wash were +not live boys, sailing up Hudson Straits, and reigning temporarily +over an Esquimaux tribe." <I> --The Independent</I>, New York. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +LYNX HUNTING: From Notes by the Author of "Camping Out." +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Of <I> first quality</I> as a boys' book, and fit to take its place beside +the best." <I> --Richmond Enquirer.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +Fox HUNTING. As Recorded by "Raed." +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The most spirited and entertaining book that has as yet appeared. It +overflows with incident, and is characterized by dash and brilliancy +throughout." <I> --Boston Gazette.</I> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +ON THE AMAZON; OR, THE CRUISE OF THE "RAMBLER." As Recorded by "Wash." +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Gives vivid pictures of Brazilian adventure and scenery." +<I>--Buffalo Courier.</I> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +HARRY CASTLEMON.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +HOW I CAME TO WRITE MY FIRST BOOK. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +When I was sixteen years old I belonged to a composition class. It was +our custom to go on the recitation seat every day with clean slates, +and we were allowed ten minutes to write seventy words on any subject +the teacher thought suited to our capacity. One day he gave out "What +a Man Would See if He Went to Greenland." My heart was in the matter, +and before the ten minutes were up I had one side of my slate filled. +The teacher listened to the reading of our compositions, and when they +were all over he simply said: "Some of you will make your living by +writing one of these days." That gave me something to ponder upon. I +did not say so out loud, but I knew that my composition was as good as +the best of them. By the way, there was another thing that came in my +way just then. I was reading at that time one of Mayne Reid's works +which I had drawn from the library, and I pondered upon it as much as +I did upon what the teacher said to me. In introducing Swartboy to his +readers he made use of this expression: "No visible change was +observable in Swartboy's countenance." Now, it occurred to me that if +a man of his education could make such a blunder as that and still +write a book, I ought to be able to do it, too. I went home that very +day and began a story, "The Old Guide's Narrative," which was sent to +the <I> New York Weekly</I>, and came back, respectfully declined. It was +written on both sides of the sheets but I didn't know that this was +against the rules. Nothing abashed, I began another, and receiving +some instruction, from a friend of mine who was a clerk in a book +store, I wrote it on only one side of the paper. But mind you, he +didn't know what I was doing. Nobody knew it; but one day, after a +hard Saturday's work--the other boys had been out skating on the +brick-pond--I shyly broached the subject to my mother. I felt the need +of some sympathy. She listened in amazement, and then said: "Why, do +you think you could write a book like that?" That settled the matter, +and from that day no one knew what I was up to until I sent the first +four volumes of Gunboat Series to my father. Was it work? Well, yes; +it was hard work, but each week I had the satisfaction of seeing the +manuscript grow until the "Young Naturalist" was all complete. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +<I>--Harry Castlemon in the Writer.</I> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +GUNBOAT SERIES.<BR> +6 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $6.00 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + Frank the Young Naturalist.<BR> + Frank on a Gunboat.<BR> + Frank in the Woods.<BR> + Frank before Vicksburg.<BR> + Frank on the Lower Mississippi.<BR> + Frank on the Prairie.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES.<BR> +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + Frank Among the Rancheros.<BR> + Frank in the Mountains.<BR> + Frank at Don Carlos Rancho.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +SPORTSMAN'S CLUB SERIES.<BR> +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.75 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + The Sportsman's Club in the Saddle.<BR> + The Sportsman's Club Among the Trappers.<BR> + The Sportsman's Club Afloat.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +FRANK NELSON SERIES.<BR> +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.75 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + Snowed up.<BR> + Frank in the Forecastle.<BR> + The Boy Traders.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +ROUGHING IT SERIES.<BR> +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + George in Camp.<BR> + George at the Fort.<BR> + George at the Wheel.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +ROD AND GUN SERIES.<BR> +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + Don Gordon's Shooting Box.<BR> + The Young Wild Fowlers.<BR> + Rod and Gun Club.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +GO-AHEAD SERIES.<BR> +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + Tom Newcombe.<BR> + Go-Ahead.<BR> + No Moss.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +WAR SERIES,<BR> +6 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $6.00 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + True to His Colors.<BR> + Marcy the Blockade-Runner.<BR> + Rodney the Partisan.<BR> + Marcy the Refugee.<BR> + Rodney the Overseer.<BR> + Sailor Jack the Trader.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +HOUSEBOAT SERIES.<BR> +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + The Houseboat Boys.<BR> + The Mystery of Lost River Canon.<BR> + The Young Game Warden.<BR> +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +AFLOAT AND ASHORE SERIES.<BR> +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> + Rebellion in Dixie.<BR> + A Sailor in Spite of Himself.<BR> + The Ten-Ton Cutter.<BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +COMPLETE CATALOG OF BEST BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS MAILED ON<BR> +APPLICATION TO THE PUBLISHERS +</P> + +<H3> +THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Young Bank Messenger, by Horatio Alger + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG BANK MESSENGER *** + +***** This file should be named 25150-h.htm or 25150-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/1/5/25150/ + +Produced by Gary Sandino (text), Al Haines (HTML). 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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: The Young Bank Messenger + +Author: Horatio Alger + +Release Date: April 23, 2008 [EBook #25150] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG BANK MESSENGER *** + + + + +Produced by Gary Sandino (text), Al Haines (HTML). (This +file was created from images generously made available by +The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + +THE + +YOUNG BANK MESSENGER + +BY + +HORATIO ALGER, JR. + +AUTHOR OF "RAGGED DICK SERIES," "NEW WORLD SERIES," ETC. + + + +THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., + +PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, TORONTO. + + + +COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY HENRY T. COATES & CO. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + CHAPTER PAGE + + I. THE LONELY CABIN, 1 + + II. A DEATHBED REVELATION, 10 + + III. A SUCCESSFUL ROBBERY, 19 + + IV. ALONE IN THE WORLD, 27 + + V. THE TRAMP TURNS UP AGAIN, 36 + + VI. A CRITICAL SITUATION, 44 + + VII. ON THE ROAD, 53 + + VIII. THE QUAKER DETECTIVE, 61 + + IX. AN ARMED ESCORT, 71 + + X. THE ASTONISHED OUTLAW, 77 + + XI. UNDER WATCH AND WARD, 88 + + XII. THE OUTLAW'S ESCAPE, 97 + + XIII. THE OUTLAW'S MISTAKE, 106 + + XIV. ERNEST HAS AN ADVENTURE, 115 + + XV. A NEW ACQUAINTANCE, 124 + + XVI. THE OUTLAW'S HOME, 133 + + XVII. IN THE ROBBER'S CAVE, 142 + + XVIII. THE OUTLAW AND HIS BAND, 153 + + XIX. A DAY IN THE CAVE, 159 + + XX. ERNEST EXPLORES THE CAVE, 168 + + XXI. OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE, 178 + + XXII. A FRIEND IN NEED, 187 + + XXIII. GIVEN IN TRUST, 196 + + XXIV. STEPHEN RAY AND HIS SON, 206 + + XXV. A STARTLING DISCLOSURE, 216 + + XXVI. BOUGHT OFF, 228 + + XXVII. THE TOWN OF OREVILLE, 236 + +XXVIII. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE TURNS UP, 246 + + XXIX. TOM BURNS MAKES A CALL, 256 + + XXX. A BURGLAR'S FAILURE, 266 + + XXXI. THE ADVERTISEMENT, 276 + + XXXII. MR. BOLTON AS A HUSTLER, 285 + +XXXIII. THE RESULT OF AN ADVERTISEMENT, 295 + + XXXIV. A STRANGE MEETING, 301 + + XXXV. MR. BOLTON AND HIS CLIENT, 309 + + XXXVI. AN IMPORTANT INTERVIEW, 314 + +XXXVII. CONCLUSION, 320 + + + + +THE + +YOUNG BANK MESSENGER. + + + +CHAPTER I. + +THE LONELY CABIN. + +Just on the edge of the prairie, in western Iowa, some thirty years +since, stood a cabin covering quite a little ground, but only one +story high. It was humble enough as a home, but not more so than the +early homes of some who have become great. + +Let us enter. + +The furniture was scanty, being limited to articles of prime +necessity. There was a stove, a table, three chairs, a row of shelves +containing a few articles of crockery and tinware, and a bed in the +far corner of the room, on which rested a man. He had a ragged gray +beard and hair, and a face long and thin, with preternaturally black +eyes. + +It was evident that he was sick unto death. His parchment-colored skin +was indented with wrinkles; from time to time he coughed so violently +as to rack his slight frame, and his hand, thin and wrinkled, as it +rested on the quilt that covered him, shook as with palsy. + +It was hard to tell how old the man was. He looked over seventy, but +there were indications that he had aged prematurely. + +There was one other person in the room, one whose appearance +contrasted strongly with that of the old man. It was a boy of sixteen, +a boy with dark brown hair, ruddy cheeks, hazel eyes, an attractive +yet firm and resolute face, and an appearance of manliness and +self-reliance. He was well dressed, and, though the tenant of such an +humble home, would have passed muster upon the streets of a city. + +"How do you feel, Uncle Peter?" he asked, as he stood by the bedside. + +"I shall never feel any better, Ernest," said the old man, in a hollow +voice. + +"Don't say that, uncle," rejoined Ernest in a tone of concern. + +There seemed little to connect him, in his strong, attractive boyhood, +with the frail old man, but they had lived together for five years, +and habit was powerful. + +"Yes, Ernest, I shall never rise from this bed." + +"Isn't there anything I can get for you, uncle?" + +"Is there is there anything left in the bottle?" asked Peter, +wistfully. + +Ernest walked to the shelf that held the dishes, and took from a +corner a large black bottle. It seemed light and might be empty. He +turned out the contents into a glass, but there was only a +tablespoonful of whisky left. + +"It is almost all gone, Uncle Peter; will you have this much?" + +"Yes," answered the old man, tremulously. + +Ernest lifted the invalid into a sitting posture, and then put the +glass to his mouth. + +He drained it, and gave a sigh of satisfaction. + +"It is good," he said briefly. + +"I wish there were more." + +"It goes to the right spot. It puts strength into me." + +"Shall I go to the village and buy more?" + +"I--I don't know--" + +"I can get back very soon." + +"Very well--go then, like a good boy." + +"I shall have to trouble you for some money, Uncle Peter." + +"Go to the trunk. You will find some." + +There was a small hair trunk, in another corner. Ernest knew that this +was meant, and he knelt down before it and lifted the lid. + +There was a small wooden box at the left-hand side. Opening this, +Ernest discovered three five-dollar gold pieces. Usually his uncle had +gone to the trunk for money, but the boy knew where it was kept. + +"There are but three gold pieces, uncle," he announced, looking +towards the bed. + +"Take one of them, Ernest." + +"I wonder if that is all the money he has left?" thought Ernest. + +He rose from his kneeling position and went to the door. + +"I won't be gone long, uncle," he said. He followed a path which led +from the door in an easterly direction to the village. It was over a +mile away, and consisted only of a few scattering houses, a +blacksmith's shop, and a store. + +It was to the store that Ernest bent his steps. It was a one-story +structure, as were most of the buildings in the village. There was a +sign over the door which read: + + JOE MARKS. + Groceries and Family Supplies. + +Joe stood behind the counter; there were two other men in the store, +one tall, gaunt, of the average Western type, with a broad-brimmed, +soft felt hat on his head, and in the costume of a hunter; he looked +rough, but honest and reliable, and that was more than could be said +of the other. He may best be described as a tramp, a man who looked +averse to labor of any kind, a man without a settled business or home, +who picked up a living as he could, caring less for food than for +drink, and whose mottled face indicated frequent potations of whisky. + +Ernest looked at this man as he entered. He didn't remember to have +met him before, nor was there anything to attract him in his +appearance. + +"How are you, Ernest?" said Joe Marks, cordially. "How's Uncle Peter?" + +"He's pretty bad, Joe. He thinks he's going to die." + +"Not so bad as that, surely." + +"Yes, I guess he's right. He's very weak." + +"Well, well, he's a good age. How old is he?" + +"I don't know. He never told me." + +"He's well on to seventy, I'm thinking. But what can I do for you?" + +"You may fill this bottle, Joe; Uncle Peter is so weak he thinks it +will put new life in him." + +"So it will, Ernest; there's nothing like good whisky to make an old +man strong, or a young man, for that matter." + +It may be easy to see that Joe did not believe in total abstinence. + +"I don't drink, myself!" said Ernest, replying to the last part of +Joe's remark. + +"There's nothing like whisky," remarked the tramp in a hoarse voice. + +"You've drunk your share, I'm thinking," said Luke Robbins, the tall +hunter. + +"Not yet," returned the tramp. "I haven't had my share yet. There's +lots of people that has drunk more'n me." + +"Why haven't you drunk your share? You hadn't no objections, I reckon." + +"I hadn't the money," said the tramp, sadly. "I've never had much +money. I ain't lucky." + +"If you had had more money, you'd maybe not be living now. You'd have +drunk yourself to death." + +"If I ever do commit suicide, that's the way I'd like to die," said +the tramp. + +Joe filled the bottle from a keg behind the counter and handed it to +Ernest. The aroma of the whisky was diffused about the store, and the +tramp sniffed it in eagerly. It stimulated his desire to indulge his +craving for drink. As Ernest, with the bottle in his hand, prepared to +leave, the tramp addressed him. + +"Say, young feller, ain't you goin' to shout?" + +"What do you mean?" + +"Ain't you goin' to treat me and this gentleman?" indicating Luke +Robbins. + +"No," answered Ernest, shortly. "I don't buy it as drink, but as +medicine." + +"I need medicine," urged the tramp, with a smile. + +"I don't," said the hunter. "Don't you bother about us, my boy. If we +want whisky we can buy it ourselves." + +"I can't," whined the tramp. "If I had as much money as you,"--for he +had noticed that Ernest had changed a gold piece--"I'd be happy, but +I'm out of luck." + +Ernest paid no attention to his words, but left the store, and struck +the path homeward. + +"Who's that boy?" asked the tramp. + +"It's Ernest Ray." + +"Where'd he get that gold?" + +"He lives with his uncle, a mile from the village." + +"Is his uncle rich?" + +"Folks think so. They call him a miser." + +"Is he goin' to die?" + +"That's what the boy says." + +"And the boy'll get all his money?" + +"It's likely." + +"I'd like to be his guardian." + +Joe and Luke Robbins laughed. "You'd make a pretty guardian," said +Luke. + +"I won't get it," said the tramp, mournfully. "I never had no luck." + + + + +CHAPTER II. + +A DEATHBED REVELATION. + +Ernest made the best of his way home, for he knew his uncle would be +waiting for him. + +The old man's eyes were closed, but he opened them when Ernest entered +the room. + +"Was I gone long?" asked the boy. + +"I don't know. I think I fell asleep." + +"Shall I give you some of the drink?" + +"Yes." + +He drank a small amount, and it seemed to brighten him up so much that +Ernest said, "You look better, Uncle Peter. You may live some time." + +Peter shook his head. + +"No, boy," he replied; "my time has come to die. I know it. I would +like to live for your sake. You will miss me when I am gone, Ernest?" + +"Yes, uncle, I shall miss you very much." + +The old man seemed gratified. Ernest was the only one he cared for in +all the world. + +"I don't care so much about dying, but I am anxious for you. I wish I +had money to leave you, Ernest, but I haven't much." + +"I am young and strong. I can get along." + +"I hope so. You will go away from here." + +"Yes, uncle. I don't think I shall care to stay here after you are +gone." + +"You will need money to take you away." + +"There is a little more in the trunk." + +"But only a little. It is not quite all I have. I have a hundred +dollars in gold laid away for you." + +Ernest looked surprised. + +"I must tell you where it is while I still have life. Do you +remember the oak tree on the little knoll half a mile away?" + +"Yes, I know it." + +"Dig under that tree five feet in a westerly direction. There is a +wooden box about half a foot below the surface of the earth. There's +nothing to mark the spot, for it was buried a year since, and the +grass has grown over it, hiding all traces of the earth's being +disturbed. After I am gone go there and get the money." + +"Yes, uncle." + +"Don't let any one see you when you visit the spot. It will be best to +go at night. There are evil-disposed men who would rob you of it if +they had the chance. I am sorry it is so little, Ernest." + +"But it seems to me a good deal." + +"To a boy it may seem so. Once I thought I might have a good deal more +to leave you. Go to the trunk and search till you find a paper folded +in an envelope, and inscribed with your name." + +"Shall I search now?" + +"Yes." + +Ernest went to the trunk, and followed the old man's directions. He +found the envelope readily, and held it up. + +"Is that it, uncle?" + +"Yes. Put it in your pocket, and read it after I am gone. Then be +guided by circumstances. It may amount to something hereafter." + +"Very well, uncle." + +"I have told you, Ernest, that I do not expect to live long. I have a +feeling that twenty-four hours from now I shall be gone." + +"Oh, no, uncle, not so soon!" exclaimed Ernest, in a shocked tone. + +"Yes, I think so. If you have any questions to ask me while I yet have +life, ask, for it is your right." + +"Yes, Uncle Peter, I have long wished to know something about myself. +Have I any relatives except you?" + +"I am not your relative," answered the old man slowly. + +Ernest was amazed. + +"Are you not my uncle?" he asked. + +"No; there is no tie of blood between us." + +"Then how does it happen that we have lived together so many years?" + +"I was a servant in your father's family. When your father died, the +care of you devolved upon me." + +"Where was I born?" + +"In a large town in the western part of New York State. Your +grandfather was a man of wealth, but your father incurred his +displeasure by his marriage to a poor but highly-educated and refined +girl. A cousin of your father took advantage of this and succeeded in +alienating father and son. The estate that should have descended to +your father was left to the cousin." + +"Is he still living?" + +"Yes." + +"But my father died?" + +"Yes; he had a fever, which quickly carried him off when you were five +years of age." + +"Was he very poor?" + +"No; he inherited a few thousand dollars from an aunt, and upon this +he lived prudently, carrying on a small business besides. Your mother +died when you were three years old, your father two years later." + +"And then you took care of me?" + +"Yes." + +"And I have been a burden to you these many years!" + +"No! Don't give me too much credit. A sum of money was put into my +hands to spend for you. We lived carefully, and it lasted. We have +been here three years, and it has cost very little to live in that +time. The hundred dollars of which I spoke to you are the last of your +inheritance. You are not indebted to me for it. It is rightfully +yours." + +"What is my uncle's name?" + +"Stephen Ray. He lives a few miles from Elmira, on the Erie road." + +"And is he quite rich?" + +"Yes; he is probably worth a quarter of a million dollars. It is money +which should have gone to your father." + +"Then the wicked are sometimes prospered in this world!" + +"Yes, but this world is not all." + +"Has there been any communication with my cousin in all these years?" + +"Yes, two years ago I wrote to him." + +"What did you write?" + +"You must forgive me, Ernest, but I saw you growing up without an +education, and I felt that you should have advantages which I could +not give you. I wrote to your cousin asking if he would pay your +expenses in a preparatory school and afterward at college." + +"What did he reply?" + +"Go to the trunk. You will find his letter there. It is in the tray, +and addressed to me." + +Ernest found it readily. + +"May I read it?" he asked. + +"Yes, I wish you to do so." + +It ran thus: + +PETER BRANT. + +_Sir:_ I have received your letter making an appeal to me in behalf of +Ernest Ray, the son of my cousin. You wish me to educate him. I must +decline to do so. His father very much incensed my revered uncle, and +it is not right that any of his money should go to him or his heirs. +He must reap the reward of his disobedience. So far as I am personally +concerned I should not object to doing something for the boy, but I am +sure that my dead uncle would not approve it. Besides, I have myself a +son to whom I propose to leave the estate intact. + +It is my advice that you bring up the boy Ernest to some humble +employment, perhaps have him taught some trade by which he can earn an +honest living. It is not at all necessary that he should receive a +collegiate education. You are living at the West. That is well. He is +favorably situated for a poor boy, and will have little difficulty in +earning a livelihood. I don't care to have him associate with my boy +Clarence. They are cousins, it is true, but their lots in life will be +very different. + +I do not care to communicate with you again. + + STEPHEN RAY. + +Ernest read this letter with flushed cheeks. + +"I hate that man," he said hotly, "even if he is a relative. Uncle +Peter, I am sorry you ever applied to him in my behalf." + +"I would not, Ernest, if I had understood what manner of man he was." + +"I may meet him some time," said Ernest, thoughtfully. + +"Would you claim relationship?" + +_"Never!"_ declared Ernest, emphatically. "It was he, you say, who +prejudiced my grandfather against my poor father?" + +"Yes." + +"In order to secure the estate himself?" + +"Undoubtedly that was his object." + +"Nothing could be meaner. I would rather live poor all my life than +get property by such means." + +"If you have no more questions to ask, Ernest, I will try to sleep. I +feel drowsy." + +"Do so, Uncle Peter." + +The old man closed his eyes, and soon all was silent. Presently Ernest +himself lay down on a small bed near by. When he awoke, hours +afterward, he lit a candle and went to Peter's bedside. + +The old man lay still--very still. With quick suspicion Ernest placed +his hand on his cheek. + +It was stone cold. + +"He is dead!" cried Ernest, and a feeling of desolation came over him. + +"I am all alone now," he murmured. + +But he was not wholly alone. There was a face glued against the +window-pane a face that he did not see. It was the tramp he had met +during the day at the village store. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + +A SUCCESSFUL ROBBERY. + +The tramp stood with his face glued to the pane, looking in at the +boy. He could not quite understand what had taken place, but gathered +that the old man was dead. + +"So much the better!" he said. "It will make my task easier." + +He had hoped to find both asleep, and decided to wait near the house +till the boy went to bed. He had made many inquiries at the store of +Joe Marks, and the answers to his questions led him to believe that +old Peter had a large amount of money concealed in his cabin. + +Now, Tom Burns was a penniless tramp, who had wandered from Chicago on +a predatory trip, ready to take any property he could lay his hands +on. The chance that presented itself here was unusually tempting to a +man of his character. + +Earlier in the evening he had reached the cabin, but thought it best +to defer his plans until later, for Ernest was awake and stirring +about the room. + +The tramp withdrew to some distance from the cabin and lay down under +a tree, where he was soon fast asleep. Curiously, it was the very oak +tree under which Peter's little hoard was concealed, but this, of +course, he did not know. Had he been aware that directly beneath him +was a box containing a hundred dollars in gold he would have been +electrified and full of joy. + +Tom Burns in his long and varied career had many times slept in the +open air, and he had no difficulty in falling asleep now. But asleep +he took no note of time, and when he woke up it was much later than he +intended. However, without delay he made his way to the cabin, and +arrived just as Ernest discovered the death of the old man whom he had +supposed to be his uncle. + +What time it was the tramp did not know, for it was years since he had +carried a watch; but as he stood with his face glued to the +window-pane he heard a clock in the cabin striking the hour of three. + +"Three o'clock," he ejaculated. "Well, I did have a nap!" + +The boy was awake and he thought it best to wait a while. + +"Why didn't I get here a little sooner?" he grumbled. "Then I could +have ransacked the cabin without trouble. Probably the old man has +been dead some time." + +He watched to see what Ernest would do. + +"He won't be such a fool as to sit up with the corpse," he muttered, a +little apprehensively. "That wouldn't do no good." + +Apparently Ernest was of this opinion, for after carefully covering up +the inanimate body he lay down again on his own bed. + +He did not fall asleep immediately, for the thought that he was in the +presence of death naturally affected his imagination. But gradually +his eyes closed, and his full, regular breathing gave notice that he +was locked in slumber. + +He had left the candle burning on the table. By the light which it +afforded the tramp could watch him, and at the end of twenty minutes +he felt satisfied that he could safely enter. + +He lifted the window, and passed into the room noiselessly. He had one +eye fixed on the sleeping boy, who might suddenly awake. He had taken +off his shoes, and left them on the grass just under the window. + +When Tom Burns found himself in the room, he made his way at once to +the trunk, which his watchful eye had already discovered. + +"That's where the old man keeps his gold, likely," he muttered. "I +hope it isn't locked." + +Usually the trunk would have been fastened, but the conversation which +Ernest had had with old Peter so engrossed his mind as to make him +less careful than usual. Tom Burns therefore had no difficulty in +lifting the lid. + +With eager fingers he explored the contents, and was not long in +discovering the box which contained the two gold coins. + +The discovery pleased and yet disappointed him. + +"Only ten dollars!" he muttered. "There ought to have been a pile of +these yellow boys. Perhaps there are more somewhere." + +Meanwhile he slipped the two coins into his vest pocket It was not +much, but it was more than he had had in his possession for months. + +He continued his search, but failed to discover any more money. He +felt indignant. It seemed to him that he was badly used. That a miser +should have but a paltry ten dollars in his trunk was very +discreditable. + +"He must have some more somewhere," Burns reflected. + +It occurred to him that there might be hoards hidden under the floor, +or in the immediate neighborhood of the cabin. But it was night, and +there would be no profit in pursuing the search now. + +"To-morrow," he reflected, "the boy will be off making preparations +for buryin' the old man, and then I can make another visit." + +He closed the lid of the trunk, and with a general glance to see if +there was anything more worth taking, he rose to his feet and +prepared to leave the room. + +Just at this moment Ernest, who was probably dreaming of the old man, +spoke in his sleep. + +"Uncle Peter," he murmured. + +The tramp stood still, apprehensive that Ernest would open his eyes +and detect his presence. But the boy did not speak again. + +"I had better get," soliloquized Burns. + +He got out of the window quietly, but as the boy stirred again, he +hurried away with out stopping to shut it. + +When, a little after seven o'clock, Ernest woke up, the sun was +streaming in at the open window, and the cool air entered with it. + +"How came the window up?" thought Ernest, wondering. "I am sure I +didn't leave it open last night." + +There was nothing else to indicate that the cabin had been entered. +But the more Ernest thought it over, the more convinced he was that +there had been a visitor. + +What could have been his motive? + +With sudden suspicion, he went to the trunk and opened it. It was +evident that things had been disturbed. His eyes sought out the box +that contained the gold pieces. He opened it, and found that he had +been robbed. + +"Who could have done it?" he asked himself. + +He could not think of any one. He was acquainted with every one in the +little village, and he knew none that would be capable of theft. He +never thought of the ill-looking tramp whom he had met in Joe Marks' +store. + +Ten dollars was a considerable loss to him, for he had estimated that +it would defray the expenses of old Peter's interment. It was not so +bad as it might have been, however, for the hundred dollars of which +Peter had told him were still safe. + +"When I get that I must be careful," he said to himself. + +Though his rest had been disturbed, he felt ready to get up. There was +work for him to do. He must arrange for the burial of the old man with +whom he had lived so long, the only friend he felt he could claim. + +Ernest rose, and after dressing himself, made a frugal breakfast. He +looked sadly at Peter. Death was to him something new and strange, for +he did not remember ever having seen a dead man before. He must get +help, and with that object in view he went to the village, and sought +the store of Joe Marks. + +"What brings you out so early, my lad?" asked Joe. + +"Matter enough, Joe. My uncle is dead." + +He still called him uncle, though he knew now that Peter was no kin to +him. + +"Old Peter dead!" ejaculated Marks. "When did he die?" + +"Some time during the night. I wish you'd help me, for I don't know +what to do." + +"So I will, boy. We'll stand by you, won't we, Luke?" + +This was said as Luke Robbins entered the store. + +"To be sure we will, Ernest. We all like you." + +"Oh, I forgot to say," continued Ernest, "the cabin was entered last +night, and some money taken." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +ALONE IN THE WORLD. + +Joe Marks and Luke Robbins looked at each other in amazement. + +"Your cabin entered!" exclaimed Joe. "What do you say to that, Luke?" + +"I did not know there were any thieves around here," answered Luke. +"What was taken?" + +"An old trunk was opened--I carelessly left it unlocked--and two +five-dollar gold pieces were stolen out of it. At any rate I couldn't +find them this morning." + +"Two five-dollar gold pieces?" said Joe quickly. "Then I know who took +them." + +"What do you mean, Joe?" said Luke. "Out with it!" + +"You know that tramp who was here yesterday, Luke?" + +"Yes." + +"He came round an hour ago, just after I had opened, and called for a +glass of whisky. 'Where is your money?' I asked. 'I've got plenty. You +needn't be afraid,' he said. Then I called upon him to show it, and he +pulled out a five-dollar gold piece. Of course I was surprised. 'Where +did you get it?' I asked, suspiciously. 'Yesterday you said you had no +money.' 