initial commit of ebook 30864HEADmain

1 files changed, 8816 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/30864.txt b/30864.txt
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..81f7c76
--- /dev/null
+++ b/30864.txt
@@ -0,0 +1,8816 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Missing Tin Box, by Arthur M. Winfield
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Missing Tin Box
+       or, The Stolen Railroad Bonds
+
+Author: Arthur M. Winfield
+
+Release Date: January 5, 2010 [EBook #30864]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MISSING TIN BOX ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+                        THE MISSING TIN BOX
+
+                               OR
+
+                     THE STOLEN RAILROAD BONDS.
+
+                      BY _ARTHUR M. WINFIELD_
+
+_Author of "Schooldays of Fred Harley," "Poor but Plucky," "By Pluck,
+Not Luck," Etc., etc._
+
+CHICAGO:
+M. A. DONOHUE & CO.
+
+COPYRIGHT, 1897.
+W. L. ALLISON CO.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+       I. The Missing Tin Box
+
+      II. A Brave Youth's Reward
+
+     III. A Serious Charge
+
+      IV. Hal Stands up for Himself
+
+       V. Hal Determines to Act
+
+      VI. A Blow in the Dark
+
+     VII. Hal Determines to Investigate
+
+    VIII. Felix Hardwick is astonished
+
+      IX. The Plot Against Hal
+
+       X. Hal is accused
+
+      XI. For and Against
+
+     XII. Hal in a Fearful Situation
+
+    XIII. Hal Shows His Mettle
+
+     XIV. Hal Expressed his Opinion
+
+      XV. Hal Defends a Girl
+
+     XVI. Hal on the Watch
+
+    XVII. Near to Death
+
+   XVIII. Hal in a Tight Situation
+
+     XIX. A Narrow Escape
+
+      XX. Following Allen
+
+     XXI. In a Dangerous Place
+
+    XXII. Hal Meets Laura Sumner
+
+   XXIII. Hal's Bold Scheme
+
+    XXIV. Hal in a New Role
+
+     XXV. Hal's Escape from Hardwick
+
+    XXVI. Hal Obtains Another Situation
+
+   XXVII. Hal Plays a Daring Part
+
+  XXVIII. Hal is Exposed
+
+    XXIX. Hal Makes a Lively Move
+
+     XXX. The Missing Tin Box
+
+    XXXI. Hardwick's Dash for Liberty
+
+   XXXII. A Surprising Revelation
+
+
+
+
+THE MISSING TIN BOX.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+AN INTERESTING CONVERSATION.
+
+
+"What are the bonds worth, Allen?"
+
+"Close on to eighty thousand dollars, Hardwick."
+
+"Phew! as much as that?"
+
+"Yes. The market has been going up since the first of December."
+
+"How did he happen to get hold of them?"
+
+"I don't know the particulars. Mr. Mason was an old friend of the
+family, and I presume he thought he could leave them in no better
+hands."
+
+"And where are they now?"
+
+"In his private safe."
+
+"Humph!"
+
+The conversation recorded above took place one evening on a Pennsylvania
+Railroad ferry-boat while the craft was making the trip from Jersey City
+to New York.
+
+It was carried on between two men, both well dressed. He, called Allen,
+was a tall, sharp-nosed individual, probably fifty years of age. The
+other was a short, heavy-set fellow, wearing a black mustache, and
+having a peculiar scowl on his face.
+
+They sat in the forward part of the gentlemen's cabin, which was but
+partly filled with passengers. Two seats on one side of them were
+vacant. On the other side sat a shabbily-dressed boy of sixteen, his
+hands clasped on his lap and his eyes closed.
+
+"The safe is often left open during the day," resumed Allen, after a
+brief pause, during which Hardwick had offered his companion a cigar and
+lit one himself.
+
+"That won't do," replied Hardwick, shortly.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because it won't."
+
+"But we can make it appear----"
+
+"Hush!" The heavy-set man, who sat next to the vacant seats, nudged his
+companion in the side. "That boy may hear you," he continued, in a
+whisper.
+
+The man addressed glanced sharply at the youth.
+
+"No, he won't," he returned.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"He's fast asleep."
+
+"Don't be too sure." The heavy-set man arose. "Let us go out on the
+forward deck, and talk it over."
+
+"It's too cold, and, besides, it's beginning to--"
+
+"Wrap yourself up in that overcoat of yours, and you will be all right.
+We don't want to run any chances, Allen."
+
+"Some one may hear us out there just as well as in here," growled the
+elderly man.
+
+Nevertheless, he pulled up his coat collar and followed his companion
+through the heavy swinging doors.
+
+As the two walked outside, the eyes of the boy opened, and he glanced
+sharply after the pair.
+
+"That was a queer conversation they held," he muttered to himself. "I am
+half of the opinion that they are up to no good. If I were a policeman I
+believe I would follow them and find out who they are."
+
+Hal Carson hesitated for a moment, and then arose and walked to the
+doors.
+
+Stepping outside, he saw the two men, standing in the gangway for
+horses, in deep conversation.
+
+"They are hatching out some scheme," thought Hal, as he watched the
+pair.
+
+But it was bitter cold outside for one without an overcoat, and the
+youth soon returned to his seat in the cabin, leaving the two men to
+themselves.
+
+Hal was a poor-house boy, having lived at the Fairham poor-house ever
+since he could remember. Who his parents were he did not know, nor could
+Joel Daggett, the keeper of the institution, give him any definite
+information on the subject.
+
+"You were picked up in front of Onders' carpenter shop on one Fourth o'
+July night," Daggett had said more than once. "They found out some
+strange man was responsible, but who he was, nobuddy knows, or leastwise
+they won't tell, and that amounts to the same thing."
+
+There had been a peculiar golden locket about Hal's neck when he was
+found, but this had never led to the establishing of his identity, and
+after the boy was at the poor-house a year the facts concerning his
+being found were almost forgotten.
+
+But Hal had clung fast to that locket as a sort of birthright, and it
+was at this moment safe in his trousers pocket.
+
+Two days before the opening of this story the trustees of the Fairham
+Poor-house had decided to bind Hal out to Daniel Scrogg, one of the most
+miserly farmers in the county.
+
+Hal had protested, stating he could make more in the town, where a
+lawyer named Gibson was willing to take the youth into his office on a
+salary of three dollars a week and found. The trustees were obdurate,
+and the upshot of the matter was that the youth quietly packed his
+clothing into a bundle and ran away.
+
+He left a note behind for Joel Daggett, telling what he had done, and
+stating that as soon as he was in position to do so he would reimburse
+the trustees for all they had paid out for his keep for the past fifteen
+years; a big undertaking for any boy, but Hal was plucky, and meant what
+he said.
+
+Hal's destination was New York. Once in the great metropolis, he felt
+certain he would find something to do. To be sure, his capital was less
+than a dollar, but he was used to being without any money, and
+consequently this did not bother him.
+
+It was about eight o'clock in the evening, and as the man Allen had
+said, it was just beginning to snow, the first fall of the season. Hal
+looked out of the window as the flakes glittered in the electric light
+and fell into the waters of the river.
+
+Presently there came a bump, and the ferry-boat veered to one side. The
+slip had been reached, and, pulling shut the rather thin jacket he wore,
+and bringing his cap further down over his forehead, Hal mingled with
+the crowd outside, and a minute later went ashore.
+
+Once on West Street, Hal stood still, undecided what to do next. He did
+not know a soul in New York, did not know one street from another, but
+understood very well that it would be next to useless to try to obtain
+employment at this late hour.
+
+As Hal stood meditating, the two men mentioned above brushed past him.
+The boy noticed them, and then almost mechanically followed the pair.
+
+The men passed up Cortlandt Street until they came to the Sixth Avenue
+Elevated Railroad. Hal saw them mount the stairs on the opposite side of
+the street, and a minute after knew they had taken an uptown train.
+
+"I suppose I'll never see them again," thought the youth.
+
+But Hal was mistaken. The two men were to play a most important part in
+the youth's future life in the great metropolis.
+
+Hal walked along under the elevated road until he came to Barclay
+Street. He passed several fruit stands and a queer little booth where
+coffee and cakes were sold.
+
+The sight of the latter made him remember how hungry he was. He had not
+had anything to eat since early morning, and although he was accustomed
+to a very scanty fare at the poor-house, his stomach rebelled at this
+unusually long fast.
+
+He counted up his money, and resolved to invest fifteen cents of it in a
+plate of pork and beans and some buttered cakes.
+
+He entered a restaurant near the corner, and was soon served.
+
+While Hal was eating he became interested in the conversation of several
+young men who stood near the counter, smoking.
+
+"You say Nathan wants more help?" he heard one of the young men say.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Thought he took on two new hands yesterday."
+
+"So he did, but the holiday trade is very heavy this year."
+
+"Then I'll send Billy around to see him. I suppose he could do the
+work."
+
+"Anybody could who is strong and willing," was the reply. "Nathan wants
+three young fellows."
+
+At these words Hal's eyes brightened.
+
+He arose and touched the speaker on the arm.
+
+"Excuse me, sir," he began.
+
+"What is it?" asked the man, rather abruptly.
+
+"I heard you telling your friend that somebody wanted help. I am looking
+for work."
+
+The man looked Hal over, and gave a short laugh.
+
+"I'm afraid you ain't strong enough, my boy," he said.
+
+"I was brought up to hard work," replied Hal, earnestly.
+
+"Well, that makes a difference."
+
+"If you will tell me where that place is----"
+
+"Certainly. It is the first warehouse this side----"
+
+The man got no further. There was a commotion on the street, and two or
+three rushed outside.
+
+"Brady's place just below here is on fire!" shouted some one.
+
+"Brady's place?" ejaculated the man. "By George! I wonder how that
+happened?"
+
+He seemed to forget all about Hal, and making a rush for the door,
+disappeared down the street.
+
+The youth started after him. He had eaten and paid for his meal, and he
+did not wish to miss the opportunity of questioning the fellow further.
+
+On the street all was commotion. Wagons were scattering right and left
+to make way for the steam engines, hose carts and hook and ladder trucks
+which came dashing up to the spot.
+
+Hal soon found himself surrounded by a crowd. The man had disappeared,
+apparently for good, and with a sigh the youth walked away, there being
+no signs of a fire, so far as he could see.
+
+The youth started to cross the street. He was directly behind an elderly
+gentleman, and was about to pass the man when there came a warning cry:
+
+"Get out of the way there! Here comes another engine!"
+
+Hal looked up and saw that the engine, pulled by three fiery horses, was
+close at hand. He started to return to the curb. As he did so the
+elderly gentleman slipped and went down flat on his back.
+
+"He'll be killed!" cried half a dozen, who saw the accident.
+
+Hal's heart seemed to leap into his throat. The horses were not over ten
+feet away. A moment more and the elderly gentleman would be crushed to
+death.
+
+The youth leaped forward, and caught the man by the arm. Then he gave a
+sudden jerk backward, and both he and the gentleman went rolling into
+the gutter, while the engine went thundering by.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+A BRAVE YOUTH'S REWARD.
+
+
+A cheer arose from the by-standers.
+
+"Good for the boy!"
+
+"That's what I call a genuine hero!"
+
+"He deserves a medal."
+
+Paying no attention to what was said, Hal assisted the elderly gentleman
+to his feet.
+
+"Are you hurt, sir?" he asked kindly.
+
+"I--I think not," was the labored reply. "That was a narrow escape,
+young man." The last with a gasp.
+
+"You are right, sir. How did you happen to go down?"
+
+"The snow made a slippery spot on the ice, I believe. My wind is almost
+gone."
+
+"Wait till I brush you off," said Hal, and taking off his cap he
+commenced to strike off the snow and dirt from the gentleman's clothing.
+
+"Oh, never mind that," was the comment. "Come along with me. I don't
+like crowds."
+
+The gentleman caught the youth by the arm, and walked him toward
+Broadway.
+
+"You did me a great service," he went on, as the two stood on the
+corner, opposite the post-office.
+
+"I didn't do much," replied Hal, modestly.
+
+"Don't you call saving my life much?" asked the man, with a smile.
+
+"Oh, I don't mean that, sir. But any one would have done what I did."
+
+"I'm not so sure about that. In New York it is every one for himself.
+What is your name?"
+
+"Hal Carson."
+
+"You live here, I suppose?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Where then, if I may ask?"
+
+"I just came to New York not over half an hour ago. I intend to stay
+here."
+
+The elderly gentleman looked puzzled.
+
+"I don't quite understand you," he said.
+
+"I came from a small place in Pennsylvania, sir, and I intend to try my
+luck here."
+
+"Ah! Are you alone?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Any friends here?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Yes, you have."
+
+"I have?"
+
+"Yes--myself." The elderly gentleman laughed at his little joke. "No one
+shall say he saved my life and I didn't appreciate it. So your name is
+Hal Carson. Parents living?"
+
+"I don't know, sir." Hal blushed in spite of himself. "I was brought up
+at the poor-house."
+
+"Humph! Well, you are a manly looking chap and a brave one. Have you any
+idea where you are going to obtain employment?"
+
+"No, sir. I intend to hunt around until I strike something."
+
+"You'll find that rather up-hill work, I fancy."
+
+"I didn't expect any snap, Mr.----"
+
+"My name is Horace Sumner. I am a broker, and have an office on Wall
+Street, near Broad. I am just returning from a visit to my sister, who
+lives in Morristown. Have you any sort of an education?"
+
+"I can read and write, and figure pretty well, and I've read all the
+books I could get hold of."
+
+"The reason I ask is because I think I may be able to help you to obtain
+employment. I won't offer you money as a reward--I don't believe in such
+things."
+
+"I would not accept your money. But I would like work."
+
+Horace Sumner meditated for a moment.
+
+"Supposing you stop at my office to-morrow morning," he said.
+
+"I will, sir. What time?"
+
+"Ten o'clock."
+
+"And what number, please?"
+
+"Here is my card." Horace Sumner handed it to him. "Do you know where
+you are going to stop over night?"
+
+"I shall hunt up some cheap hotel."
+
+Mr. Sumner was about to say something to the effect that Hal could
+accompany him to his house and sleep in one of the rooms over the barn,
+but he changed his mind.
+
+"Let the boy hoe his own row. It will do him good," he thought to
+himself.
+
+Horace Sumner was a self-made man, and he knew that self reliance is one
+of the best traits a boy can cultivate.
+
+"I am going over to the Third Avenue elevated now," he said. "Remember,
+I expect to see you at ten sharp."
+
+"I will be on hand, sir," returned Hal.
+
+"Then good-night."
+
+"Good-night, Mr. Sumner, and much obliged."
+
+Hal watched the gentleman cross City Hall Park, and then started up
+Broadway.
+
+The brilliant holiday display in the show windows charmed him, and he
+spent fully two hours in looking at all that was to be seen.
+
+"Who knows but what I may go to work to-morrow, and then I won't get
+much chance to look around," he reasoned to himself.
+
+He was accustomed to work at the poor-house from six in the morning
+until eight or nine at night, and he did not know but what he would have
+to do more in such a bustling city as New York.
+
+By ten o'clock Hal found himself tired out. The snow was now six inches
+deep and was still coming down.
+
+He turned from Broadway through Grand Street and presently found himself
+well over on the east side.
+
+     "Good Beds for 25 Cents per Night."
+
+This was the announcement on a banner strung over the sidewalk, and
+after reading it, Hal glanced at the building.
+
+It was rather a dingy affair, but to the youth direct from the Fairham
+poor-house it appeared quite comfortable. He entered the office, and
+approached the clerk at the desk.
+
+"I would like a room for to-night," he said.
+
+"A room or a bed?" asked the clerk.
+
+"I mean a twenty-five cent place."
+
+"Oh, all right. Pay in advance."
+
+Hal handed out a quarter. Then he was conducted to a long, narrow
+apartment on the third floor. There were eight beds in the room, six of
+which were already occupied.
+
+To a person used to good accommodations this apartment would have almost
+disgusted him. But quarters at the poor-house had been but little
+better, and Hal did not complain. He managed to get a bed in one corner,
+and, as the window was slightly open, he slept very well.
+
+He was up and dressed at six o'clock and out on the street. The snow was
+now all of a foot deep, and Hal was much interested in the snow-plows on
+the car tracks.
+
+As he passed down the street a snow-ball whizzed past the youth's ear.
+Another followed, striking him in the head. He turned, and saw a boy
+slightly taller than himself standing close at hand and laughing
+heartily.
+
+Instead of getting angry, Hal laughed in return. Then he picked up some
+snow, made it into a hard ball, and let fly.
+
+The snow-ball took the other boy in the chest, and in his effort to
+dodge he went over head first into a drift near the gutter. Hal burst
+out laughing, and then ran back and helped the stranger up.
+
+"Say, wot did yer do dat fer?" demanded the other boy, as soon as he was
+once more on his feet.
+
+"Tit for tat, you know," returned Hal. "I guess you're not hurt, are
+you?"
+
+The stranger stared at Hal. He had never met with such a kindly answer
+before.
+
+"Hurt! o' course I ain't hurt," he returned, slowly.
+
+"You threw at me first, didn't you?"
+
+"Wot if I did?"
+
+"Nothing, only that's why I threw back."
+
+The stranger stared at Hal for a moment.
+
+"Who are you?" he asked, abruptly.
+
+"My name is Hal Carson. What's yours?"
+
+"Jack McCabe."
+
+Hal held out his hand.
+
+"I'm glad to know you. I just came to New York, and I only know one
+person here."
+
+"Git out! is dat so?" Jack McCabe shook hands rather gingerly. "Den yer
+ain't one o' der boys, is yer?"
+
+"What boys?"
+
+"Der fellers around town."
+
+"Hardly."
+
+"Got work here?"
+
+"I expect to get work from a man in Wall Street."
+
+"Goin' ter be a broker, hey?" grinned Jack.
+
+"Here, get to work there, you lazy dog!" shouted a man from the inside
+of a near-by store, and Jack dropped his conversation and began to clean
+off the sidewalk with vigor.
+
+Hal walked on. He did not know under what exciting circumstances he was
+to meet Jack McCabe again.
+
+Promptly at ten o'clock Hal presented himself at the number given him on
+Wall Street. The sign over the door read Sumner, Allen & Co., Brokers.
+
+He opened the door and entered. There was a small place in the front
+partitioned from the rear office by a counter and a brass grating.
+
+A man sat writing at a desk in the rear. He glanced at Hal, and seeing
+it was only a boy, went on with his work.
+
+Five minutes passed. Then the man swung around leisurely, got down from
+his stool, and came forward.
+
+As soon as Hal caught sight of the man's face he was astonished.
+
+It was Hardwick, the fellow whose conversation he had overheard on the
+ferry boat the evening before.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+A SERIOUS CHARGE.
+
+
+"What do you want?" asked Hardwick abruptly.
+
+"Is Mr. Sumner in?" returned Hal.
+
+"No."
+
+"Then I'll wait till he comes."
+
+Hardwick stared at Hal.
+
+"Won't I do?" he asked sharply.
+
+"I'm afraid not, sir."
+
+"What do you want to see him about?"
+
+"He asked me to call," replied the youth. He was not particularly
+pleased with Hardwick's manner.
+
+"I am the book-keeper here, and I generally transact business during Mr.
+Sumner's absence."
+
+"Mr. Sumner asked me to meet him here at ten o'clock."
+
+"Oh! You know him, then?"
+
+"Not very well."
+
+"I thought not." Hardwick glanced at Hal's shabby clothes. "Well, you
+had better wait outside until he comes. We don't allow loungers about
+the office."
+
+"I will," said Hal, and he turned to leave.
+
+It was bitter cold outside, but he would have preferred being on the
+sidewalk than being in the way, especially when such a man as Felix
+Hardwick was around.
+
+But, as he turned to leave, a coach drove up to the door, and Mr. Sumner
+alighted. His face lit up with a smile when he caught sight of Hal.
+
+"Well, my young friend, I see you are on time," he said, catching Hal by
+the shoulder, and turning him back into the office.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"That's right." Mr. Sumner turned to Hardwick. "Where is Dick?" he
+asked.
+
+"I don't know, sir," returned the book-keeper.
+
+"Hasn't he been here this morning?"
+
+"I think not."
+
+"The sidewalk ought to be cleaned. That boy evidently doesn't want
+work."
+
+"I will clean the walk, if you wish me to," put in Hal.
+
+"I have an office boy who is expected to do such things," replied Mr.
+Sumner. "That is, when the janitor of the building doesn't get at it in
+time. But he is getting more negligent every day. Yes, you might as well
+do the job, and then come into the back office and have a talk with me."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Mr. Hardwick, just show Carson where the shovel and broom are."
+
+The book-keeper scowled.
+
+"This way," he said, and led the boy to a small closet under a stairs.
+
+Just as Hal was about to leave the office with the broom and the shovel,
+a tall, well dressed boy entered.
+
+He was whistling at a lively rate, but stopped short on seeing Mr.
+Sumner.
+
+"Well, Ferris, this is a pretty time to come around," said the broker,
+sharply.
+
+"I couldn't help it," returned the boy, who was considerably older than
+Hal, and had coarse features and fiery red hair.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"My aunt forgot to call me."
+
+"That is a poor excuse."
+
+Dick Ferris began to drum on the railing with his flat hands.
+
+"Didn't I tell you to be here every morning at nine o'clock?" went on
+the broker. "I am sure that is not very early for any one."
+
+"'Tain't my fault when it snows like this," returned the boy. "My aunt
+ought to call me."
+
+"Did you arrange that file of papers yesterday afternoon after I left?"
+continued Mr. Sumner.
+
+"I was going to do that this morning."
+
+"I told you to do it yesterday. You had plenty of time."
+
+"I ain't got nothing to do this morning."
+
+"There are a great number of things to do, Ferris, but evidently you are
+not the boy who cares to do them. I warned you only a week ago that you
+must mend your ways. I think hereafter we will dispense with your
+service. Mr. Hardwick, please pay him his wages in full for the week. We
+will get some one else to fill his position."
+
+Mr. Sumner turned to the rear office.
+
+"I don't care," muttered Ferris. "Hand over the stuff," he said to
+Hardwick.
+
+Having received his money, he calmly lit a cigarette, puffed away upon
+it for a minute, and then went out slamming the door as hard as possible
+after him.
+
+Hal was already at work, clearing away the snow at a lively rate. Ferris
+approached him.
+
+"Say, are you the fellow that did me out of my job?" he asked, savagely.
+
+"I haven't done any one out of a job," returned Hal. "Do you work here?"
+
+"I did, but I don't any more."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because old Sumner expects the earth from me and he can't get it; see?"
+Ferris winked one eye. "I'm too smart to allow myself to be stepped
+onto, I am. You had better quit working; he won't pay you much for your
+trouble."
+
+"I'll risk it," replied Hal.
+
+"If I find you played me foul, I'll break you all up," went on Ferris.
+And with this threat he hurried off.
+
+Hal looked after the boy for an instant and then continued his work. The
+sidewalk was soon cleaned, and he returned to the office.
+
+Hardwick let him in behind the railing, giving him a sharp look as he
+passed.
+
+"I've seen him somewhere before," he muttered to himself, as he
+continued at his books. "But where I can't remember."
+
+"What! done already?" exclaimed Mr. Sumner to Hal.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"It didn't take long."
+
+"It wasn't much of a job, sir."
+
+"Ferris would have taken all of the morning."
+
+"Was that the boy who just left?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"He said he would whip me if I played him foul."
+
+"Humph! He is a bad boy. You must be careful, and not get into any
+trouble."
+
+"I will, sir. But I am not afraid of him."