'I had that,' he answered, 'but I didn't want to spend it. You +see it was a gift from my dyin' mother, and I wanted to keep it for +her sake.' With that he rolled up his eyes and looked sanctimonious. +Then I asked him how it happened that he was ready to spend it now." + +"What did he say?" + +"He said that he was so parched with thirst that he felt obliged to do +it." + +"Did you take his money?" + +"No. I was short of change. You see I changed a gold piece for the boy +yesterday. Besides, I wasn't sure the piece was good, seeing who +offered it. I thought it might be bogus." + +"Then he didn't get his whisky?" + +"No. He went away disappointed. I don't doubt, Ernest, that the gold +piece was one of yours. How did the fellow get in?" + +"Through the window. I found it open when I woke up." + +"You must have slept sound?" + +"I did. I slept an hour later than I generally do." + +"Was anything else taken?" + +"Not that I could discover." + +"Do you mean to say that your uncle had but ten dollars?" asked Joe +incredulously. + +"It was all he had in the trunk." + +"I always thought him a rich man." + +"He was not," said Ernest quietly. + +"Was that all the money he had? He had the reputation of being a +miser, with hoards of gold hidden in or near the cabin." + +"I know of one sum of money he had concealed, but it was not a large +amount. He told me about it before he died." + +"I'm glad you won't be left penniless, lad; did he own the cabin?" + +"Nobody owned it," said Joe Marks. "It was built years ago by a man +who suddenly left it and went away, nobody knew where. It wasn't worth +much, and no one ever took the trouble to claim it. When your uncle +came here he found it empty and took possession of it, and there he +has lived ever since. So you'll have some money, Ernest?" + +"Only a hundred dollars." + +"What will you do? What are your plans?" + +"I don't know. I haven't had time to think." + +"I might find a place for you in the store. We wouldn't like to have +you go away." + +"Thank you, Joe. You are very kind. But there's no chance for me +around here. I'll take the money, and go somewhere. But first I must +see Uncle Peter buried. Will you help me?" + +"To be sure we will. Was he your only relation?" + +"He was not my relation at all." + +"Why, you have always called him uncle." + +"I supposed him to be my uncle, but yesterday he told me that he was +only a servant in my father's family, and that on my father's death +he was placed in charge of me." + +"I reckon that's so. You didn't favor the old man at all. You look as +if you came from better stock." + +"All the same I shall miss him," said Ernest sadly. "He was a good +friend to me, Peter was." + +"Did he tell you whether you had any kin?" + +"Yes; I have a cousin of my father's living in New York State. He is a +rich man. He inherited the property that ought to have gone to my +father." + +"How did that happen?" + +"He prejudiced my grandfather against my father, and so the estate was +willed to him." + +"The mean scoundrel!" exclaimed Luke indignantly. "I'd like to have +him in my hands for a few minutes; I'd give him a lesson." + +"I should pity him if ever you got hold of him, Luke," said Joe Marks. +"But we must consider what we can do for the boy." + +"I wish we could get hold of that thief of a tramp!" + +"Probably we shall. He'll find his way back here sooner or later." + +But the burial of Peter Brant was the first consideration. No +undertaker was called, for in that small settlement one would not have +been supported. The ceremonies of death were few and simple. A rude +wooden box was put together, and Peter was placed in it, dressed as he +was at the time of his death. There was an itinerant minister who +preached in the village once in four weeks, but he was away now, and +so there could be no religious ceremony beyond reading a chapter from +the New Testament. Joe Marks, who had received a decent education, +officiated as reader. Then the interment took place. In the forenoon +of the second day Peter's body was laid away, and Ernest was left +practically alone in the world. + +Meanwhile some account must be given of Tom Burns, the tramp. + +When he found it impossible to obtain whisky with the gold he had +stolen, he felt very despondent. His throat was parched, and his +craving became intolerable. He felt that he had been decidedly +ill-used. What was the use of money unless it could be converted into +what his soul desired? But there was no way of changing the coin +except at the store of Joe Marks. To ask any of the villagers would +only have excited surprise and suspicion. Besides, the tramp felt sure +that Ernest would soon discover that he had been robbed. He would +naturally be suspected, especially as Joe Marks had knowledge of a +gold piece being in his possession. + +There was a small settlement about five miles off, called Daneboro. It +was probably the nearest place where he could get a glass of whisky. +He must walk there. It was not a pleasant prospect, for the tramp was +lazy and not fond of walking, though he had been compelled to do a +good deal of it. Still, it seemed to be a necessity, and when he left +the store of Joe Marks he set out for Daneboro. + +Thirst was not the only trouble with Tom Burns. He had not eaten +anything for about twenty-four hours, and his neglected stomach +rebelled. He tightened a girdle about his waist, and walked on in +great discomfort. He had perhaps gone two miles when he came to a +cabin similar in appearance to that of old Peter Brant. A woman stood +in the door-way. + +"My good lady," said Tom, putting on a pitiful expression, "I am a +very unfortunate man." + +"Are you?" said the woman, scanning him critically. "You look like a +tramp." + +"I do, madam, yet I was once a thriving merchant." + +"You don't look like it." + +"I don't; I acknowledge it." + +"How did you lose your property, if you ever had any?" + +"By signin' notes for my brother. It swept off all my possessions." + +"Then I pity you. That's the way my man lost five hundred dollars, +nearly all he had. What can I do for you?" + +"Madam, I am hungry, very hungry." + +"Set right down on the settle, and I'll give you what's left of our +breakfast." + +Tom Burns obeyed with alacrity. + +A plate of cold bacon, a cold potato, and some corn bread were placed +before him, and he ate them almost voraciously. There had been times +in his life when he would have turned up his nose at such fare, but +not now. + +"My good lady," he said, "you have saved my life." + +"Well, you must 'a' been hungry," said the woman. "A man that'll eat +cold vittles, especially cold potato, ain't shammin'." + +"I wish I had money to offer you--" + +"Oh, never mind that, you're welcome. Can I do anything more for you?" + +"I feel sick, and sometimes, though I am a temperance man, I take +whisky for my health. If you had just a sup--" + +"Well, we haven't, and if we had I wouldn't give you any." + +"You misjudge me, madam. You must not think I am a drinker." + +"It's no matter what I think. You can't get any whisky here." + +At Daneboro Tom fared better. He changed his gold piece, drank a pint +of whisky, and the next day retraced his steps to old Peter's cabin. +He felt satisfied that somewhere near the cabin there were treasures +concealed, and he meant to secure them. + + + + +CHAPTER V. + +THE TRAMP TURNS UP AGAIN. + +When Peter Brant was laid away under a tree not far from the cabin +where he had ended his days, Ernest felt that he was at liberty to +begin the new life that lay before him. Despite the natural sadness +which he felt at parting with his old friend, he looked forward not +without pleasant anticipations to the future and what it might have in +store for him. + +Oak Forks had few attractions for him. Time had often dragged wearily +with him. He had a literary taste, but could not get hold of books. +Peter Brant had about a dozen volumes, none of which he had read +himself, but Ernest had read them over and over again. None of the +neighbors owned any books. Occasionally a newspaper found its way into +the settlement, and this, when it came into Ernest's hands, was +devoured, advertisements and all. + +How, then, was his time passed? Partly in hunting, partly in fishing, +for there was a small river two miles away; but one could not fish or +hunt all the time. He had often felt a vague yearning to go to +Chicago, or New York, or anywhere where there would be a broader field +and large opportunities, and he had broached the subject to Peter. + +"I can't afford to go, Ernest," the old man would reply. "I must live +on the little I have, for I am too old to work." + +"But I am young. I can work," the boy would answer. + +"A boy like you couldn't earn much. Wait till I am dead and then you +can go where you like." + +This would always close the discussion, for Ernest did not like to +consider such a contingency. Peter represented his world, for he had +no one to cling to except the man whom he supposed to be his uncle. + +Now, however, the time had come when he could go forth and enter upon +a career. Accordingly he declined Joe Marks' offer to take him into +the store. He understood very well that it was only meant in kindness, +and that he was not really needed. + +"You don't need me, Joe," he said. "You are very kind, but there must +be real work for me somewhere." + +"Well, my lad, I won't stand in your way, but I've known you a long +time, and I shall hate to lose sight of you." + +"I'll come back some day, Joe--that is, if I am prosperous, and can." + +"If you are not prosperous, if you fall sick, and need a home and a +friend, come back, then. Don't forget your old friend Joe Marks." + +"I won't, Joe," said Ernest heartily. + +"You've got another friend here, Ernest," added Luke Robbins. "I'm a +poor man, and my friendship isn't worth much, but you have it, all the +same." + +Ernest grasped the hands of both. He felt that each was a friend worth +having. + +"You may be sure that I won't forget either of you," he said. + +"When do you expect to go, Ernest, and where?" asked Joe Marks. + +"I shall get away to-morrow, I think, but where I shall go I can't +tell yet." + +"Do you need any money?" + +"No; my uncle left me some." + +Ernest had not yet secured the gold, but he knew exactly where it was, +and now that all his business was ended, he felt that it was time to +possess himself of it. Accordingly he took a spade from the house and +bent his steps in the direction of the old oak tree. + +He went alone, for he thought it best not to take anyone into his +confidence. Indeed the only persons whom he would have thought of +trusting were Joe Marks and Luke Robbins, and they were both employed, +Joe in his store and Luke on a hunting expedition. + +Arrived at the tree, Ernest measured off five feet in the direction +mentioned by Peter and began to dig. It did not take him long to reach +the box, for it was only a foot beneath the surface of the ground. + +It proved to be a cigar-box, for Peter was fond of smoking, though he +usually smoked a pipe, as being more economical. Ernest lifted the lid +and saw a small roll enclosed in brown wrapping-paper, which, on being +removed, revealed twenty five-dollar gold pieces. He regarded them +with satisfaction, for they afforded him the means of leaving Oak +Forks and going out into the great world which he had such a curiosity +to enter. + +But Ernest was not the only one who regarded the gold pieces with +satisfaction. + +Hidden behind a tree only a few feet away was a person with whom we +are already acquainted. It was Tom Burns, the tramp and vagabond. + +He, too, was out in search of gold. He had come from Daneboro and was +prowling round the neighborhood, searching for old Peter's hidden +treasure. He had deliberated as to whether the cabin or the fields was +the more likely place to have been selected. He had nothing in +particular to guide him. He did not, however, venture to approach the +house just yet, as it would probably be occupied by Ernest. + +"I wish I knowed where the old man hid his boodle," soliloquized Tom. +"I can't dig all over." + +In fact digging was not in Tom's line. It was too much like work, and +if there was anything to which Tom was bitterly opposed it was work of +any kind. + +"The boy must know. Likely the old man told him," he finally +concluded. "I'll watch the boy." + +He feared he might be too late. Had it been his own case, he would +have searched for the gold immediately after the funeral. He naturally +supposed that Ernest would do the same. He therefore lost no time in +prowling around the cabin, with the especial object of watching +Ernest's movements. He was especially favored, as he thought, when +from a distance he saw Ernest leaving the cabin with the spade in his +hand. + +The tramp's heart was filled with joy. + +"He is going to dig for the treasure," he said. "I'll keep him in +sight." + +Tom Burns had no difficulty in doing this, for Ernest bent his steps +in his direction. + +"I hope he won't discover me," thought Burns; "at any rate, not till I +find out where he's going to dig." + +All things seemed to favor the tramp. Ernest stopped when he came to +the oak tree, and it was evident this was the spot of which he was in +search. + +"Why, that's where I was lying the other night!" thought Burns. "If I +had only knowed! Why, the gold was right under me all the time. If I'd +found it then, I should have gone off with it before this time. How +ever, it isn't too late now." + +He watched with subdued eagerness while Ernest was digging. He no +longer doubted that this was the place where the gold was hidden. +Ernest could have no other object in digging in this place. + +"I wonder how much there is," thought Burns. "There ought to be as +much as a thousand dollars. Perhaps there's two or three. But even if +there is only a thousand, it will set me on my feet. I'll soon get out +of this neighborhood. I'll go to Chicago or New York, and I'll live in +clover. I'll make up for lost time. I've been a vagabond long enough. +I'll buy some new clothes, and set up as a respectable man." + +When Ernest found the roll of coins, and taking them out, put them in +his pocket, he was not disappointed, for he knew what to expect, but +Tom Burns was in dismay. + +"Only a hundred dollars?" he soliloquized. "What's a hundred dollars? +The old man ought to be ashamed of himself. Why, it isn't +respectable!" + +However, one thing was certain. A hundred dollars was better than +nothing. It would take him to Chicago, and enable him to live in +comfort for a while. Besides, he might multiply it many times at the +gaming table, for Tom Burns had been a gambler in his day. He +certainly did not propose to disdain the sum which fortune had placed +in his way simply because it was so small. Oh, no, Tom Burns was not +that sort of a man. + +Ernest put the gold pieces in his pocket and turned to go back to the +cabin, when a voice reached him. + +"Look here, boy, I'll trouble you to hand over that money." + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +A CRITICAL SITUATION. + +Ernest turned and regarded the tramp in amazement. + +"What do you mean?" he demanded. + +"I want that money you just dug up," replied Tom Burns boldly. + +Instantly Ernest comprehended his danger. He was a stout boy, but the +tramp was a large man, weighing probably fifty pounds more than +himself. Moreover, he looked desperate and reckless. The boy felt that +in strength he was no match for the thief who confronted him. + +Yet he could not bear the thought of allowing himself to be robbed. +Left penniless, how could he carry out the plans which he had in view? +He tried to gain time. + +"Do you want to rob me?" he asked. + +"I have just as much right to that money as you," said the tramp. + +"How do you make that out?" + +"The man who put it there owed me money." + +"Do you think I am a fool to believe that ridiculous story?" + +"You'd better be careful how you talk," said Burns menacingly. "What I +say I mean." + +"Then all I can say is that you have told a falsehood. You are the +man, I suppose, who entered our cabin at night and stole money out of +a trunk." + +"I don't know anything about your trunk," said Burns mendaciously. +"But I have no time to talk--I want that money." + +Ernest looked about him, hoping to see some one to whom he could +appeal for help, but no one appeared in sight. Next he looked at the +tramp, to note if he were armed. To his relief Burns did not appear to +have any weapon with him. Rapidly he determined not to give up the +money without a struggle. + +"I won't give up the money to a thief," he said boldly. + +As he spoke he turned and ran as fast as he was able. + +Tom Burns uttered an execration and prepared to pursue him. + +Winged with fear of losing his gold, Ernest flew rather than ran, not +heeding the direction he was taking. The tramp accepted the challenge +and put forth his utmost speed in the hope of overtaking him. + +"You'll pay for this, boy," he growled. "Just let me catch you." + +But Ernest did not mean to be caught. Being a fast runner for a boy of +his size, he bade fair to out-distance his pursuer. But directly in +his path was an excavation of considerable size and depth. Ernest +paused on the brink to consider whether to descend the sloping sides +or to go round it. The delay was fatal. The tramp saw his advantage, +and, pushing forward, seized him by the collar. + +"I've caught you!" he cried, triumphantly. "Now give me the money." + +There was a brief struggle, but a boy, even a strong boy, was no match +for a man taller and heavier than himself. The gold pieces were +snatched from him, and the tramp, releasing his hold, was about to +make off in triumph when he found himself seized in turn. + +"Why, you contemptible thief!" exclaimed Luke Robbins, for it was he +whose opportune coming had saved Ernest from being plundered. "Are you +trying to rob the boy?" + +He seized the tramp by the collar, forced him to give up the gold he +had just snatched from Ernest, and flung him on his back. + +The tramp's surprise deepened to dismay when, looking up, he saw the +stalwart hunter with stern face looking down upon him. + +"It was my money," he whined. + +"Your money, you owdacious liar! Don't tell me that or I'll treat you +worse." + +"But it was. I had hidden it under a tree. I came along just as the +boy dug it up. I told him to give it to me, for it was mine, but he +wouldn't, and then I chased him." + +"What's the truth of the matter, Ernest?" asked Luke. + +"It was money that Peter Brant had hidden away. He told me on his +deathbed where to look for it." + +"I thought it was Peter's." + +"I had just dug it up and put it in my pocket when this man came +along. He ordered me to give it him." + +"Did he say he hid it there?" + +"No. He said that Peter owed him money, and he wanted it." + +"You appear to be a very ingenious liar," remarked Luke, turning to +the tramp. "Which of these stories do you want me to believe?" + +"I hid it there!" said the tramp, doggedly. + +"Then why did you tell the boy that Peter owed you money?" + +"Because I didn't think he would believe that I hid it." + +"You are right there. He don't believe it, nor do I. One thing +more--were you the man that broke into his cabin and stole two gold +pieces from his trunk?" + +"No. I don't know anything about it." + +"Of course you would deny it. All the same, I have no doubt that you +were the man." + +"If I had done it he would have seen me." + +"That won't go down. He was asleep. Ernest, what shall I do with this +fellow? Shall I shoot him?" and Luke Robbins pulled out a revolver, +which he handled in a significant way. + +"Don't shoot! Spare my life, Mr. Robbins!" cried the tramp, in great +alarm. + +"Humph! I don't see the good. Your life is of no value to the world." + +"Let him go, Luke," said Ernest, "but tell him to clear out of this +neighborhood." + +"It is treating him too well. Still, I will do as you say. Hark, you +fellow, what is your name?" + +"Tom Burns." + +"You are a disgrace to the name of Burns. If I spare your life will +you leave this neighborhood and never come back?" + +"Yes, yes," answered the tramp, earnestly. + +"You'd better keep that promise. If I ever catch sight of you again, +I'll shoot with out asking you any questions. Now _get!_" + +Tom Burns got up and started away with celerity. He thought it wise to +put as great a distance as possible between himself and the tall and +stalwart hunter, fearing that he would repent his leniency and end his +life by a stray bullet. + +"I'll scare him a little," said Luke. + +He fired after the fugitive, taking care not to hit him, however. Tom +Burns heard the bullet whistling by his head, and with a cry of terror +increased his speed till he reached a place where he felt secure. +Then, sinking down on the ground, he uttered an ejaculation of relief. + +"That is a terrible man!" he panted. "He'd as soon take my life as +not. I won't get in his way again if I can help it." + +Luke Robbins laughed. + +"That is my parting message," he said. "Well, Ernest, where do you +want to go? What are your plans?" + +"I don't know," answered Ernest, gravely. "I am not sure that I have +any plans. I feel upset completely." + +"Sit down here and I'll talk to you." + +He pointed to a little ridge which would serve as a seat. + +The two sat down together. + +"Now, how much money have you got?" + +"A hundred dollars," + +"It isn't much. Is that all your uncle left?" + +"I think so. He said nothing about having more." + +"It isn't much to begin the world with. I wish for your sake, boy, +that I had some to give you, but I never knew how to get together +money." + +"I guess it will do, Luke. I have health and strength. I think I can +make my way." + +"But you have no trade." + +"Have you?" + +"No, Ernest. You've got me there. I am only a hunter, but I don't make +much of a living. I don't recommend you to follow in my steps. I'd +like to keep you with me, but it wouldn't pay you." + +"One thing is certain, Luke. I must get away from here. There is +nothing I can do in Oak Forks." + +"Where do you want to go, lad?" + +"I don't know. I might go eastward to Chicago or New York, or I might +go West to California. Have you ever been to either place, Luke?" + +"No, lad, but if I had my choice I'd go westward. I've heard fine +stories of California. I think I should like to see that land, and +push on to the Pacific ocean." + +"Why don't you go?" + +"Stop a minute! Let me think!" + +The hunter assumed a thoughtful look. He remained silent for five +minutes. Then he said, as if to himself, "Why not?" + +Ernest still kept silence, but his eyes were fixed upon the face of +the hunter. + +Finally Luke looked up. + +"How do you want to go, lad?" he asked. "Do you want to go by the +railroad, or are you in for a tramp over the mountains and plains?" + +"That depends on whether I am to go alone or not. If I go alone I +shall prefer to go by rail." + +"Are you in for a long tramp with me?" asked Luke, his face glowing +with new-born enthusiasm. + +"I will go anywhere with you, Luke." + +"Then it is agreed. We will start to-morrow." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +ON THE ROAD. + +Nothing could have pleased Ernest better than to travel with the +companionship of Luke Robbins. He felt that he should be safe with the +sturdy hunter, who was strong, resolute, and reliable. + +True, he was not a man who had succeeded, as men reckon success. He +had lived comfortably, but it had never occurred to him to lay up +money, nor indeed had he had any opportunity to do so. He mentioned +this as an objection to the trip which he had himself proposed. + +"My lad," he said, "I am afraid I can't go with you, after all." + +"Why not, Luke?" + +"Because you're rich, compared with me." + +"I have but a hundred dollars." + +"And I well, lad, I'm ashamed to say so, but I have only fifteen." + +"We'll share and share alike, Luke." + +"No, lad. Luke Robbins is too proud to live upon a boy. I reckon I'd +better stay at home." + +"But I want you to go and take care of me, Luke. How can I travel +alone?" + +Luke brightened up. + +"That puts a different face on it, Ernest. If you think you need me, +I'll go." + +"I do need you." + +"Then go I will; but one thing is understood--I won't take any of your +money." + +"There won't be any trouble on that score, Luke." + +So the two prepared for their trip. Ernest, with Luke's help, +purchased an outfit, and on the morning of the third day the two +started out together, neither having a very definite idea where they +were going except that their course was westward. + +Luke knew very little of the States and Territories that lay between +Oak Forks and the Pacific coast. Ernest, whose education was decidedly +superior to his companion's, was able to give him some information. So +they plodded on, making slow progress, but enjoying the unconventional +life, and the scenery on the way. + +They were in no hurry. They stopped to hunt and fish, and when the +weather was unfavorable they stayed overnight at some wayside cabin. +When the nights were fine they camped out, and enjoyed a sound rest +under the open canopy of heaven. + +Part of their way led through woods and over prairies, but here and +there they came to a thriving village. There was little occasion to +spend money, but still they were compelled to use some. + +One day--it was some weeks from the time when they started--Luke +turned to Ernest with a sober face. + +"Ernest," he said, "I think you'll have to leave me at the next +poor-house." + +"Why, Luke?" + +"Because my money is nearly all gone. I started with fifteen dollars. +Now I have but one." + +"But I have plenty left." + +"That doesn't help me." + +"I want to share it with you, Luke." + +"Don't you remember what I said when we set out, lad?" + +"What was it?" + +"That I would not touch a dollar of your money." + +"Then do you mean to leave me alone, Luke?" pleaded Ernest +reproachfully. + +"You are a boy and I am a man. I'm forty years old, Ernest. Is it +right that I should live on a boy less than half my age?" + +Ernest looked at him in perplexity. + +"Is there no way of getting more money?" he asked. + +"If we were in California now, and at the mines, I might make shift to +fill my purse; but there are no mines hereabouts." + +"Let us keep on, and something may turn up." + +When this conversation took place they were approaching Emmonsville, a +thriving town in Nebraska. As they walked through the principal +street, it was clear that something had happened which had created +general excitement. Groups of people were talking earnestly, and their +faces wore a perturbed and anxious look. + +"What's the matter?" asked Luke, addressing a well-to-do appearing +man. + +"Haven't you heard of the bank robbery over at Lee's Falls?" + +"No." + +"Two men, fully armed, rode up to the door, and, dismounting, entered +the bank. One stepped up to the window of the paying teller, and +covering him with his revolver, demanded five thousand dollars. At the +same time the other stood in the doorway, also with a loaded +revolver." + +"Why didn't the teller shoot him down?" asked Luke. + +"My friend, bank officers are not provided with loaded revolvers when +on duty. Besides, the ruffian had the drop on him." + +"Well?" asked Luke. + +"What could the teller do? Life is more than money, and he had no +alternative. The fellow got the money." + +"Did he get away with it?" + +"Yes; they both mounted their horses and rode off, no one daring to +interfere. Each held his revolver in readiness to shoot the first man +that barred his way." + +"Where did you say this happened?" + +"At Lee's Falls." + +"Is it near at hand?" + +"It is fifteen miles away." + +"But why should that robbery create excitement here?" + +"Because we have a bank here, and we are expecting a visit from the +same parties." + +"Who are they?" + +"They are supposed to be the Fox brothers, two of the most notorious +criminals in the West. Numberless stories are told of their bold +robberies, both from individuals and from banks." + +"How long have these fellows been preying upon the community?" + +"We have heard of them hereabouts for three years. It is said they +came from Missouri." + +"Is there no one brave enough or bold enough to interfere with them?" + +"More than one has tried it, but no one has succeeded. Twice they were +captured by a posse of men, but in each case they broke jail before it +was time for the trial. + +"It seems to me you haven't many men of spirit in Nebraska." + +"Perhaps you think you would be a match for them," said the citizen in +a sarcastic tone. + +Luke Robbins smiled and handled his revolver in a significant way. + +"If you think you can kill or capture them, stranger, there's a chance +to make a good sum of money." + +"How is that?" + +"A thousand dollars is offered for either, dead or alive." + +"A thousand dollars!" repeated Luke, his face glowing with excitement. +"Is that straight?" + +"It will be paid cheerfully. You can bet on that." + +"Who offers it?" + +"The Governor of the State." + +Luke Robbins became thoughtful and remained silent. + +"Did you hear that, lad?" he asked, when he and Ernest were alone. + +"Yes, Luke." + +"A thousand dollars would do us a great deal of good." + +"That is true, Luke, but it would be as much as your life is worth to +hunt the rascals." + +"Don't try to make a coward of me, Ernest." + +"I couldn't do that, Luke. I only want you to be prudent." + +"Listen, lad. I want that thousand dollars, and I'm going to make a +try for it. Come along with me." + +"Where are you going?" + +"To the bank. I'm going to have a talk with the officers, and then +I'll decide what to do." + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +THE QUAKER DETECTIVE. + +At the Emmonsville bank they were on their guard. The expectation of a +visit from the Fox brothers caused anxiety and apprehension. The evil +reputation of these men, and their desperate character, made them +formidable. + +When Luke Robbins entered the place he was regarded with suspicion. +His hunting-costume was not unlike that of a bandit. But the fact that +he had a young companion tended to disarm suspicion. No one could +suspect Ernest of complicity with outlaws, and the Fox brothers had +never been known to carry a boy with them. + +Luke was unused to banks. So far as he knew, he had never entered one +before. He looked around him in uncertainty, and finally approached +the window of the receiving teller. + +"Are you the boss of this institution?" he asked. + +The teller smiled. + +"No," he said. "Perhaps you want to see the president?" + +"I guess he's the man." + +"If you will give me a hint of the nature of your business, I will +speak to him." + +"I hear you're expectin' a visit from the Fox brothers." + +"Have you anything to do with them?" asked the teller with some +suspicion. + +"I want to have something to do with them," returned Luke. + +"I don't understand you." + +"Then I'll tell you what I mean. I hear there's a big reward out for +their capture." + +"A thousand dollars." + +"I want that thousand dollars, and I want it bad." + +"I shall be very glad if you become entitled to it. Any one who will +rid the State of either of these notorious outlaws will richly deserve +it." + +"That's the business I came about. Now can I see the president, if +that's what you call him?" + +"Wait a minute and I will find out." + +The teller went to an inner room, and returned with a stout, +gray-headed man of about fifty. + +He looked curiously at Luke through the window. Then, as if reassured, +he smiled. + +"I understand you want to see me," he said. + +"Yes." + +"About the Fox brothers?" + +"You're right there, squire." + +"Go to the last door and I will admit you." + +Luke Robbins did as directed, and soon found himself in the office of +the president of the bank. + +"You are anxious to secure the reward offered for the capture of these +outlaws, I believe." + +"That's straight." + +"Why do you come to me, then?" + +"Because a man told me you expected a visit from them." + +"That is not quite exact. I don't expect a visit, but I am afraid they +may take it into their heads to call here." + +"Suppose they do." + +A shade of anxiety appeared upon the face of the president. + +"We should try to foil their plans," he answered. + +"Wouldn't you like to have me on hand when they come?" + +The president looked over Luke Robbins carefully. He was impressed by +his bold, resolute air, and muscular figure. Evidently he would be a +dangerous man to meet. + +"You are a strong, resolute fellow, I judge," he said thoughtfully. + +"Try me and see." + +"You would not be afraid to meet these villains single-handed?" + +"I never saw the man yet that I was afraid to meet." + +"So far, so good, but it is not so much strength that is needed as +quickness. A weak man is more than a match for a strong one if he gets +the drop on him." + +"That's so, but I reckon it'll take a smart man to get the drop on me. + +"What have you to propose? I suppose you have formed some plan." + +"I would like to stay around the bank, and be on the watch for these +fellows." + +"Remain here and I will consult with the cashier." + +Five minutes later the president rejoined his visitor. + +"I have no objection to securing your services," he said, "if it can +be done without exciting suspicion. In your present dress your mission +would at once be guessed, and the outlaws would be on their guard. +Have you any objection to changing your appearance?" + +"Not a particle. All I want is to get a lick at them outlaws." + +"Then I think we shall have to make you a little less formidable. Have +you any objections to becoming a Quaker?" + +Luke Robbins laughed. + +"What! one of those broad-brimmed fellows?" he said. + +"Yes." + +"Will I look the character?" + +"Dress will accomplish a good deal. I will tell you what put the idea +into my head. We used to employ as janitor an old Quaker--a good, +honest, reliable man. He was about your build. A year since he died, +but we have hanging up in my office the suit he was accustomed to +wear. Put it on, and it will make a complete change in your +appearance. Your face will hardly correspond to your dress, but those +who see the garb won't look any further." + +"That's all right, boss. I don't care how you dress me up. But what +will I do?" + +"I think it will be well for you to keep near the bank, watching +carefully all who approach. You never saw the Fox brothers, I +presume?" + +"I never had that pleasure." + +"Most people don't regard it as a pleasure. I will give you some +description of them, which may help you to identify them. One is a +tall man, very nearly as tall as yourself; the other is at least three +inches shorter. Both have dark hair, which they wear long. They have a +swaggering walk, and look their real characters." + +"I don't think it'll be hard to spot them. They generally ride on +horseback, don't they?" + +"Generally, but not always. They rode into Lee's Falls and up to the +bank entrance on horseback. Perhaps for that reason they may appear in +different guise here." + +"You haven't any pictures of them, have you?" + +The president laughed. + +"No one was ever bold enough to invite them into a photographer's to +have their pictures taken," he said. + +"I see. Well, I think I shall know them." + +"Perhaps not. They often adopt disguises." + +"They won't come as Quakers?" + +"That is hardly likely. I can give you one help. However they may be +dressed, their eyes will betray them. They have flashing black ones, +and sharp, aquiline noses." + +"I'll know them," said Luke confidently. + +"I observe that you have a boy with you? + +"Yes." + +"Is it your son?" + +"No; I wish he were. I'd be proud to have such a son as that." + +"Perhaps we can use him. The bank messenger--a young man--is sick, and +he can take his place temporarily." + +"Is there any pay for such work?" + +"Yes, but it is small. We will give him ten dollars a week. Of course +he must be honest and trustworthy." + +"I'll stake my life on that boy, boss," said Luke warmly. + +"His appearance is in his favor. Will you call him?" + +Ernest was waiting in the doorway. He was anxious to learn the result +of Luke's interview with the president of the bank. He had thought it +very doubtful whether his proposal would be looked upon favorably, but +hoped some good might come of it. + +"The boss wants to see you," announced Luke. + +"All right; I will follow you. What luck are you meeting with, Luke?" + +"Good. I've hired out to the bank as a Quaker detective." + +Ernest stared at his companion in astonishment. He thought it was a +joke. + +When he came into the presence of the president the latter said, "I +understand from your friend here that you would like employment?" + +"I should," answered Ernest promptly. + +"The post of bank messenger is temporarily vacant. Would you like it?" + +"Yes, sir, if you think I can fill it." + +"You are rather young for the place, but I think you will fill it +satisfactorily. We will instruct you in the duties." + +"Very well, sir; I accept it with thanks." + +"Of course it is necessary that you should be honest and reliable. But +upon those points I have no doubt. Your face speaks for you." + +"Thank you, sir. When do you wish me to begin my duties?" + +"To-morrow. I suppose you are not as yet provided with a +boarding-place. You can get settled to-day, and report at the bank +to-morrow morning at nine." + +"Wait here a minute, Ernest," said Luke. "I will join you at once." + +When Luke emerged from the president's room he was attired in the +Quaker costume of his predecessor. Ernest stared at him for a moment, +then burst into a loud laugh. + +"Why does thee laugh?" asked Luke mildly. + +This sent Ernest into a second convulsion. + +"Do I look like a man of peace?" asked Luke. + +"Yes; shall you live up to the character?" + +"Until I see the Fox brothers. Then the lamb will become a lion." + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +AN ARMED ESCORT. + +Luke Robbins entered at once upon his duties as janitor of the +Emmonsville bank. It was rather difficult, however, to supply him with +employment enough to account for his being in constant attendance. + +He was provided with a broom, and in the morning swept the bank. +Sometimes he washed the windows; at other times he sat on a bench in +the rear of the bank, ready for any call upon his services. So far as +garb went, he resembled a Quaker, but his brown face and sharp eyes +hardly harmonized with his assumed character. Still less did the +revolver which he carried in an inside pocket. + +Several days passed, and though Luke kept a sharp lookout for the Fox +brothers, he did not catch a glimpse of anyone who suggested or +resembled them. + +Then one morning Luke went to the bank as usual and put on his Quaker +garb. + +About eleven o'clock an elderly man appeared and presented a check for +five hundred dollars. The money was paid him, and then he lingered a +moment, ill at ease. + +"I don't like to have so much money about me," he said, in a tone that +betrayed anxiety. + +"No doubt you will find plenty who would be willing to relieve you of +it," rejoined the paying teller, with a smile. + +"That's what I am afraid of. They do say that the Fox brothers have +been seen not far away." + +"Is it absolutely necessary that you should have the money in your +possession? You could leave it in the bank, or most of it." + +"I shall want to use some of it to-morrow, and I live ten miles +away--in Claremont." + +"How are you going back?" + +"I have a buggy outside." + +"The road to Claremont is rather lonely, I believe." + +"Yes." + +"Why don't you get some one to go with you?" + +"I don't know any one I could get." + +"I can find you a companion, but he would want to be paid." + +"I'll pay him if he'll see me through all right." + +"I have the very man for you. Here, Luke!" + +Luke Robbins heard the call and approached. + +"The farmer looked at him doubtfully. + +"A Quaker?" he said, in a disappointed tone. + +"He is no more a Quaker than you are. He is a detective, and very +anxious to meet either of the Fox brothers." + +The farmer brightened up. + +"He's the man I'm after, then." + +A bargain was struck between Luke and Ezekiel Mason, whereby the +farmer promised to pay him five dollars to accompany him home and +remain over night at the farm-house until he had disposed of the money +the way he intended. + +Luke was glad to accept the proposal. It promised variety, and +possibly adventure. The farmer climbed into the buggy, and the Quaker +detective, following, took a seat by his side. + +After they had driven some time they reached a part of the road where +for a clear mile in advance there was not a house or building of any +kind to be seen. + +"This is the place I was most afraid of," said the farmer. + +"Yes, it seems to be lonely. I wish one of the Fox brothers would +happen along." + +"Why?" asked the farmer, in a tone of alarm. + +"Because I would like to tackle him." + +"Why are you so anxious to tackle him? I cannot understand." + +"Then I'll tell you, my honest friend. There is a reward of a thousand +dollars offered for the capture of one of these famous outlaws, dead +or alive." + +Ezekiel Mason shrugged his shoulders. + +"I'd rather earn the money some other way!" he said. + +"You are only a peaceful farmer, while I am a fighting Quaker," +responded Luke. + +As he spoke he looked up the road, and his glance fell upon a short, +compactly built man, in a gray suit, who was walking towards them. He +seemed a quiet, commonplace person, but there was something about him +that attracted Luke's attention. + +"Do you know that