+
+"No; you look as if you could take care of yourself." Mr. Sumner rubbed
+his chin. "So you say you have no prospects ahead?"
+
+"No, sir, but I am not afraid----"
+
+"Let me see your handwriting."
+
+The broker shoved a pad toward Hal, and handed him a pen filled with
+ink.
+
+Hal put down a sentence or two, and added his own name.
+
+"That will do very well. You say you can figure fairly?"
+
+"I have been through the common school arithmetic."
+
+"What would my commission be on six thousand dollars' worth of bonds,
+sold at one hundred and fifteen, commission one-quarter of one per
+cent?"
+
+Hal figured for a moment.
+
+"Seventeen dollars and twenty-five cents," he said.
+
+Mr. Sumner gave him several other sums. The youth answered all of them
+quickly and correctly.
+
+"That will do first-class," said the broker. "Now to come to business.
+Would you mind telling me why you left Fairham?"
+
+"Not at all, Mr. Sumner," replied Hal.
+
+And, sitting down, he told how the trustees had intended to use him, and
+of his determination to do for himself.
+
+"And I will not go back, no matter what happens," he concluded,
+decidedly.
+
+"Well, I cannot say as I blame you," was the slow reply. "Of course, you
+owe them something, but perhaps you can pay them back quicker in the way
+you have undertaken. Have you any idea in regard to salary?"
+
+"I intended to take what I could get, and then look around for something
+better."
+
+"How would you like to work for me?"
+
+"First-rate, sir."
+
+"I need an office boy to take Ferris' place, and also somebody to help
+copy contracts and make out bills and statements. If you could combine
+the two I would give you seven dollars a week at the start, and increase
+the amount as you become more valuable."
+
+Hal's heart beat fast. Seven dollars a week! It was more than twice what
+he could have earned at Lawyer Gibson's office in Fairham.
+
+"Oh, thank you!" he cried. "I did not expect so much."
+
+"I expect you to earn the money," replied the broker. He made this
+remark, but, nevertheless, he had not forgotten that Hal had saved his
+life. "Have you any money with you?"
+
+"Fifty cents, sir."
+
+"Then let me advance you a month's salary. Half of it I would advise you
+to invest in an overcoat and a stout pair of shoes. The remainder you
+will probably have to pay out for your board. Mr. Hardwick."
+
+The book-keeper came forward.
+
+"Just give Carson twenty-eight dollars for four weeks' salary in
+advance. He will take Ferris' place, and also help you on the copying."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Hardwick gave Hal a contemptuous look, and then going to a large safe in
+the forward part of the main office, brought out the cash and handed it
+over.
+
+"You may go to work at once," said Mr. Sumner. "I would advise you to
+hunt up a boarding-house after business hours, three o'clock."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+And so Hal was installed at Sumner, Allen & Co.'s place of business. He
+cleaned up the place, and then started in on the copying Hardwick
+brought him.
+
+Mr. Sumner was well pleased with the boy's work for the day, and so
+expressed himself.
+
+After business hours Hal bought the overcoat and the pair of shoes. Then
+he started out for a boarding-house, and at last found one on Tenth
+Street, kept by Mrs. Amanda Ricket, where he obtained a room on the top
+floor, with breakfast and supper, for five dollars a week.
+
+On the second day at the office Hal was astonished to learn that the Mr.
+Allen of the firm was the man he had seen in company with Mr. Hardwick
+on the Pennsylvania ferry-boat. Mr. Allen did not recognize him, and the
+youth thought it just as well not to mention the meeting. During the
+afternoon Mr. Sumner and Mr. Allen went out together. They were hardly
+gone when Hardwick put on his hat and coat and followed, leaving the
+youth in sole charge.
+
+Five minutes later a stranger entered and asked for Mr. Allen. Finding
+the broker out, he said he would wait, and sat down inside the railing,
+near the stove.
+
+He had hardly seated himself, when a snow-ball crashed against the
+plate-glass window. Fearful that the glass might be broken, Hal hurried
+out. Two boys had been snow-balling each other, and both ran away as
+fast as they could.
+
+Hardly had Hal returned to the office than Hardwick came in. He had been
+paying a visit to a near-by wine-room, and his face was slightly
+flushed. He nodded to the man who was waiting.
+
+"Anything I can do for you?" he asked.
+
+"I want to see Mr. Allen."
+
+"Gone away for the day, sir."
+
+The stranger at once arose and left. Hardwick saw him to the door, and
+then sat down near a desk in the rear.
+
+Hal bent over the writing he was doing. He proceeded with great care, as
+it was new work to him and he did not wish to make any errors.
+
+Just before three o'clock Mr. Sumner returned. He walked to the rear
+office, gave a turn to the knob of the door of his private safe, and
+then addressed Hardwick:
+
+"Anything new?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Then we might as well close up."
+
+Five minutes later the main safe was locked up, the rolled-top desks
+closed, and work was over for the day.
+
+Hal spent the evening at his room in the boarding-house, writing to
+Lawyer Gibson, his only friend in Fairham. The letter finished, he
+walked to the corner and posted it, and then returned and went to bed.
+
+The next morning he was the first at the office. He was engaged in
+cleaning up when Hardwick entered. The book-keeper had been out the
+greater part of the night, and his face plainly showed the effects of
+his dissipation.
+
+"Come, get at the books!" he growled. "The place is clean enough."
+
+"I will just as soon as I have dusted the rear office," replied Hal.
+
+"Do as I told you!" stormed Hardwick.
+
+At that moment Mr. Sumner entered, and with a hasty good-morning passed
+to the back. Hal heard him at his safe, and then came a sharp cry.
+
+"The safe has been robbed!"
+
+"What's that?" asked Hardwick, walking to the rear, while Hal followed.
+
+"The safe has been robbed!" gasped Mr. Sumner. "There are seventy-nine
+thousand dollars' worth of bonds missing."
+
+"You are sure?" asked the book-keeper, while Hal's heart seemed to
+fairly stop beating.
+
+"Yes, they are gone."
+
+"When did you leave them?"
+
+"Yesterday before I went out with Mr. Allen." Mr. Sumner gave a groan.
+"This will ruin me! Who could have robbed the safe?"
+
+"Was it broken open?"
+
+"No. Look for yourself."
+
+Hardwick glanced toward the iron box. Then he turned and faced Hal.
+
+"You were here alone yesterday afternoon," he said, sternly.
+
+"Did you leave him here alone?" cried Mr. Sumner.
+
+"I am sorry to say I did, but it was only for a few minutes," replied
+the book-keeper. "I called around to Mack & Heath's for that Rock Island
+circular."
+
+Hal grew red in the face.
+
+"Mr. Sumner," he began, "I hope you do not think----"
+
+"I think that boy robbed the safe," interrupted Hardwick, pointing to
+Hal. "I thought it was a mistake to take such a stranger into the
+place."
+
+At these words Hal's eyes flashed fire.
+
+"That is a falsehood!" he cried, indignantly. "I never went near the
+safe, excepting to dust the outside."
+
+Mr. Sumner clasped and unclasped his hands nervously. The ring in the
+youth's voice made him hesitate as to how to proceed.
+
+"You robbed the safe," went on Hardwick. "You know you are guilty."
+
+"I know no such thing," returned Hal, in a peculiar, strained tone of
+voice. "But there is one thing I do know."
+
+"And what is that?" asked Mr. Sumner, eagerly.
+
+"I know Mr. Hardwick contemplated robbing that safe, and I feel certain
+in my mind that he is the one who did it."
+
+Hal had hardly spoken before the book-keeper sprang upon him, forcing
+him over backward against the safe door.
+
+"I'm the thief, am I?" he cried in Hal's ear. "Take that back, or I'll
+make you!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+HAL STANDS UP FOR HIMSELF.
+
+
+Hal now found himself in a tight situation. Felix Hardwick had him by
+the throat, and was slowly but surely choking him.
+
+"Don't! don't!" cried Mr. Sumner, in great alarm.
+
+"The miserable tramp!" cried Hardwick. "I'll teach him to call a
+gentleman a thief."
+
+He continued his choking process, paying no attention to his employer's
+efforts to haul him away.
+
+But by this time Hal began to realize that Hardwick was in earnest. He
+began to kick, and presently landed a blow in the book-keeper's stomach
+that completely winded the man.
+
+Hardwick relaxed his hold, and Hal sprang away.
+
+"Stop! stop!" ordered Mr. Sumner. "I will not have such disgraceful
+scenes in this office."
+
+"But he intimated I was a thief," said Hardwick, trying to catch his
+wind.
+
+"And he said the same of me," retorted Hal.
+
+"So you are!"
+
+"I never stole a thing in my life, Mr. Sumner." Hal turned to the
+broker. "And I am not a tramp."
+
+"Then supposing we make it a poor-house beggar," returned Hardwick, with
+a short laugh.
+
+Hal turned red. The shot was a cruel one.
+
+"Hush! Hardwick," cried Mr. Sumner. "There is no necessity for such
+language."
+
+The broker turned to Hal.
+
+"You just made a strange statement, Carson," he said. "How do you know
+Mr. Hardwick contemplated robbing the safe?"
+
+"Because I do."
+
+"That is no answer."
+
+"I overheard him and Mr. Allen talking about the bonds being in the
+safe."
+
+"When?"
+
+"The evening I came to New York."
+
+"What was said?"
+
+"I can't repeat the words, but they said the bonds were worth nearly
+eighty thousand dollars, and that the safe was often left open during
+the day."
+
+"It's an infamous story!" put in Hardwick, his face growing red. "Mr.
+Sumner, don't you believe the beggar."
+
+"I am telling the truth," said Hal, as calmly as he could.
+
+"Hush, Hardwick!"
+
+"But, sir----" began the book-keeper.
+
+"One story at a time. I will hear what you have to say later."
+
+"Do you mean to say you would take that boy's word against mine?"
+demanded Hardwick, haughtily.
+
+"I intend to listen to his story without further interruption from you,"
+responded the broker, sternly. "So please keep silent until your turn
+comes."
+
+Hardwick pulled at the ends of his mustache, but he did not dare to
+reply after this.
+
+"Now go on, Carson," said Mr. Sumner to Hal.
+
+"I haven't much to tell, sir," replied the youth.
+
+And he related all he could remember of the fragment of a conversation
+which he had overheard.
+
+The broker listened attentively, but his face fell when Hal had
+finished.
+
+"And is that all?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Mr. Sumner shook his head, and then turned to Hardwick.
+
+"Is his story true?" he asked.
+
+"It is true we spoke of the bonds," replied the book-keeper. "But
+nothing was said about stealing them. Why, Mr. Sumner--why should your
+own partner and trusted book-keeper conspire to rob you? It is
+preposterous! I have an idea."
+
+"What is this?"
+
+"That he heard us speaking of your careless habit, and endeavored to
+form some scheme to get into the office and get hold of the bonds."
+
+"Hardly. It was I told him to come here; he did not come of himself."
+
+"Then he formed his plan after he got here."
+
+"I know nothing of railroad bonds," put in Hal. "I wouldn't know what to
+do with them, if I had them."
+
+At that moment Mr. Allen arrived. He saw that something unusual had
+taken place.
+
+"What's up?" he asked.
+
+"The tin box containing the Mason railroad bonds is missing," replied
+Mr. Sumner.
+
+"Missing!" ejaculated Mr. Allen.
+
+"Exactly."
+
+"And all the bonds?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Phew!" Mr. Allen gave a low whistle. "How did it happen?"
+
+Mr. Sumner related the particulars.
+
+"And this boy means to say we concocted a scheme to steal them," added
+Hardwick, pointing to Hal.
+
+"We steal them!" ejaculated Mr. Allen.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Mr. Allen turned and caught Hal by the arm.
+
+"Boy, are you crazy?" he demanded.
+
+"That's what I would like to know," said Hardwick.
+
+"No, I am not crazy," replied the youth, stoutly.
+
+"He overheard part of our conversation on the ferry-boat the other
+night," went on the book-keeper, hastily, "and from that he judged we
+must be plotting to rob Mr. Sumner."
+
+"Well, that's rich!" Mr. Allen broke into a laugh. "Excuse me, Sumner,
+but I can't help it. Of course, you don't think any such thing."
+
+"No, I can't say that I do," replied the elderly broker, slowly.
+"But"--he turned to the safe--"the tin box is gone and I would like to
+know what has become of it."
+
+"Better call in the police," suggested Hardwick. "And in the meantime
+keep an eye on this boy."
+
+"And also on that man," added Hal, pointing to the book-keeper.
+
+Mr. Sumner was in deep perplexity. He ran his hand through his hair.
+
+"Let us talk this matter over first," he said. "You say, Hardwick, you
+left Carson alone in the office yesterday afternoon?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"How long?"
+
+"Not more than ten minutes."
+
+"When was this?"
+
+"A few minutes after you and Mr. Allen went out."
+
+"When you came back what was Carson doing?"
+
+"He was at the desk, pretending to write."
+
+"Was there anybody else here?"
+
+"By Jove! yes," exclaimed Hardwick, suddenly.
+
+"Ah! who?"
+
+"I don't know, sir."
+
+"A man?"
+
+"Yes. Rather a common-looking fellow, about thirty-five years of age."
+
+"What did he want?"
+
+"He asked for Mr. Allen, and when I said he wouldn't be back during the
+rest of the day he went off."
+
+Mr. Sumner turned to Hal. The youth stood staring at the wall.
+
+"What have you to say about this stranger?"
+
+"He came in directly after Mr. Hardwick went out," returned the youth.
+
+"What was his business?"
+
+"He wished to see Mr. Allen."
+
+"Did he go back to the safe?"
+
+"I--I don't think so."
+
+"You are not sure?"
+
+"Not positive, sir. I was busy writing, and did not notice him closely."
+
+"Did the man give any name?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"I suppose you didn't know him?"
+
+Hal shook his head. He was beginning to believe he had made a big
+mistake by not watching the stranger during the time he was in the
+office back of the railing.
+
+"I believe I saw the man wink at this boy as he went out," put in
+Hardwick. "I am pretty certain the two knew each other."
+
+"That is not true," burst out Hal.
+
+For some reason, this insinuation made him think more than ever that the
+book-keeper was guilty.
+
+"Which way did the man go?" went on the elderly broker.
+
+"Toward Broadway," replied Hal.
+
+"Did he have anything under his arm?"
+
+"He had a small bundle, but he had that when he came in."
+
+"About how large?"
+
+Hal illustrated with his hands.
+
+"Probably that was an empty box, or something of that sort," ventured
+Mr. Allen. "He placed the tin box into it."
+
+"Quite likely," returned Mr. Sumner.
+
+"And the only question in my mind," went on his partner, "is whether or
+not this boy here was in with the fellow. If you will take my advice,
+Sumner, you will have him arrested without delay."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+HAL DETERMINES TO ACT.
+
+
+As Mr. Allen spoke he caught Hal by the shoulder.
+
+"You had better own up, Carson," he said, harshly.
+
+"Let go of me!" retorted Hal, trying to break away.
+
+"Not much! Do you think I am going to give you the chance to slide out
+of the door?"
+
+"I have nothing to own up to, and I don't intend to run away," panted
+the youth.
+
+He broke away, and placed himself beside Mr. Sumner, who looked at him
+earnestly.
+
+"I believe the boy speaks the truth," he said, firmly.
+
+"You do?" cried Hardwick and Allen, in concert.
+
+"I mean in so far as he says he is innocent," added the elderly broker,
+hastily. "Of course, I believe he is mistaken in supposing that either
+of you had anything to do with this robbery."
+
+"Oh!" returned Mr. Allen.
+
+"That's different," said Hardwick.
+
+Both of them looked relieved.
+
+"I wish he had watched this stranger."
+
+"I wish that myself, Mr. Sumner," cried Hal. "If he stole the tin box,
+then I am mostly responsible, although I supposed the man was some
+business man around here, and was to be trusted."
+
+"I don't understand one thing," said the elderly broker. "I am almost
+sure I locked the safe when I went away yesterday afternoon."
+
+"So you did," said Mr. Allen. "I saw you do it."
+
+"Then, how could the stranger have opened it?"
+
+"Didn't Carson know the combination?" asked Hardwick, who seemed
+determined to convict Hal.
+
+"I think not."
+
+"Indeed I did not!" cried the youth. "I never worked a safe combination
+in my life."
+
+"I saw him watching you open the door yesterday morning," went on the
+book-keeper. "Do you dare deny it?" he continued, turning to Hal.
+
+"I certainly do deny it," retorted Hal. "I might have been looking that
+way, but I did not watch him, and I do not know how it was done."
+
+"You did not notice if the door was open after I was gone, did you?"
+said Mr. Sumner, turning to the book-keeper.
+
+"It was closed," replied Hardwick, promptly.
+
+"You are certain?"
+
+"Yes, sir. When I left Carson here alone I saw to it that both safes and
+the main desks were closed."
+
+"Why did you do that?" put in Mr. Allen, knowing well what the answer
+would be.
+
+"I saw no necessity for trusting Carson, who was totally unknown to us."
+
+"That was right, Hardwick." Mr. Allen turned to his partner. "I believe,
+Sumner, you took in Carson without recommendations."
+
+"I admit I did, Allen, but his face----"
+
+"Faces are very deceitful, very. It was poor business policy, Sumner. It
+would never have happened while I was around."
+
+"Well, I am the loser, not you," replied Mr. Sumner, rather sharply. He
+did not like the way Mr. Allen criticised his action.
+
+"Yes, but still, it might have been----"
+
+"But it was not," interrupted Mr. Sumner, dryly. "And as we are to
+separate on the first of the year, Allen, the least said on that score
+the better."
+
+"Well, just as you say," returned Mr. Allen, stiffly. "I hope you get
+your bonds back, that's all."
+
+"So do I," added Hardwick. "I don't want the least shadow hanging over
+my name."
+
+Mr. Sumner began to walk up and down the office uneasily. He was in a
+terrible state of mind. The loss of the bonds might mean utter ruin.
+
+He hesitated and looked at Hal. The youth noticed it, and springing
+forward, caught him by the arm.
+
+"Mr. Sumner, tell me you do not believe me guilty," he cried, with a
+curious lump rising in his throat.
+
+"Hal, I believe you innocent," returned the elderly broker.
+
+In after years the man looked back at those words. What had led him to
+utter them? Let the reader wait, and perhaps he will be able to reason
+the matter out.
+
+Mr. Allen sneered at the words, and Hardwick's lip curled.
+
+The youth noticed neither of them. The tears stood in his eyes, as he
+replied:
+
+"Thank you for saying that, Mr. Sumner," he returned, in a low voice. "I
+may be nothing but a poor-house boy, but I am honest, and will help you
+get back your bonds, and prove my innocence to the world."
+
+Again Mr. Allen's sneer was heard, and Hardwick's lip curled, even more
+than before. Neither Mr. Sumner nor Hal paid any attention to either of
+them. The broker stepped to the telephone.
+
+"Who are you going to summon?" asked Mr. Allen.
+
+"The chief of the police department."
+
+"That's right."
+
+The proper connection was obtained, and a long conversation ensued over
+the wires. At length Mr. Sumner closed the instrument.
+
+"A couple of detectives will be here in ten minutes," he said. "The
+chief says they are now with him and have nothing on hand to do."
+
+Hal listened to this statement with interest. He had often heard of
+detectives, but had never seen such a personage.
+
+Mr. Sumner continued to walk up and down. Hal watched him, the youth's
+heart beating rapidly.
+
+The clock hands moved slowly, but at last twelve minutes had passed.
+
+Then two young men entered. They were very ordinary looking individuals,
+and Hal was somewhat disappointed in their appearance.
+
+"We were sent here by the chief," explained one as he entered. "My name
+is Harry Parker. This is Ralph Hamington."
+
+"I am glad to see you," replied Mr. Sumner.
+
+"You have been robbed?" questioned Harry Parker, coming at once to the
+point.
+
+"Yes. A tin box, containing seventy-nine thousand dollars' worth of
+railroad bonds, has been stolen from that safe."
+
+Both detectives elevated their eyebrows at this statement.
+
+"Was the safe broken open?" continued Parker.
+
+"No."
+
+"Door left open?"
+
+"I think not."
+
+"When did you see the box last?"
+
+"Yesterday afternoon."
+
+"What time?"
+
+"A little before two."
+
+"You locked it up at that time?"
+
+"I am under that impression."
+
+"I see. When did you discover your loss?"
+
+"Not over half an hour ago."
+
+"Did any one beside yourself have the combination of the safe?"
+
+"Not to my knowledge."
+
+"No one in the office?"
+
+"I know nothing of it," replied Allen.
+
+"Who are you?"
+
+"Caleb Allen, Mr. Sumner's partner."
+
+"Oh!"
+
+"Neither do I," added Hardwick. "I am the book-keeper," he explained.
+
+"Who is this boy?"
+
+"He belongs in the office," replied Mr. Sumner.
+
+"I know nothing about the safe," said Hal, speaking up for himself. He
+began to believe detectives were very much like other men.
+
+"Please give me a list of the people who might have got at the safe
+during your absence," continued Parker, while his companion prepared to
+write down the names.
+
+"These gentlemen," began the elderly broker.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"The janitor of the building."
+
+"What is his name?"
+
+"Daniel McCabe."
+
+Hal started and wondered if the janitor could be any relation to Jack
+McCabe, his acquaintance of the previous day.
+
+"Go on," continued the detective.
+
+"A strange man was in yesterday."
+
+"Ah! tell us of him."
+
+Mr. Sumner told what he knew. Parker turned to Hal.
+
+"Would you know this fellow again, if you saw him?" he asked.
+
+"I believe I would."
+
+"Please describe him as closely as you can."
+
+The youth started and gave a pretty accurate description of his visitor.
+Both detectives listened attentively.
+
+"Perhaps it was Larkett," suggested Hamington, in an undertone.
+
+"Did the fellow have a cast in his eye?" asked Parker.
+
+"How would the boy know that?" asked Hardwick, nervously. "He says he
+hardly glanced at the man."
+
+"Answer me," said Parker, paying no attention to the interruption.
+
+Hal was doing his best to think. Had that fellow really had something
+the matter with his left eye?
+
+"I--I can't really say," he returned, slowly. "Was it the left eye?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"He might have had. It runs in my mind so, but I am not positive."
+
+Parker exchanged glances with his companion.
+
+"More than likely he was the guilty party," he said to Mr. Sumner. "If
+he is the man we imagine, he is an old offender, and it will not be a
+very difficult matter to run him down."
+
+"If you recover the bonds I will give you five thousand dollars as a
+reward," said the elderly broker.
+
+"We will do what we can, Mr. Sumner."
+
+"The quicker you get to work the better it will suit me."
+
+"We shall start on our hunt at once, eh, Hamington?"
+
+"Certainly. But let us take a look around the office first. And, Mr.
+Sumner?"
+
+"Well?"
+
+"It might be just as well to keep this matter a secret for a few days.
+Of course, information will be sent out from headquarters, but the
+general public need not know of it."
+
+"That will suit me," returned the elderly broker, with a groan. "If the
+word gets out it will all but ruin me. I only held the bonds in trust,
+and will be expected to make the loss good in case they are not
+recovered."
+
+"You will give us a list of the paper?"
+
+"Certainly." Mr. Sumner took out a memorandum book. "Here you are.
+Anything else?"
+
+"We will take a look around the premises."
+
+And the two detectives started on a tour of investigation, in which Hal
+took a lively interest.
+
+The door to the safe was carefully examined. Not a mark was found upon
+it.