man?" he asked abruptly. + +"No," answered Mason, after a rapid glance. + +"Are the Fox brothers tall men?" asked Luke. + +"One only." + +"The other?" + +"Is about the size of the man who is approaching." + +Luke did not reply, but examined still more critically the advancing +pedestrian. + +"If this should be one of the Foxes," he began. + +"Do you think it is?" asked the farmer in a terrified tone. + +"I can't tell. If it proves to be, do exactly as I tell you." + +"Yes," replied the farmer, now thoroughly alarmed. + +By this time the new-comer was but twenty feet distant. Though his +appearance and dress were commonplace, his eyes, as they could see, +were dark and glittering. + +He made a halt. + +"Friends," he said, "can you oblige me with the time?" + +The farmer was about to produce his big, old-fashioned, silver watch, +when Luke nudged him sharply. + +"Leave him to me," he whispered, in a tone audible only to the farmer. + +"Thee has asked the wrong party," he said aloud. "We don't carry +watches." + +The pedestrian regarded him with contempt. Whoever he might be, he +looked upon a Quaker as a mild, inoffensive person, hardly deserving +the name of man. + +"I didn't speak to you," he said scornfully. + + + + +CHAPTER X. + +THE ASTONISHED OUTLAW. + +The pedestrian's next move was a bold one. + +"I am tired," he said. "Give me a ride." + +"Will thee excuse us?" said the Quaker meekly. + +"Oh, shut up!" cried the assumed pedestrian. "Quakers should be seen +and not heard." + +Then, to the farmer, "I am tired. Let me into your carriage." + +"There is no room," said the farmer nervously. + +"Then tell the Quaker to get out, and I will take his place." + +Ezekiel Mason was by no means a brave man, and he did not know what to +say to this impudent proposal. + +He looked appealingly at Luke. + +"I will accommodate the gentleman," said the latter meekly. With the +words he rose from his seat and jumped to the ground. + +"Shall I assist thee?" he asked the stranger in a mild voice. + +"No; I am quite capable of getting into the carriage without help from +a meddlesome Quaker." + +"Indeed, thee does me injustice." + +The stranger did not immediately get into the buggy. + +"I don't care to ride, after all," he said coolly. "Just hand me your +money, you old clodhopper." + +The worst had come. The new arrival was evidently one of the Fox +brothers, after all. + +"Indeed, I have no money," said the terrified farmer. + +This was true, for he had put the wallet, containing the five hundred +dollars, into the hands of Luke. + +"You lie! You have just come from the Emmonsville bank, where you drew +a large amount." + +At this proof of knowledge on the part of the outlaw the farmer was +almost paralyzed. + +It appeared to him that the robber must be supernaturally gifted. + +"I haven't got it now," he said. + +"You lie!" cried the outlaw sternly. "Come down here and give up the +money, or I'll shoot you." + +"You can search me," said Mason desperately. + +"Come down, then." + +"Thee is very unkind," observed Luke. + +"Shut up, you meddlesome Quaker! It none of your business." + +"Thee had better come down and let the man search thee," said Luke to +the farmer. + +Ezekiel Mason had been waiting for a hint from Luke, in whom he +recognized a master spirit. His only hope was in his companion. + +"Art thee Mr. Fox?" asked Luke in a tone of mild inquiry. + +"I'll let you know who I am," was the swaggering reply. + +Though he was but one man opposed to two, he had no fears. The farmer +was evidently cowed and terrified, while the Quaker seemed, though +large, to be peaceable and harmless. + +But in his judgment of Luke the outlaw was very much at fault. When +threatening the farmer he had covered him with his revolver, but as he +was preparing to leave the buggy he carelessly lowered it. Luke, who +was aching to attack him, noticed this. + +While Fox, for it was one of the notorious brothers, was standing in +careless security the Quaker sprang upon him like a panther upon his +prey. He knocked the revolver from his hand with one powerful blow, +felled him to the ground, and placed his foot upon his prostrate form. + +Never, perhaps, in a career crowded with exciting adventures had the +outlaw been so thoroughly surprised. + +"What the mischief does this mean?" he ejaculated, struggling to rise. + +"It means that thee has mistaken thy man," answered Luke coolly. + +"Let me go or I'll kill you!" shrieked the outlaw fiercely. + +"If you try to get up I'll put a bullet through your head," replied +Luke, pointing at him with his own revolver. + +In his excitement he had dropped his Quaker speech, and this the +outlaw noted. + +"Are you a Quaker? he asked abruptly. + +"No more than you are," answered Luke. "Farmer, bring out the rope." + +Ezekiel Mason, from the bottom of the buggy, produced a long and stout +piece of clothes-line. + +"What do you mean to do?" inquired the outlaw uneasily. + +"You will see soon enough. No, don't try to get up, as you value your +life. Now tie him, Mason, while I keep him covered with the revolver." + +[Illustration: "Now tie him, Mason, while I keep him covered with the +revolver."] + +"We've had enough of this," said the outlaw sullenly. "Let me go, and +I'll do you no harm." + +"I don't mean that you shall, my honest friend." + +"But if you persist in this outrage, I swear that you will be a dead +man within thirty days." + +"Be careful how you talk, or you may be a dead man within thirty +minutes," answered Luke. + +While the outlaw was covered by Luke's revolver, farmer Mason, though +his tremulous hands showed that he was nervous, managed to tie him +securely. Fox began to under stand the sort of man with whom he was +dealing and remained silent, but his brain was busy trying to devise +some method of escape. + +At length the dangerous prisoner was securely tied. + +"What shall we do with him?" asked Ezekiel. + +"Where's the nearest prison? + +"At Crampton." + +"How far away?" + +"Twelve miles." + +"In what direction?" + +"It is four miles beyond Claremont," answered the farmer. + +"Where you live?" + +"Yes." + +"Then we will go there first." + +"But how shall we carry this gentleman?" asked the farmer, who could +not get over a feeling of deference for the celebrated outlaw. + +[Illustration: "NOW TIE HIM, MASON, WHILE I KEEP HIM COVERED WITH THE +REVOLVER."] + +"We'll put him into the back part of the buggy." + +By the united efforts of both, the outlaw, like a trussed fowl, was +deposited bodily in the rear of the carriage, where he lay in a most +uncomfortable position, jolted and shaken whenever the road was rough +or uneven. It was a humiliating position, and he felt it. + +"You'll repent this outrage," he said fiercely. + +"Doesn't thee like it?" asked Luke, relapsing into his Quaker dialect. + +"Curse you and your Quaker lingo!" retorted Fox, his black eyes +sparkling vindictively. + +"It wouldn't do thee any harm to turn Quaker thyself," suggested Luke. + +"I'll be bruised to death before the ride is over," growled the +outlaw. + +"There is one way of saving you the discomfort of the ride." + +"What is that?" + +"I might shoot you through the head. As the reward is the same whether +I deliver you alive or dead, I have almost determined to do it." + +The outlaw was made still more uncomfortable by these words. He had +wholly misunderstood Luke at first, and the revelation of his real +character had impressed him not only with respect, but with fear. He +did not know of what this pseudo Quaker might be capable. He longed in +some way to get out of his power. Force was impracticable, and he +resolved to resort to finesse. + +"Look here, my friend," he began. + +"So you regard me as a friend? Thank you, brother Fox; I won't forget +it." + +"Oh, bother your nonsense! I suppose you are after the thousand +dollars offered for my apprehension." + +"You have guessed right the first time. I am not a rich man, and I +don't mind telling you that a thousand dollars will be particularly +acceptable just about now." + +"So I supposed. You don't feel particularly unfriendly to me?" + +"Oh, no. I might under different circumstances come to love you like a +brother." + +"Or join my band?" + +"Well, no; I draw the line there. As a Quaker I could not consistently +join a band of robbers." + +"Who are you?" asked Fox abruptly. "You weren't raised around here." + +"No." + +"Where, then?" + +"I come from Iowa." + +"What is your name?" + +"My friend, I haven't any visiting cards with me. You can think of me +as the Quaker detective." + +"Then I will come to business. You want a thousand dollars?" + +"You are correct there." + +"Then I will show you a way to get it." + +"I know one way already." + +"You mean by delivering me up?" + +"Yes." + +"That would not suit me. Let me go, and I will give you a thousand +dollars." + +"Have you got it with you?" + +"No, but I can arrange to give it to you within a week. You see," +added the outlaw dryly, "I have been prosperous in my business, and +can snare that sum in return for the favor you are going to do me in +giving me my liberty." + +"I am afraid, friend Fox, that my chance of securing the money in that +way would be very slender." + +"I am a man of my word. What I promise, that I will do." + +"If you have so much money, why did you want to take the five hundred +dollars of my friend here?" + +"It was all in the way of business. Well, what do you say?" + +"That I won't trust you. If I should take your thousand dollars for +releasing you I should be as bad as you are." + +"Very well; drive on, then," said the outlaw sullenly. + +In less than an hour Ezekiel Mason's home was reached. When they drove +into the yard it made quite a sensation. Mrs. Mason and the hired man +stood staring at them with mouths agape. + +"Who have you got there, Ezekiel?" asked his wife. + +"One of the Fox brothers!" answered the farmer in an important tone. +"Me and my friend here took him." + +Luke smiled, and so did the prisoner, uncomfortable though he was. + +"It would have taken a dozen like that fool to have captured me," he +said in a low voice, but only Luke heard him. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +UNDER WATCH AND WARD. + +The farm-house was built after the model of many similar houses in New +England. It was of two stories, with the front door in the centre and +a room on each side. Over the two stories was an unfurnished attic. + +"Have you a secure place to keep our friend here?" asked Luke. + +The farmer paused before he answered. + +"I might put him in the attic," he said. + +But here his wife interfered. + +"I couldn't sleep if he were in the house," she said. + +"Why not?" asked Luke. "You see he is securely bound, and will be as +helpless as a child. Will you show me the attic?" + +"Follow me," said the farmer. + +They went up two flights of stairs, and found themselves in a long +room, the whole width of the house. Through the centre rose the +chimney. The sloping roof was not plastered. The only furniture +consisted of a cot-bedstead and a chair. + +"Is the attic occupied by any of the family?" asked Luke. + +"Not generally. When I hire an extra hand at harvest-time he sleeps +there." + +"But at present there is no one occupying it?" + +"No." + +"Then I suggest that the bed will prove a good resting-place for our +friend below. I have no doubt he has often found himself in lodgings +less comfortable." + +"But," said Mrs. Mason, nervously, "if he should get free during the +night he might murder us all in our beds." + +"There is little chance of that. When your husband bound him, he did a +good job. I wouldn't undertake to get free myself, if I were bound as +securely." + +"That's so!" said the farmer, pleased with the compliment. "He can't +get away nohow." + +Over in the corner there were a couple of horse-blankets, which seemed +to offer a comfortable resting-place. Luke Robbins eyed them +thoughtfully. + +"I have an idea," he said. "Let the outlaw lie there, and one of us can +occupy the bed. Then he won't be able to try any of his tricks." + +"I would rather not sleep there," observed the farmer nervously. "I +couldn't sleep in the same room with one of the Fox brothers." + +"Then if you couldn't sleep there you are just the man we want. You +will always be on the watch, and can frustrate any attempt to escape." + +"No, no," said Ezekiel Mason, hurriedly. "Kate could not close her +eyes if she thought I were alone with John Fox." + +"No," answered Mrs. Mason, with a shudder, "I won't let Ezekiel sleep +in the same room with that bold, bad man." + +"I wouldn't be afraid myself," said the farmer, trying to keep up his +reputation for courage, "but I don't want my wife to be anxious." + +Luke Robbins smiled, for he understood very well the timidity of his +host. "Then," he said, "as I have no wife to be anxious about me, +perhaps I had better sleep here." + +"Yes, that will be much better," rejoined the relieved farmer. "You +are a brave man. Mr. Fox won't get the better of you." + +"Not if I can help it," said Luke. "Will that suit you, Mrs. Mason?" + +"Why don't you take him on to the jail at once?" asked the woman. "I +shall feel worried if he spends the night in this house." + +"I hear that he has escaped from jail no less than three times. If he +should do so to-night he would at once come here, and perhaps bring +some of his band with him. He knows there is a good sum of money in +the house." + +"I shall be glad when it is paid out," said the farmer's wife. + +"Don't worry, Mrs. Mason. I have promised your husband that no harm +should come to him and that the money should be secure, and I will +keep my word." + +"So you did," said Ezekiel, brightening up, "and I will pay you what I +agreed, if you keep your promise." + +"Friend Mason," responded Luke, "I am playing for higher stakes than +five dollars. All depends on my keeping this outlaw secure. I mean to +do it." + +Having settled matters, they went down stairs again, where they found +their prisoner waiting impatiently for their reappearance. + +"Well," he said, "have you decided to let me go?" + +"I am sorry to disappoint you, my friend," answered Luke, "but I don't +see my way clear to do so." + +"I promised you a thousand dollars if you would release me." + +"Yes, but I haven't any confidence in that promise." + +"You need not fear. In three days I would bring or send the money to +you here." + +"Couldn't you oblige me with a check on the bank where you +keep your money?" asked Luke, smiling. + +"I keep my money in several banks," returned the outlaw. + +"Where, for instance?" + +"I had some in the bank at Lee's Falls, but I drew it out the other +day." + +"So I heard. Have you any money in the Emmonsville bank?" + +"Yes, but I am not quite ready to take it yet. I can give you an order +on the bank, if that will suit." + +"Thank you; I doubt if the order would be honored." + +"All this talk amounts to nothing," said Fox, impatiently. "I tell you +that if you release me I will bring or send you the money." + +"And how soon would you want it back again?" + +"Whenever I saw my way clear to taking it," said the outlaw, boldly. + +"I like that talk. It looks square. I'll think over your offer, friend +Fox, and let you know in the morning what I decide to do." + +The outlaw frowned. He evidently did not like the prospect of +remaining in captivity over night. + +"What are you going to do with me to-night?" he asked. + +"We have a comfortable place provided," answered Luke. "Mr. Mason, if +you will give your assistance, we will show our guest where we propose +to put him." + +"Unbind me, and I will save you the trouble." + +"No doubt, but there are some objections to that." + +The outlaw was lifted from the wagon and carried up stairs to the +attic. His ankles as well as his wrists were securely tied, so that he +was unable to walk. + +"Friend Fox," said Luke, politely, "there is a bed, and there is a +shake-down," pointing to the blankets on the floor. "You can take your +choice. I hope you will like your hotel." + +"I shall like it better if it provides refreshments," replied Fox. "I +am simply famished." + +"I am sure Mrs. Mason will furnish you with a meal. I will speak to +her." + +The outlaw seated himself on the bed, and the cord about his wrists +was loosened so that he might be able to eat. This might have been +regarded as dangerous, as affording him an opportunity to escape, but +for two reasons. + +In a chair opposite sat Luke Robbins, with a revolver in his hand, +watching his prisoner sharply. + +"If you make any attempt to escape," he said quietly, "I shall shoot. +Now you understand, and will be guided accordingly." + +In spite of his unpleasant situation, the outlaw could not help +admiring the coolness and resolution of his guard. + +"You would make a capital accession to my band," he remarked. + +"If that is meant for a compliment," said Luke, dryly, "I thank you." + +"You had better think it over. Join my band, and I will make it worth +your while." + +He fixed his eyes earnestly upon his captor, to see whether he had +made any impression upon him. + +"When I start on any road," he said, "I like to know where it is +coming out." + +"Well, this road will lead to wealth." + +"I don't read it that way." + +"How, then?" + +"It will more likely lead to a violent death--or the gallows." + +"I have been on that path for ten years, and I am alive, and--" + +"A prisoner." + +"Yes, at present; but I can tell you this, my Quaker friend, that the +tree has not yet grown that will furnish a gallows for John Fox." + +"Perhaps so, but I don't feel sure of it." + +The outlaw's predicament did not appear to interfere with his +appetite. He ate his dinner with evident relish, and left nothing on +the plate. When he had completed his meal, Luke called the farmer and +requested him to tie his wrists again. + +"You can do it better than I," he said. "Besides, I shall need to +stand guard." + +I was well that he did so, for John Fox, if there had been the least +chance of success, would have overpowered the farmer and effected his +escape. But with the eye of Luke Robbins upon him, and the pistol in +his hand ready to go off at an instant's notice, there was nothing to +do but to submit to being rebound. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +THE OUTLAW'S ESCAPE. + +The outlaw was left for several hours alone in the attic of the +farmer's house. He felt far from comfortable, and he experienced great +mortification at the thought that he had been captured by a Quaker. + +"I might as well have been captured by a woman," he said to himself. +"I shall never hold up my head again--that is," he added, after a +pause, "unless I circumvent him and get away." + +Fox dragged himself to the window and looked out. + +"If only my brother knew where I was," he reflected, "he would soon +turn the tables on those clodhoppers." + +But, as he knew, his brother was twenty miles away, on a different +expedition. + +John Fox was a man of expedients. In his long career as an outlaw he +had more than once been "in a hole," but he had never failed by some +means or other to extricate himself. This was what he decided to do at +present, if it were possible. + +It was not for some time that he bethought himself of a knife that he +had in his pocket. If he could get it out so as to use it, he would be +able to cut the ropes that bound him and escape--that is, if he were +not interfered with. + +He looked out of the window again, and saw Luke Robbins and the farmer +walking up the road. + +"They think I am safe," soliloquized Fox, "but perhaps they may find +themselves mistaken." + +He reflected with satisfaction that there was no one in the house but +Mrs. Mason and himself. She was a timid, nervous woman, who would wilt +at a look from him. Yet as matters stood he was helpless even against +her. + +As it was uncertain how long his two jailers would be absent, it +behooved him to escape as soon as possible. There was of course a +difficulty in the way, as his hands were securely tied together at the +wrists, and he could not, therefore, thrust them into his pocket and +obtain the knife. But possibly by rolling over he might manage to make +it slip out. It seemed the only possible way to accomplish his object, +so he at once set to work. Rolling over and over, he at length found +himself in such a position that the knife--a large jack-knife--slipped +from the gaping mouth of the pocket. + +"Ha, that is the first step towards success," he cried triumphantly. + +Next he must pick up the knife and open it. This was easier than the +first step. His hands were tied at the wrists, but his fingers were +free to work. It seemed a simple thing to open the knife, but it took +him some time. At last, however, he succeeded. + +"That is the second step towards liberty," he said in a jubilant tone. + +The next thing was to cut the cord that bound his wrists. That was +difficult. In fact, it took him longer than both the first steps +together. It chanced, unfortunately for him, that the knife had not +been sharpened for a long time. Then the cord was stout and thick, and +even had his hands been free, it would have taken him some time to cut +it. As matters stood, he was placed at great disadvantage. + +"If they should come back it would be maddening," he reflected, and as +the thought came to him he looked out of the window. But nowhere were +the two men visible. They had evidently no fear of his escape. + +"They are fools! They don't know me!" said the outlaw to himself. + +He resumed his efforts to cut the cord. It was slow work, but +perseverance, even in a bad cause, is apt to be crowned with success, +and this was the case here. After twenty minutes, the last strand +parted, and, with a feeling of relief, John Fox stretched out his +hands, free once more. + +His feet were still tied, but with his hands at liberty, there was +very little difficulty in cutting the rope that tied them. + +In less that five minutes the outlaw rose to his feet a free man. + +He smiled--a smile of exultation and triumph. + +"My Quaker friend will be surprised to find me gone. He will +understand John Fox a little better. He will have to wait a little +longer for his thousand dollars." + +John Fox was himself again, but for the first time in ten years, +except when he was the temporary tenant of a jail, he was unarmed. + +"What has that fellow done with my revolver?" he asked himself. "If it +is any where in the house I won't go off without it." + +Half an hour earlier and he would have been content with his liberty. +Now he wanted his revolver, and his thoughts recurred to the money +which the farmer had drawn that morning from the bank. It was five +hundred dollars, as Luke had rather incautiously let out. + +John Fox was not without hopes of securing both. The coast was clear, +and only Mrs. Mason was left in the house. He might terrify her, and +so secure the articles he had set his heart upon. But, clearly, there +was no time to be lost, as Luke and the farmer might return at any +minute. + +The outlaw went down stairs, stepping as lightly as he could. + +On the lower floor Mrs. Mason was in the kitchen, preparing the +evening meal. She had at first been reluctant to remain alone in the +house with the outlaw, but Luke had reassured her by the statement +that he was securely bound, and could not possibly get away. So, upon +the whole, she was calm, and had no fear of being molested. + +She turned from the stove at the sound of a footfall. There was the +notorious outlaw standing in the doorway with an ironical smile upon +his face. + +The terrified woman sank back into a chair and regarded John Fox with +a scared look. + +"_You_ here!" she exclaimed. + +"Yes, Mrs. Mason, it is I." + +"How did you get free? My husband told me that you were bound." + +"So I was, and I will do your husband the justice to say that he +understands his business. I had trouble to break loose." + +"How ever could you have done it?" asked the amazed woman. + +"I won't go into details, for there isn't time. Now listen to me and +obey my commands. Your Quaker friend took my revolver away. I want you +to get it and give it to me." + +"I can't do it, sir, for I don't know where it is." Mrs. Mason's tone +was a terrified one. + +"That won't do," said John Fox, sternly. "It is somewhere in the +house. Look for it." + +"Indeed, sir, you are mistaken. I am sure that Mr.--the Quaker +gentleman has taken it with him." + +"I don't believe anything of the kind. He had no doubt a revolver of +his own, and would not care to carry two." + +"You may be right, sir, but I don't know where it is." + +The outlaw felt that time was precious, and that it would not do to +indulge in prolonged discussion with the woman. + +"Is there any revolver in the house?" he demanded impatiently. "I +should prefer my own, but I will take any." + +"I will look, sir, if you wish me to." + +"Wait a moment. There is something else I must have. Where is that +five hundred dollars your husband drew from the bank this morning?" + +"I don't know." + +"Tell the truth, or it will be the worse for you." + +"I am ready to tell the truth, but I don't know." + +"Where does your husband usually keep any money he may have in the +house?" + +"In the desk in the next room." + +"Probably he has put the money there. Is the desk locked?" + +"Yes." + +"Have you the key?" + +"Here it is, sir," and Mrs. Mason meekly passed him a small-sized key. + +"Good! I see you are growing sensible. Now come with me." + +Together they entered the room, and Mrs. Mason pointed to the desk. + +It was an ordinary upright desk. John Fox opened it with the key. He +was at first afraid the woman had given him the wrong one, but she +would not have dared to deceive him. The desk opened, the outlaw began +at once to search eagerly for the money. + +There was a multiplicity of small drawers which he opened eagerly, but +he found no cash except four silver half-dollars and some smaller +silver. + +"It isn't here!" he said in a tone of sullen disappointment, turning a +baffled look upon the farmer's wife. + +"No, sir, I didn't think it was there." + +"Where do you think it is? Do you think your husband has it with him?" + +"No, sir." + +"Where then can it be? Surely you must have some suspicion. Don't dare +to trifle with me." + +"Indeed I wouldn't, sir. I think the Quaker gentleman has it." + +"Curse him!" exclaimed the outlaw angrily. "He's forever standing in +my way. Have you any other money in the house?" + +"No, sir." + +"I have a great mind to kill you!" said Fox, with a look of ferocity. +The terrified woman uttered a scream of dismay that excited the fierce +outlaw still more. He sprang toward her and seized her by the throat. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +THE OUTLAW'S MISTAKE. + +John Fox had been so occupied with his terrified victim that he quite +forgot the possibility of his two captors returning. + +It so happened that both were approaching the house when they heard +Mrs. Mason's cry of terror. + +"What's that?" exclaimed the farmer in alarm. + +"I believe that scoundrel has got loose," answered Luke. + +He quickened his pace and entered the house just in time to become a +witness of the outlaw's brutality. + +It was no time to hesitate or parley. He sprang upon the robber, +dashed him to the ground, and put his foot upon his breast. + +"What deviltry are you up to, you miserable man?" he demanded. Then +turning to Mrs. Mason, he asked, "Why did he attack you?" + +"He wanted my husband's money--and a revolver," answered the trembling +woman. + +"I have a great mind to give him the contents of the revolver," said +Luke, sternly. + +John Fox was not a coward--on the contrary, he was a man of boldness +and courage, but as he looked up at the stern face of the Quaker +detective he quailed, almost for the first time in his life. He tried +to rise, but the heavy foot of Luke Robbins was on his breast. + +"Let me up!" he growled. + +"You don't deserve to get up. You should lie there forever, for your +cowardice in attacking a woman." + +"I would rather it had been you!" said John Fox, bitterly. + +"You are safe in attacking a woman," said the detective in scornful +sarcasm. + +The outlaw was stung by his assailant's scorn. + +"I have attacked many better men than you," he replied, "and some have +not lived to tell the tale." + +"So you own up to being a murderer? I am ready to believe you. I have +a great mind to shoot you where you lie," and Luke pointed his +revolver at the prostrate outlaw. + +"That would be the act of a coward," said John Fox, hastily, his cheek +turning pale, for he felt that death might be close at hand. + +"Not exactly that, for I have mastered you in a fair fight, but there +is one thing that holds back my hand. Do you know what it is?" + +"Well?" + +"I should cheat the gallows of its due. Here, farmer!" + +Ezekiel Mason, pale and trembling, was standing on the threshold. + +"What is it?" he asked. + +"Go and get another rope." + +The farmer left the house, and going to an out-house, returned with a +stout clothes line. + +"Tie him again while I hold him," was Luke's command. "Tie him as +securely as before--more so, if possible. How did you get loose?" + +"Find out for yourself," said the outlaw sullenly. + +"I mean to, and I don't intend that you shall escape the second time." + +Meanwhile John Fox was execrating his folly in not escaping when he +had the chance. If he had not waited for the revolver and money, he +might by this time have been out of danger. + +Yet he was not without hope. What he had done once he might do again. +He still had the knife in his pocket. It was ready for use, and he +meant to use it. + +No doubt he would be taken back to the attic, and probably pass the +night there. If Luke Robbins should be his companion, all the better. +After cutting his bonds, the knife could be put to another use, and +might end the life of the man who had inflicted such humiliation upon +him. + +He did not speak, but his eyes betrayed him. There was such a +revengeful gleam in them that Luke read their meaning without trouble. + +"If I am ever at the mercy of that ruffian," he thought, "I wouldn't +give much for my chance of keeping a whole skin." + +When the outlaw lay securely bound, Luke summoned the farmer. + +"Watch him for five minutes, Mr. Mason," he said. "I am going to the +attic to learn, if I can, how he got loose." + +Ezekiel Mason looked uncomfortable, but did not object. He was half +afraid of John Fox even in his helpless condition. + +"Have you a revolver?" + +"Yes." + +"Then take it out, and if he makes an effort to escape, shoot him +without a moment's hesitation." + +It gratified the outlaw to see how much afraid of him the farmer was, +even in his helpless condition. But he could not flatter himself that +he had inspired any terror in Luke Robbins. Against his will he was +compelled to pay tribute to the resolute courage of the Quaker +detective. As he met the gaze of the farmer he smiled to himself +sardonic ally. + +"You've got the advantage of me," he said. + +"I am bound and helpless, while you are free and are armed. Still you +are afraid of me." + +"Why should I be?" asked Mason, but his tone was not firm. + +"Yes, why should you be? I'll tell you. If ever I have you where I am +now, I'll give you fifteen minutes to say your prayers." + +"Oh, what a terrible man!" said Mrs. Mason, with a shudder. + +"You wouldn't kill him?" she ejaculated. + +"Yes, I would. But there is one way of escape." + +"What is that?" + +"Loose these bonds and let me go before your Quaker friend comes down +stairs, and your life will be safe, and your wife's." + +Ezekiel Mason shook his head feebly. + +"I don't dare to do it," he said. + +"Do as you please, but the time will come when you will be sorry that +you refused. What are you afraid of? You are armed, while I have no +weapon." + +"I am afraid of Luke." + +"You needn't be. He would find fault with you, but that would be all." + +Ezekiel Mason was weak, but not weak enough to yield to the +persuasions of his prisoner. Besides, he knew that Luke would come +down from the attic directly. + +In fact he was already close at hand. He brought in his hand the cut +fragments of the cord with which the outlaw had originally been bound. + +"This tells the story," he said, holding up the rope so that the +farmer and his wife could see it. "This rope has been cut. The man has +a knife." + +John Fox darted a malignant look at him, but said nothing. + +"You are smart, John Fox," Luke went on, "smarter than I thought. It +must have cost you considerable trouble to cut the rope. Where is your +knife?" + +John Fox did not reply. + +Luke Robbins knelt down and thrust his hand unceremoniously into the +outlaw's pocket. + +He drew out the knife which had done Fox so much service. + +"This will be safer with me than with you," he said. + +"Would you rob me?" demanded the outlaw. + +"Yes, of anything it is not proper for you to have." + +To John Fox the disappointment was bitter. He was, if anything, more +securely tied than before, and it would be quite impossible to loosen +the rope or free himself without the help of the knife. His hope of +getting loose during the night and killing Luke was at an end. + +For the first time he felt hopeless, and once more he execrated his +folly in not making good his escape as soon as he came down stairs. + +"Did he say anything while I was up stairs?" asked Luke. + +"Yes." + +"What was it?" + +"He wanted me to set him free." + +"Did he offer you money?" + +"No, but he threatened that he would some time take my life." + +"He is a terrible man!" said Mrs. Mason, shuddering. "I shall not feel +safe to-night with him in the house." + +"I don't propose to let him stay in the house all night." + +The prisoner, the farmer and his wife looked at Luke inquiringly. + +"I think, farmer," said Luke, "you'd better harness up, and we will +take our friend here to the jail in Crampton." + +"What, to-night?" + +"Yes, the sooner he is safely disposed of the better at any rate, we +will have shifted the responsibility to the authorities." + +"Yes, it will be better," said Mrs. Mason. + +The buggy was made ready, and the outlaw, very much against his will, +was packed in the back part of it. Towards nightfall the warden of the +prison at Crampton was startled by the arrival of the farmer and Luke, +bringing with them the notorious outlaw whose name was in every +mouth--John Fox. He hardly knew whether to be sorry or glad, for no +prison yet had been secure enough to hold him any length of time. + +"I will leave my name," said Luke, "and I shall hereafter claim the +reward for his capture." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +ERNEST HAS AN ADVENTURE. + +Luke Robbins remained at the farm-house over night and till the middle +of the next day. At that hour the sum of money which Mason had +withdrawn from the bank was transferred to the party for whom it was +intended, and Luke's mission was at an end. + +He received from the farmer the stipulated five dollars and started on +his return to Emmonsville, Ezekiel Mason driving him the greater part +of the way. + +Luke arrived at the bank half an hour before it closed and reported +his success, including the capture of John Fox. He was congratulated, +but noticed that the officers of the bank looked grave. + +"Is anything the matter?" he asked. + +"Yes," answered the cashier. "At one o'clock yesterday we sent your +young friend Ernest with a thousand dollars in United States bonds to +the bank at Lee's Falls. He did not return last night, and we have +received no tidings from him." + +"What do you fear?" asked Luke, hurriedly. + +"We fear that he may have been captured by some of the Fox gang, and +be at present in confinement, or else--" + +"What?" + +"Killed or wounded," added the cashier. + +"He could not have met John Fox, for I held him in custody." + +"There was the other brother, James, who was at large." + +"James is the tall brother?" + +"Yes." + +"Then," said Luke, "I shall have to hunt him, too. Will you grant me +leave of absence?" + +"Gladly. We want to recover the bonds, but we care still more for the +safety of the boy." + +Indeed, Ernest had become popular with the bank officials, as well as +with the residents of Emmonsville. The cashier spoke truly when he +said he cared more for the boy's safety than for the recovery of the +bonds. + +"Can you tell me anything that will help me in my expedition?" asked +Luke. "Have you any idea where the Fox gang would be likely to carry +Ernest?" + +"It is generally supposed that the band have a secret rendezvous +somewhere within a dozen miles, but no one has been able to discover +where it is." + +"And you think that Ernest would be carried there?" + +"Yes, they would hardly bring themselves to kill a young boy. He +would, of course, be easily overpowered by a grown man, so that there +would be no excuse for murderous violence." + +"This spoils all my pleasure at capturing John Fox," said Luke, +ruefully. "I should be willing to have him go free if only I could get +the boy back. How did the boy go?" + +"He walked." + +"But it was a long distance." + +"Yes, about ten miles. We at first thought of providing him with a +saddle-horse, but there was one objection." + +"What was that?" + +"He would have been more likely to be suspected of being out on some +mission. But on foot he would not be apt to attract attention. A boy +of sixteen is not very apt to be a custodian of money." + +"True." + +Leaving Luke Robbins to start on his search for Ernest, we will go +back to the time when the boy messenger left the bank on the day +previous. + +The United States bonds were inclosed in an envelope and carried in an +inner pocket, which had been expressly made by an Emmonsville tailor +on his first connecting himself with the bank. The pocket was +unusually deep, so as to accommodate a long parcel. + +This was the most important commission on which Ernest had been +employed, and he was pleased with the confidence reposed in him. He +did not dread the long walk, for he was a strong and active boy. +Besides, he was authorized to accept a ride if one should be offered +him. + +He would, of course, arrive at Lee's Falls after the bank was closed, +but he was instructed to call at the residence of the cashier and +leave the bonds. + +Ernest had walked three miles when he met with an adventure. + +On the borders of a small pond he caught sight of a small Indian boy +playing. He was probably not more than three years of age. A stick he +was playing with fell into the pond, and the little fellow reached +over to recover it. In doing so he lost his balance and fell into the +water; there was a scream and a splash, and Ernest no sooner saw the +accident than he ran up, threw off his coat and vest lest he should +wet the bonds, and plunged into the pond. + +The young bank messenger was an expert swimmer, and in an instant had +seized the child and placed him out of danger. The little Indian boy +clung to him instinctively, feeling safe with his young protector. + +"Where do you live, little boy?" asked Ernest. + +"Out yonder," answered the child. + +Ernest had not been quite sure whether he would be able to understand +or speak English, but having been brought up among white people, he +was as familiar with English as most white boys of his age. + +Ernest looked in the direction pointed out by the boy. At the distance +of a hundred rods he saw a rude log house, which seemed to contain but +one room. Smoke was curling from a chimney projecting from the roof. +Outside sat an Indian, about forty years of age, smoking a pipe. + +He seemed busily thinking, having the grave face characteristic of the +average Indian. He did not immediately notice the approach of his +little son. But when they were near, the Indian boy uttered a cry, +pronouncing some Indian word which possibly meant "father." + +Then the red man looked up, and his grave face changed as he +recognized his boy in the company of a young white stranger. + +He rose hastily from his seat, and advanced quickly to meet the two +who were approaching. + +"What has happened?" he asked in clear and distinct English. + +"Your little boy fell into the water," explained Ernest. + +"And you saved him?" + +"Yes," answered Ernest, modestly. "I saw him fall, and jumped in after +him." + +"Was the water deep?" + +"About so deep," said Ernest, placing his hand about five feet from +the ground. + +"Then he would have been drowned if you had not been near?" + +"Yes, if he could not swim." + +"He is too young to swim. But you are wet," added the Indian, noticing +for the first time the condition of Ernest's clothes. + +"Yes, a little." + +"Come in," said the Indian abruptly. + +He led the way into the log cabin. + +There was a stove in the centre of the room, and the air was so heated +as to be uncomfortable. As he led the child in, a stout Indian woman +came forward with a cry and took him in her arms. Her husband rapidly +explained what had happened. She instantly stripped the clothes from +the child, and put on a dry change. + +"Now," said the Indian, turning to Ernest, "take off your wet +clothes." + +Though Ernest knew that it was wise to do so, he felt bashful about +removing them in presence of the woman. But his Indian host brought +from a nail, on which they hung, a pair of buckskin breeches of his +own, and offered them to Ernest for his temporary use. + +Ernest no longer hesitated, but made the substitution. + +As the Indian was four or five inches taller than himself, the legs +covered his feet. He laughed as he saw how they looked, and the +Indian's serious face relaxed a little from the same cause. + +"Now I will dry your clothes," he said. + +He took a chair and, hanging the wet garments over the back, placed it +very near the stove. Ernest hardly liked to lose so much time, but he +knew that it would not be safe to wear the trousers in their soaked +condition. + +"You speak English very well," he said, turning to the Indian. + +"Yes, I have spent much time with white people," was the answer. + +"Do you support yourself by hunting?" went on Ernest. + +"Yes, I am a hunter, but I go with rich white people from the cities, +and with Englishmen, who want a guide." + +"And do they pay you well?" asked Ernest, not quite sure whether he +was not showing too much curiosity. + +"Yes, they pay me well. I have some money in the bank." + +Then Ernest remembered having seen the Indian one day at the bank. He +was told at the time that his name was John Castro, and that he had +several hundred dollars on deposit. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +A NEW ACQUAINTANCE. + +While Ernest's clothes were drying the Indian woman was bustling about +the stove. The boy did not suspect her object till she placed on the +table a plate of Indian cakes hot from the oven, and he was invited to +partake. + +It was the first time he had ever been a guest in an Indian family, +and he hesitated, but saw that his refusal to partake might hurt the +feelings of his new friends. He seated himself at the table and found +the cakes really very good. + +When his clothes were dry he rose to go. + +"Won't you stay all night?" asked Castro. + +"Thank you. I cannot spare the time. I must push on." + +"Where are you going?" asked the Indian. + +"To Lee's Falls." + +"I will go with you a short distance." + +So they set out together. + +At length John Castro stopped. + +"That is your way," he said. "I wish you a pleasant journey. I will +not forget what you have done for my little son. If ever you are in +trouble, send for John Castro." + +"I thank you." + +The Indian shook hands with him gravely, and turned back towards his +cabin. + +All this had taken time. Ernest had no watch with him, but he +estimated that the adventure had cost him two hours. However, he had +saved a boy's life. + +Again, he had made a friend. The friend was an Indian, but Ernest was +wise enough to consider that no friend, however humble, is to be +despised. + +It was clear that he would reach his destination late, and he began to +wish that some carriage would overtake him in which he might ask for a +ride. + +But he walked two miles farther without encountering any team. At +last, however, he heard the rumble of wheels, and turning round to see +whether there was room in the vehicle, he saw that it was a buggy +driven by a tall, thin man with dark hair, swarthy face, and a long, +aquiline nose. + +The driver eyed Ernest sharply and brought the buggy to a standstill. + +"Where are you going, boy?" he asked. + +"To Lee's Falls." + +"Where have you come from?" + +"From Emmonsville." + +"It is a long walk." + +"Yes. Do you think you could give me a lift?" + +"Perhaps so. Jump in." + +Ernest lost no time in availing himself of the invitation. He was +footsore and weary, and it was with a sensation of relief that he +seated himself beside the driver. + +The latter, who had been going at good speed, pulled his horse down to +a walk and showed indications of becoming sociable. + +"Where were you going in Lee's Falls?" he asked. + +Ernest felt that it would be imprudent to mention that his destination +was the bank, so he answered guardedly, "I am going to see the town. I +may stop over night." + +"At the hotel?" + +"Yes." + +"It is not much of a place to see," said the driver, watching his +companion curiously. + +"It is larger than Emmonsville, isn't it?" + +"Yes. How long have you been in Emmonsville?" + +"Not long." + +"Where do you live there?" + +"At Mrs. Larkins'." + +"Do you go to school?" + +"No." + +Ernest began to think that his companion was decidedly inquisitive, +and something told him that he would do well to be on his guard. Why +should he ask so many questions of a boy with whom he had no +acquaintance? + +Meanwhile the horse was travelling very slowly, and it seemed to +Ernest that he would go over the road quite as fast if he had +continued to walk. However, it was easier riding, and this was a +consideration. He began to think it was his turn to ask questions. + +"Are you going all the way to Lee's Falls?" he asked. + +"I may go nearly there." + +"I am very much obliged to you for giving me a lift. I was quite +tired." + +The driver smiled. + +"Perhaps I have an object," he said. + +Ernest looked an inquiry. + +"The pleasure of your company," explained his companion, with a smile. + +"Thank you," answered Ernest. + +"Now I come to look at you, I think I have seen you before," continued +the driver. + +"Where?" + +"In Emmonsville--at the bank." + +Ernest became alarmed. There was a significance in his companion's +tone which excited his alarm. But he did not dare show his feelings. +He remained outwardly calm, though inwardly disturbed. + +"Very probably," he said; "I have been there." + +His companion laughed. He was playing with the boy as a cat plays with +a captive mouse. Ernest began to consider whether he could not think +of some pretext for getting out of the buggy. + +Suddenly the buggy stopped. + +"I will get out here," said Ernest, quickly. + +"Not quite yet. I have not got through questioning you." + +"I am in a hurry," said Ernest. + +"You must wait till your hurry is over. Now tell me truly, are you not +bound for the Lee's Falls bank?" + +Ernest was startled. + +"You see I know more about you than you suppose. You are the bank +messenger." + +It seemed useless to deny it. The important question now was, was his +secret packet in danger? + +"I have sometimes acted as bank messenger," he said warily. + +"And you are acting in that capacity now. What are you taking to the +Lee's Falls bank?" + +Ernest turned pale. His worst fears were confirmed. + +"Why do you ask?" he said. + +"Because I want to know." + +"What business can it be of yours?" demanded Ernest, boldly. + +"Don't be impudent, boy! Hand me the package of money." + +"I have no package of money." + +"Then you have bonds." + +Ernest remained silent. + +"I see that I have hit it. Now hand over the bonds, if you value your +life." + +He spoke sternly, and looked so fierce that the boy messenger became +more and more alarmed. He saw that he must give up the package, but +determined to hold out in his resistance as long as possible. + +"The package is not mine, and I have no right to surrender it," he +said. + +"I'll take the responsibility, boy. You can't be blamed, for you can't +help your self." + +As he spoke, he passed his hand over Ernest's vest, which he saw +projected more than was usual, and discovered the hiding-place of the +important package. + +Instantly he had torn open the vest and drawn out the envelope. + +"I thought I should find it," he said in a tone of triumph. + +Ernest felt very much dejected. It was a mortification to lose the +first large sum with which he had been intrusted. + +"Will you tell me who you are?" he asked abruptly. + +"First, let me know who you think I am." + +As the driver spoke he eyed Ernest sharply. "Is your name Fox?" asked +the young messenger. + +His companion laughed. + +"I know Mr. Fox," he answered. + +"You are either Fox or a member of his band." + +"You seem to be a sharp boy; I won't tell you whether you are right or +not." + +"I suppose I may go now." + +"Where do you want to go?" + +Ernest hesitated. This was a question which he could not at once +answer. To go on to Lee's Falls without the packet would do little +good. Yet the bank officers there ought to know that the bonds +intended for them had been stolen. Besides, he was too far from +Emmonsville to return that night. + +"I will go to Lee's Falls," he said. + +"Not at present; I have other views for you." As he spoke the robber +turned his horse to the right. Wholly ignorant as to where he was to +be carried, Ernest sank back in his seat and resigned himself as well +as he could to the situation. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +THE OUTLAW'S HOME, + +Where he was to be carried or what was to be his fate Ernest could not +conjecture, nor did he speculate much. It was enough for him to know +that he was in the power of one of the notorious outlaws. + +There was considerable difference between his appearance and that of +the man at his side. He was silent and depressed, while James Fox, for +it was he, seemed in excellent spirits. He turned to the boy with the +remark, "You don't say much." + +"No, for it would be no good." + +"Brace up, boy! There is no occasion to look as if you were going to a +funeral." + +"Give me back the bonds and I will look lively enough." + +"Come now, don't be foolish. These bonds don't belong to you." + +"They were given into my care." + +"Very well! You took as good care of them as you could." + +"I shall be held responsible for them." + +"No, you won't. I shall send your employers a letter, letting them +know that you did the best you could to keep them out of my hands. But +perhaps they never heard of me," and he laughed. + +"If your name is Fox, they have heard of you." + +"There is no need to beat about the bush. My name is Fox--James Fox." + +"What made you take up such a business, Mr. Fox?" asked Ernest, +gravely. + +"Well, I like that! You, a kid, undertake to lecture me." + +"You were once a kid yourself." + +The outlaw's face grew grave suddenly, and his tone became thoughtful. + +"Yes, I was a kid once. At sixteen--is that your age?" + +"Yes." + +"Well, at sixteen I was as innocent as you. I had a good mother then. +If she had lived, perhaps I would have turned out different. Why, it +seems a great joke, doesn't it? I attended Sunday-school till I was +fifteen." + +"You haven't forgotten it, then?" + +"No, nor the lessons I learned there. But it is of no use to recall +those days. Are you afraid that you will come to harm?" + +Ernest looked intently in the brigand's face. + +"No," he said, after a pause. "I think you won't do me any more harm. +But you can do me a great favor." + +"What is that--return you the bonds?" + +"I would ask that if I thought you would do it, but I don't expect it. +I should like to have you release me and let me go home." + +"I can't do that, for I want you to visit me. You may not think it, +but I always like young people. It will be quite a pleasure to me to +have you for a visitor." + +"Thank you, but I am afraid that I shall become an unwilling guest." + +"Besides, it will be a pleasure to my little boy to meet you. He does +not often meet other boys." + +"Have you a son?" asked Ernest in surprise. + +The outlaw's face softened. + +"Yes," he answered. "He is a sweet little boy, as I can say, even if +he is my son. His name is Frank. Would you like to see his picture?" + +"Yes," answered Ernest with interest. + +James Fox drew from an inner pocket a small card photograph of a young +boy with a very winning face. Ernest was attracted, for, unlike many +boys of his age, he liked younger children. He looked at the picture +long and earnestly. + +"It is a sweet face," he said at last. "Isn't it?" asked the proud +father. + +"Is his mother living?" + +"No." + +"Was there no difficulty in getting it taken?" + +"I suppose you mean on account of my profession. Well, there might be +around here, but this was taken in Minneapolis--about a year ago. It +was one of the few visits that Frank has made with me." + +"Are you going to bring him up to your business?" + +"Take care, boy," said the outlaw, frowning. "Don't be impertinent." + +"I don't mean to be. Do you think the question an improper one?" + +"Well, perhaps I have no right to think so. Somehow the business, +though it seems all right for me, I couldn't think of for my boy. No, +I shall soon place him at school where no one will know that he is +related to the celebrated outlaw. I want him brought up to lead an +honest life." + +"I am glad you do. I respect you for that." + +"My lad, you seem to be one of the right sort. As you will see my son, +I want you to promise me that you won't say a word about the business +I am engaged in." + +"I will make that promise. Then the boy doesn't know?" + +"No; he has no suspicion. He is too young to think much about that. +Perhaps if he had associated with other boys much he would have found +out." + +While this conversation was going on they had entered a wood, and the +road became wilder and rougher. Indeed, it was hardly a road, but +rather a lane, narrow and grass-grown. + +Ernest began to wonder in what sort of a home his companion lived. His +evident affection for his son gave Ernest a different feeling towards +him. It was plain that he had a softer side to his nature, bandit +though he was. + +Ernest had never read the story of Jekyll and Hyde, but he felt +instinctively that the man beside him had a double nature. On the road +he was an outlaw, with corresponding traits, a rough and unscrupulous +man, but at home, and in the presence of his son, as Ernest judged, he +was a warm-hearted and affectionate father. + +In truth, the young bank messenger looked forward with interest to a +meeting with the boy who was so dear to the heart of a man whom the +world generally supposed to be a stranger to the softer emotions. + +At length they reached a rocky hillside. Here the outlaw pulled up his +horse and jumped from the buggy. Ernest looked at him in a questioning +way. + +"You can get out," he said. "We have arrived." + +Ernest alighted and looked about him. He naturally expected to see a +dwelling of some kind, but there was none in sight. If it was at a +distance, why should they not have driven to it? + +James Fox looked at him with a smile, enjoying his perplexity. + +From his pocket he drew a handkerchief. + +"Come here, my boy," he said. + +Ernest did not quite understand what he proposed to do, but he felt +better acquainted with the outlaw now, and he knew that there was no +cause for apprehension. He accordingly approached without question. + +James Fox bandaged his eyes so that he could see nothing. Then he took +him by the hand and led him forward. + +Ernest could not tell what was being done, but he found himself +walking on a rocky path, hand in hand with his guide. How long he +walked he could not tell. It might have been two hundred feet. Then +his guide stopped, and of course he stopped, too. + +Next the handkerchief was removed, and he found himself in what seemed +a rocky cavern. At any rate it was a large room, of irregular shape, +but the stone floor had been made smooth, and was covered by a soft +carpet. It was furnished like a sitting-room in a private house. There +were comfortable chairs, including a rocking-chair, and a capacious +arm-chair. On one side of the room was an inviting-looking couch. + +Of course there would have been perfect darkness but for artificial +light. On a table was a large student's lamp, and in a niche in the +wall was another. Besides this, there was a lantern hanging from the +roof of the chamber, but this was not lighted. + +Ernest looked about him with curiosity and surprise. It was something +new to him, and recalled a story he had once read, in which a +cave-dwelling was described. + +"Well, what do you think of it?" asked the outlaw, smiling. + +"It is wonderful," said Ernest. + +"You did not know where I was bringing you?" + +"No. It is a cave, is it not?" + +"Well, it looks like it." + +"There are other rooms, are there not?" + +"Yes, but this is my private apartment; my parlor, you may call it. +This is my sleeping-room." + +He drew aside the hangings on the further side and revealed an inner +chamber, of less size. + +On a bed Ernest's attention was drawn to the figure of a sleeping boy +evidently the original of the picture which the outlaw had shown him. + +"That is your son?" asked Ernest. + +"Yes, that is Frank." + +The outlaw's stern countenance softened as he regarded the sleeping +boy. + +Suddenly the boy stirred; he opened his eyes, and when he recognized +his father a glad smile lighted up his innocent face. + +"Papa!" he said, and James Fox bent over and kissed him. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +IN THE ROBBER'S CAVE. + +After kissing his father the young boy looked inquisitively at Ernest. + +"Who is that boy, papa?" he asked. + +"I have brought him here to stay with you. Shall you like to have his +company?" + +"Yes, papa. You know it is very lonely while you are away. What is his +name?" + +The outlaw looked at Ernest significantly. He took the hint and +answered, "My name is Ernest Ray." + +"How old are you, Ernest?" went on the boy. + +"Sixteen." + +"I am only ten." + +"Are you ready to get up, Frank?" asked his father. + +"Yes," answered the young boy briskly. "I got sleepy because I was +alone. Where did papa find you, Ernest?" + +"Oh, I met him outside, and he took me to ride." + +James Fox looked approval of this answer. + +"I am glad you came with him. You seem like a nice boy, Ernest." + +"So do you, Frank." + +By this time Frank had slid from the bed and put his hand in Ernest's. + +"Come here," he said, "and I will show you my books." + +Led by his small companion, Ernest went up to a bookcase which he had +not before observed in the main room. About thirty books stood on the +shelves. + +"Where did you get your books?" he asked. + +"Papa bought them for me in Minneapolis. Were you ever in +Minneapolis?" + +"No." + +"It is a nice place. Sometimes I think I would like to live there +instead of here." + +"You are not getting tired of home, are you, Frank?" asked his father, +half reproach fully. + +"No, papa, but it is lonely here sometimes. Am I to live here always?" + +"No, Frank. Some time I will send you to school. But you won't see me +every day then." + +"Then I don't want to go." + +The outlaw stooped over and kissed the boy. + +"Now, Frank, I have something to do, so you may amuse yourself with +Ernest." + +"Can you play dominos?" asked Frank. + +"Yes; have you a set?" + +"Yes." + +The boy opened a drawer in a bureau and drew out a box of dominos. He +poured them out on the table and they began to play the ordinary game. +When they tired of that, Ernest taught him a new one. + +After they grew tired of playing, Ernest read aloud to the boy from +one of his favorite books. + +They were sitting together in the arm-chair, when James Fox, who had +left the room, returned. He smiled approvingly at the picture. He was +pleased to think that he had found a companion whom his boy liked. + +"What have you been doing, Frank?" he asked. + +"He has been reading to me, papa. He reads nicely, and I liked it very +much." + +"I am sorry to interrupt you, but are not you young people hungry?" + +"I think I could eat something," answered Ernest. + +"Frank, you may bring him into the dining-room." + +The drapery was lifted, and they passed into a room as large as the +one they were in. On a table in the centre a substantial meal, +consisting principally of roast beef, was set forth. An old colored +woman--intensely black and slightly deformed--hovered near, evidently +the cook. + +"Juba," said the outlaw, "this is a new boarder. His name is Ernest," + +"Glad to see you, Massa Ernest," rejoined the old woman, nodding her +turban. "Sit down here next to Massa Frank." + +It seemed very strange to Ernest to reflect that he was the guest of +one of the famous outlaws of whom he had heard so much. He was half +inclined to doubt whether it was real. If he had been alone he would +have pinched himself to see whether he was awake or dreaming. Here he +was, in the bowels of the earth, on intimate terms with an outlaw and +his family. How long was he to stay in the cavern? That was a +question impossible to answer. Meanwhile he was hungry, and the +dinner was well cooked. + +In spite of his being a prisoner and the loss of the packet, Ernest +was almost ashamed of himself for the appetite which he manifested. +But it seemed to give pleasure to Juba, who regarded it as a +compliment to her cookery. + +"Where is Uncle John, papa?" asked Frank, suddenly. + +Ernest remembered that one of the Fox brothers was named John, and he +awaited the answer with interest. + +James Fox seemed busily thinking, and Frank had to repeat the +question. + +"Your Uncle John?" repeated the outlaw. "He went away on business." + +"What kind of business, papa?" + +It was a natural question, but it startled James Fox. He saw that as +his son became older it might not be easy to evade embarrassing +questions. + +"You seem curious, Frank," he answered after a pause. "You wouldn't +understand if I were to tell you." + +"Will you teach me your business some day, papa?" + +It was on the tip of the outlaw's tongue to say, "Heaven forbid!" but +he only answered, "Wait till you are older, Frank. Then we will talk +about it." + +At length they rose from the table. + +They went back to the main room, and Ernest read a little more to the +young boy. But Frank's eyes grew heavy, and he finally dropped off to +sleep. + +"Shall I lay him on the bed, Mr. Fox?" asked Ernest. + +"No, I will do so." + +He took the boy tenderly in his arms. + +"If I had known he would fall asleep I would have undressed him," he +said. + +After placing the boy on the bed he resumed his seat in the arm-chair +and began to smoke. Finally, he looked over at Ernest. + +"Do you like my little boy?" he asked abruptly. + +"He is a dear little fellow," answered Ernest. + +"So he is," said the father in a soft voice. "You have no prejudice +against him because he is my son?" + +"No," answered Ernest. "Whatever you are, he is not responsible." + +"True, but all might not take that view of it. I don't know why I +should speak so confidentially to you, lad, but if I ever regret my +line of life it is when I look at him. I wouldn't like to have his +future marred by his association with me. I wouldn't like people to +turn from him because he was an outlaw's son." + +"I hope you will forgive my boldness," said Ernest, "but don't you +think you will ever change your mode of life?" + +"It is too late; I am too well known. Yet who knows?" he said, after a +pause. "Nothing is impossible." + +At nine o'clock Juba entered the room. + +"Has John returned?" asked the outlaw. + +"No, massa." + +A shade of anxiety overspread the outlaw's face. + +"He should have been here before this," he said. Then, looking at +Ernest, he said, "I am going out a while. Lie down on the bed with +Frank, and if he wakes up undress him." + +"Yes, sir." + +An hour later Frank and Ernest were sleeping peacefully side by side. + +When Ernest awoke the next morning Frank was still asleep on the bed +beside him. In the large room adjoining, James Fox lay on the lounge. +He had given his bed to Ernest. He had not himself undressed, but had +thrown himself on the couch in his ordinary clothes. + +Breakfast was ready by the time they were, and the three sat down +together. + +"Where is Uncle John, papa?" asked Frank. + +"He has not returned, Frank," said James Fox, soberly. + +"What made him stay away all night?" + +"Probably it was business," answered the outlaw, but Ernest noticed +that he looked disturbed. + +In truth he had been out till two o'clock seeking for his brother, who +he feared had got into trouble. We know that he was in the prison at +Crampton, whither he had been conveyed by Luke Robbins and Ezekiel +Mason. Of course it was in the mind of James Fox that his brother +might have been arrested, since this was a risk which he daily +incurred. + +Just as breakfast was over there was a new arrival. It was a tall, +stalwart fellow, whom James Fox addressed as Hugh. + +"Do you bring any news, Hugh?" asked the outlaw eagerly. + +"Yes," answered Hugh Humphries. + +"Is it about John?" + +Hugh glanced significantly at the two boys. Ernest he saw for the +first time. + +James Fox understood and followed Hugh out of the room. + +"Well," he said inquiringly, when they were out of hearing. + +"Mr. John is in trouble," answered Hugh, briefly. + +"Go on," said James Fox. "Do you know where he is?" + +"In Crampton jail." + +"Go on. Give me the particulars." + +"He was carried there by two persons." + +"Who were they?" + +"One I think was a farmer who lives in Claremont. The other seemed to +be a Quaker." + +"I don't remember any Quaker in this neighborhood. He must be a +stranger hereabouts." + +"I think I have seen him before." + +"Where?" + +"At the Emmonsville bank. I was passing there one day in disguise, and +chancing to look in, I saw this man sitting on a bench near the paying +teller's desk." + +"Ah!" said James Fox, thoughtfully. "He may be a detective." + +"That is what I thought." + +"That is bad news, but the jail at Crampton is not very strong. I have +been confined there myself and made my escape. However, John will need +assistance from the outside." + +"I see you have a new boy," said Hugh, curiously. "When did you pick +him up?" + +"Yesterday, a few miles from here. He is a bank messenger." + +"From what bank?" + +"The Emmonsville bank." + +"Then he may know something of this Quaker detective." + +"Well suggested. I will question him." + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE OUTLAW AND HIS BAND. + +When James Fox returned to the apartment where the boys were still +seated at the table he said, "Ernest, I should like to speak to you a +minute." + +Ernest followed him out of the room. + +"Is there any person connected with the bank at Emmonsville who wears +the dress of a Quaker?" began the outlaw. + +Ernest hesitated a moment. + +"Speak out, boy!" said Fox. "I must and will know." + +"Yes, sir." + +"Is he a detective?" + +"He may act as such." + +"Is he under pay at the bank?" + +"I think he is." + +"Do you know where he is now?" + +"No." + +"Was he at the bank when you left it yesterday afternoon?" + +"No, sir." + +"Do you know where he was?" + +"I saw him ride away with a farmer." + +John Fox and Hugh exchanged glances. Their suspicions were confirmed. + +"Is he in any trouble?" asked Ernest, becoming a questioner in his +turn. + +"No. For aught I know he may be at the bank." + +Ernest looked relieved, and for two reasons. He was glad that Luke was +not in trouble. Then he knew that when his disappearance was +discovered, Luke would leave no stone unturned to rescue him. It was a +comfort to think that he had a powerful friend outside. + +"That will do," said the outlaw. "You may return to Frank." + +"How long are you going to keep me here?" asked Ernest, anxiously. + +"Are you already tired of remaining with us?" + +There was something in the outlaw's tone that savored of kindness. +Ernest felt that in some way he had ingratiated himself with him. + +"I would like my freedom. I am not used to confinement," he said. + +"Very natural. I cannot let you go just yet, but I will not allow you +to be harmed. Do not be alarmed." + +"I am not," answered Ernest. + +"Why not? You know my reputation." + +"Yes, but thus far you have been kind to me." + +"True. I like you, for you are kind to my boy, and I see that he +enjoys your company. Listen! I shall be away all day, probably. Do +what you can to amuse Frank." + +"I will. I should be very lonely without him." + +"That is a good boy, Hugh," said John Fox, as Ernest left them. "I +should like to keep him with us." + +"Why don't you, then?" + +"I am afraid he would be unhappy." + +"I never knew you to take such a liking to a boy before." + +"I never have. Indeed, I have seldom met any. All my dealings have +been with men. But, Hugh, we must lose no time. We must try to rescue +John, if possible. It is no more than he would do for me, if our cases +were reversed." + +"Very well, captain. I am ready to follow wherever you lead." + +"I know that, Hugh. You have always been faithful to my brother and +myself." + +"I always will be, captain," said Hugh, with a look of loyal +devotion. + +"I know it. I am sure that we have no better friend than Hugh +Humphries." + +"You only do me justice, captain. Will you forgive me if I say +something?" + +"Say what you please, Hugh." + +"What you have said of me is just, but I don't think you can say it of +all in the band." + +"Is there any one whom you suspect? If so, it is your duty to tell +me." + +"I don't take much stock in Peter Longman." + +"I am afraid you are suspicious, Hugh." + +"Not without cause. I have noticed some things about him that I don't +like. I think he is quite capable of turning against you." + +"I have never remarked anything of the sort, but I know you would not +speak without cause. Tell me what you want me to do." + +"Only to be on your guard. Don't trust Peter as you trust me." + +"I never have. And now have you any suggestions to make?" + +"You might visit this farmer who helped the Quaker arrest your +brother." + +"It may be a good plan. Who is the farmer?" + +"His name is Ezekiel Mason." + +"I know where he lives. He is the last man I should suppose would be +capable of such mischief." + +"He could have done nothing without the Quaker's help." + +"Very well, we will take the farm on the way. Still I don't know that +we shall learn anything beyond what we already know." + +Before leaving the cave they disguised themselves as farm workmen. In +this dress they approached the farm-house, but there was something +that diverted them from their original purpose and led them to keep +their distance. + +Sitting on the portico was a tall man dressed as a Quaker. + +"That's the man!" Said Hugh, quickly. "That's the man who drove up to +the jail last evening with your brother." + +James Fox looked at him closely. + +"It is best to let sleeping dogs lie," he said. "We will push on to +the jail." + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +A DAY IN THE CAVE. + +Meanwhile Ernest was left in the cave with Frank. He had been brought +in blindfolded, and was therefore ignorant as to the entrance or exit. +He thought he might, without arousing the boy's suspicion, seek +information from him on these points. + +"Are there many rooms here, Frank?" he asked. + +"Oh, a good many," answered the boy. + +"Have you been in many?" + +"I have been around with papa." + +"I should like to go round," said Ernest. "Suppose we take a little +walk." + +"I'll go with you. I should be afraid to go alone." + +"Does Juba ever go out?" + +"Yes; she sometimes goes out to get things." + +"Do you know where she goes?" + +"No." + +"Then you never went with her." + +"I went once, but papa does not like to have me go out." + +"Let us go about a little." + +The boy was quite ready to accept any suggestion from Ernest. So he +took his hand and they went from the main room farther into the +cavern. + +Ernest found that only the portion near the entrance had been +furnished. Beyond, there was a large amount of empty space. Here and +there a small light revealed trunks and boxes, arranged without regard +to regularity. These, Ernest conjectured, contained stolen articles +which had accumulated during the years in which the dreaded outlaws +had been a power and a menace in the neighborhood. + +It occurred to him that he would like to open some of these boxes, but +the companionship of the boy prevented. + +He ventured to ask, however, "What is in those boxes, Frank?" + +"I don't know. Something of papa's and Uncle John's." + +As they kept on they reached parts of the cavern which were quite +empty. The Fox brothers were in the position of householders who +occupied a house too large for their needs. + +By and by the lamps ceased, and the portion farther on looked dark and +gloomy. + +"I am afraid to go any farther, Ernest," said the boy. + +"Why, Frank? What are you afraid of?" + +"There may be wild animals there." + +"But how could they live there?" + +"I don't know, but papa told me there were some." + +Ernest understood why the boy had been told this. It was to prevent +his going too far. But it made Ernest all the more eager to continue +his explorations. + +"Even if there were any wild animals I would protect you, Frank. I +would not let them hurt you." + +"But we may not find our way back. It is so dark," said the child with +a shudder. + +"I won't go farther. But, see, it seems to be lighter." + +It was at a point fifty feet farther on. + +Through a rift in the roof a gleam of light entered the cavern. + +Ernest was anxious to trace this, for, as he judged, it came from some +outlet, through which he might possibly obtain deliverance. + +"Stay where you are," he said. "I will just go forward, and see what I +can." + +"Don't stay long," entreated Frank, nervously. + +"No, I won't." + +Ernest was just as well pleased to go forward alone, for if there was +really, as he supposed, an outlet, it was as well that Frank should +not have his attention drawn to it lest he should speak of it to his +father, and so reveal the fact of their explorations. This might +excite the suspicion of James Fox and put a stop to their further +walks. + +Continuing on alone, Ernest then saw, perhaps fifteen feet above him, +an opening some three feet in diameter, through which he could obtain +a glimpse of the clear sky far above. + +It made his heart beat with exultation and longing. There was freedom, +if he could only manage somehow to lift himself up to the outlet and +make his way through it. + +"What is it, Ernest?" asked Frank. "Come back. I am afraid." + +"Oh, it is nothing," answered Ernest, with studied indifference. "It +isn't anything you would care to see." + +The little boy accepted this assurance, for he did not feel the +interest that excited Ernest. + +"Let us go back," he said, as he resumed his clasp of Ernest's hand. + +"Yes, we will go back. Have you ever been as far as this before?" + +"No." + +"Then we had better not say anything about it. Your papa might not +like it." + +"All right, Ernest. Will you read to me when you go back?" + +"Yes, Frank." + +Ernest was glad to comply with the little boy's request, as he thought +he might in this way put the thoughts of their exploration out of his +mind. + +They were fortunate enough to get back without exciting the attention +of Juba, who was busy in the kitchen. + +Her work, however, was soon over, and she brought her sewing into the +room where the two boys were seated. The garment on which she was +engaged seemed to be a dress of rough cloth. + +"Well, Massa Frank, what am you doing?" + +"Ernest is reading to me. Why don't you ever read to me, Juba?" + +"O lor', chile, you know I can't read." + +"But why can't you read? You're old enough." + +"Yes, honey, I'm old enough, but I never had no chance to learn." + +"Why didn't you?" persisted Frank. "Didn't you go to school when you +was little?" + +"No, chile, never went to school. They didn't have no schools where I +was raised." + +"Where was that?" + +"In ole Virginny." + +"Were you a slave, Juba?" asked Ernest, getting interested. + +"Yes, massa, I was a slave." + +"And how did you get here?" + +"It was all along of the war. Ole massa, he went to the war and got +killed. Then young massa went, and he got killed, too. Then one day +there came an officer--one of Abe Linkum's officers--and he told us we +were free and might go where we pleased. That was a drefful time." + +"Why was it dreadful? Weren't you glad to be free?" asked Ernest. + +"No, honey, we didn't know where to go, nor what to do. We'd allus had +some one to look after us and take care of us, but now there wasn't +anybody." + +"Were you married, Juba?" + +"Yes, but I don't know whether my ole man is livin' or not. He was +sold down in Georgie, to a cousin of ole massa." + +"Then he may be living yet?" + +"Yes, honey." + +"How old are you, Juba?" asked Frank. + +"I don't know, chile. I's powerful old. Specs I's a hundred." + +Ernest smiled. + +"No, Juba," he said, "you are not nearly a hundred. You may be sixty." + +"All right, massa, you know best." + +"Juba, did you ever hear about _Uncle Tom?