+
+"Either left open or opened by some one who had the combination," said
+Parker.
+
+He got down on his knees and examined the carpet.
+
+"Anything?" asked Hamington, briefly.
+
+Parker shook his head.
+
+In the rear of the office was a window opening upon a narrow court. The
+two detectives glanced at the fastening of the window.
+
+Suddenly Parker gave a cry.
+
+"This fastening was forced not long ago."
+
+"How do you know?" asked Mr. Sumner, while Hal pricked up his ears.
+
+"Here are the marks made by a knife blade. They are quite fresh."
+
+"Here are the marks of foot-prints upon the window-sill," added
+Hamington. "See, they lead toward that door yonder. Where does that door
+lead to?"
+
+"An alley-way," replied Mr. Allen.
+
+"Opening on the next street?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then these marks add a new feature to the case," said Parker. "Has
+anybody been through the window to your knowledge?"
+
+Every one shook his head.
+
+"Queer," said Mr. Sumner. "If the thief came through the window how did
+he know the combination of the safe?"
+
+"I have it," said Hamington. "You often opened the safe during the
+daytime, did you not?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then the would-be thief watched you from the window. By looking from
+the left side he could easily see you work the combination without being
+seen himself. He watched you until he was sure he had the combination
+down fine, and last night he opened the window, stepped inside, opened
+the safe and took out the tin box, closed the door again, and escaped as
+he had come."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+A BLOW IN THE DARK.
+
+
+Was Hamington's explanation the correct one?
+
+"By Jove! I believe that's the straight of it!" exclaimed Hardwick.
+
+"So do I," said Mr. Allen. "It is the only way to account for the marks
+on the window-frame and the sash."
+
+Mr. Sumner said nothing. Indeed, to tell the truth, his loss had set his
+mind in a whirl.
+
+Parker turned to Hal.
+
+"Did you open the office this morning?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"You opened the window when you cleaned up?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Was it locked?"
+
+Hal tried to think.
+
+"I believe it was."
+
+"You are not sure?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"He ought to be," broke in Mr. Allen. "I would know, if I was in his
+place."
+
+"See, if you cannot think, Hal," said Mr. Sumner.
+
+"If anything, I think the window was locked," said the youth, candidly.
+
+"You do?" said Parker.
+
+"Yes, for I believe I had some trouble to unfasten it."
+
+The two detectives looked at each other.
+
+"If that is so, it alters the case," said Hamington. "But I believe the
+boy is mistaken."
+
+"So do I," added Hardwick, promptly.
+
+Parker opened the window again, and leaping out, made his way to the
+alley. Hamington went after him. Then several customers came in, and Mr.
+Allen and Hardwick went forward to wait upon them.
+
+It was a quarter of an hour before the detectives came back, and then
+they had very little to say, excepting that they would report the
+particulars at headquarters and endeavor to run down the criminal.
+
+Mr. Sumner was broken down by his loss. He sat in his private office
+nearly all of the remainder of the day, his head resting in his hands.
+Mr. Allen went off on business, and Hardwick stuck to his books as if
+his life depended on it.
+
+Hal resumed his duties with a heavy weight on his heart. For some reason
+he had expected to be discharged, but nothing was said about his
+leaving.
+
+Hardwick scowled at the youth every time their eyes met, and kept piling
+the work upon Hal. The book-keeper was nervous, and the youth did not
+fail to notice this, and it set him to thinking.
+
+If only he had listened more attentively to what had been said on the
+ferry-boat that night! Hal was sure if he had done this he would have
+known if Hardwick and Allen were guilty or not.
+
+Then Hal began to speculate on the foot-marks on the window-sill. If the
+thief had entered the office that way, why were not some of the same
+marks visible on the carpet in front of the safe?
+
+When Hardwick went out to lunch, Hal watched him from the office window.
+At the corner he saw the book-keeper joined by Dick Ferris, and the two
+seemed to be in earnest conversation as they walked along.
+
+When Hardwick came back Hal was given a half hour. The boy put on his
+hat and coat and went out. He did not feel like eating, and he walked up
+to the corner and around to the back street, intending to pay a visit to
+the alley through which the robber was supposed to have escaped.
+
+Just as he was about to turn into the narrow place, now piled high with
+snow, somebody caught him by the shoulder. Turning, he found himself
+confronted by Dick Ferris.
+
+"Hullo, there!" said the tall boy.
+
+"How are you?" returned Hal coldly.
+
+"I hear you've got my place," went on Ferris.
+
+"What if I have?" asked Hal, abruptly.
+
+"I thought you were hanging around trying to do me out of it."
+
+"I didn't try to do you out of it. Mr. Sumner asked me to call at his
+office and I went. Then he offered me the place and I took it."
+
+"Did he know you?"
+
+"May I ask what business that is of yours?"
+
+"Shut up, you little street tramp, you!" retorted Ferris. "Do you know
+what I've a good mind to do?"
+
+"I must admit I do not."
+
+"Give you a mighty good thrashing."
+
+"Two can play at that game," replied Hal, with a nervous little laugh.
+
+"What, do you mean to say you can stand up against me?" demanded Ferris.
+"Maybe you don't know I am an athlete."
+
+"And perhaps you are not aware that I am perfectly able to take care of
+myself," returned Hal.
+
+"Take that!" cried Ferris.
+
+He hauled off and aimed a wicked blow at the youth's nose. Had it struck
+Hal it would have injured him considerably.
+
+But the youth dodged; and the next instant Dick Ferris received a crack
+fairly between the eyes that made him see stars, and caused him to
+stagger up against the side of a building.
+
+"What--what----" he gasped.
+
+"That for attacking me," replied Hal. "Don't you try any such game
+again."
+
+"I'll fix you!" roared Ferris. He was boiling with rage. "You miserable
+street cur!"
+
+He sprang at Hal and caught him by both arms, intending to trip the
+youth up.
+
+But Hal stood his ground, and by a sudden twist freed himself.
+
+"Let me alone, Ferris," he commanded.
+
+"Oh, of course I will!" replied the tall boy, sarcastically.
+
+"If you don't, you'll regret it."
+
+"Will I? Take that, and that!"
+
+Ferris struck out twice. Hal parried the first blow, but the second just
+grazed his lip, causing that member to bleed slightly.
+
+"Told you I'd fix you!" roared Ferris.
+
+He had hardly spoken the words before Hal pulled himself together and
+went at him. The youth's arms shot out right and left, and before he was
+aware of what was taking place, Ferris received a stinging blow on the
+forehead, and then came one on the chin that sent him rolling over in
+the snow.
+
+"Dat's right, give it ter him!" shouted a newsboy who stood by, grinning
+from ear to ear. "Do him up in one round!"
+
+Ferris got upon his feet slowly. His head felt dizzy from the shock he
+had received.
+
+"Want any more?" demanded Hal, facing him with clenched fists.
+
+"Cheese it! here comes der cops!" put in the newsboy.
+
+Hal looked up, and saw a policeman bearing toward the spot. Ferris also
+gave a glance, and he muttered something under his breath.
+
+"What did you say?" demanded Hal.
+
+"I'll settle with you another time," replied Ferris.
+
+And picking up his hat, which had landed in a near-by drift, he placed
+it on his head, and sneaked down the street at a rapid gait.
+
+In a minute the policeman arrived at the spot.
+
+"What is the trouble here?" he demanded.
+
+"A fellow attacked me," replied Hal.
+
+"I see your lip's cut. Why did he do it?"
+
+"I got a job he used to have, and he's angry over it."
+
+"Oh!" The policeman tossed his head. "Did you hit back?"
+
+"I defended myself," replied Hal, briefly.
+
+He was half afraid he might be called on to make some sort of a charge,
+a thing he did not wish to do now the encounter was over.
+
+"He did der feller fer keeps!" put in the newsboy.
+
+"Go on with you!" cried the policeman, and the newsboy ran off, while
+Hal started on his way back to the office.
+
+"What's the matter with your lip?" inquired Hardwick, as the youth
+entered.
+
+"I cut it," replied Hal.
+
+The book-keeper turned and smiled to himself.
+
+"I guess Ferris kept his word," he muttered. "He said he was going to
+fix the boy. I wish he had killed the tramp."
+
+That afternoon dragged heavily, but at last it was time to close up. Mr.
+Sumner hardly spoke to either when they bade him good-evening.
+
+Hardwick walked up Wall Street, and then turned into Nassau, instead of
+continuing to Broadway.
+
+Suddenly an idea entered Hal's head to follow Hardwick.
+
+Despite all the evidence pointing in other directions, the youth thought
+Hardwick either guilty of the robbery or else that the book-keeper knew
+much concerning it.
+
+Hardwick continued up Nassau Street until he reached Park Row.
+
+Hal kept out of sight behind the man, and presently Hardwick continued
+up Park Row until he came to one of the side streets just beyond the
+entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge.
+
+He turned into this street, piled high on either side with dirty snow,
+and then entered one of the worst thoroughfares in New York City.
+
+By this time it was quite dark, and Hal had to keep close, for fear of
+losing sight of his man. He was now thoroughly interested, for he knew
+Hardwick boarded somewhere uptown, and it must be some special business
+that would bring the book-keeper to this part of the city on such a
+disagreeable evening.
+
+At length Hardwick paused and glanced behind him. As soon as he saw the
+movement the boy stepped behind a bill-board out of sight.
+
+Presently Hardwick continued on his way, walking faster than ever. The
+youth increased his speed.
+
+"Hi! look sharp there!"
+
+Hal was just about to cross a street when he almost ran into a heavy
+truck. He stepped back, and allowed the truck to pass. When he reached
+the opposite curb Hardwick had disappeared.
+
+"He must have gone on straight ahead," thought the youth. "I will soon
+catch up to him again."
+
+But though he continued onward for more than a block, he saw nothing of
+the book-keeper.
+
+He looked up and down the side streets, and tried to peep into the
+curtained windows of several saloons that were close at hand.
+
+"He must have gone in somewhere, that's certain," said Hal to himself.
+"I wonder if he discovered that I was following him?"
+
+This last thought disturbed the youth not a little. His experience with
+Hardwick in the office had convinced him that the book-keeper was an
+evil man when aroused.
+
+Slowly he retraced his steps, not certain if he could find his way back
+to Park Row, a spot he had got to know fairly well since his coming to
+the metropolis.
+
+He was just passing a place where a new building was in the course of
+construction when a peculiar noise to one side of him attracted his
+attention. By instinct he jumped toward the gutter. The next instant a
+mass of bricks came tumbling down. One struck him on the head, and this
+knocked him insensible.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+HAL DETERMINES TO INVESTIGATE.
+
+
+When Hal came to his senses he found himself in the arms of a boy
+slightly taller than himself, who was doing all in his power to restore
+consciousness by the application of snow to Hal's forehead.
+
+"What--what----" he began.
+
+"Good! yer come around at last, have yer?" cried the boy. "Blessed if I
+didn't think yer was a goner."
+
+Hal put his hand up to his head.
+
+"Where am I?" he asked, faintly.
+
+"Yer all right; don't worry," replied the tall boy. "Don't yer remember
+me?"
+
+Hal pulled himself together, and looked at the speaker.
+
+"Jack McCabe!" he cried.
+
+"Yer struck it fust clip. Say, wot was der matter wid yer? Yer couldn't
+have been froze, coz it wasn't cold enough."
+
+"I was struck on the head."
+
+"Gee crickety! Who struck yer?"
+
+"I--I--nobody, I think. It was some bricks from that building."
+
+"Oh, dat's it. How do yer feel now?"
+
+"Awfully light-headed," responded Hal, telling the exact truth.
+
+"Kin yer walk about a block? I only live jest around dat corner."
+
+Hal started at these words.
+
+"You do?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Tell me, is your father janitor of a building down in Wall Street?"
+
+"O' course not. Didn't I tell yer we lived here?"
+
+Hal looked relieved.
+
+"What has that got to do with it?" he asked, curiously.
+
+"Why, dem janitors all lives in der buildin's da takes care of,"
+explained Jack.
+
+"The reason I ask is because there is a Daniel McCabe janitor of the
+building I work in."
+
+"I t'ink dat's me uncle. Better now?"
+
+Hal took a deep breath and straightened up.
+
+"Yes, a good deal better."
+
+"Yer got a lump on yer forehead as big as an egg."
+
+"It feels twice that size to me," laughed Hal. "Jack, you have done me a
+good turn I won't forget in a hurry."
+
+The street boy blushed.
+
+"Ah! go on, dat wasn't nuthin'," he replied. "I kinder like you, tell
+der truth."
+
+"And I like you, Jack," replied Hal, giving his hand a tight squeeze.
+
+"Did yer git dat job?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"How much?"
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"Wot do da pay yer!"
+
+"Seven dollars a week."
+
+Jack McCabe's eyes opened like saucers.
+
+"Yer foolin'."
+
+"It's true, Jack."
+
+"Gee crickety! but yer struck a snap. Say, if dere's enny more o' dem
+jobs layin' around put in a word fer me, will yer."
+
+"I certainly shall," replied Hal.
+
+"I only git t'ree dollars where I am, an' have ter work like a horse.
+I've jest been home ter grub, an' now I've got ter go back an' work till
+nine o'clock."
+
+"Then don't let me keep you," returned Hal, "or you may be late."
+
+"I've got ten minutes yet."
+
+"By the way, how long were you with me before I came to?"
+
+"About ten minutes. I dragged yer inter der buildin', an' I was jest
+gittin' ready ter call der cop an' have yer tuk to der hospital when yer
+give a gulp an' opened yer eyes."
+
+"While you were sitting here did you notice anybody leave the building?"
+
+Jack scratched his head.
+
+"I t'ink I did."
+
+"What kind of a person was it?"
+
+"A man."
+
+"Heavy sort of a chap?"
+
+"I t'ink he was. I didn't pay much attention ter him on account o'
+havin' you on my hands."
+
+"Where did the man come from?"
+
+"Der back o' der building."
+
+"You didn't notice which way he went?"
+
+"Up toward der East River."
+
+"That way?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Thank you. Don't let me keep you any longer. Maybe I'll be up to see
+you soon."
+
+"Glad ter have yer, 'specially if ye git dat seven dollar job fer me."
+
+And with a broad laugh Jack McCabe hurried on.
+
+Hal turned into the building, and walked toward the rear. A ladder stood
+lashed to the back wall. The youth hesitated, and then mounted to the
+floor above.
+
+A near-by electric light cast its rays full into the open front. Over
+the beams were placed a number of loose boards, and on these the snow,
+which had been swept in by the wind, lay to the depth of several inches.
+
+Taking care that he should not slip through an opening, Hal examined the
+surface of the snow with great care.
+
+It was not long before he came to a number of foot-prints leading to a
+pile of bricks close to the front.
+
+The foot-prints was fresh, and looked as if they had been made by a
+man's boot.
+
+The last of them were at a spot that commanded a good view of the
+sidewalk below. Hal looked down, and then shuddered.
+
+Was it possible that Hardwick had pushed those bricks down upon him?
+
+"It looked so," murmured Hal to himself. "I must be more cautious in the
+future. He must have seen me when I started to hide behind the
+bill-board."
+
+Hal descended the ladder, and was soon upon the street once more.
+
+He thought over the situation, and then started for his boarding-house,
+satisfied that it would do no good to search farther for the book-keeper
+that night.
+
+As has been mentioned, the boarding-house was up in Tenth Street. Hal
+soon walked the distance, and, getting out his night-key, he let himself
+in.
+
+He was about to ascend to his room, and wash up a bit before going to
+supper, when the sounds of voices broke upon his ear, coming from the
+parlor.
+
+"And he has your place, Dick?" he heard Mrs. Ricket, the boarding
+mistress say.
+
+"Yes, he has, Aunt Amanda," returned the voice of Dick Ferris.
+
+"It's too bad."
+
+"How did you come to allow the tramp in the house?"
+
+"He paid in advance, Dick, and he appeared to be a very nice young
+fellow."
+
+"Nice!"
+
+"Yes. What is wrong about him?"
+
+"He was brought up in a poor-house."
+
+"Who said so?"
+
+"Never mind, I know it for a fact."
+
+"Well, even that wouldn't make him a bad boy."
+
+"But you don't want any tramps around here, do you?"
+
+"He isn't a tramp so long as he works and pays his board."
+
+"You say he paid in advance?"
+
+"Yes, for one week. He said he would pay two, if I wished it."
+
+"Then you can make sure there is something wrong about him. Better look
+out for your silverware."
+
+Mrs. Ricket laughed.
+
+"A robber would never make much out of what little I possess, Dick," she
+replied.
+
+"Still, you wouldn't want to lose it."
+
+"I'll trust Carson."
+
+"Well, have your own way. He's a tramp, and I don't want anything to do
+with him."
+
+"What makes you so down on him?"
+
+"Didn't I tell you he took my place away from me?"
+
+"How could he do that? I am sure Mr. Sumner would have kept you at work,
+if you had done right."
+
+"Didn't I do right?" blustered Dick Ferris.
+
+"Hardly."
+
+"What was wrong?"
+
+"You wouldn't get up the day before yesterday, although I called you
+twice."
+
+"Well, I was to a sparring match the night before, and I was tired out."
+
+"You should have stayed at home, Dick."
+
+"Huh! you don't want a fellow to have any fun!" growled the boy.
+
+"Oh, yes I do, but not the kind that is going to lose you your place.
+What do you intend to do, now?"
+
+"Oh, I'll find something else to do," replied Ferris, in a careless
+fashion.
+
+"I cannot support you in idleness, even if you are my dead sister's
+son," went on Mrs. Ricket. "You haven't paid me any board now in eight
+weeks."
+
+"Only six, Aunt Amanda."
+
+"No, it is eight. I have it on my account book. I don't see why you let
+it run, it is so little, only three dollars a week. That Carson pays me
+five, and he has not so good a room."
+
+"There goes that Carson again," stormed Dick Ferris. "I don't want to
+hear a word more. He's a tramp and a thief and you'll be sorry you took
+him in before a great while."
+
+With this speech on his lips, Dick Ferris walked across the parlor,
+threw open the door--and confronted Hal.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+FELIX HARDWICK IS ASTONISHED.
+
+
+Dick Ferris started back on catching sight of Hal, who stood on the
+bottom step of the stairs.
+
+"You!"
+
+"Yes, Dick Ferris," returned Hal, coolly. "And let me say that I
+overheard your conversation with Mrs. Ricket, your aunt."
+
+Ferris changed color.
+
+"Been playing the spy, eh?" he sneered.
+
+"No; I just came in and overheard you speaking about me, and stopped to
+learn what you would have to say."
+
+"It's the same thing----"
+
+"I hope you will excuse me, Mr. Carson," broke in Mrs. Ricket, who was
+blushing furiously. "I--I don't approve of what Dick said."
+
+"I know you do not, Mrs. Ricket. If I thought you did I would pack up
+and leave at once."
+
+"It would be a good job done," put in Ferris.
+
+"Stop, Dick. I will not have you insult one of my boarders," cried the
+woman, sharply.
+
+"All right, have your own way," returned Ferris, insolently. "If you
+want to take in any tramp that comes along, why, go ahead and do it."
+
+He had on his hat and coat, and now he started for the door.
+
+Hal caught him by the arm.
+
+"Stop!" he cried. "I am not a tramp, and I won't be called one by you or
+anybody else!"
+
+"Really?"
+
+"Yes, really."
+
+"What are you going to do about it?"
+
+"If you insist in indulging in such language in the future I will give
+you even a worse whipping than I gave you this noon."
+
+"What, did you fight?" cried Mrs. Ricket.
+
+"He attacked me and I defended myself," replied Hal. "He is down on me
+for taking the situation from which he was discharged."
+
+"I know that."
+
+"If I had known he was boarding here I would not have applied to
+you----"
+
+"You bet he wouldn't," put in Ferris.
+
+"Not that I am afraid of your nephew," went on Hal. "But I do not wish
+to cause any trouble."
+
+"You have caused no trouble, Mr. Carson," returned Mrs. Ricket.
+
+"That's what I call cool," exclaimed her nephew.
+
+"It is Dick is the cause of it all. You know you are, and you ought to
+be ashamed of yourself," she added, turning to the boy.
+
+"That's right, go right against me; you always do," howled Dick Ferris,
+"There ain't no use for me to stay here any longer."
+
+And he marched out of the front door, and down the street to his
+favorite hanging-out place, the corner pool-room.
+
+Mrs. Ricket was profuse in her apologies to Hal after Ferris had gone.
+
+"He's a good enough boy," she said. "But he has got into bad company,
+and I can't do anything with him."
+
+"Aren't his parents living?" asked Hal.
+
+"Only his father, and he is a sea captain and ain't home more than three
+or four times a year. I wish he would take Dick along with him some
+time, it might do him good."
+
+"So it might," replied Hal. "By the way, Mrs. Ricket, do you know a man
+by the name of Hardwick?"
+
+"The book-keeper for the firm where Dick used to work?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I saw him once, when he was here to see Dick."
+
+"Oh, did he come here?"
+
+"Yes, about a week ago."
+
+"He came to see your nephew, did he?"
+
+"Yes. Dick took him up to his room, and the gentleman stayed about an
+hour or more."
+
+"Do you know where he lives?"
+
+"On East Twenty-third Street, near Third Avenue."
+
+"The Third Avenue elevated runs close to it, then?"
+
+"Yes. Why do you want to know?"
+
+"I may have to go up on business sometime. I didn't care to ask your
+nephew for the directions."
+
+"I see."
+
+Mrs. Ricket passed to the rear of the hall, and Hal continued on his to
+his room.
+
+"So the two are friends," he said to himself, as he was washing himself
+and combing his hair. "And both of them are my enemies. This is getting
+interesting, to say the least." He paused for a second. "I have half a
+mind to do it. It won't do any harm. I will."
+
+He hurried down to supper, which was being served in the basement, and
+as soon as it was over, donned his coat and cap once more and made his
+way over to Third Avenue.
+
+An elevated train was just entering the station, and, paying his nickel,
+he dropped his ticket in the box, and rushed aboard.
+
+The Fourteenth and Eighteenth Street stations were soon passed. Then
+came Twenty-third Street, and here Hal alighted.
+
+It had begun to snow again, and the youth was compelled to pull his
+coat-collar well up around his ears, and his cap far down over his eyes,
+to protect himself from the elements.
+
+He walked down East Twenty-third Street slowly, scanning the buildings
+closely as he passed. It was now about half-past eight o'clock, and he
+knew it would probably be some time before Hardwick would make his
+appearance.
+
+Having walked several blocks, Hal retraced his steps, and then took up a
+position in a sheltering door-way.
+
+He had hardly done so before a well-known form passed by.
+
+"Dick Ferris!" cried Hal to himself. "What can he be doing here?"
+
+There could be but one answer to that question. Ferris must have come to
+see Hardwick.
+
+He kept his eye on the tall boy, and as soon as Ferris was a short
+distance ahead Hal left the door-way and followed him.
+
+Ferris walked along for the space of two blocks. Then he came to an
+elegant brown-stone front mansion, the parlor of which was brilliantly
+illuminated.
+
+Ascending the steps, he rang the bell, and the door was opened almost
+immediately.
+
+Hal, who stood near the area-way below, heard him ask for Hardwick.
+
+"Yes, sir, he just came in."
+
+"May I see him?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Please step into the parlor."
+
+Ferris stepped inside, and the door was immediately closed.
+
+Hal drew a deep breath. If only he could find out Ferris' mission. He
+felt certain the meeting between the book-keeper and the former
+office-boy was to be an important one.
+
+He looked at the windows. Every one of them were tightly closed.