_" + +"Yes, chile, I knew Uncle Tom," was the unexpected reply. "He was +raised on Mr. Jackson's place, next to ours." + +Ernest asked some questions about this Uncle Tom, but learned, as he +expected, that it was quite a different person from the negro +immortalized by Mrs. Stowe. + +In looking over Frank's books Ernest found an old copy of "Uncle Tom's +Cabin," and taking it down, he read some portions, particularly those +relating to Topsy. + +Both Frank and Juba were very much entertained. + +"Did you know Topsy, Juba?" asked Frank. + +"No, chile, never knowed Topsy. She must have been a no account young +nigga. If she'd lived on our plantation she'd have got flogged for her +impudence." + +"How did you come here, Juba?" asked Frank. + +"One of them officers took me to Chicago. I lived out with a lady, but +when she died, after a good many years, I went to a 'telligence +office, and there I met your papa. He brought me out here. I didn't at +first like livin' down under the ground, but I don't mind it now. +Massa Fox treats me well, and I ain't no wish to change." + +This was the substance of what Juba had to communicate. The rest of +the day passed quietly. At nightfall James Fox came home looking very +sober. But he came alone. His brother was not with him. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +ERNEST EXPLORES THE CAVE. + +James Fox had very little to say during the evening. He was evidently +preoccupied and anxious. He paid scant attention to the boys, but left +them to their own devices. + +Frank knew so little of his father's business, or occupation, that he +could conceive of no cause for worriment. When his advances met with +little response he asked, "Have you got a headache, papa?" + +"No--yes, child. My head troubles me some. Be as quiet as you can." + +"Will it disturb you if I play checkers with Ernest, papa?" + +"No, I should like to have you amuse your self," answered the outlaw. + +He directed the boys to go to bed early. As before, they slept +together, and he threw him self on the lounge without taking off his +clothes. + +Ernest slept well. When he woke up at eight o'clock he saw that Frank +was still sleeping, but his host was already up. + +Juba came into the room. + +"Get up, children," she said. "Breakfast is ready." + +"Where is papa?" asked Frank. + +"He took breakfast an hour ago, honey." + +"What made him get up so early?" + +"'Portant business called him away, he said." + +"Where's Uncle John?" + +"He hasn't been home." + +"Has he got 'portant business, too?" + +"'Specs he has, honey." + +"It doesn't seem nice to take breakfast without papa," said the +little boy. + +"You may consider me your papa, Frank," observed Ernest. + +"But you're not big enough to be a papa." + +"At any rate, I am not old enough." + +When breakfast was over there was the long day before them to be +filled up in some way. + +"Don't you ever wish to go out of the cave, Frank?" asked Ernest. + +"Where?" asked the little boy. + +"Into the bright sunshine, out on the green grass, and under the +trees." + +"Yes; I think I should like it," answered Frank, thoughtfully. "But +papa does not want me to go. I don't know why. Do many little boys +live in caves like me?" + +"No; I don't think so." + +"Can they walk about in the sunshine, and play?" + +"I always did." + +"Do you like it better than living here?" + +"Yes." + +"Then what made you come here?" + +This was an embarrassing question, and Ernest felt that he must be +careful in answering. "Your papa wanted me to make you a visit," he +replied after a pause. + +"And I am glad you came. It isn't so lonely for me. Before, I had only +Juba." + +"Wouldn't she play with you?" asked Ernest with a smile. + +Frank laughed merrily. + +"Juba is too old to play. I hope you will stay with me a good while." + +Ernest could not echo this wish, so he answered evasively, + +"I can't tell yet how long I shall stay. But the time will come when +you will leave the cave and live like other little boys in a house." + +"Did papa tell you that?" + +"He told me that he should send you to school before long." + +"What is a school like?" asked the little boy anxiously. + +Few boys of ten would have been obliged to put this question, but +Frank had been secluded from the world ever since he was a baby. + +"There will be a good many boys, some older, some younger, than +yourself. You will study lessons together, and play together." + +"I think that will be nice." + +"Yes; I am sure you will enjoy it." + +"Did you ever go to school?" + +"Oh, yes; I went to school for some years. I wish I could go again." + +"Perhaps you will go to school with me." + +"I can't tell," answered Ernest, vaguely. "Perhaps Juba will go to +school with you." + +Frank laughed. + +"She would look funny going to school," he said. + +"What's dat you sayin' 'bout Juba, Massa Ernest?" asked the old woman, +entering the room. + +"I told Frank you might go to school with him." + +"Maybe I'd go and take care of him, honey." + +"But you wouldn't want to study." + +"I wouldn't study nohow. I's a poor, ignorant nigger. Never shall know +nuffin', I expect." + +"Don't you think you could learn to read, Juba?" + +"No, I couldn't. It takes white folks to read." + +"No, Juba; when I went to school there was a colored boy in my class, +and he was one of the smartest scholars we had." + +"And was he a nigger?" asked Juba, interested. + +"We didn't call him that, but he was a colored boy. If he could learn +to read, I am sure you could." + +"It's no use, chile. I'm too old now." + +Much as he liked Frank, it was irksome to Ernest to remain all day in +the cave. It was imprisonment under pleasant circumstances, but still +imprisonment. + +They got through the forenoon somehow, taking dinner at twelve +o'clock. + +About two o'clock Frank complained of being sleepy. + +"You won't mind if I go to sleep for an hour, Ernest?" he said. + +"Oh, no," answered Ernest. "I can read, you know." + +Since his exploration of the day before, Ernest had been longing to +visit once more the same portion of the cave. But he wanted to go +alone. He had a hope that through the aperture in the roof he might +effect his escape. It would not do to have Frank with him, as this +would interfere with his plan. Now the longed-for opportunity was +almost at hand. + +He took a volume from the book-shelf, and sitting down beside the bed +began to read. But his mind was not on the book, though at another +time he would have enjoyed it. He watched Frank, and in less than +fifteen minutes had the satisfaction of seeing that he was fast +asleep. + +Then he left the room, Juba being occupied in the kitchen. He secured +his hat, as he would need it in case he effected his escape. + +As he passed through that apartment in the cave where there were +trunks and boxes, it occurred to him to open one of them. He was +rather surprised that it should be unlocked, but so it was. + +It was filled with a miscellaneous assortment of articles, but on top, +to his surprise and joy, he recognized the envelope containing the +bonds that had been taken from him. + +If he left the cave he would want these, and therefore he had no +hesitation in taking them. He put them in the inside pocket of his +vest, and kept on his way. + +In a short time he reached the spot lighted by the aperture in the +roof. + +The opening was quite large enough for him to get through, but the +difficulty was that it was fully fifteen feet above the floor of the +cave. Ernest was something of a gymnast, but it was out of his power +to reach the opening through which alone he could obtain deliverance. + +He looked about him to see if there were any articles which he could +pile upon one an other so as to attain the aperture. But the cave was +quite empty of articles of any description, nor could he find any that +he could move in the portions which he had already traversed. + +It was certainly very aggravating to be so near freedom, and yet +unable to obtain it. There just above him he could see the blue sky +and the cheerful sunshine, while he was a prisoner in a dark cavern. + +Was there no way of reaching the opening? he asked himself. + +If he had to give up hope, he would feel obliged to return the +envelope to the box from which he had taken it. Were its loss +discovered, he would of course be searched, and kept in stricter +seclusion than before. + +In the room used by the outlaw as a sitting-room--the apartment he had +just left--he might be able to find what he needed. But he could not +remove anything without being detected, and should he return there he +would possibly find Frank awake, which would spoil all. + +It looked as if he would have to give up the chance that had come to +him. In thoughtful mood he walked slowly back. All at once an idea +struck him. In the room where the trunks and boxes were stored he had +seen a long, stout rope. Could he do anything with it? + +Looking up at the aperture, he noticed a jagged projection on one +side. + +"If I could attach the rope to that," he reflected, "I could draw +myself up hand over hand till I reached the top, and then it would go +hard if I didn't get out." + +With new hope in his heart, he retraced his steps rapidly till he +reached the store-room. + +He knew just where to look for the rope. He examined it carefully, and +found it very stout and strong. + +He took it back with him. Then making a loop at one end, he stood +under the opening and threw it up as he would a lasso. He had to try a +dozen times before he contrived to circle the projection with the +loop. + +Then pulling it taut, he began to climb hand over hand, as he had many +a time done in sport. Now his deliverance depended upon it. + +Slowly, foot by foot, he approached the opening, not knowing whether, +even if he reached it, he would be able to draw himself through the +hole. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE. + +Arrived at the opening, Ernest found that there was a trap-door which +was ordinarily closed, but through some misadventure had been left open. +It was, however, a serious problem to draw himself up so as to profit by +what he had already done. + +Twice he failed, and nearly lost his grip on the rope. Then he caught +hold of the projection from which the rope depended, and by a supreme +effort he succeeded, helping himself by means of the trap-door, in +emerging from his subterranean prison. + +Stretching himself, he took a deep breath, and realized joyfully not +only that he was free, but that he had recovered the valuable bonds of +which he had been placed in charge. + +He began to look around him, and tried to conjecture in what direction +he must go to reach Lee's Falls. He was quite at a loss, as he had +been carried into the cave blindfolded. But help seemed to be at hand. +He saw at a little distance, rapidly approaching him, a man of middle +height, whom he concluded to be a resident of some place in the +vicinity. + +"Can you tell me in what direction I must go to reach Lee's Falls?" he +asked. + +The stranger paused and examined him sharply. + +"So you want to go to Lee's Falls?" he said. + +"Yes, sir." + +"Where do you come from?" + +"From Emmonsville." + +"Direct?" + +"No." + +"I saw you just now coming out of some opening in the earth." + +This alarmed Ernest. He felt that he might be called upon to explain +where he had been. + +"Who is this man?" he asked himself. "Is he one who is likely to be in +the confidence of the outlaws? If so, I have only got out of one +scrape to fall into another." + +He studied the face of the man with whom he was speaking, and to his +dismay noted a resemblance to James Fox, who had captured him. He +began to suspect that this was his brother. + +Whether it was or not, Ernest deemed it politic to say as little as +possible of his experiences, and of what he knew about the cave and +its occupants. + +"Yes," he answered quietly; "there seems to be a cave underneath. I +found the trap door open, and went down, but I regretted it, for I +found it difficult to get out again." + +His new acquaintance eyed him scrutinizingly, as if to see whether he +knew more than he was willing to reveal. + +"So there is a cave underneath?" he said inquiringly. + +"Yes." + +"Have you any idea what it is used for?" + +"I don't think it is used at all. The room below seems empty." + +The man regarded him fixedly. + +"When did you leave Emmonsville?" he asked abruptly. + +"Yesterday," answered Ernest in some confusion. + +"How does it happen that you have got no farther on your way to Lee's +Falls?" + +"I stopped at the cabin of an Indian," answered Ernest, making the +only explanation he could think of. + +The man smiled. + +"Young man," he said, "didn't you pass last night in this cave?" + +Ernest saw that there was no further chance for subterfuge. + +"Yes," he answered. + +"I thought so." + +"You were captured?" the other went on. + +"Yes." + +"Have you any suspicion by whom this cave is occupied?" + +"I presume by the Fox brothers." + +"Correct. I am one of them." + +"I began to think so." + +"How were you able to escape?" + +"I was left with the little boy. He fell asleep, and then I began to +explore." + +"Where is my brother?" + +"He went out quite early, I presume in search of you. You are John +Fox, are you not?" + +"Exactly. I suppose my brother heard that I was in trouble." + +"Yes." + +"By the way, the Quaker detective through whom I got into difficulty +you doubtless know?" + +"I do." + +"I was put into jail at Crampton, but I managed to effect my escape. +Are you connected in any way with the Emmonsville bank?" + +"Yes." + +"In what way?" + +"As bank messenger." + +"Did my brother take anything from you?" + +"Yes." + +"Money?" + +"No; bonds." + +"You are a sensible boy. You answer my questions freely. You are a +smart boy, too. It isn't every lad of your age who would have managed +to effect an escape from the cave. Do you remember the entrance?" + +"No; I was carried into it blindfolded." + +"I thought my brother would be prudent. So you couldn't find it +again?" + +"No; I don't think so." + +"Still, I cannot run any risk. You will have to come with me." + +"Where do you want to carry me?" asked Ernest, much disturbed. + +"I will carry you back to the cave." + +"Let me go free. I will promise not to reveal anything that I have +discovered." + +The outlaw shook his head. + +"I am sorry, boy, but that is a request I cannot grant. You were made +prisoner by my brother, and I owe it to him to prevent your escape." + +It was intolerable to Ernest to think of having his captivity renewed. +He determined that he would at least make an effort for free dom. + +Accordingly he did not hesitate, but started to run, hoping that in +this way he might save himself. He had always the reputation among his +boy companions as a sprinter, and resolved to see whether this was a +lost art with him. + +"So that's your game, is it?" exclaimed the outlaw. "It will go hard +with me if I don't catch you. Stop, or it will be the worse for you!" + +But Ernest had no intention of giving up so soon. He only exerted +himself the more. + +The contest was not so unequal as might have been supposed. Ernest was +tall of his age, and the outlaw was rather below the average height. +So there was in reality only about an inch difference in their height. + +On the other hand John Fox had, as might be supposed, more strength +and endurance. He was not over weight, and therefore not scant of +breath. Ernest got the start, and this was an advantage. One ran about +as fast as the other, so it settled down into a contest of endurance. +Whoever could hold out the longest would win. + +The outlaw, however, was irritated at the unexpected difficulty of his +undertaking. He had thought that Ernest would surrender at discretion. + +"I wish I had my revolver," he muttered. + +Had the outlaw been aware that Ernest had in his possession the packet +of bonds which had impelled his brother to make him a captive, his +zeal would have been increased. This, however, he did not suspect. He +knew, of course, that the bonds would be taken from him, and he could +conceive of no chance of the boy's recovering them. + +They flew over the ground, maintaining the same relative distance. But +there was an unexpected contingency that worked to the disadvantage of +Ernest. + +Directly in his path was a projecting root, which in his haste escaped +his notice. He tripped over it, and as a natural consequence he +measured his length on the ground. + +The outlaw's face lighted up with exultation. Now the issue was no +longer doubtful. At last he had the boy in his power. + +Before Ernest could recover himself and rise to his feet, John Fox was +upon him. + +He flung himself on the prostrate boy, and clutched him in a firm +grasp. + +"Now I have you," he said. "You were a fool to run. You might have +known that you could not escape." + +"I came near it, though," gasped Ernest, quite out of breath. "Let me +up." + +"Will you promise to go with me without giving me any more trouble?" + +"I will make no promises," said Ernest, stoutly. + +"Then it will be the worse for you," said the outlaw vindictively. + +What he proposed to do must remain unknown, for as he spoke a hand +was thrust into his neckcloth, and he was jerked violently to his +feet. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +A FRIEND IN NEED. + +Bewildered and angry, John Fox looked to see who was his assailant. He +found himself confronted by a tall, muscular Indian, whom Ernest also +recognized as the man whose child he had saved from a watery grave. + +"What do you mean by this outrage?" demanded the outlaw angrily. + +"Why are you hurting _him?_" said the Indian, pointing to Ernest. + +"Because I choose to. What have you got to say about it?" + +"Me stop you," said the Indian calmly. + +"I have a great mind to shoot you." + +This was an empty threat, for his weapon had been taken by the Quaker +detective. + +The only answer made by the Indian was to produce a revolver, which he +pointed at the breast of the outlaw. + +"Two play at that game," he answered. + +John Fox shrank back, for it takes a man of nerve to face a revolver. +He began to remonstrate. + +"What interest have you in that boy?" he asked. + +"He save my little boy from drowning," answered the Indian. "Will you +go, or shall me shoot?" + +There was but one answer to make to this question. John Fox turned +about, and walked quietly away without a word. + +Ernest grasped the Indian's hand gratefully. + +"I can't thank you enough," he said. "You have perhaps saved my life." + +"You saved my little boy." + +"Do you know that man?" + +"No." + +"It was John Fox, one of the Fox brothers, the famous outlaws." + +"Humph! I have heard of him. How did he catch you?" + +Ernest told the story. He also told of the commission he had from the +Emmonsville bank. + +"I am going to ask you a favor," he asked. + +"What is it?" + +"I want you to go with me to the bank at Lee's Falls. I have a package +of bonds to carry there, and I don't think it safe to go alone. I will +see that you are paid for your time and trouble." + +"I will go." + +Under the guidance of his Indian friend, Ernest reached Lee's Falls. +The bank was closed, but the cashier was still in the bank building, +having been detained after hours. Seeing him through the window, +Ernest knocked and obtained admission. + +"The bank is closed, young man," said the bank officer. + +"I know it, but I have a package of bonds from the bank in +Emmonsville. I hope you will take them from me, for I don't want the +responsibility of them any longer." + +"Oh, you are the young messenger. We had advice that you would be here +yesterday." + +"So I should have been, but for my capture by one of the Fox +brothers." + +"And how did you escape?" asked the wondering cashier. + +"Please take the bonds, and I will tell you. I spent two nights in the +outlaws' cave. This afternoon I managed to get away." + +"But were not the bonds taken from you?" + +"Yes, but I recovered them." + +Ernest, without waiting for further questions, told the story as +briefly as possible. + +"So, after all," he concluded, "I should have been taken again but for +my friend here," laying his hand upon the Indian's shoulder. + +"I told him you would pay him for his trouble in accompanying me." + +"So I will," said the cashier, and he took a five-dollar bill and +tendered it to the Indian. + +The latter objected to taking it, alleging that Ernest had saved his +boy's life, but the cashier overruled his objections, and he accepted +it. + +They were going out of the bank when the familiar figure of Luke +Robbins came up the street. His face was overspread by an expression +of anxiety, and he seemed troubled. He had searched everywhere for +Ernest, and thus far had failed to find him. + +When he saw the boy emerging from the bank his face changed at once. + +"So you are safe, Ernest? I thought I had lost you," he exclaimed. +"Did you see anything of the outlaws?" + +"I should say that I did. I was captured by James Fox, and confined +two nights in the underground haunt of the robbers. When I escaped +this afternoon I fell into the clutches of the other brother." + +"What! John Fox?" + +"Yes." + +"This cannot be, Ernest. I lodged him myself in Crampton jail." + +"All I can tell you is that he is at liberty now. He must have +escaped." + +"Then I am afraid I shan't receive the reward offered for his +capture." + +"You ought to get it. You delivered him over to the authorities. If +they could not keep him, that was their lookout." + +"You ought to be right, lad. I hope you are. Who is this man?" + +"My Indian friend, who proved to be a friend in need. It was he who +saved me from John Fox." + +"I am proud to know you," said Luke, grasping the hand of the red +warrior. "If you have helped Ernest, you are my friend." + +"He save my little boy; I will always be his friend." + +"You have saved _my_ boy, my Indian friend, and you will always be +_my_ friend," returned Luke. + +"Well, Luke, what shall we do? I have done my errand and delivered the +bonds. I suppose I ought to go back to Emmonsville." + +"We will go back. I have found you, and have no more to do here." + +"Shall we walk?" + +"No, it is too far. There is a stable a little way from here; I will +hire a conveyance, and our Indian friend will perhaps be willing to +drive us over." + +The Indian expressed his willingness, and the three were soon on their +way through the woods. They met with no adventure, nor did they fear +any, for it would have required a brave man to attack two such +stalwart persons as the Indian and the Quaker detective. + +Leaving them for the present, we will go back to the cave from which +Ernest had made so unceremonious a departure. + +Frank slept for two hours, but at length opened his eyes, expecting to +see Ernest sitting at his bedside. + +He looked in vain. There was no one in the room. This did not surprise +him much, however. He thought Ernest might have gone into the next +apartment. + +"Ernest!" he cried, but his call received no response. + +The little boy got out of bed and looked about, but his search was +vain. + +So he went into the kitchen, where he found Juba engaged in some +domestic work. + +"Juba," he said, "where is Ernest." + +"I don't know, chile. Isn't he in the big room?" + +"No, Juba. I went to sleep, and when I woke up he was gone." + +"Lor', chile, he round somewhere. You look round, and maybe you find +him." + +But Frank was doomed to disappointment. He sat down ready to cry. He +felt very lonely. He had not realized how much he enjoyed Ernest's +company. + +"I don't know where he can have gone, Juba. Do you think he's gone and +left me?" + +"I can't tell, chile. Wait till your papa comes home. He will find +him." + +Frank had to wait an hour and a half before his father's return. All +this time he was buoyed up by the hope that Ernest would come back. He +was continually watching the portal to see if the runaway would not +come, but in vain. + +James Fox entered the room with grave face and heavy step. He had not +heard of his brother's escape, and thought him still an inmate of +Crampton jail. + +He looked about for his young captive. + +"Where is Ernest, Frank?" he asked. + +"I don't know, papa. I miss him ever so much," said the little boy +tearfully. + +"But he must be somewhere about. When did you miss him?" + +"He went away when I was asleep." + +The outlaw's suspicions were aroused. + +"I will look for him," he said. + +But Ernest was in none of the rooms, nor could Juba give any account +of him. + +"Did you walk with him into the interior of the cave, Frank?" he +asked. + +"Yes, papa." + +"Ha, that explains it. Go with me, and tell me just where you went." + +The little boy led the way through the vacant apartments till he +reached the one through which the light came from above. + +The rope was still hanging from the projection, and this explained +Ernest's escape. James Fox went up and examined it. + +"He must have got out this way," said the outlaw. + +"Won't he come back, papa?" said Frank, sadly. + +"Yes," said his father, resolutely. "I will bring him back." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +GIVEN IN TRUST. + +"Well, lad, have you had enough of Emmonsville?" + +The speaker was Luke Robbins, and the time was two days after the +series of exciting incidents recorded in the last few chapters. + +"Why do you ask, Luke?" replied Ernest. "Are you tired of it?" + +"Yes, lad, I want to move on. There is nothing more for us here." + +"But what about the reward you are entitled to for the capture of John +Fox?" + +"The cashier thinks I will only receive a part of it, as Fox has +escaped and is now at large." + +"That is unlucky. You will have to wait until the matter is decided, +won't you?" + +"No. He has offered me an advance of a hundred dollars, and is +authorized to collect whatever prize-money may be awarded to me. You +have some money left?" + +"Yes, about seventy-five dollars." + +"Then we both have enough to start on. I propose to go to California +by cars, getting there as soon as possible. When we reach there we +will see what we can do to increase our pile." + +"I like that plan. When shall we go?" + +"It is now Thursday. We will start on Monday." + +Before they departed there was some sensational news. Peter Longman, +one of the Fox band, taking offence at some slight put upon him by +James Fox, went to the authorities and revealed the existence and +location of the cave, with other information of a like nature. The +result was that a strong police force was sent to surprise and capture +the notorious outlaws. The visit was made at night, and under guidance +of Peter himself. Wholly unsuspicious of treachery, the outlaws were +captured in their beds, and the valuable articles contained in trunks +and boxes in the store-room were confiscated. + +James Fox was reclining on the sofa when the officers entered. + +"Is your name Fox?" asked the leader of the invading party. + +"Yes," answered the outlaw, proudly. + +"Then you are my prisoner." + +"Who has betrayed me?" demanded Fox, quickly. + +There was no answer, but just behind the invading party the outlaw +caught sight of Peter Longman, apparently trying to screen himself +from observation. + +"I need not ask," he said. "There is the treacherous hound. He shall +not live to profit by his baseness." + +Before any one could interfere, James Fox leveled his revolver at +Longman, and a sharp scream showed that his aim was true. His +treacherous follower fell to the ground mortally wounded. + +James Fox looked at him disdainfully, then threw the revolver upon the +floor of the cave, and held out his hands. "Now bind me if you will," +he said; "I am your captive." + +Little Frank was a terrified witness of this scene. + +"What are they doing to you, papa?" he asked. "They are bad men." + +In spite of his fortitude the outlaw showed traces of emotion. "That +is my little son," he said to the lieutenant commanding. "Don't let +him suffer for the sins of his father." + +"He shall be taken care of. Do not be anxious about him." + +"There is an old colored woman here--Juba," went on the outlaw. "The +boy is used to her. If possible, let them be together." + +Under a strong guard the famous robbers were carried to jail, and the +cave which had been for years their meeting-place was dismantled and +was never again used for a criminal resort. + +When Ernest read the story his feelings were mixed. He rejoiced that +the outlaws were taken, but he felt a sympathy for little Frank, and +understood what a shock it must be to the father and son to be +separated, and to have their home so suddenly and violently broken up. + +He learned where Frank was, and called upon him. He had been taken to +his own home by the police commander, and it was there that Ernest +found him. + +When he entered the room where Frank sat disconsolately at the window, +the little fellow uttered a cry of joy. + +"Is it you, Ernest?" he said, running forward. "I thought I should +never see you again." + +Ernest stooped over and kissed the little boy. + +"You see I am here," he said. + +"What made you go away? Why didn't you tell me you were going?" + +"I will tell you some time, Frank. I hope you are feeling well." + +"Why did those bad men take papa away?" + +"I do not think you would understand. Where is Juba?" + +"She is now in the kitchen. I will call her." + +Juba came in, and seemed pleased to see Ernest. + +"I have got a letter for you, honey," she said, fumbling in her +pocket. + +She brought out a yellow envelope. It was directed to Ernest. + +The contents ran thus: + +Now that misfortune has come upon me, my chief thought is for my boy. +Whatever befalls me, I want him cared for. You are scarcely more than +a stranger to me, but when you were in the cave you seemed to love +Frank. Poor boy, he will stand in need of some friend who loves him. +So far as you can, will you be his friend and guardian? He has some +property--a few thousand dollars--which you will hold in trust for +him. It is not stolen property. It was left him by his mother. + +Call upon Mr. Samuel Hardy, a lawyer in Lee's Falls, and he will make +over to you the custody of the money, and look upon you as the +authorized guardian of Frank. You know my wish that he should be sent +to a good school and properly educated. Will you carry out my wishes +in that respect? I do not wish to tie you down, but wherever you may +go, keep up an active interest in my boy, and from time to time write +to him. + +I do not know what my fate may be. I am not a coward, and shall not +complain or beg for mercy. + +When you speak of me to Frank in after years, always paint me at my +best, and let him understand that at least I loved him. + +JAMES FOX. + +P.S. Should Frank die before maturity, I desire that his property +should go to you. + +Ernest read the foregoing with mingled feelings. He knew that the +writer was an outlaw, deeply stained with crime; but this letter +showed him at his best. Paternal love softened the harsh outlines of +his character, and spoke of a nature that might have made him a +blessing instead of a curse to his kind. + +Ernest lost no time in communicating with Mr. Hardy. + +The lawyer read the letter in some surprise. + +"Mr. Fox seems to have appointed a young guardian for his son," he +remarked. + +"Yes, sir; but he appeared to have no choice. It would have been +better had he appointed you." + +"No; I do not care to assume that responsibility. I am ready to assist +you, however." + +"I will depend upon you, then, for I shall start for California as soon +as possible. Can you recommend a satisfactory boarding-school?" + +"I have a son at school in Lincoln. The school is under the charge of +a clergyman, who is an efficient teacher, yet is popular with his +pupils." + +"Can you arrange to enter Frank at his school?" + +"I will do so, if you authorize me." + +"I don't think we can do any better. Were you aware that Mr. Fox was +the notorious outlaw?" asked Ernest, after a pause. + +"I did not know, but latterly I have suspected it. You may be +surprised that under the circumstances I should have consented to +serve him. But I felt that I might be of assistance to the boy, and +that my refusal would occasion him embarrassment. Your letter is +satisfactory, as showing that the fortune of your ward is not made up +of ill-gotten gains. Were it otherwise, he would hardly be allowed to +keep it. Does Frank know his father's character and reputation?" + +"I don't think so." + +"It had best be kept from him. I will see that it does not become +known at school. It would wound the boy to be twitted with it by his +schoolmates." + +Thanks to Mr. Hardy, Ernest found that the new charge imposed upon him +would not materially interfere with his plans. A week later than he +had originally intended he and Luke Robbins left Emmonsville by a +Western-bound train. + +As they rushed rapidly over the prairies, Luke Robbins turned to his +young companion and said, "Our journey thus far has been adventurous. +I wonder what lies before us?" + +"We won't trouble ourselves on that score, Luke. I feel hopeful." + +"So do I; and yet we have less than two hundred dollars between us." + +"That's true." + +"Still, I have captured an outlaw, and you, at the age of sixteen, are +the guardian of an outlaw's son." + +"I don't think we shall meet with anything stranger than that." + +Two days later, in a newspaper bought at an important station, there +was an article that deeply interested both travellers. It related to +the Fox brothers, recounting their daring attempt to escape from the +jail where they were confined. John Fox got away, but James was shot +dead by one of the prison guards. + +So Frank was an orphan, and Ernest felt that his responsibility was +increased. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +STEPHEN RAY AND HIS SON. + +Leaving Ernest and Luke Robbins on their way to California, our +attention is called to other characters who must play a part in the +drama of the boy from Oak Forks. + +A few miles from Elmira, upon an eminence from which there was a fine +view of the surrounding country, stood the handsome country mansion of +Stephen Ray, already referred to as the cousin of Ernest's father. It +passed into his possession by inheritance from poor Ernest's +grandfather, the will under which the bequest was made cutting off his +son for no worse a crime than marrying a girl thoroughly respectable +but of humble birth. + +Stephen Ray, since he came into possession of his uncle's estate, had +improved it considerably. He had torn down the old stable and built an +imposing new one. The plain carriage which had satisfied his uncle had +been succeeded by an elegant coach, and the sober but rather slow +horse by a pair of spirited steeds. + +Mr. Ray had become pompous, and by his manner made it clear that he +considered him self a man of great consequence. He was a local +magistrate, and had for years endeavored to obtain a nomination for +Congress. + +Had he been of popular manners he would probably have succeeded, but +he was not a favorite among the poorer classes, and their vote must be +considered. + +There is an old saying, "Like father, like son," and Clarence, now +turned sixteen, the only child of the country magnate, was like his +father in all objectionable qualities. He was quite as much impressed +with ideas of his own consequence. + +It was about three o'clock in the afternoon. Mr. Ray sat on the +piazza, the day being unusually warm, reading a newspaper. In the +street, near by, his son Clarence was moving swiftly on a new bicycle +which his father had just purchased for him. + +"Out of the way, there!" he called out, as a shabbily-dressed stranger +with a weary step plodded along the pathway. + +Whether because he was hard of hearing or because his mind was +preoccupied, the stranger did not heed the warning, and Clarence, who +might easily have avoided the collision, ran into him recklessly. Had +the bicycle been moving at a greater rate of speed, he might have been +seriously hurt. As it was, he was nearly thrown down. + +But he rallied, and seizing the offending rider with no gentle grasp, +dragged him from the wheel and shook him vigorously. + +"Let me alone, you tramp!" exclaimed Clarence, furiously. + +But the stranger did not release his hold. + +"Not till you apologize for running into me," he answered sternly. + +"Apologize to a man like you!" ejaculated Clarence, struggling +furiously for his freedom. "What do you take me for?" + +"For an impudent young rascal," was the reply. + +"Let me alone, I tell you!" + +"Will you apologize?" + +"There is no need of an apology. You got in my way." + +"You have no business on the sidewalk with your bicycle. It is meant +for foot-passengers." + +"Do you know who I am?" demanded Clarence, haughtily. + +"No, I don't, nor do I care." + +"I am Clarence Ray, son of Squire Stephen Ray. He is a magistrate, and +he can send you to jail." + +These words of Clarence had the effect he desired. The stranger +released him and eyed him with close scrutiny. + +"So you are the son of Stephen Ray?" he said. + +"Yes. What have you to say now?" + +"That you had no right to run into me, whoever your father may be." + +"I shall report your insolence to my father. I shall charge you with +violently assaulting me." + +"I might have known you were Stephen Ray's son," said the stranger +thoughtfully. + +"Do you know my father?" asked Clarence in considerable surprise. + +"I am on my way to call upon him." + +"I don't think it will do any good. He never gives money to tramps." + +"I have a great mind to give you another shaking up," said the man, +and in some fear Clarence edged away from him. + +It was evident that this shabby-looking stranger had not a proper +respect for those who were in a higher station. + +"I will tell him not to give you anything," continued Clarence. + +"Like father, like son," said the stranger thoughtfully, apparently +not disturbed by the boy's threats. + +Evidently he was no common tramp, or he would have been more +respectful to the son of the man from whom he was probably about to +ask a favor. + +"You just wait till you see my father. He'll give you a lecture that +you won't soon forget." + +"You'd better get on your wheel, boy, and go right along," said the +stranger calmly. + +"Do you know where my father lives?" + +"Yes, at yonder fine house. I see him sitting out on the piazza. Shall +we go along together?" + +"No, I don't keep such company as you. Tramps are not my style." + +"And yet some day you may be as poor and friendless as myself." + +"That isn't very likely; my father is a very rich man." + +"I knew him when he was poor." + +More and more puzzled by the independent manner of this shabby +stranger, Clarence made a spurt, and soon found himself in the grounds +of his father's house. + +"With whom were you talking, Clarence?" asked Stephen Ray, as his son +joined him on the piazza. + +"One of the most impudent tramps I ever came across," answered +Clarence. "He made an attack upon me, and pulled me from my bicycle." + +Stephen Ray's cheek flamed with anger. An insult to his son was an +insult to him. + +"Why did he do this? How dared he?" he demanded angrily. + +"Because I happened to touch him as I passed," answered Clarence. + +"He actually pulled you from your bicycle?" asked Stephen Ray, almost +incredulous. + +"Yes." + +"I should like to meet him. I should feel justified in ordering his +arrest." + +"You will have a chance to meet him. He told me he was going to call +upon you there he is now, entering the gate." + +Stephen was glad to hear it. He wanted to empty the vials of his wrath +on the audacious offender. He prided himself on his grand manner. + +He was accustomed to seeing men of the stamp of this stranger quail +before him and show nervous alarm at his rebukes. He had no doubt that +his majestic wrath would overwhelm the shabby outcast who had +audaciously assaulted his son and heir. + +He rose to his feet, and stood the personification of haughty +displeasure as the poor man, who dared his anger, walked composedly up +the path. He now stood by the piazza steps. + +"It is well you have come here," began the squire in a dignified tone. +"My son tells me that you have committed an unprovoked outrage upon +him in dragging him from his wheel. I can only conclude that you are +under the influence of liquor." + +Stephen Ray waited curiously to hear what the man would say. He was +prepared for humble apologies. + +"I am no more drunk than yourself, if that is what you mean, Stephen +Ray," was the unexpected reply. + +Squire Ray was outraged and scandalized. + +"You must be drunk or you would not dare to talk in this way. Who +authorized you to address me in this familiar way?" + +"You are only a man, I believe, Stephen Ray. I have addressed you as +respectfully as you have spoken to me." + +"Respect to you?" repeated Mr. Ray, disdainfully. "Has the time come +when we must be respectful to tramps?" + +"A poor tramp is quite as deserving of respect as a rich rascal." + +"What do you mean by that?" demanded the squire suspiciously. + +"It was a general remark." + +"It is well that it was. But it has no application in the present +instance. If you are poor I will give you a quarter, but only on +condition that you apologize to my son." + +The stranger laughed. + +"Why should I apologize to your son?" he asked. + +"You pulled him off his bicycle. Do you deny it?" + +"No, I do not. Do you know what he did?" + +"He brushed against you with his wheel, he tells me, accidentally." + +"So that is his version of it? He deliberately ran into me." + +"I gave you warning. I said 'Out of the way, there!'" interrupted +Clarence. + +"Yes, but you had no right on the side walk. That is meant for +foot-passengers." + +"It seems to me, sir, that you are remarkably independent for a man of +your rank. Even if it had been as you say, you had no right to assault +my son. I might have you arrested on your own confession, but I will +forbear doing so on condition that you leave town at once." + +"I have a little business with you, first, Stephen Ray." + +"If you expect alms, you have come to the wrong man. I don't believe +in encouraging beggars." + +"I know very well that you are not charitable. You see, I used to be +acquainted with you." + +"Who are you?" + +"My name is Benjamin Bolton." + +Stephen Ray looked startled. + +"Benjamin Bolton!" he repeated, half incredulous. "I can't believe +it." + + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +A STARTLING DISCLOSURE. + +"Look at me closely, Stephen Ray," said the strange visitor. "I think +you will see some traces of the Bolton you used to know." + +Stephen Ray, somewhat discomposed, did examine his visitor closely. +Against his will he was obliged to acknowledge the resemblance of the +man before him to one who in past times had had an intimate +acquaintance with his affairs. + +"You may be Benjamin Bolton," he said after a pause, "but if so, you +have fallen off greatly in your appearance. When I first knew you, you +were well dressed and--" + +"Respectable, I suppose you mean to say?" + +"Well, respectable, if you will have it so. Now you look more like a +tramp than a lawyer." + +"True as gospel, every word of it. But it isn't too late to mend. +That's an old proverb and a true one. It is quite in the line of +possibility that I should get back to the position from which I fell." + +"Perhaps so, but I'm not sanguine of it." + +"With your powerful help nothing is impossible--not even that." + +"You must not count upon that," said Stephen Ray, stiffly. "It is a +good while since we parted company. I don't myself care to renew the +acquaintance." + +"But I do," rejoined Bolton with emphasis. "I told you that I had +business with you." + +"I have very little time at my disposal," said Ray, pulling out an +elegant gold watch--a Jurgensen--and consulting it. + +"I think it may be well for you to spare me a little time," went on +Bolton, quietly. + +There was something in his tone that sounded like a threat, and +Stephen Ray could not wholly conceal his uneasiness. + +"Well," he said, "I will give you ten minutes. Get through your +business, whatever it is, as soon as possible." + +"Hadn't you better send your son away?" suggested Bolton, +significantly. + +"Why should I?" + +But on second thoughts Mr. Ray concluded to act on the hint, and +turning to Clarence he said, "Clarence, you might take another spin on +your wheel." + +This did not suit Clarence at all. His curiosity had been excited by +his father's change of front towards the objectionable stranger, and +he counted on finding out the reason for it. + +"Why can't I stay?" he grumbled. "I am tired of riding." + +"Then go up stairs. This man and I have a little private business +together." + +He spoke firmly, and Clarence knew by his tone that further +remonstrance would be un availing, so with a dissatisfied look he left +the room. + +"Now, sir," said Stephen Ray, sharply, when his son had taken his +departure, "I gave you ten minutes. You will need to be expeditious." + +"It will take more than ten minutes--what I have to say," returned +Bolton, coolly. "I am rather tired of standing, so you will excuse me +if I sit down." + +As he spoke he dropped into a comfortable chair three feet from his +host. + +"Confound his impudence!" thought Ray, much annoyed. + +"I think we had better go indoors," he said. + +He did not care to be seen in an apparently friendly conversation with +a man like Bolton. + +"Very well. I think myself it may be better." + +He followed Ray into a room which the latter used as a library and +office, and took care to select a comfortable seat. + +"Really, Stephen Ray," he remarked, glancing around him at the +well-filled bookcases, the handsome pictures, and the luxurious +furniture, "you are very nicely fixed here." + +"I suppose you didn't come to tell me that," responded Stephen Ray +with a sneer. + +"Well, not altogether, but it is as well to refer to it. I have known +you a good many years. I remember when you first came here to visit +your uncle in the character of a poor relation. I don't believe you +had a hundred dollars to your name." + +Such references grated upon the purse-proud aristocrat, who tried to +persuade himself that he had always been as prosperous as at present. + +"There is no occasion for your reminiscences," he said stiffly. + +"No, I suppose you don't care to think of those days now. Your cousin, +Dudley, a fine young man, was a year or two older. Who would have +thought that the time would come when you--the poor cousin--would be +reigning in his place?" + +"If that is all you have to say, our interview may as well close." + +"It isn't all I have to say. I must indulge in a few more +reminiscences, though you dislike them. A few years passed. Dudley +married against his father's wishes; that is, his father did not +approve of his selection, and he fell out of favor. As he lost favor +you gained it." + +"That is true enough, but it is an old story. Why recall it?" + +"Does it seem just that an own son should be disinherited and a +stranger--" + +"A near relative," corrected Stephen Ray. + +"Well, a near relative, but less near than an only son. Does it seem +right that Dudley should have been disinherited and you put in his +place?" + +"Certainly. My cousin disobeyed his father, while I was always dutiful +and obedient." + +"So he was left in poverty." + +"I don't see how that concerns you, Benjamin Bolton. My uncle had the +right to dispose of his property as he pleased. It was not for me to +question his right nor you." + +"Probably Dudley Ray is living in poverty now." + +"You are mistaken. He is dead." + +"Indeed! Poor fellow. He was a generous and high-minded man." + +"Whatever he may have been, he offended his father and suffered the +consequences." + +"Too true!" + +"But I fail to understand why you should have come to discuss this +matter with me." + +"When did Dudley die?" + +"I can't be sure as to the year. I think it was about a year after his +father's death." + +"I presume that his father's injustice helped to hasten his end." + +"I won't permit any reflections upon my dear uncle and benefactor. He +did what he liked with his own. He felt that the estate would be +better in my hands than in Dudley's." + +"Admitting for a moment that this was so, did your heart prompt you to +bestow a part of the estate on your unfortunate cousin?" + +"No; for I am sure my uncle would have disapproved of such action on +my part." + +"Do you know if he suffered much from poverty?" + +"No; I did not concern myself with that, nor need you." + +"I would like to comment on one of your statements. You say that your +uncle had a right to dispose of his estate as he pleased." + +"Do you dispute it?" + +"No; I agree with you. Stephen Ray, was his estate disposed of +according to his wishes?" + +Mr. Ray started, and his face became flushed. + +"What do you mean?" he asked. + +"I mean that he bequeathed the estate to his son, and you took +possession of it." + +Bolton spoke slowly, and eyed Stephen Ray keenly. + +"Are you mad?" gasped Stephen. "How could I do that? His will, +devising the estate to me, was duly probated, and I entered upon my +inheritance by due process of law." + +"I know such a will was probated." + +"Then what have you to say?" demanded Stephen Ray, defiantly. "Do you +mean to deny that the will was genuine?" + +"No." + +"Because if you do, you can go to the probate office, and submit the +will to any judge of my uncle's handwriting." + +"There will be no occasion. I admit that the will was written by him." + +"What do you mean, then?" asked Stephen Ray, showing relief. + +"I mean this--that it was not his _last_ will and testament." + +"Where is the later one? Produce it if you can," said Stephen Ray, +triumphantly. + +"You say this fearlessly because you found a later will--and destroyed +it." + +"It is a vile slander!" + +"No; I will swear that such a will was made." + +"If it was destroyed, he destroyed it himself." + +"No, he did not. I am willing to swear that when he died that will was +in existence." + +"I don't think your swearing will do much good," sneered Stephen Ray. + +"Perhaps so; but one thing has not occurred to you." + +"What is that?" + +"A duplicate of the last will was placed in my hands. _That will +exists to-day!_" + +Stephen Ray started violently. + +"I don't believe it," he said. + +"Seeing is believing." + +"Then bring it here, and let me see it. However, there is one material +circumstance that would make it of no value." + +"What is it?" + +"My cousin Dudley is dead, and so is his son Ernest. There would be no +one to profit by the production of the alleged will." + +Bolton was quite taken aback by this statement, as Stephen Ray +perceived, and he plumed himself on the success of his falsehood. + +"When did the boy die?" asked Bolton. + +"About five years ago." + +"And where?" + +"At Savannah," answered Ray, glibly. + +"What should have taken him down there?" + +"I am not positive, but I believe after his father's death a Southern +gentleman became interested in him and took him to Georgia, where the +poor boy died." + +Bolton looked keenly at the face of his companion, and detected an +expression of triumph about the eyes which led him to doubt the truth +of his story. But he decided not to intimate his disbelief. + +"That was sad," he said. + +"Yes; and as you will see, even had your story about the will been +true it would have made no difference in the disposal of the +property." + +"Still the revelation of your complicity in the suppression of the +last will would injure your reputation, Mr. Ray." + +"I can stand it," answered Ray with assumed indifference. "You see, my +dear fellow, you have brought your wares to the wrong market. Of +course you are disappointed." + +"Yes, especially as I am dead broke." + +"No doubt." + +"And it prompts me to take my chances with the will in spite of the +death of the rightful heirs." + +"What do you propose to do?" + +"Lay the matter before a shrewd lawyer of my acquaintance, and be +guided by his advice." + +Stephen Ray looked uneasy. The lawyer might suggest doubts as to the +truth of his story concerning Ernest's decease. + +"That would be very foolish," he said. + +"Would it? Then perhaps you can suggest a better course." + +"You are a man of education and have been a lawyer yourself. Get a +place in the office of some attorney and earn an honest living." + +"You see how I am dressed. Who would employ me in this garb?" + +"There is something in what you say. I feel for you, Bolton. Changed +as you are, you were once a friend. I certainly haven't any reason to +feel friendly to you, especially as you came here with the intention +of extorting money from me. But I can make allowance for you in your +unfortunate plight, and am willing to do something for you. Bring me +the document you say you possess, and I will give you fifty no, a +hundred dollars." + +Bolton eyed his prosperous companion with a cunning smile. + +"No, Stephen Ray, I prefer to keep the will," he replied, "though I +can do nothing with it. Give me the money unconditionally, and if I +get on my feet you will have nothing to fear from me." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +BOUGHT OFF. + +Bolton's reply did not quite suit Mr. Ray, but he felt that if he said +too much about the will it would give it an exaggerated importance in +the eyes of the man before him. So he answered carelessly, "Oh, very +well! The document is of no value, and though I should prefer to have +it, I won't insist. I will give you the hundred dollars, but I wish it +understood that it is all I can give you at any time. Don't apply to +me again, for it will be of no use." + +"I understand," said Bolton, non-committally. + +"Shall I give you a check?" + +"I could do better with the money. My name is not known now at any +bank." + +"Well, I think I can accommodate you. I believe I have that sum in my +desk." + +He opened a drawer in his secretary, and produced a hundred dollars in +crisp new bills. They had been taken from the bank the day before for +a different purpose. + +Bolton took them joyfully. It was long since he had had so much money +in his possession. He had been his own worst enemy. Once a prosperous +lawyer, he had succumbed to the love of drink, and gradually lost his +clients and his position. But he had decided to turn over a new leaf, +and he saw in this money the chance to reinstate himself, and in time +recover his lost position. + +"Thank you," he said; but while there was relief there was no +gratitude in his tone. + +"And now," said Stephen Ray, "I must ask you to leave me. I have +important business to attend to. You will excuse me if I suggest it +would be better to go away--to a distance--and try to build yourself +up somewhere where you are not known." + +"I might go to Savannah." + +"Yes, to Savannah, if you think it will be to your advantage," said +Ray with equanimity. + +The other noticed his manner, and he said to himself, "He is willing +to have me visit Savannah. _It is clear that Ernest did not die +there."_ + +Benjamin Bolton left the house in a pleasant frame of mind. It was not +the sum which he had received that exhilarated him. He looked upon it +only as the first instalment. It was clear that Stephen Ray feared +him, for he was not an open-handed man, and would not have parted with +his money unnecessarily. + +Bolton had not arranged his campaign, but he was determined to raise +himself in the world by playing on the fears of the man he had just +visited. + +"I wonder," he said to himself, "whether Dudley Ray's son is really +dead. He was a strong and healthy boy, and he may still be living." + +This was a point not easy to ascertain. + +He went to a restaurant and obtained a substantial meal, of which he +stood very much in need. Then he went out for a stroll. He did not +propose to leave the place yet. + +As he was walking along he met Clarence Ray again, but not now on his +bicycle. The boy recognized him. + +"Are you going to stay in town?" asked Clarence, curiously. + +"Not long." + +"Did you get through your business with pa?" + +"Yes, for the present. By the way, I suppose you know that you have a +cousin about your own age. I used to know him and his father." + +"Did you? His father is dead." + +"So I have understood. Do you happen to know where the son is?" + +"Somewhere out West, I think." + +Bolton pricked up his ears. So it seemed that Stephen Ray had deceived +him. + +"I would give five dollars to know where he is," he said slowly. + +"Have you got five dollars?" Clarence asked, doubtfully. + +By way of answer Bolton took a roll of bills from his pocket. They +were those which Stephen Ray had given him. + +"Do you mean it?" asked Clarence, in a more respectful tone. Since +Bolton had money, he regarded him differently. + +"Yes, I mean it." + +"Why didn't you ask pa?" + +"He never liked the boy nor his father, and I don't think he would +tell me." + +"That is true. He didn't like either of them." + +"I suppose you couldn't find out for me?" said Bolton, tentatively. + +"I don't know but I could," answered Clarence, briskly. + +He had a special use for five dollars, and it struck him that he might +just as well earn the money offered by the stranger. + +"If you could, I would cheerfully pay you the five dollars. You see I +used to know Ernest Ray and his father, and I would be pleased to meet +Ernest again." + +"Just so," said Clarence, complaisantly. "How long are you going to +remain in town?" + +"I did think of going to Elmira to-night, but I think on the whole I +will stay at the hotel here till to-morrow morning." + +"That will give me time to find out," said Clarence. + +"All right! You had better not ask your father, for he is so +prejudiced I don't think he would tell you." + +"That's so. He will be going out this evening, and then I will search +in his desk. I saw a letter there once in which the boy's name was +mentioned. But I say, if you've got money why don't you buy some new +clothes? You look awfully shabby." + +"Your suggestion is a good one," said Bolton, smiling. "Come to look +at myself I _do_ appear shabby. But then I'm no dude. I dare say when +you rode into me this morning you took me for a tramp." + +"Well, you _did_ look like one." + +"That's so. I can't blame you." + +"Shall I find you at the hotel this evening?" + +"Yes." + +"Then I'll see what I can do." + +About seven o'clock Squire Ray went out to attend to a business +meeting, and Clarence was left in possession of the study. He locked +the door and began to ransack his father's desk. At length he +succeeded in his quest. + +Benjamin Bolton was sitting in the public room of the hotel an hour +later smoking a cigar, and from time to time looking towards the door. +Presently Clarence entered, and went up to him. + +"Have you got it?" asked Bolton, eagerly. + +"Yes," nodded Clarence. + +He took a piece of paper from his vest pocket and handed it to Bolton. + +It read thus: _"Ernest Ray, Oak Forks, Iowa."_ + +"How did you get it?" asked Bolton. + +"I found a letter in pa's desk from an old man named Peter Brant, +asking pa for some money for the boy, who was living with him." + +"When was that letter written?" + +"About two years ago." + +"Thank you. This gives me a clue. Come out of doors and I will give +you what I promised. It isn't best that any one should think we had +dealings together." + +Five minutes later Clarence started for home, happy in the possession +of a five-dollar bill. + +"I never paid any money more cheerfully in my life," mused Bolton. +"Now I must find the boy!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXVII. + +THE TOWN OF OREVILLE. + +When Ernest and Luke Robbins started for California they had no very +definite plans as to the future. But they found among their +fellow-passengers a man who was just returning from the East, where he +had been to visit his family. He was a practical and successful miner, +and was by no means reluctant to speak of his success. + +"When I landed in Frisco," he said, "two years ago, I had just forty +dollars left after paying the expenses of my trip. I couldn't find +anything to do in the city, so I set out for the mines." + +"Where did you go?" asked Luke, becoming interested. + +"To Oreville. At least, that's what they call it now. Then it didn't +have a name." + +"I hope you prospered," said Ernest. + +"Well, not just at first, but luck came after a while. When I reached +the mines I was dead broke, and went to work for somebody else. After +a while I staked out a claim for myself. Well, I won't go into +particulars, but I've got six thousand dollars salted down with a +trust company in Frisco, and I've got a few hundred dollars about my +clothes besides." + +"That's the place for us, Ernest," said Luke. + +"So I think," answered Ernest. + +"Do you want to go to the mines?" asked the miner. + +"Yes; we have our fortunes to make, and are willing to work." + +"Then go out to Oreville with me. Have you got any money?" + +"We have enough to get there, and perhaps a little over." + +"That will do. I'll set you to work on one of my claims. We will share +and share alike. How will that suit you?" + +"It seems fair. Do you think we can make enough to live upon?" + +"That depends partly on yourselves and partly upon luck. Luck has +something to do with it." + +"At any rate, we are willing to work," said Ernest. + +"Then I'm your friend, and will help you," said the miner heartily. +"Tom Ashton never goes back on his friends." + +This was very encouraging. Luke and Ernest were not dead broke, but +were near it. They had less than forty dollars between them, and they +had already found out that living was high in California. They +remained but a day in San Francisco, and then started for Oreville +with Mr. Ashton. + +The two friends knew nothing of mining, but as practised in those +early days it took very little time to learn. They found that their +new friend was a man of consideration at Oreville. He owned several +claims, and had no difficulty in finding them employment. They set to +work at once, for they were almost penniless. + +It may be easily supposed that the miners were not fastidious about +living. The cabins or huts which they occupied were primitive to the +last degree. Generally they did their own cooking, such as it was. +Three of these cabins Tom Ashton owned, and one was assigned to the +use of Ernest and his friend. + +For years, Ernest, with his old friend and supposed uncle, Peter +Brant, had lived in a cabin at Oak Forks, but it was superior to their +new residence. Yet his former experience enabled him the better to +accommodate himself to the way of living at Oreville. + +For a month the two friends worked steadily at their claim, which +Ashton had finally given them. They made something, but not much. In +fact, it was with difficulty that they made expenses. + +"It will be a long time before we make our pile, Ernest," said Luke +one evening, as he sat in front of his cabin smoking. + +"Yes, Luke, things don't look very promising," replied Ernest, +gravely. + +"If it weren't for my pipe I should feel blue. Smoking cheers me up." + +"That is where you have the advantage of me, Luke." + +"You have the same chance that I have. I have an extra pipe. Won't you +take a smoke?" + +Ernest shook his head. + +"I think I'm better off without it." + +"Perhaps you're right, lad. I remember my poor father warned me +against smoking. The question is, how long we'd better keep at it." + +"Is there anything else, Luke?" + +"Well, no; not here." + +"And we haven't money enough to get away." + +Just then a tall man with reddish hair strode across the field to +their cabin. + +"Good evening, neighbors," he said. "How are you making out?" + +"Not over-well," answered Luke. + +"There's a difference in claims. You've got a poor one." + +"Probably you are right." + +"There's been considerable gold dust gathered in Oreville within six +months. I have been one of the lucky ones." + +"Indeed! I am glad of it." + +"Yes; I found a nugget two months since that I sold for two thousand +dollars. I have made five thousand within a year." + +"You've been in luck. I wish the boy and I could be as successful." + +"The claim is not good enough to support two. Why not let the boy find +something else?" + +"You wouldn't have me freeze him out?" said Luke, in a tone of +displeasure. + +"No, but suppose I find something for him to do? What then?" + +"That's a different matter. Have you an extra claim?" + +"Yes; but that isn't what I offer him. I have a plan in which he can +help me." + +"What is it?" + +"All our supplies come from Sacramento. What we need is a retail store +in Oreville--a general store for the sale of almost everything that +miners need." + +"It would be a good plan to open one," said Luke, approvingly. + +"Now, you must know that I am an old storekeeper. I had for years a +store about twenty miles from Boston. I succeeded fairly with it, but +my health gave out. The doctor told me I must not be so confined--that +I needed out-of-door exercise. So I came out here and got it. Well, +the advice proved good. I am strong and robust, and I feel +enterprising. Now, what I propose is this: I will open a store, and +put the boy in charge under me." + +"I should like it," said Ernest, eagerly. + +"You know what we pay for supplies. There's at least a hundred per +cent, made, and no one objects to the prices. Why shouldn't we make it +as well as the Sacramento storekeepers?" + +"True!" said Luke. + +"I don't ask you to work for me, my friend, for I don't think it would +suit you." + +"It wouldn't. At home--that's in Oak Forks, Iowa--I was a hunter. I +was always in the open air. The sort of life we live here suits me, +though I haven't made much money as yet." + +"The boy, I think, would do. He looks like a hustler. I need only look +at his face to know that he'd be honest and faithful. What is your +name, boy?" + +"Ernest Ray." + +"That's a good name. You'll only have to live up to it--to the first +part of it, I mean. Then you accept my offer?" + +"You haven't made any," said Ernest, smiling. + +"Oh, you mean about wages. Well, I don't offer any stated wages. I +will give you one-third profits, and then your pay will depend on your +success. The fact is, you are to keep the store." + +Ernest looked an inquiry. + +"One person can attend to it by day. I will come in the evening, and +take a general look after things. Just at first I'll stay with you +till you've got the hang of things. But during the day I shall be +looking after my claims. Do you know how to keep books?" + +"I understand single entry bookkeeping." + +"That will be all you will require." + +"How soon shall you start?" asked Ernest, who began to feel very much +interested. + +"I will go to Sacramento to-morrow, now that we have come to terms. +You know that frame building near Ashton's cabin?" + +"Yes." + +"I don't know what it was originally used for, but it is empty and I +can secure it for our store. It isn't large, but it will hold all we +need. I can get new supplies as we need them." + +"Yes, that will do." + +"You haven't said how you like my offer." + +"Of one-third profits? I like it better than if you paid me wages. I +will make it amount to a good deal." + +"That will suit me. I don't care how much you make out of it, for I +shall make twice as much." + +"How did you happen to think of me?" + +"I've watched you ever since you came. I can judge of any one, boy or +man, if I have time enough to take stock of him. I saw that you were +just the man for me." + +"Boy," suggested Ernest, smiling. + +"Oh, well, I'll make a man of you. By the way, an idea has just +occurred to me. You'd better go to Sacramento with me to-morrow." + +"I should like to do it," said Ernest, brightening up. + +"Then you can notice where I buy my supplies. You may need to go alone +sometimes." + +"At what time will we start?" + +"The stage leaves at seven o'clock." + +"I will be ready." + + + + +CHAPTER XXVIII. + +AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE TURNS UP. + +The journey to Sacramento was made, the goods selected, and in less +than a week the new store was stocked. In the arrangement of goods +Ernest took a zealous part. He had never served in a store, yet it +seemed to come natural to him, and he felt more interest in it than in +the work of mining. + +After the store was in full working order Horace Ames left Ernest as +sole manager, coming in only in the evening to look at the books, for +Ernest, as far as possible, kept a record of every sale. + +Storekeeping in those days and in that country was unusually +profitable. Ernest made a little comparison between the cost of goods +and the selling price, and arrived at the conclusion that the average +profits were a hundred per cent. And still the miners were able to buy +goods cheaper than when they sent to Sacramento for them. + +At the end of the first week Ernest figured up the sales and found +they aggregated two hundred dollars. His share of the profits amounted +to a little over thirty dollars. + +This was encouraging, being three times as much as he had ever +realized in the same length of time from mining. + +There was one embarrassment. There was no bank in the place where +money could be deposited, and of course the chance of loss by robbery +was much increased. However, his partner purchased a small safe, and +this afforded some security. + +One day a man entered the store, and purchased a pipe and tobacco. He +was a stranger to Ernest, but there was something familiar in his +look, yet he could not place him. + +The newcomer looked about with considerable curiosity. + +"You have quite a snug store here," he remarked. + +"Yes." + +"Does it belong to you?" + +"I have an interest in it, but it belongs to Mr. Ames." + +"Is he here much?" + +"He usually comes in evenings, but he is interested in mining." + +"You seem to have a good trade." + +"What makes you think so?" + +"You have a good stock. You would not keep so many goods unless you +had a call for them." + +"Have I ever seen you before?" asked Ernest abruptly, for the idea +grew upon him that he and his new customer had met somewhere under +peculiar circumstances. + +"I don't know. I don't remember you," answered the customer, shrugging +his shoulders. "I haven't been in California long. I suppose you were +born here." + +"No; very few of those now living in California were born here. I once +lived in Iowa. Were you ever there?" + +"Never," answered the customer. "I've been in Missouri, but never in +Iowa." + +"I have never been in that State. Are you going to stay here?" + +"I don't know. It depends on whether I can make any money. I suppose +you don't want to hire a clerk?" + +"No." + +Ernest said to himself that this man, with his shifty looks and +suspicious appearance, would be about the last man he would think of +engaging. + +"Perhaps Mr. Ames would give you a chance to work some of his claims," +he suggested. + +"I will look about me a little before I apply to him," replied the +customer. + +"Did you come here alone?" he asked after a pause. + +"No. A friend came with me--Luke Robbins." + +The stranger started a little when Ernest pronounced this name, so +that young Ray was led to