+
+"Too bad it isn't summer time," muttered Hal to himself.
+
+On either side of the mansion were others, so there was no way to get to
+the rear, excepting through the door below, and this was tightly barred.
+
+"I would like to know what a detective would do in a case of this kind,"
+thought Hal. "I suppose he would find some way to effect an entrance."
+
+He was just about to give up trying to form some plan, when the door
+opened and Hardwick and Ferris came out. Hal crouched near the foot of
+the steps, and the pair passed within three feet of him.
+
+"It isn't safe to talk over private matters in a house like that,"
+remarked Hardwick. "I know a place where we will be far more at liberty
+to discuss the thing I have in mind."
+
+"Where is it?" asked Ferris.
+
+"A private club-room just up the avenue."
+
+"That will just suit me," replied Ferris.
+
+The two passed on. Hal raised himself from his cramped position, and
+made after them.
+
+Once around the corner of Sixth Avenue, Hardwick led the way into an
+open hall-way, lit up with a single gas-jet. The pair commenced to
+ascend the stairs, which had several sharp turns. Hal was not far
+behind.
+
+"I'll find out what they are up to, if I die for it," he said, and
+clenched his hands.
+
+Several sentences were spoken which the youth did not catch, and then
+came a cry from Hardwick.
+
+"What is that you say?" he demanded. "You saw this Carson just before
+you left your aunt's house?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Impossible!"
+
+"Why should it be!" asked Ferris.
+
+Hardwick did not reply.
+
+"I was right," thought Hal, with a shudder. "He threw those bricks on
+me, and thought I was either dead or next door to it. He is a thorough
+villain, and no mistake."
+
+"Why shouldn't I see Carson at the house?" went on Ferris.
+
+"Why--I thought he wasn't going home till late," stammered Hardwick.
+
+"Did he say so?"
+
+"I believe he said something about it. I didn't pay much attention."
+Hardwick was beginning to recover from his shock. "So you saw him?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"You two don't get along very well, do you?"
+
+"I'd like to thrash him," growled Ferris.
+
+"Why?"
+
+Hal did not hear the reply. The two passed into a room on the third
+floor, and the door was closed behind them.
+
+For an instant the youth hesitated. Then he mounted to the door and
+applied his eye to the key-hole.
+
+There was a brilliant light inside, but no one appeared to be present.
+
+Having satisfied himself on this point, Hal tried the knob of the door.
+
+It turned, and he pushed the door open cautiously. He knew he was
+treading on dangerous ground and was running a great risk. Yet a strange
+courage seemed to have come over him, and he was not one bit nervous.
+
+Once inside the room, he saw that it was a club apartment. Papers were
+scattered over the table, and cards and other games rested on a side
+stand.
+
+To the left was another door, having a curtain strung over it.
+
+From beyond the curtain came the voices of Hardwick and Ferris, and Hal
+knew they had seated themselves and were taking it easy.
+
+Approaching the outer door he locked it.
+
+"Now I cannot be surprised in that direction," he thought. "And if
+Hardwick or Ferris try to leave I can hide in the closet."
+
+Having made these preparations against being discovered, Hal approached
+the curtain to listen to whatever might be said.
+
+"You say you wish you could fix Carson?" he heard Hardwick say.
+
+"I do," returned Ferris. "I hate him, and I would do almost anything to
+get square."
+
+"Then I'll tell you of a little plan that you can work, Dick. I don't
+like the fellow myself, and it will delight me to see you get the best
+of him."
+
+"How does the beggar do the office work?"
+
+"I must say first class."
+
+"Humph! It didn't suit me, Hardwick. If there hadn't been other
+money----"
+
+"Hush!" cried the book-keeper, in alarm. "That matter must remain a
+secret, never to be mentioned."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE PLOT AGAINST HAL.
+
+
+Hal Carson was sure that he had just missed a most important statement.
+
+"I wish Ferris had finished what he intended to say," he thought.
+
+He waited breathlessly for the two to go on.
+
+"What makes you so scared?" asked Ferris. "Can anybody hear us here?"
+
+"I think not. Still we want to be careful."
+
+"Yes, but----"
+
+"Not another word on that point, Dick." Hardwick's voice grew stern. "I
+am a man, while you are a boy, and I know what is best for both of us."
+
+"Well, have your own way."
+
+"I think it will be a wise plan for you to get Carson out of the way. He
+is altogether too smart a fellow to have around," continued the
+book-keeper.
+
+"I don't think he looks very smart," sneered Ferris, who could not stand
+hearing Hal praised.
+
+"He's smarter than you or most people think. That yarn about his being
+brought up in the poor-house may be true, but I have my doubts."
+
+"Why?" asked Ferris, in high curiosity.
+
+"I can't explain now." There was a brief pause. "Here, take a cigar.
+Those nasty cigarettes make me sick."
+
+There was the striking of matches, and then another pause.
+
+"Are you going to continue as book-keeper when Allen leaves?" asked
+Ferris.
+
+"Certainly."
+
+"I thought you were to go with Allen in his new venture."
+
+"I will--later on."
+
+"Has he made any definite plans yet?"
+
+"No."
+
+"The reason I asked is because I want you to put in a word for me."
+
+Hardwick laughed.
+
+"Dick, you are getting to be a pretty big boy."
+
+"Didn't I do what you wished of me?" demanded Ferris.
+
+"I must say you did."
+
+"Then you ought to be willing----"
+
+"All right, it shall be as you say."
+
+At this instant came a heavy hand on the door-knob outside.
+
+"Who's that?" cried Ferris.
+
+"Must be Churchley or Wister," replied Hardwick.
+
+As the door was locked, the person outside began to knock.
+
+"I must have locked the door," added the book-keeper. "Wait till I open
+it."
+
+As soon as the noise outside reached his ears, Hal made for the closet,
+which stood in one corner of the room. He found the door unlocked, and
+the interior empty, save for a broom and a duster and several similar
+things.
+
+He entered the closet, transferring the key to the inside as he did so,
+and locked the door behind him.
+
+A second later Hardwick entered from the inner room, and opened the door
+leading to the hall.
+
+"Hullo, Churchley!" Hal heard him exclaim.
+
+"How are you, Hardwick?" returned the new-comer. "Locked me out, did
+you?"
+
+"I must have turned the key without thinking," replied the book-keeper.
+
+"All alone?"
+
+"No, there is a young fellow with me."
+
+"Who?"
+
+"Ferris."
+
+"Don't know him."
+
+"I just brought him around to show him the place, and have a quiet
+smoke. He is in the other room."
+
+"Then don't let me disturb you," replied Churchley. "I just want to look
+over the news-papers and find out how that prize-fight over in Hoboken
+came off."
+
+Hal heard the man drop into a seat by the table, and after a few more
+words concerning the prize-fight Churchley had mentioned, Hardwick
+rejoined Ferris in the other apartment.
+
+"Who is it?" asked Ferris.
+
+"A man named Churchley," replied Hardwick, in a low tone, so that he
+might not be overheard.
+
+"One of the club members?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Will he overhear us?"
+
+"I guess not. He is reading about the prize-fight, and when Churchley
+gets on to anything of that kind he gets completely absorbed."
+
+"Then we can go on with our talk?"
+
+"Yes, but not too loud."
+
+"I want to know about this plan against Carson," said Ferris, in a
+whisper.
+
+"Are you willing to go in against him?"
+
+"Didn't I say I was?"
+
+"But I mean seriously?"
+
+Ferris changed color.
+
+"Of course I don't want to kill him," he faltered.
+
+"I understand. But you are willing to get him into serious trouble."
+
+"I am."
+
+"Then listen to me. Can you get into his room at your aunt's house?"
+
+"I think I can."
+
+"I mean without being seen."
+
+"I have the whole run of the place."
+
+"Then supposing somethings belonging to the others were found in
+Carson's trunk----"
+
+"He has no trunk," interrupted Ferris.
+
+"So much the better, for you can merely hide the stuff in among his
+things."
+
+"Do you mean for me to take them?"
+
+"Some of them."
+
+"Some of them?" questioned Ferris.
+
+"Yes, those from your aunt's boarders. At the same time I will give you
+several articles belonging to the office that you can place with the
+others. Is there any one of the boarders you know well?"
+
+"I know Saunders pretty well."
+
+"Then let Saunders lose most of the stuff, and put a flea in his ear to
+the effect that you think Carson is the guilty party. This will cause
+the fellow's room to be searched and the stuff will be found. You must
+be on hand to identify the office stuff; see?"
+
+"I do."
+
+"Carson will be arrested, and you will have your revenge."
+
+"That's a boss plan!" exclaimed Ferris. "When will you furnish me with
+stuff from the office?"
+
+"To-morrow noon, if you will meet me at the corner of Wall and Nassau."
+
+"I'll be on hand. It made me sick the way my aunt stuck up for Carson.
+Of course, I wouldn't go into the thing, only I know the tramp's a bad
+egg," returned Ferris, trying to excuse his willingness to enter into
+such an outrageous plot.
+
+"Of course he is a bad egg, and it is our duty to get him out of the
+way," replied Hardwick. "You will be on hand sure to-morrow?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And when will you put the things in his room?"
+
+"Sometime during the afternoon. That will bring matters to a head as
+soon as Saunders and the others get home."
+
+"You must expose Carson while he is in his room, if possible."
+
+"Oh, he'll be home with the rest."
+
+"Then that's all right. Of course, there is no necessity to caution you
+to be careful."
+
+"Wasn't I careful before?"
+
+"Hush!"
+
+"Then don't talk that way. Say, do you know these cigars are mighty
+strong?"
+
+Hardwick laughed.
+
+"That's because you are not used to them, Dick. Now, I generally smoke
+them twice as strong."
+
+Just at this instant, the two heard Churchley jump to his feet.
+
+"Who's there?" he demanded.
+
+"What's the matter with Churchley?" said Hardwick.
+
+"He's talking to somebody," replied Ferris.
+
+"Hullo! the door's locked," they heard Churchley continue.
+
+"What's up, Churchley?" called out Hardwick, walking toward the other
+room.
+
+"There is somebody in this closet," was the startling reply. "I heard a
+noise half a dozen times."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+HAL IS ACCUSED.
+
+
+When Hal Carson locked himself into the closet of the club-room, he
+realized that he was in a perilous position.
+
+Supposing somebody undertook to open the door? They might suppose it
+very strange to find the door locked, and think it necessary to open it,
+in which case he would be discovered in short order.
+
+He remained perfectly quiet for a long while and heard Churchley
+admitted, and heard the man seat himself at the center table, and rustle
+the paper he was perusing.
+
+Of the conversation carried on by Ferris and Hardwick, he heard nothing
+further, and he was, consequently, totally in the dark concerning the
+nefarious plot that had been formed to get him into serious trouble.
+
+Ten minutes passed, and the youth began to wonder how long he would have
+to remain a self-made prisoner.
+
+Then all became quiet in the room beyond, and he wondered if Churchley
+had not joined the two in the adjoining apartment.
+
+He peered through the key-hole, but could see nothing but a portion of
+the wall opposite.
+
+Growing bolder, he turned the key in the lock, and cautiously opened the
+door for the space of several inches. Looking out, he saw that Churchley
+still sat at the table, which was but a few feet away.
+
+At that instant the man moved and gave a deep breath. Hal thought he
+intended to look around, and hastily closed the door once more.
+
+The youth's movement was so quick that the door made a sharp sound as
+the catch clicked. This was followed by the sound made by the key in the
+lock as Hal once more imprisoned himself.
+
+Hal almost held his breath as he heard Churchley jump up.
+
+"Who's there?" called the man.
+
+Hal made no reply.
+
+Then Churchley came and tried the door.
+
+"Hullo! the door's locked!"
+
+At that moment Hardwick entered, followed by Ferris.
+
+"Somebody in the closet?" cried Hardwick.
+
+"There seems to be."
+
+"Open the door."