inquire, "Do you know Luke?" + +"How should I know him? Is he a young man?" + +"No; he is probably about your age." + +"I suppose he came with you from Nebraska?" + +"Iowa." + +"Oh, yes, Iowa. He isn't in the store, is he?" + +"He is working for Mr. Ashton on one of his claims." + +At this point a new customer came in, and the visitor, after a brief +delay, left the store. + +When Ernest had waited upon the new customer he look for the first +visitor, but missed him. + +"I wonder who he was," he reflected, puzzled. "I am sure that I have +seen him before." + +But think as he might, he could not trace him. + +Yet with this man he had had a very exciting experience in Oak Forks, +for it was no other than Tom Burns, the tramp who had entered his +cabin during the night and robbed him, and later had attacked him when +digging for Peter's hidden treasure. It had been only a few months +since they had met, but Tom Burns, during that time, had grown a thick +beard, which had help to disguise him. + +It is hardly necessary to explain how Burns had found his way out to +Oreville. It was his business to tramp about the country, and it had +struck him that in the land of gold he would have a chance to line his +pockets with treasure which did not belong to him. So fortune had +directed his steps to Oreville. + +When he entered the store in which Ernest was employed, he +immediately, and in some surprise, recognized the boy of Oak Forks. He +was glad to find that Ernest did not recognize him, and he immediately +began to consider in what way he could turn the circumstance to his +own advantage. + +"I wonder if the boy sleeps there," he said to himself. "If so, I will +make him a visit to night. Probably the money he has taken in during +the day will be in some drawer where I can get hold of it." + +As he was leaving the store in the stealthy way habitual to him he met +a man walking towards the place with a long and careless stride. + +He started nervously, for this man was one whom he dreaded, and had +reason to fear. + +It was Luke Robbins, who, tired with working the claim, was going to +the store to replenish his stock of tobacco. + +Tom Burns pulled his soft hat down over his eyes and pushed swiftly +on. + +Luke Robbins halted a moment and looked at him. As in Ernest's case, +he seemed to see something familiar in the appearance of the tramp. He +realized, at all events, that he was a stranger in Oreville, for he +knew every one in the mining settlement. + +"Who are you, stranger? Have I seen you before?" asked Luke, hailing +him. + +Tom Burns did not dare to reply, for he feared that Luke might prove +to have a better memory than Ernest. So he was passing on without a +response, when Luke, who considered his conduct suspicious, demanded, +in a peremptory tone, "Who are you? Do you live here?" + +Tom Burns shrugged his shoulders, and said, disguising his voice, "Me +no understand English, boss." + +"What countryman are you?" asked Luke, suspiciously. + +"Italian," answered Tom. + +"Humph! You are the first Italian I have seen in Oreville." + +"Si, signor," answered Tom, and this comprised all the Italian he +knew. + +"Well, I don't think you will find any inducement to stay." + +"Si, signor," replied Burns, meekly. + +Without another word Luke entered the store. + +"Ernest," he said, "I am out of tobacco and must have a smoke. Give me +half a pound." + +"All right, Luke." + +"I ran across an Italian just outside. He seemed to be leaving the +store." + +"An Italian?" queried Ernest, his tone betraying surprise. + +"Yes. Wasn't he in here?" + +"There was a man in here--a stranger, but I don't think he was an +Italian." + +"This man answered me in some Italian gibberish. He said he couldn't +understand English." + +"What was his appearance?" + +Luke described him. + +"It's the same man that was in here just now, but he could speak +English as well as you or I." + +"Did you have some conversation with him?" + +"Yes. He looked familiar to me and I asked him who he was. He said he +had come from Missouri. He was in search of work." + +"You say he understood and spoke English?" + +"Yes." + +"Then I wonder what could be his game." + +"Don't he look familiar to you?" + +"Yes; there was something familiar about his appearance, but I +couldn't place him." + +"He asked me if I couldn't employ him in the store. I told him Mr. +Ames might give him a chance at mining." + +"Well?" + +"He said he would look round a little before deciding." + +"Did he buy anything?" + +"Yes, tobacco." + +"Did you mention my name?" + +"Yes, and he looked uneasy." + +"Ernest," said Luke Robbins, with a sudden inspiration, "I know the +man." + +"Who is it?" + +"Don't you recall any man at Oak Forks with whom you had trouble?" + +"Tom Burns?" + +"Yes. That's the man." + +"Why didn't we recognize him then?" + +"Because he has grown a full beard." + +"That's so, Luke. I understand now why he looked so familiar. I am +sorry to see him here." + +"He'd better not undertake any of his rascalities or he will find +himself in hot water." + + + + +CHAPTER XXIX. + +TOM BURNS MAKES A CALL. + +When Burns left the store he walked to the outskirts of the mining +settlement, not wishing to attract attention. He wished especially to +avoid encountering Luke Robbins, with the strength of whose arm he was +disagreeably familiar. + +He proposed to keep out of sight until night, and then make a visit to +the store. It would go hard with him if he did not make a raise there +either in the shape of money or articles of value. + +He came to a cabin standing by itself, at a considerable distance from +the homes of the other miners. Sitting in front of it was a man with +grizzled beard whose appearance indicated advanced age. There were +lines upon his face that betrayed ill health. + +"I wonder if anything can be got out of him," thought Tom Burns. "I'll +see." + +"Good day, sir," he said affably. + +The old man looked up. + +"Good day," he replied. "Who are you?" + +"I'm an unfortunate man, in search of employment." + +"When people are unfortunate there is generally a reason for it. Are +you intemperate?" + +"No, sir," answered Burns, as if horror-stricken. "I hate the taste of +liquor." + +"I'm glad to hear it." + +"I belong to three temperance societies," continued Tom, by way of +deepening the favorable impression he thought he had made. + +"And still you are poor?" + +"Yes," answered Burns. "Once I was prosperous, but I was ruined by +signing notes for an unprincipled man who took advantage of my +friendship. Do you think I can find work here?" + +"I don't know. Probably you can get a chance to work on one of Mr. +Ames claims." + +"Is it Mr. Ames who owns the store?" + +"Yes." + +"I called there to buy some tobacco. Is the boy there his son?" + +"No; he is a recent arrival in Oreville. He is a very smart boy." + +"Is he? Mr. Ames trusts him, I suppose?" + +"Yes. Why shouldn't he?" + +"I--I would rather not answer that question." + +"Have you ever met the boy before? Do you know him?" + +"Yes; I met him at the East," answered Burns. + +"Since you have said so much, you must say more. I am a cousin of Mr. +Ames, and if you know anything unfavorable of the boy it is your duty +to tell me." + +"I have nothing against the boy, and would prefer not to speak." + +"I insist upon your doing it." + +"It is only this. When I knew him he was employed in a store. He was +trusted, as he appears to be here. One night the store was robbed, +that is some money disappeared, and the boy claimed it was broken into +by thieves, who took the money, whereas he took it himself." + +"That seems bad. Was it proved that he took the money?" + +"Yes. That's why he was compelled to leave the place. That is why he +is now in Oreville." + +"Did you come here to expose him?" + +"No; I didn't know he was here. I was very much taken by surprise when +I saw him in the store." + +"This is important, if true. Mr. Ames ought to be informed." + +"Don't tell him while I am here. The boy is very revengeful, and he +might try to do me an injury." + +"Are you afraid of a boy?" + +"I am a man of peace. I don't want to get into any difficulty." + +"I suppose you wonder that I am sitting here while others are at +work." + +"Well, it did cross my mind." + +"My spine is affected. I look well, but I cannot walk. I hope to be +better after a while, but at present I am comparatively helpless." + +"Can't I help you?" + +"You may go into the cabin, and bring me a bottle of medicine which +you will find in the cupboard." + +Burns entered the cabin gladly. He thought that he might find +something worth taking. + +On the wall, hanging from a nail, was a gold watch. It was too good a +chance to be lost. It might or it might not be valuable, but at any +rate it was worth something. + +So, while securing the bottle, Burns slyly possessed himself of the +watch, which he slipped into his inside breast pocket. + +"Here is the bottle, sir," he said, meekly. + +"Thank you. Now bring a spoon, which you will find on the table." + +Burns did so. + +"Now pour out a teaspoonful, which I will take." + +"I am glad to be of service to you. Don't you want a kind attendant, +while you are sick, to take care of you?" + +"There would not be enough for you to do. I have a son at work in the +mines who is here morning and night, and he gives me all the care I +require." + +"I am sorry to hear that," thought Burns. "The son may be dangerous." + +"Then, sir, I will bid you good-by. I will pray for your recovery." + +"Thank you. The prayers of the righteous avail much. Are you +righteous?" + +"It isn't for me to say, sir. I don't want to boast." + +"That is creditable to you. By the way, are you hungry?" + +"I haven't broken my fast since morning." + +"You will find some cold meat and a loaf of bread in the cupboard. It +is plain, but if you are hungry you will enjoy it." + +"Thank you, sir. I will accept your kind invitation." + +Tom Burns was really hungry, and he did justice to the food offered +him. + +When his lunch was over he came outside. + +"Thank you," he said, "for your kindness. I am sure you will be +rewarded." + +"I don't want any reward. Out here we are always glad to give a meal +of victuals to a stranger who needs it. Are you going to stay long in +Oreville?" + +"If I can get anything to do I may. You see I am a poor man, and stand +in pressing need of employment." + +"Keep up your courage! Something will turn up for you. I will ask my +son if he cannot find something for you to do." + +"Thank you, sir. I will bid you good-by, with thanks for your +kindness." + +"If you are not pressed for time, I will send you on an errand." + +"All right, sir. I shall be glad to be of service to you." + +"Here is a Mexican dollar. You may go to the store and bring me a +dozen eggs. If there is any change you may keep it." + +"Thank you, sir." + +"A dollar in!" thought Burns, as he turned away from the cabin. "I +think I can turn it to a better use than spending it in eggs. That was +a profitable call. I made a gold watch and a dollar by it. The old man +can't pursue me, that's one comfort, thanks to his spinal complaint." + +"That is a very clever fellow," reflected the old man when Burns had +started on his errand. "A bit too religious to suit my taste. Still he +seemed grateful for the little I did for him. If he had a little more +push and get-up-and-get about him he would succeed better. Why, he +isn't more than forty, and he confesses himself a failure. Why, at +forty I considered myself a young man, and was full of dash and +enterprise. Now I am sixty and tied to my seat by this spinal trouble. +However, I've got something laid by, and, old as I am, I feel +independent, as far as money goes." + +Half an hour--an hour--passed, and still the old man found himself +alone. His messenger had not come back. + +But there came up the path a tall, muscular figure, who greeted the +old man in a bluff, off hand way. + +"How are you, Luke?" said the old man. "I was feeling lonely. I am +glad to see you." + +"Have you been alone since morning?" + +"Not quite all the time. I had quite a long call from a stranger." + +"A stranger!" repeated Luke, suspiciously. + +"What was his appearance?" + +The old man described Burns, and Luke knew him at once. + +"What did he say to you?" + +"That reminds me--he said he knew the boy whom Horace has put in the +store--young Ray." + +"Did he?" + +"Yes, and he doesn't speak well of him." + +"What does he say about him?" + +"I don't like to tell you, Luke, for I believe he is a protege of +yours." + +"Don't mind that. If there is anything to be said unfavorable of +Ernest I ought to know it." + +"He says the boy robbed a store in which he was employed, and then +pretended it was entered by thieves. It was on that account, he says, +that the boy was compelled to leave the town where he lived and come +to California." + +"Really, that is very interesting. To my own personal knowledge the +boy was never before employed in a store, and he came out to +California with me." + +"Then what could the man mean?" + +"I can't say. I can only tell you that he is a professional thief." + +"Look quick, Luke, and see if my gold watch is hanging on a nail near +the cupboard." + +"No, it is not there." + +"Then the rascal must have stolen it. I gave him, besides, a Mexican +dollar to buy some eggs at the store." + +"I don't think you will ever see it again, unless I catch the thief, +as I may to-night." + + + + +CHAPTER XXX. + +A BURGLAR'S FAILURE. + +If Tom Burns had been more prudent he would have made good his escape +with the money and gold watch he had already secured. But he was too +greedy for gain. + +He pictured to himself the store with its goodly stock of money taken +in during the day, and he felt an irresistible craving for it. There +might be one or two hundred dollars, and no one in charge but a boy +whom he could easily overpower. + +Apart from the pecuniary gain he felt that he should enjoy getting the +best of Ernest, who had already foiled him at Oak Forks. + +"This time he will come out second best," chuckled Burns to himself. + +Then he laughed when he remembered how his appearance had puzzled +Ernest. + +"It was a good idea, growin' a beard," he said to himself. "Seems to +have disguised me pretty well. The boy thought he had seen me before, +but he couldn't make out where. The next time he'll know me, I reckon. + +"I must keep out of the way till night," he said to himself. "It won't +do for me to be seen prowlin' round the settlement." + +He retired a mile or two among the hills, and waited impatiently for +night to come. + +"It is lucky that the old man gave me a meal," he reflected, +"otherwise I should be about starved. I wonder if that watch is worth +much." + +He examined the watch, and decided that its value was probably not far +from a hundred dollars. In fact the old man had bought it in St. +Louis, and had selected a high-priced article. + +It did occur to Burns that perhaps he had better remain satisfied with +what he had got, for the watch would probably bring him fifty dollars +at a sacrifice sale; but the temptation to stay was too strong. + +"It would be a sin to give up such a fine chance," he reflected. +"There's next to no risk, and I may get two hundred dollars." + +Then he began to consider what he would do in that case. He decided +that he would go to San Francisco, and see what pickings he could find +there. + +He had already found out that mining men and others in the far West +were more careless about their money than those in the East, probably +because money came easier. + +"I did well when I came out here," he said to himself in a tone of +congratulation. "I'll make hay while the sun shines." + +Meanwhile, though he did not know it, his visit was expected, and +preparations were being made to receive him. + +After supper Luke Robbins came to the store, and held a conference +with Ernest. + +"I am going to pass the night with you, lad," he said. + +"I wish you would, Luke." + +"I want to help you do the honors to my old friend Burns." + +"Perhaps he won't call." + +"If he knows what's best for himself he won't, but he will be like the +foolish moth, and won't be contented till he has singed his wings. I will +look about me and see where to bestow myself for the night." + +Ernest occupied a bed in the rear of the store, just behind one of the +counters. It was near a window in the rear of the building. + +"I'll take that bed, Ernest, and you can find another place." + +"Shall I fasten the window?" + +"No. I am going to make it easy for my friend Burns to get in. Whether +he will find it as easy to get out will be another matter." + +Nothing was said to the miners about the presence of a thief in the +settlement. At that time there was no toleration for thieves. The +punishment visited upon them was short, sharp, and decisive. The judge +most in favor was Judge Lynch, and woe be to the offender who ventured +to interfere with the rights of property. + +Had Luke breathed a word about Burns, half a dozen miners would have +volunteered to stand guard, and would thus have interfered with Tom +Burns' visit. + +"I want to keep all the fun to myself, Ernest," said Luke. "We'll give +him a lesson he won't soon forget. If I told the boys, they'd hang him +up in short order. I don't want to take the fellow's life, but I'll +give him a first-class scare." + +It was about ten minutes of twelve when Tom Burns, leaving his place +of concealment, walked with eager steps towards the mining settlement. +The one street was not illuminated, for Oreville had not got along as +far as that. The moon gave an indistinct light, relieving the night of +a part of its gloom. + +Burns looked from one cabin to another with a wistful glance. + +"I suppose some of these miners have got a lot of gold dust hidden +away in their shanties," he said to himself. "I wish I knew where I +could light on some of their treasure. If I only knew which cabin to +choose!" + +But then it occurred to him that every miner was probably armed, and +would make it dangerous to any intruder. + +So Tom Burns kept on his way. He was troubled by no conscientious +scruples. He had got beyond that long ago. Sometimes it did occur to +him to wonder how it would seem to settle down as a man of +respectability and influence, taking a prominent part in the affairs +of town and church. + +"It might have been," he muttered. "My father was a man of that sort. +Why not I? If I hadn't gone wrong in my early days, if I had not been +tempted of the devil to rob the storekeeper for whom I worked, and so +made myself an outcast and a pariah, who knows but I might have been +at this moment Thomas Burns, Esq., of some municipality, instead of +Tom Burns the tramp. However, it is foolish to speculate about this. I +am what I am, and there is little chance of my being anything else." + +So he dismissed the past, and recalled the work he had set for +himself. Everything was still. In the mining village probably there +was not a person awake. It was like a dead town. Everything seemed +favorable to his designs. + +There was the store. He could see it already. And now there was +nothing to do but to get in and take the money, which he had no doubt +was waiting ready to his hand. + +Perhaps he might be fortunate enough to secure it without waking the +boy. He hoped so, at any rate, for he was not a desperate or cruel +man. He did not wish to injure Ernest unless it should be absolutely +necessary. If he could get along without it, so much the better. + +Arriving at his destination, he paused to reconsider. + +He did not expect to enter by the front door. He did not as yet know +whether there was any other. But at any rate there must be a window +somewhere, and he preferred to get in that way. + +He walked around to the rear of the store, and there he discovered the +window. He had been afraid it might be blockaded with shelves, which +would make entrance difficult, but fortunately this did not appear to +be the case. He stood at the window and looked in. + +[Illustration: "He stood at the window and looked in."] + +The faint moonlight did not enable him to penetrate the interior very +far, but he could make out something. There were goods of various +kinds scattered about, and he could just see a recumbent figure on a +bed near the counter. + +"That's the boy," he said to himself. "I wonder if he is asleep." + +There did not seem to be any doubt on this point. + +But for the indistinct light, Tom Burns might have thought the +outstretched figure rather large for a boy. But he only glanced at it +furtively. + +The next thing to consider was whether the window was fastened. In +that case he would have some difficulty, though for this he was +prepared, having an instrument with which he could cut a pane of +glass, and, thrusting in his hand, unfasten the catch. + +But through some strange inadvertence, apparently, the window was not +locked, and much to his relief he had no difficulty in lifting it. In +this way he made his entrance into the store. + +He was as careful as possible, fearing lest he might stumble over some +article, and by the noise betray his presence. + +What if there was a dog inside? This thought brought alarm to the +burglar. In that case his visit would probably be a failure. He +remembered, however, with a feeling of relief, that he had seen no dog +about during his visit to the store. + +Now that he had passed through the window, and was fairly in the +store, he looked round for the money-drawer. He had not seen the safe, +or probably he might not have entered the store at all, for he was not +expert in breaking open safes, and at any rate it would be a matter of +time and difficulty. So he was looking about, when, as he passed by +the bed, he felt himself seized by the leg. Evidently the sleeper had +awakened and discovered his presence. + +Burns got down on his knees and grasped the recumbent by the throat. + +"Lie still, or I'll choke you!" he said, fiercely. + +But as he spoke he felt the rough beard of a man, and with dismay he +realized that he had tackled a more formidable foe than the boy for +whom he was prepared. + +He then felt himself seized with an iron grasp. + +[Illustration: "HE STOOD AT THE WINDOW AND LOOKED IN."] + +"I've got you, you rascally burglar!" were the words he heard, and gave +himself up for lost. + +"Who are you?" he asked faintly. + +"I am Luke Robbins, and I know you of old. You are Tom Burns!" + + + + +CHAPTER XXXI. + +THE ADVERTISEMENT. + +If there was any one of whom Tom Burns stood in fear it was Luke +Robbins. When he found himself in the grasp of his dreaded enemy he +grew weak with terror. + +It was no longer a question of successful robbery. It was a matter of +personal safety. + +"Well, what have you to say for yourself?" demanded Luke, tightening +his grasp. + +"Have mercy on me, Mr. Robbins! Don't kill me!" ejaculated Burns, half +choked. + +"What did you come here for?" + +"I--I had no money, and--" + +"You thought you could get some here. That is the explanation." + +"Ye-es," faltered Burns. + +"You thought you would be more than a match for the boy. Well, you +have no boy to deal with." + +"I know that very well," confessed Burns. + +"How long have you been in Oreville?" + +"I only came this morning." + +"You have improved your time," said Luke, dryly. "You have stolen a +gold watch, besides making this attempt at robbery." + +Tom Burns could not deny it, though he was surprised at Luke's +knowledge. He did not reply. + +"Hand over that watch!" said Luke, in a tone of authority. + +"Will you let me go if I do?" + +"I will make no conditions with you. Hand over that watch!" + +Burns drew it from his inside pocket and handed it over. + +"Humph! So far so good. Now how about that dollar you took to buy +eggs?" + +"It is the only money I have, except a few pennies. Please let me keep +it." + +"If I tell the miners what you have done you won't need any more +money," said Luke, grimly. + +"Why not?" asked Burns, trembling. + +"Why not?" repeated Luke. "Because they will hang you to the nearest +tree. You won't need to trouble about money matters after that." + +"You won't give me up, Mr. Robbins," pleaded Burns in an agony of +terror. "I--I am not fit to die. Besides, I am a young man. I am not +yet forty. I will turn over a new leaf. I will, truly." + +"It's high time you did. It is a long time since you earned an honest +living." + +"I know it, Mr. Robbins. I have been a bad man, but it is not too late +to reform. If you'll let me go I will leave Oreville to-night, and I +will never trouble you again." + +"It isn't me you have troubled. It is the boy. You robbed him, or +tried to do it, at Oak Forks, and now you have turned up here." + +"I didn't know he was here. Truly I didn't." + +"You didn't know I was here, or I think you would have given the place +a wide berth." + +"I am very sorry for what I did, and if you'll only spare my life I'll +promise to reform." + +"I haven't much faith in your promises, but I'll leave it to the boy. +Ernest, what shall I do with this man?" + +Ernest had come forward, and was standing but a few feet from Luke and +his captive. + +"If he promises to reform," said Ernest, "you'd better give him +another chance, Luke." + +"I am not sure that I ought to, but it is you to whom he has done the +most harm. If you give him over to the miners we shall never be +troubled by him again." + +Tom Burns turned pale, for he knew that life and death were in the +balance, and that those two--Luke and the boy--were to decide his +fate. + +Ernest could not help pitying the trembling wretch. He was naturally +kind hearted, and at that moment he felt that he could forgive Burns +all that he had done. + +"Since you have left it to me, Luke," he said, "let him go." + +"It shall be as you say, Ernest." + +As he spoke he released his hold, and Tom Burns stood erect. He +breathed a deep sigh of relief. + +"May I go?" he asked submissively. + +"Yes." + +Before leaving he turned to Ernest. + +"You are a good-hearted boy," he said, "and I shall not forget that +you have saved my life. If I am ever able to do anything for you, I +will do it. You will find that Tom Burns, bad as he has been, knows +how to be grateful." + +"I think you mean what you say," returned Ernest. "I hope you will +keep your promise and will turn over a new leaf. Is it true that you +are penniless?" + +"Not quite. This is all I have." + +Burns drew from his pocket a handful of small change--less than a +dollar in all--and held it out for inspection. + +"Then I will help you along." + +Ernest took from his pocket a five-dollar gold piece, and offered it +to the tramp. + +"That is more than I would do for him," said Luke. + +"It is more than I deserve," replied Burns, "but you won't be sorry +for your kindness. If ever you see me again, I shall be a different +man." + +He passed out of the window, and they saw him no more. + +Luke and Ernest said very little of their night's adventure, but the +gold watch and the Mexican dollar were returned to the man from whom +they had been taken. + +Six months passed. Oreville had doubled its population, the mines had +yielded a large sum in gold dust, and the store presided over by +Ernest was considerably enlarged. + +His services had been so satisfactory that Horace Ames, whose time was +taken up elsewhere, had raised his share of the profits to one half. + +At the end of six months, besides defraying his expenses, Ernest found +himself possessed of a thousand dollars. + +"Luke, I feel rich," said he, when his faithful friend came round for +a chat. + +"You've done better than I have," rejoined Luke. "The most I have been +able to scrape together is four hundred dollars." + +"I will give you a part of my money, so that we may be even." + +"No, you won t, Ernest. What do you take me for? I should be ashamed +to touch any of your hard earnings." + +"They are not hard earnings, Luke. Mr. Ames has been very liberal, and +that is why I have got so much. I don't feel that I ought to have so +much more than you." + +"Don't bother about me, lad; I feel rich with four hundred dollars. I +never was worth so much before, though I'm almost three times your +age. And I wouldn't have that but for you." + +"How do you make that out, Luke?" + +"Because I never had any ambition till I met you. I never thought of +saving money; as long as I got enough to eat I cared for nothing else. +I should have died without enough to bury me if you had not set me the +example of putting something by for a rainy day." + +"I am glad if I have done you any good, Luke, for you have been a kind +friend to me." + +A. week later Luke came into the store holding a letter in his hand. + +"Here is a letter for you, Ernest," he said. "I was passing the +post-office just now when I was hailed by the postmaster, who asked me +if I would take the letter to you. I didn't know that you had any +correspondents." + +"Nor I, Luke. I think it is the first letter I ever received. Whom can +it be from?" + +"From some one who knows you are here. It is postmarked St. Louis." + +"Well, I can easily discover who wrote it," said Ernest, as he cut +open the envelope with his penknife. + +He turned at once to the signature, and exclaimed, in great surprise, +"Why, it's from Tom Burns." + +"The man who tried to rob the store?" + +"Yes." + +"He has probably written to ask you for some money." + +"No, Luke, you are mistaken. I will read it to you." + +The letter started thus: + +ERNEST RAY: + +You will probably be surprised to hear from me. Let me begin by saying +that I have kept the promise I made to you and Mr. Robbins when you +let me off six months ago. I have turned over a new leaf, and have +been strictly honest ever since, as I promised you I would be. + +I won't trouble you with an account of my struggles to get along. I +will only say that I am employed at present as a waiter at the +Planters Hotel, and though I can't save up much money, I am able to +live comfortable. But you will wonder why I am writing to you. It is +because I have seen your name mentioned in an advertisement in one of +the St. Louis daily papers. I inclose the advertisement, and hope it +is something to your advantage. I have taken the liberty to write to +Mr. Bolton, telling him where you were six months since, and now I +write to you so that you may communicate with him also. + +Yours respectfully, TOM BURNS. + +The advertisement appended ran thus: + +INFORMATION WANTED.--Should this meet the eye of Ernest Ray, some time +residing at Oak Forks, Iowa, he is requested to communicate with +Benjamin Bolton, Attorney-at-Law, 182 Nassau Street, New York City. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXII. + +MR. BOLTON AS A HUSTLER. + +When Benjamin Bolton left the house of Stephen Ray with a hundred +dollars in his pocket, it was with the clearly-defined purpose in his +mind to find the boy who had been so grossly wronged, and force the +present holder of the Ray estate to make restitution. But he was not +yet in a position to move in the matter. + +Only a few hours previous he had been nearly penniless. Even now, +though he was provided with a sum of money that made him feel +comparatively rich, he knew that it would not last very long. Clearly +he must obtain employment. + +He provided himself with a respectable suit of clothing, and took the +next train for New York. He had been in the metropolis two or three +times in the course of his life, but he knew no one there. He must +push his own way without help. + +While other paths might be open to him, for he was a man of education +and worldly experience, he felt that he should like to get back into +his own profession. He flattered himself that if properly started he +could make himself valuable to an established attorney in the way of +hunting up cases, and taking part in any description of legal work +that might be intrusted to him. + +But how could he, a man altogether unknown, recommend himself to any +lawyer whose standing and business would make a connection with him +desirable? Perhaps in any other business there would be less +difficulty in making a start. + +But Mr. Bolton was resolute and determined, and fortune favored him. + +Within thirty miles of the city a stout gentleman of perhaps fifty +entered the car and sat down beside him. He looked like a well-to-do +business man, prosperous and free from care, but for the anxious +expression on his face. He appeared like a man in trouble who stood in +need of advice. + +The train had gone several miles before he made up his mind to confide +in the quiet-looking man who sat beside him. He had already taken +stock of Bolton in several furtive glances before he decided to speak +of the matter that troubled him. + +"There is something on his mind," thought Bolton. "He looks as if he +wished to speak to some one." + +He addressed a casual remark to his companion, who instantly +responded. + +"I don't like to trouble you," he said, "but I am somewhat perplexed." + +"My dear sir, if in any way I can help you I shall be glad to do so," +answered Bolton. "I am a lawyer--" + +"Are you?" said the other eagerly. "I want to meet a good, honest, and +_smart_ lawyer, who will undertake a case for me." + +Bolton pricked up his ears. This seemed to be a providential +opportunity of which he resolved to avail himself. + +"I should not like to praise myself," he said modestly, "but I think +you would find me faithful to your interests." + +"No doubt of it, sir. Are you a New York lawyer?" + +"I am about to connect myself with a law firm in the city," answered +Bolton, heartily hoping that this statement might prove accurate. + +"Then you will be able to help me." + +"State your case, if you don't mind." Bolton took out a small +memorandum book, and, pencil in hand, sat ready to take down the +important points. + +"You must know, sir, that twenty years ago my father died, leaving an +estate of fifty thousand dollars. It was divided equally between my +sister Martha and myself. I married, and Martha, for the last twenty +years, has been a member of my family. Being a spinster, with only +herself to provide for, her property has doubled, while I, having +several children, have barely held my own. Of course I expected that +my children and my self would inherit Martha's money when she died." + +"Very natural, sir, and very just." + +"Well, Martha died last August. Imagine my dismay when her will was +opened and proved to bequeath her entire estate to various charities +in which she never took any particular interest when living." + +"Do you suspect any one of influencing her to this disposition of her +property?" + +"Yes, she had had various conversations with a collector for these +societies, who resided in the town during the summer, and who sought +an introduction when he learned that she was a lady of independent +fortune. He called frequently, and flattered up my poor sister, who, +between ourselves, had lately shown signs of mental weakness." + +"Did she cut off your family entirely in her will?" + +"Yes; she didn't leave even a dollar to any one of my children, though +one of my daughters was named for her." + +"Was the collector entitled to a commission on sums secured for the +societies which he rep resented?" + +"Yes, that is the cause of his zeal. He would make a very handsome +percentage on an estate as large as my sister's." + +"But for him would she have been likely to cut off her relatives?" + +"No; we should probably have received every dollar." + +"Do you think the collector cherished any matrimonial designs with +reference to your sister?" + +"I did think so at one time, but Martha's condition as an invalid led +her to discourage his attentions, though she was evidently flattered +by them." + +"Of course you wish to break the will?" + +"Yes. Do you think it can be done?" + +"Upon the basis of what you have told me I should think the chances +were greatly in your favor." + +His companion brightened up very perceptibly at this assurance. + +"Have you ever been employed in any similar cases?" he asked. + +"My dear sir, I have an important case of the kind on my hands at this +moment. The amount involved is a quarter of a million dollars." + +Mr. Bolton rose greatly in the estimation of his new client after he +had made this statement. + +"Is the case at all similar?" + +"Hardly. It is the case of a will concealed, or rather suppressed, and +acting upon a will previously made. I cannot go into details for +obvious reasons, as I wish to keep our enemy in the dark." + +"I understand. Have you your card with you, so that I can call at your +office?" + +This was a puzzling question for Bolton, but he was equal to the +occasion. + +"Tell me what hotel you propose to stop at, and I will call upon you +at eleven o'clock to-morrow morning." + +"I don't know much about the New York hotels." + +"Then let me recommend a house," naming a comfortable but not +expensive hostelry on upper Broadway. + +"I will go there." + +"I think you have not yet mentioned your name." + +"My name is Ephraim Paulding." + +Bolton noted it down in his memorandum-book, and soon after the train +ran into the station at Forty-second Street. + +There was no time to be lost. Bolton made inquiries and obtained the +name of a successful, go-ahead lawyer, having an office at 182 Nassau +Street. He did not wait till the next day, but made a call that same +evening at his house on Lexington Avenue. + +Mr. Norcross, the lawyer, entered the parlor with Bolton's card in his +hand and a puzzled expression on his face. + +"Have I ever met you before, Mr. Bolton?" he asked. + +"No, sir." + +"Please state your business." + +"I should like to enter your office. I am a lawyer with fifteen years +experience." + +"I should hardly think so, considering the strange, and I may say +unprecedented, proposal you are making." + +"I am quite aware that it seems so, but I can make it worth your +while." + +"How?" + +"By bringing you business. I can put in your hands now a will case +involving an estate of fifty thousand dollars, and further on probably +a much more important case." + +"You seem to be a hustler." + +"I am." + +"Where has your professional life been spent?" asked Norcross. + +"At Elmira. Now I wish to remove to this city. It will give me a +larger and more profitable field." + +"Give me some idea of the case you say you can put in my hands." + +Bolton did so. His terse and crisp statement--for he was really a man +of ability--interested the lawyer, and disposed him favorably toward +the matter. + +The result of the interview was that he engaged Bolton at a small +salary and a commission on business brought to the office for a period +of three months. + +"Thank you," said Bolton, as he rose to go. "You will not regret this +step." + +The next morning Bolton brought his rail road acquaintance to the +office, and Mr. Norcross formally undertook his case. + +"I think we shall win," he said. "It is an aggravated case of undue +influence. Mr. Bolton will from time to time communicate to you the +steps we have taken." + +It is unnecessary to go into details. It is enough to say that the +will was broken, and a goodly sum found its way to the coffers of +lawyer Norcross. + +By this time Benjamin Bolton had established himself in the favor of +his employer, who, at the end of three months, made a new and much +more advantageous arrangement. Bolton had not as yet taken any steps +in Ernest's case, but he now felt that the time had come to do so. He +wrote to the postmaster at Oak Forks, inquiring if he knew a boy named +Ernest Ray, but learned, in reply, that Ernest had left the place some +months before, and had not since been heard from. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIII. + +THE RESULT OF AN ADVERTISEMENT. + +The advertisement for Ernest in a St. Louis daily paper came about in +this way: + +Bolton was in the habit of inquiring from time to time, of Western +clients, if they were acquainted with any persons bearing the name of +Ray. One gentleman, who frequently visited St. Louis, answered, "Yes, +I know a boy named Ray." + +"Tell me all you know about him," said Bolton, eagerly. + +"I was staying at the Southern Hotel last winter," answered Mr. +Windham, "when my attention was called to a bright-looking newsboy +who sold the evening newspapers outside. I was so attracted by him +that I inquired his name. He said it was Ray, and that he was alone in +the world." + +"What was his first name?" + +"I can't recall. I am not sure that I heard it." + +"Was it Ernest?" + +"Very possibly. But, as I said before, I cannot speak with any +certainty." + +"How old did the boy appear to be?" + +"About sixteen." + +"That would have been the age of Dudley Ray's son," said Bolton to +himself. + +"I suppose you didn't learn where the boy lived?" + +"No." + +This was all the information Mr. Windham was able to impart, but +Bolton felt that it was possibly of importance. It was, in fact, the +first clue he had been able to obtain. + +That Dudley Ray's son should be forced by dire necessity to sell +newspapers was not in the least improbable. He went to an advertising +agency, and inserted the advertisement already mentioned. + +A few days later he received two letters post-marked St. Louis. + +He opened them with a thrill of excitement. + +He felt that he was on the verge of making an important discovery. + +One letter was addressed in a school-boy hand, and ran thus: + +DEAR SIR: + +I saw your advertisement in one of the morning papers. I hope it means +me. My name is not Ernest, but it may have been changed by some people +with whom I lived in Nebraska. I am sixteen years old, and am a poor +boy obliged to earn my living by selling papers. My father died when I +was a baby, and my mother three years later. So I am alone in the +world, and I am having a hard time. I suppose you wouldn't advertise +for me unless you had some good news for me. You may send your answer +to this letter to the Southern Hotel. The clerk is a friend of mine, +and he says he will save it for me. + +Yours respectfully, ARTHUR RAY. + +"That isn't the boy," said Bolton, laying down the letter in +disappointment. "The name is different, and, besides, the writer says +that his father died when he was a baby. Of course that settles the +question. He is a different boy." + +He opened the second letter, hoping that it might be more +satisfactory. + +It was the letter of Tom Burns, setting forth his meeting Ernest at +Oak Forks, and afterwards running across him at Oreville in +California. + +"Eureka!" exclaimed Bolton, his face beaming with exultation. "This is +the boy and no mistake. I will at once answer this letter, and also +write to Ernest Ray in California." + +This was the letter received by Burns: + +DEAR SIR: + +I am very much indebted to you for the information contained in your +letter of two days since. I have reason to think that the boy you +mention is the one of whom I am in search. If it proves to be so, I am +free to tell you that he will be much benefited by your communication. +There is a considerable estate, now wrongfully held by another, to +which he is entitled. Should things turn out as I hope and expect, I +will see that you lose nothing by the service you have rendered him +and myself. I will write to him by this mail. Should you change your +address, please notify me. + +Yours truly, BENJAMIN BOLTON, 182 Nassau Street, New York. + +The letter written to Ernest ran thus: + +ERNEST RAY, OREVILLE, CALIFORNIA: + +I have for some time been seeking to find you. Finally, in response to +an advertisement inserted in a St. Louis daily paper, I learn that you +are at present living in Oreville, California. This information was +given me by one Thomas Burns, who is employed at the Planters Hotel. +The name is, I hope, familiar to you. It is very desirable that I +should have an interview with you. If you are the son of Dudley Ray, +formerly residing at or near Elmira, what I have to say will be +greatly to your advantage. + +Will you write me at once, letting me know whether this is the case? +Also, state your present circumstances, and whether you need pecuniary +help. It is unfortunate that we are so far apart. I am connected with +a New York legal firm, and can not very well go to California, but I +might assist you to come to New York if, as I suppose, your means are +limited. Will you write to me at once whether this is the case? I +shall anxiously await your reply. + +BENJAMIN BOLTON, Attorney-at-law, 182 Nassau Street, New York City. + +Ernest read this letter with eager interest, and showed it to Luke +Robbins. + +"What do you think of it, Luke?" he asked. + +"What do I think of it? It looks very much as if you were entitled to +some money." + +"What shall I do?" + +"Write this Mr. Bolton that you will go at once to New York, and call +upon him." + +"But how about the store? I should not like to leave Mr. Ames in the +lurch." + +"I will take your place here, and in order to qualify myself for it, I +will come in to morrow and begin to serve an apprenticeship." + +Ernest wrote to Bolton that he would start for New York in a week. He +added that he had the money necessary for the journey. He said also +that he was the son of Dudley Ray, and that he remembered visiting +Elmira with his father. + +When Bolton received this letter he exclaimed, triumphantly, "Now, +Stephen Ray, I have you on the hip. You looked down upon me when I +called upon you. In your pride and your unjust possession of wealth +you thought me beneath your notice. Unless I am greatly mistaken, I +shall be the instrument under Providence of taking from you your +ill-gotten gains, and carrying out the wishes expressed in the last +will of your deceased uncle." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXIV. + +A STRANGE MEETING. + +Ernest left Oreville with four hundred dollars in his pocket. The +balance of his money he left in the hands of his friend Horace Ames, +upon whom he was authorized to draw if he should have need. + +"I don't intend to carry all my money with me," he said to Luke +Robbins. "I might lose it." + +"Even if you did, Ernest, you could draw on me. If you need it, do so +without any hesitation." + +"You are a good friend, Luke," said Ernest warmly. "What should I do +without you?" + +"I am beginning to wonder what I shall do without you, Ernest. +Suppose, now, this lawyer puts a fortune in your hands?" + +"If he does, Luke, I am sure to need your help in some way. I will see +that we are not separated." + +"Thank you, Ernest. I know you mean what you say. You may find a +better friend, but you won't find one that is more ready to serve you +than Luke Robbins." + +"I am sure of that, Luke," said Ernest with a bright smile, as he +pressed the rough hand of his faithful friend. + +Ernest did not loiter on his way, though he was tempted to stop in +Chicago, but he reflected that he would have plenty of chances to +visit that bustling city after his business had been attended to. + +As he approached Buffalo on the train his attention was attracted to +two persons sitting in front of him. They were a father and son, as he +gathered from the conversation. + +The son was about his own age and size, apparently, but rather more +slender in figure. He had a peevish expression, and Ernest doubted +whether he would like him. + +"Father," Ernest heard him say, "won't you give me a little money? I +am dead broke." + +The father frowned. + +"I gave you five dollars when we set out on this journey," he said. + +"Well, five dollars won't last forever," was the pert rejoinder. + +"It ought to last more than four days, Clarence." + +Ernest started. He knew that his cousin's name was Clarence. Could +this be Stephen Ray and his son? + +Even if it were so, he felt that it would not be advisable to make +himself known. This business which was carrying him to New York might +bring him into conflict with Stephen Ray. If so, he would not care to +let his presence be known. + +On arriving at Buffalo Ernest left the train. He had never visited +Niagara, and being now so near, he felt that he could not forego the +opportunity. + +He registered at the Tefft House, and decided to remain twenty-four +hours. This would give him time to see the Falls. + +Ernest had a room assigned him, and went up to it at once in order to +have the luxury of a good wash. + +Five minutes afterwards, Stephen Ray and his son Clarence entered the +hotel. + +Mr. Ray, in a pompous manner, went up to the desk and said to the +clerk, "Can you give me a good room?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"I want a front room, if you have it." + +"I can't give you a front room, but I can give you a good side room." + +Stephen Ray grumbled a little, but finally decided to take the room +offered him. He saw that his haughty manner did not impress the clerk, +who was accustomed to men of his class. + +Clarence looked over his father's shoulder as he registered. + +"Why, pa," he exclaimed in surprise, "there's another guest of our +name." + +"Where?" asked his father. + +"There, three names above your signature." + +Stephen Ray looked at the register, and started violently as he read +the entry: + +ERNEST RAY, Oreville, California. + +"What's the matter, pa?" asked Clarence, noticing his father's +agitation. + +"Oh, nothing, nothing," answered his father, with an effort. + +"Haven't we a cousin named Ernest Ray?" + +"We had, but he is dead." + +"It is strange that there should be another person of the name." + +"Not at all. The world is large, and there are probably a good many +persons of one name." + +"This one is from California." + +"So I see. By the way," here Mr. Ray addressed the clerk, "did you +observe the person who registered under the name of Ray?" + +"Yes. It is a boy about the size of this young gentleman." + +"It is strange!" said Clarence. "It may be our cousin." + +"Didn't I tell you that the person you refer to is dead?" said his +father, testily. + +"I don't believe it," thought Clarence, but he did not express his +unbelief. He determined, however, to have an interview with the boy, +and find out for himself all about him. + +He saw Ernest at the table soon after, and so did Stephen Ray. The +latter noted with alarm the resemblance of the boy to his cousin +Dudley Ray, whose estate he had usurped. + +"I hope Bolton won't get hold of him." he said to himself. "It would +be bad for me." + +After supper Mr. Ray went out, leaving Clarence to himself. + +He improved the opportunity. Seeing Ernest sitting alone, he went up +to him. + +"Is your name Ray?" he asked. + +"Yes, Ernest Ray." + +"My name is Clarence Ray." + +"So I thought. We are cousins." + +"That's what I told pa, but he said it was not so--that Ernest Ray was +dead." + +"Your father's name is Stephen Ray?" + +"Yes." + +"I have known of him and you since I was old enough to remember +anything." + +"Then you are really my cousin Ernest?" + +"Yes." + +"I wonder why pa said you were dead. I will tell pa he is mistaken." + +"No, Clarence, I would rather you wouldn't. There are reasons why it +is better not to say anything about it." + +"All right. Are you well off?" + +Ernest smiled. + +"I am not rich," he said, "but I am comfortably fixed." + +"Do you live in California?" + +"I have lived there for the last few months." + +"Why did you come East?" + +"On a little business." + +"I am glad you are well off. I think pa was afraid you were a poor +relation." + +"Your father is rich?" + +"Yes, ever so rich. We've got a fine place near Elmira. If pa wasn't +so cranky I would invite you there to visit me." + +"Thank you all the same," said Ernest, smiling. + +Later in the evening, when Stephen Ray came in, Ernest noticed that he +looked at him critically. He, too, examined the man who, he had reason +to believe, was enjoying the estates that should be his, and was not +attracted towards him. + +"What will he say," thought Ernest, "when I make a formal demand for +the property?" + +"What in the name of all that's unlucky can have brought that boy here +at this time?" Stephen Ray was saying to himself. + +He never for an instant doubted Ernest's identity--in fact, he could +not well have done so, for he bore a strong resemblance to Dudley Ray, +who had been a strikingly handsome man, very much the superior of +Stephen in personal attractions. + +Stephen Ray's curiosity was excited. Ernest did not appear like the +average poor relation. He was quite as well dressed as Clarence. +Besides, he had registered at a high-priced hotel, and this alone +showed that he was not cramped for means. + +This gave him some satisfaction, as it made it less likely that he +would appeal to him for assistance. + +Stephen Ray was rather surprised that Clarence made no further +reference to Ernest. Had he known that the two had had a conversation +he would have been seriously disturbed. He only hoped that Bolton +would not get hold of the boy. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXV. + +MR. BOLTON AND HIS CLIENT. + +Benjamin Bolton sat at his desk in the law office of Albert Norcross, +on Nassau Street. He was well, even handsomely dressed, and looked +very unlike the shabby tramp who had called months before at the house +of Stephen Ray. + +He was really a man of ability, and this his employer had found out. +He had raised Bolton's salary to a liberal figure, and felt that in +securing his services he had made a real acquisition. + +Bolton was absorbed in preparation for a case which had been assigned +to him, when a boy came to his desk with a card. + +Bolton no sooner read the name, "Ernest Ray," than he became eager and +excited. + +"Tell him to come in," he said. + +Ernest, quiet and self-possessed, entered the office and approached +the lawyer's desk. + +"Are you Mr. Bolton?" he asked + +"Yes, and you--" + +"I am Ernest Ray." + +Benjamin Bolton looked keenly at the boy, admiring his handsome face +and manly bearing. + +"I see your father's looks in you," he said. + +"Then you knew my father?" said Ernest, eagerly. + +"Yes. We were young men together." + +"I am glad to meet you then." + +"You come from California?" + +"Yes." + +"I judge from your appearance that you have not suffered from +poverty." + +"I have been fortunate at Oreville. At Oak Forks I lived very humbly +with Peter Brant, an old servant of my father." + +"Yes, I remember Peter. Is he alive still?" + +"No, he died a little less than a year since. Till his death I thought +him my uncle, and knew no other relatives. Before he died he told me +who I was." + +"How did he live?" + +"On a small sum left by my father. When he died it was all exhausted +except a hundred dollars. I took that and went to California with a +man named Luke Robbins, who has proved my faithful friend." + +"What were you doing in California? Were you working at the mines?" + +"No. I was keeping a store where I sold miners supplies." + +"Did it pay you well?" + +"I was very well paid for a boy. When I left Oreville I was worth a +thousand dollars." + +"That is well, but it is only a drop in the bucket compared with the +fortune you are entitled to." + +"Now held by Mr. Stephen Ray?" + +"Yes; he will be surprised to see you here in the East." + +"He has seen me," said Ernest, quickly. + +"What!" exclaimed the lawyer. "You have not called upon him?" + +"No. I met him on the train and afterwards at a Buffalo hotel. My +cousin Clarence was with him." + +"Did you have any conference with them?" + +"I talked with Clarence, not with his father." + +"Did you think the father knew you?" + +"Yes, but he did not speak to me." + +"He told me when I called upon him some time ago that you were +dead--that you had died in Georgia." + +"What could have been his object?" + +"He did not wish me to find you, for I had the proof that the estate +was rightfully yours." + +"What led you to think I was alive?" + +"I cross-examined Clarence, who did not know his father's desire to +keep us apart." + +"Is the estate a large one?" + +"Quarter of a million, at least." + +Ernest's eyes opened wide with amazement. + +"But I will introduce you to Mr. Norcross, my principal, and we will +talk over our plan of operations. You must assert your rights, and +demand that your grandfather's will be carried out. Are you content to +place yourself in our hands?" + +"Entirely so. But I am sorry for Cousin Stephen. It will be a great +blow to him." + +"Don't waste any pity upon him. He defrauded your father, and meant to +defraud you." + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVI. + +AN IMPORTANT INTERVIEW. + +"A gentleman to see you, sir." This was the message brought to Stephen +Ray by the servant one morning. + +"Did he give his name?" + +"No, sir." + +"Very well; bring him up." + +Mr. Ray was sitting at the desk in his library. He was looking over +some plans for the improvement of his already handsome residence. + +He proposed to enlarge a lower room by a bay-window, and to carry the +piazza round on each side. It would cost something, but his income was +ample--at least four times his expenditure. + +He looked up as a handsomely dressed gentleman entered the room. + +"What is your business, sir?" asked Stephen Ray, formally. + +The visitor smiled. + +"You don't recognize me, Stephen Ray?" he said. + +"Benjamin Bolton!" exclaimed the other, his countenance changing. + +"The same." + +"I judge from your appearance that your circumstances have improved," +said Mr. Ray, coldly. + +"Fortunately, yes." + +"You have probably come to receive my congratulations. Well, I +congratulate you." + +"Thank you. The money you kindly loaned me when I was last here did me +a great deal of good." + +"I presume you have come to repay it," said Ray, with a sneer. + +"You are right," and Bolton drew from his pocket two fifty-dollar +bills, which he tendered to his host. + +Stephen Ray was fond of money, and he received the notes with +satisfaction. + +"You have acted honorably," he said more graciously. "Are you located +in the neighborhood, Mr. Bolton?" + +"No, in New York City. I am in a law office there." + +"I am pleased with your success. I would ask you to remain, but I am +busy this morning." + +"Excuse me, Mr. Ray, but the repayment of the loan was not my only +errand. I am here on more important business." + +Stephen Ray's countenance changed. He began to fear that Bolton had +found Ernest. + +"Well?" he said stiffly. + +"When I was here last year you told me that Dudley Ray's son Ernest +was dead." + +"Yes, he died in Alabama." + +"When I was here before you told me he died in Georgia." + +"I believe it was in Georgia," said Stephen Ray, disconcerted. + +"You will be glad to hear that it is a mistake--about his death, I +mean. He is as much alive as you are." + +"Mr. Bolton," said Ray angrily, "you are trying to impose upon me. The +boy is dead, I tell you." + +"And I tell you he is not dead. I saw him only yesterday." + +"You may have seen some one who pretended to be Ernest Ray." + +"I should not be easily deceived. He is the image of his father." + +"I don't believe the boy is alive." + +"Shall I bring him here?" + +"You need not trouble yourself. I can have nothing to say to him, +whether he is really Ernest Ray or an impostor." + +"I beg your pardon. If he is Ernest Ray, under the will which I have +in my possession he is the owner of this property." + +Bolton spoke firmly, and looked Ray resolutely in the eye. + +Stephen Ray flushed and then paled. There was a great fear in his +heart, but he resolved to brave it out. + +"This is a base conspiracy," he ejaculated. "Your share in it ought to +land you in State's prison." + +"I am willing to take my chance of it," said the lawyer calmly. "Didn't +you recognize the boy when you saw him?" + +"What do you mean?" + +"You saw him in the hotel at Buffalo. He recognized you, and had a +conversation with your son." + +"Had a conversation with Clarence? That is a lie. Clarence never spoke +to me about it." + +"You had better question him. But there is no need of sparring. I tell +you confidently that Ernest Ray is alive, and demands the estate which +you hold, under his grandfather's will." + +"This is simply ridiculous. Of course there is but one answer to such +a proposal." + +"And what is that?" + +"I refuse absolutely to make any concession to an impostor." + +"That is your final answer?" + +"It is." + +"Then I give you notice that the boy will at once bring suit for the +restoration of the estate and the vindication of his rights." + +"I suppose you are his lawyer," sneered Ray. + +"The firm with which I am connected has undertaken the case." + +"What is the firm?" asked Stephen Ray, with an anxiety which he could +not conceal. + +"Norcross & Co.," answered Bolton. + +Great drops of perspiration appeared on the brow of Stephen Ray. He +knew very well the high reputation and uniform success of the firm in +question. + +He did not immediately answer, but began to pace the room in +agitation. Finally he spoke. + +"I don't know what to say. This has come upon me as a surprise. I +thought the boy dead. I may be willing to make some arrangement. Bring +him here some day next week say Tuesday and we will talk the matter +over." + +"You must do something more than talk the matter over, Stephen Ray. A +great injustice has been done, and the wrong must be righted." + +"Come here next Tuesday," was the only answer made. + +The lawyer bowed and withdrew. + + + + +CHAPTER XXXVII. + +CONCLUSION. + +On Tuesday Bolton returned with Ernest. Two hours were spent in +conference with Stephen Ray. The latter fought hard, but had to yield +in the end. He understood perfectly well the strength of his +opponent's case. + +Ernest consented to receive the estate as it was bequeathed to his +father, without any demand for back revenues. Whatever Stephen Ray had +accumulated besides, he was allowed to retain. + +As this amounted to a hundred thousand dollars, Ray felt that it might +have been worse. Had he not been dissuaded by Bolton, Ernest would +have consented to share the estate with the usurper, but the lawyer +represented that this would be condoning the wrong done to his father. + + +In a month the whole matter was settled, and Stephen Ray departed, +removing to Chicago, in which city he had some business interests. + +"But what shall I do with this large house?" asked Ernest. "I don't +want to live here." + +"I know of a gentleman who would like to hire it for term of years," +responded Bolton. "He will pay a rental of five thousand dollars a +year. The bonds which you inherit will yield an income equally large." + +"So that my income will be ten thousand dollars a year?" said Ernest, +dazzled. + +"Yes." + +"What shall I do with it all?" + +Bolton smiled. + +"You are but seventeen," he said. "A few years hence you will probably +marry. Then you can occupy the house yourself. Meanwhile--" + +"I will go back to California. Luke will expect me. While I am away I +appoint you my man of business. I wish you to have charge of my +property at a proper commission." + +"I will undertake the charge with pleasure." + +Bolton knew how much this would increase his importance in the eyes of +the firm by which he was employed. Still, Ernest could not have made a +better choice. Bolton was no longer intemperate. He was shrewd and +keen, and loyal to his young employer. + +Ernest returned to California, but he had lost his old zest for +business, now that his fortune was secure. He soon came East again, +and entered upon a plan of systematic study, ending with a collegiate +course. He brought with him Frank Fox, the son of the dead outlaw, who +regarded him with devoted affection. They lived together, and he +placed Frank at a well-known school, justly noted for the success of +its pupils. + +Of the many boys with whom Frank was associated not one suspected that +the attractive lad, who was a favorite with all, was a son of the +noted desperado whose deeds had been commemorated in dime novels and +were a matter of common knowledge in the West. Ernest had cautioned +the boy to say as little as possible of his past history. + +Years have gone by, and what Bolton predicted has come to pass. Ernest +is a young man, a college graduate, and he will soon be married to a +young lady of high position in the city of New York. He will go abroad +for a year, and on his return will take up his home on his ancestral +estate. + +Last week he received a letter from a patient in a New York City +hospital. It was signed John Franklin, a name with which he was not +familiar. + +In some wonder he answered the call, and was led to a bed on which lay +a gaunt, spectral man, evidently in the last stage of existence. + +"Is this John Franklin?" asked Ernest, doubtfully. + +"That is the name I go by now," answered the dying man. + +"Do I know you? Have I ever met you?" + +"Yes." + +"I don't remember you." + +"If I tell you my real name, will you keep it secret?" + +"Yes." + +"Then I am John Fox." + +"What! the noted outlaw?" + +"I am all that is left of him. You will not betray me?" + +"No; certainly not. Can I do anything for you?" + +"Yes; you were left the guardian of my brother's child?" + +"Yes." + +"Is he alive? Is he well?" + +"Yes." + +"Will you bring him here? Will you let me see him before I die?" + +"I will. I cannot refuse the request of a dying man." + +So Ernest brought Frank to the bedside of his dying uncle. It was a +sad interview. Frank was moved, but John Fox, seeing him strong, +handsome, robust, felt comforted. + +"He at least has profited by the fate that overtook his father and +myself. I shall die content, for I leave him in good hands. Don't let +him think too hardly of us!" + +"I will not. And so far as I can compass it, his future life shall be +happy." + +The dying outlaw reached out his hand and pressed Ernest's gratefully. +A day later, and he was dead. + + + + +THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.'S POPULAR JUVENILES. + + + +L. T. TROWBRIDGE. + +Neither as a writer does he stand apart from the great currents of +life and select some exceptional phase or odd combination of +circumstances. He stands on the common level and appeals to the +universal heart, and all that he suggests or achieves is on the plane +and in the line of march of the great body of humanity. + +The Jack Hazard series of stories, published in the late _Our Young +Folks_, and continued in the first volume of _St. Nicholas_, under the +title of "Fast Friends," is no doubt destined to hold a high place in +this class of literature. The delight of the boys in them (and of +their seniors, too) is well founded. They go to the right spot every +time. Trowbridge knows the heart of a boy like a book, and the heart +of a man, too, and he has laid them both open in these books in a most +successful manner. Apart from the qualities that render the series so +attractive to all young readers, they have great value on account of +their portraitures of American country life and character. The drawing +is wonderfully accurate, and as spirited as it is true. The constable, +Sellick, is an original character, and as minor figures where will we +find anything better than Miss Wansey, and Mr. P. Pipkin, Esq. The +picture of Mr. Dink's school, too, is capital, and where else in +fiction is there a better nick-name than that the boys gave to poor +little Stephen Treadwell, "Step Hen," as he himself pronounced his +name in an unfortunate moment when he saw it in print for the first +time in his lesson in school. + +On the whole, these books are very satisfactory, and afford the +critical reader the rare pleasure of the works that are just adequate, +that easily fulfill themselves and accomplish all they set out to do. +_--Scribner's Monthly._ + +JACK HAZARD SERIES. +6 vols. By J.T. TROWBRIDGE $7.25 + + Jack Hazard and His Fortunes + The Young Surveyor. + Fast Friends. + Doing His Best. + A Chance for Himself. + Lawrence's Adventures. + +CHARLES ASBURY STEPHENS. + +"This author wrote his "Camping Out Series" at the very height of his +mental and physical powers. + +"We do not wonder at the popularity of these books; there is a +freshness and variety about them, and an enthusiasm in the description +of sport and adventure, which even the older folk can hardly fail to +share." _--Worcester Spy._ + +"The author of the Camping Out Series is entitled to rank as decidedly +at the head of what may be called boys' literature."_--Buffalo Courier._ + +CAMPING OUT SERIES. By C. A. STEPHENS. +All books in this series are 12mo. with eight full page illustrations. +Cloth, extra, 75 cents. + +CAMPING OUT. As Recorded by "Kit." + +"This book is bright, breezy, wholesome, instructive, and stands above +the ordinary boys books of the day by a whole head and shoulders." +_--The Christian Register_, Boston. + +LEFT ON LABRADOR; OR, THE CRUISE OF THE SCHOONER YACHT "CURLEW." As +Recorded by "Wash." + +"The perils of the voyagers, the narrow escapes, their strange +expedients, and the fun and jollity when danger had passed, will make +boys even unconscious of hunger." _--New Bedford Mercury._ + +OFF TO THE GEYSERS; OR THE YOUNG YACHTERS IN ICELAND. As Recorded by +"Wade." + +"It is difficult to believe that Wade and Read and Kit and Wash were +not live boys, sailing up Hudson Straits, and reigning temporarily +over an Esquimaux tribe." _--The Independent_, New York. + +LYNX HUNTING: From Notes by the Author of "Camping Out." + +"Of _first quality_ as a boys' book, and fit to take its place beside +the best." _--Richmond Enquirer._ + +Fox HUNTING. As Recorded by "Raed." + +"The most spirited and entertaining book that has as yet appeared. It +overflows with incident, and is characterized by dash and brilliancy +throughout." _--Boston Gazette._ + +ON THE AMAZON; OR, THE CRUISE OF THE "RAMBLER." As Recorded by "Wash." + + +"Gives vivid pictures of Brazilian adventure and scenery." +_--Buffalo Courier._ + + + +HARRY CASTLEMON. + +HOW I CAME TO WRITE MY FIRST BOOK. + +When I was sixteen years old I belonged to a composition class. It was +our custom to go on the recitation seat every day with clean slates, +and we were allowed ten minutes to write seventy words on any subject +the teacher thought suited to our capacity. One day he gave out "What +a Man Would See if He Went to Greenland." My heart was in the matter, +and before the ten minutes were up I had one side of my slate filled. +The teacher listened to the reading of our compositions, and when they +were all over he simply said: "Some of you will make your living by +writing one of these days." That gave me something to ponder upon. I +did not say so out loud, but I knew that my composition was as good as +the best of them. By the way, there was another thing that came in my +way just then. I was reading at that time one of Mayne Reid's works +which I had drawn from the library, and I pondered upon it as much as +I did upon what the teacher said to me. In introducing Swartboy to his +readers he made use of this expression: "No visible change was +observable in Swartboy's countenance." Now, it occurred to me that if +a man of his education could make such a blunder as that and still +write a book, I ought to be able to do it, too. I went home that very +day and began a story, "The Old Guide's Narrative," which was sent to +the _New York Weekly_, and came back, respectfully declined. It was +written on both sides of the sheets but I didn't know that this was +against the rules. Nothing abashed, I began another, and receiving +some instruction, from a friend of mine who was a clerk in a book +store, I wrote it on only one side of the paper. But mind you, he +didn't know what I was doing. Nobody knew it; but one day, after a +hard Saturday's work--the other boys had been out skating on the +brick-pond--I shyly broached the subject to my mother. I felt the need +of some sympathy. She listened in amazement, and then said: "Why, do +you think you could write a book like that?" That settled the matter, +and from that day no one knew what I was up to until I sent the first +four volumes of Gunboat Series to my father. Was it work? Well, yes; +it was hard work, but each week I had the satisfaction of seeing the +manuscript grow until the "Young Naturalist" was all complete. + +_--Harry Castlemon in the Writer._ + + + +GUNBOAT SERIES. +6 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $6.00 + + Frank the Young Naturalist. + Frank on a Gunboat. + Frank in the Woods. + Frank before Vicksburg. + Frank on the Lower Mississippi. + Frank on the Prairie. + +ROCKY MOUNTAIN SERIES. +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 + + Frank Among the Rancheros. + Frank in the Mountains. + Frank at Don Carlos Rancho. + +SPORTSMAN'S CLUB SERIES. +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.75 + + The Sportsman's Club in the Saddle. + The Sportsman's Club Among the Trappers. + The Sportsman's Club Afloat. + +FRANK NELSON SERIES. +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.75 + + Snowed up. + Frank in the Forecastle. + The Boy Traders. + +ROUGHING IT SERIES. +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 + + George in Camp. + George at the Fort. + George at the Wheel. + +ROD AND GUN SERIES. +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 + + Don Gordon's Shooting Box. + The Young Wild Fowlers. + Rod and Gun Club. + +GO-AHEAD SERIES. +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 + + Tom Newcombe. + Go-Ahead. + No Moss. + +WAR SERIES, +6 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $6.00 + + True to His Colors. + Marcy the Blockade-Runner. + Rodney the Partisan. + Marcy the Refugee. + Rodney the Overseer. + Sailor Jack the Trader. + +HOUSEBOAT SERIES. +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 + + The Houseboat Boys. + The Mystery of Lost River Canon. + The Young Game Warden. + +AFLOAT AND ASHORE SERIES. +3 vols. BY HARRY CASTLEMON. $3.00 + + Rebellion in Dixie. + A Sailor in Spite of Himself. + The Ten-Ton Cutter. + + + +COMPLETE CATALOG OF BEST BOOKS FOR BOYS AND GIRLS MAILED ON +APPLICATION TO THE PUBLISHERS + +THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Young Bank Messenger, by Horatio Alger + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE YOUNG BANK MESSENGER *** + +***** This file should be named 25150.txt or 25150.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/1/5/25150/ + +Produced by Gary Sandino (text), Al Haines (HTML). (This +file was created from images generously made available by +The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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