+
+"I can't. It's locked."
+
+"Who is in there?" called the book-keeper.
+
+Of course, Hal did not answer.
+
+"Perhaps it was a rat," suggested Ferris.
+
+"Might have been," grumbled Churchley. "I know there are plenty of them
+in the building, because I once ran across one in the hall-way."
+
+"Where is the key?" asked Hardwick. "We'll soon find out."
+
+"I don't know."
+
+"It ought to be in the lock."
+
+"Perhaps Jackson carted it off. He's an odd sort of a coon."
+
+Hardwick looked around on the mantel and in several other places.
+
+"It's gone."
+
+He came over and shook the door.
+
+"See if the key is on the inside of the lock," suggested Ferris.
+
+At these words Hal put down his hand and felt to make sure that the key
+was turned to one side.
+
+"I can't see anything," said Hardwick, after an examination.
+
+"Then Jackson must have put it in his pocket," said Churchley.
+
+"Perhaps it was nothing but a rat after all," said Ferris.
+
+"I have half a mind to run up and ask Jackson," said Hardwick. "He lives
+right on the floor above."
+
+"Oh, don't bother!" returned Churchley. "If it's a rat you may be sure
+he has gone back to his hole long ago."
+
+A little more conversation followed, to which Hal listened intently, and
+then the youth heard Hardwick and Ferris go out.
+
+Churchley continued to read the papers, and during that time the youth
+hardly dared to move for fear the man might re-commence his
+investigation.
+
+But at the end of the hour Churchley gave a yawn and arose. Then two
+more men entered the room, and the trio adjourned to the other
+apartment.
+
+Making sure that the coast was clear this time, Hal unlocked the door
+and let himself out. Then he locked the door again, and threw the key
+under the table.
+
+"That will tend to stop suspicion," he reasoned. "And I must be sharp in
+dealing with these rascals."
+
+He tiptoed his way to the door leading to the hall-way, and was soon
+outside.
+
+Hardwick and Ferris had gone long before, and below all looked deserted.
+It was still snowing heavily, and Hal made up his mind that the best
+thing he could do would be to return to his boarding-house.
+
+He was soon on the elevated train and riding downtown.
+
+Happening to glance toward the other end of the car in which he was
+seated, he saw Dick Ferris sitting in the corner, apparently absorbed in
+thought.
+
+"I'm glad I spotted him," thought Hal. "I must take care he does not see
+me."
+
+East Tenth Street was soon reached. In making for the house Hal crossed
+over the street, and ran ahead. By this means he managed to get inside
+and up to his room before Dick Ferris put his key in the door.
+
+To tell the truth, Hal did not sleep much that night. His mind seemed to
+be in a whirl. What was the plot Hardwick and Dick Ferris had hatched
+out against him?
+
+He was up early on the following morning. At the breakfast table he had
+a pleasant word with Saunders, who was a clerk in a dry-goods store, and
+a pretty good sort of a fellow. Ferris did not appear, but this was not
+strange, as he had not been down early since his discharge from Sumner,
+Allen & Co.'s establishment.
+
+Hal was the first to appear at the office in Wall Street. He opened up
+as usual, and after cleaning and dusting, began copying from the point
+at which he had left off on the previous day.
+
+At quarter past nine Hardwick hurried in. The book-keeper's face was
+very red, but whether from the cold or from drink it was hard to
+determine.
+
+Mr. Allen soon followed Hardwick, and the two entered into a low and
+earnest conversation in the rear. Hal did not dare to approach them, but
+he strained his ears to their utmost, and caught the words "he must be
+watched," and "the detectives will learn nothing," and these set him to
+thinking deeply.
+
+Presently Mr. Sumner arrived. The elderly broker's face showed deep
+lines of care and anxiety. He had been up to the police headquarters to
+see if the detectives could give him any words of encouragement, but he
+had been disappointed.
+
+"We shall have every one about your establishment watched, Mr. Sumner,"
+the superintendent had said. "And I would advise you to go on with
+business as if nothing had happened."
+
+And to this the elderly broker had agreed.
+
+Hal watched Hardwick narrowly, and the book-keeper showed plainly that
+he did not appreciate the attention. Once he put his hand on Hal's arm
+and glared at him.
+
+"What are you looking at me for?" he demanded, in a low tone, so that
+Mr. Sumner might not hear.
+
+"Was I looking at you?" asked Hal, innocently.
+
+"Yes, you were, and I don't like it."
+
+Hal bowed, and turned away. Nevertheless, he still kept watch on the
+sly.
+
+Presently, just before the time that Hardwick usually went out for
+lunch, he saw something which he thought rather odd, although of no
+great importance.
+
+On a small shelf over one of the desks rested two new inkstands and
+several boxes of pens. Going to the desk, Hardwick pretended to be busy
+examining some papers. While thus engaged, Hal saw the book-keeper
+transfer the inkstands and the boxes of pens to his overcoat pocket.
+
+"Now, what is he up to?" thought the youth.
+
+Having transferred the articles to his clothes, Hardwick put down the
+papers and walked to where Mr. Sumner sat, busily engaged over his
+correspondence.
+
+"Shall I go to lunch now, Mr. Sumner?" he asked.
+
+The elderly broker glanced at the clock.
+
+"Yes."
+
+Hardwick at once went out, and presently Mr. Allen followed. Mr. Sumner
+continued to write for a minute, and then called Hal.
+
+"You may mail these letters, and then get your lunch also," he said.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied the youth.
+
+Then he hesitated as he took up the letters.
+
+"Well, what is it, Hal?" asked the broker.
+
+"Nothing much, Mr. Sumner. I wished to ask you about those inkstands and
+the pens that were on the shelf over there."
+
+"What of them? You may use whatever you find necessary."
+
+"It isn't that, sir. I just saw Mr. Hardwick slip the things into his
+pocket."
+
+"Indeed!" Mr. Sumner looked surprised. "Did he say what he intended to
+do with them?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"I will ask him when he comes in."
+
+Hal hesitated.
+
+"I wish you would not, Mr. Sumner," he said.
+
+The elderly broker looked surprised.
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because I think Mr. Hardwick is hatching up some plot against me, and I
+wish to find out what it is."
+
+"A plot?"
+
+"Yes, sir. He is on friendly terms with Dick Ferris, your former
+office-boy, and both of them hate me."
+
+"This is certainly news. I knew Hardwick did not like you because you
+suspected him, but I thought that had passed over."
+
+"No, sir. He is down on me worse than ever, and I feel certain he is up
+to something to get me into trouble."
+
+"And you think the inkstands and pens have something to do with the
+matter?"
+
+"Yes, sir. Perhaps he'll say I stole them."
+
+"I can't think Hardwick so bad," mused Mr. Sumner. "Why, if he would do
+that, he would steal the tin box."
+
+Hal said nothing to this. He preferred to discover more than he had
+before making any revelation.
+
+"You saw them this morning, didn't you?" went on the youth.
+
+"Yes, I got a pen only ten minutes ago."
+
+"Then you know I didn't take them."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And you will keep silent--that is, for the present?"
+
+"If you wish it, Hal."
+
+And Mr. Sumner turned away and heaved a sigh. It is terrible to have
+around you somebody you cannot trust.
+
+Five minutes later Hal went out to lunch--a light affair, as the youth
+had spent ten cents more than intended in following Hardwick the
+previous evening, and he knew he must be sparing of his capital.
+
+He was just about returning to the office, when, chancing to glance up
+the street, he saw Hardwick and Ferris just separating at the corner.
+
+He entered the office, and a minute later Hardwick followed. Neither
+spoke, and but little was said all the afternoon, excepting such as
+pertained to the business on hand.
+
+Although his thoughts were busy on other matters, Hal paid strict
+attention to his work, and Mr. Sumner was well pleased with all the
+youth did.
+
+"A good, manly fellow," he muttered to himself. "He could never have had
+anything to do with the robbery of the bonds. I would rather suspect my
+own son were he still alive. But poor Howard is gone."
+
+Sudden tears sprang into the broker's eyes, which he as suddenly brushed
+away, afraid that some customer might drop in and see his weakness.
+
+Hal did not leave the office until after four o'clock, there being a
+number of things to be written up before he could go. Hardwick had gone
+an hour before, and Hal did not know in what direction.
+
+There being nothing else to do, Hal proceeded leisurely up to his
+boarding-house, never dreaming of the surprise in store for him. The
+streets were filled with snow, and he enjoyed the jingle of the
+sleigh-bells and the bustle of metropolitan life around him. Several
+times he was strongly tempted to follow the newsboys and bootblacks into
+the street and catch a ride.
+
+When he entered Mrs. Ricket's house he found Saunders and several others
+already there. Dick Ferris was in the group in the front parlor, and at
+a glance Hal saw that something unusual was going on.
+
+He nodded pleasantly, and was about to pass up the stairs when Mrs.
+Ricket called him back.
+
+"What is it?" he asked.
+
+"Mr. Saunders' room has been robbed!" burst out the woman.
+
+"What!" exclaimed Hal. "Was there much taken?"
+
+"A pair of cuff-buttons, a gold watch-chain and my pocket-book with
+fourteen dollars in it," replied Saunders.
+
+"It's too bad," sobbed Mrs. Ricket. "I would not have had that happen in
+my house for a hundred dollars. I wonder who could have done it?"
+
+Suddenly Dick Ferris pulled Saunders aside, and whispered something into
+his ear.
+
+The dry-goods clerk looked astonished.
+
+"You don't mean it!" he gasped.
+
+"I do," replied Ferris.
+
+Saunders advanced toward Hal.
+
+"Were you in my room this morning after I left?" he asked, sharply.
+
+"Me?" returned Hal, with a start. "No."
+
+"Dick says you were, and he thinks you are the thief," continued
+Saunders.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+FOR AND AGAINST.
+
+
+Saunders was excited or he would not have spoken so hastily or so
+bluntly.
+
+Hal grew very pale, and clenched his hands.
+
+"You say I entered Mr. Saunders' room?" he demanded, turning to Ferris.
+
+"I do," replied the tall boy.
+
+He had hardly spoken, when Hal strode over with such a determined air
+that Ferris was forced to beat a retreat until he backed up against a
+side table.
+
+"You know you are saying what isn't so," said Hal, in a low voice. "And
+I want you to take it back."
+
+"I--I am telling the truth," stammered Ferris.
+
+"It is false. It is more likely that you entered Mr. Saunders' room
+yourself."
+
+"When did you see Carson enter my room?" put in the dry-goods clerk.
+
+"Just as I was getting ready to come down."
+
+"Why didn't you speak of it before?" asked Mrs. Ricket.
+
+"I thought he had gone in to see Tom."
+
+"There is not a word of truth in what he says, and he knows it," said
+Hal, calmly. "It is merely a scheme to get me into trouble because he
+does not like me."
+
+"No scheme about it," blustered Ferris. "If I were you I'd search his
+room."
+
+"If the stolen things are there, Ferris put them there," added Hal,
+quickly.
+
+"Mean to say I'm a thief?" roared Ferris, turning red in the face.
+
+"I do."
+
+"Take care, or I'll give you a sound thrashing."
+
+"Similar to the one you gave me the other day, I presume," replied Hal.
+"I am ready for you at any time."
+
+"We don't want any fighting in the house," cried Mrs. Ricket. "This
+affair is bad enough without making it worse. Mr. Carson, do you object
+to me and Mr. Saunders going up to your room?"
+
+"Not at all. Come on."
+
+Hal led the way, followed by the others. Dick Ferris smiled darkly to
+himself as he came on behind.
+
+"He'll find out he can't insult me for nothing," he muttered to himself.
+
+The room reached, Hal threw open the door, and allowed Mrs. Ricket to
+pass him.
+
+"You had better make the search," he said. "That will be fair all
+around."
+
+"I will. Oh, what a trouble all this is." And crying softly to herself,
+the landlady began her investigation.
+
+Nothing was found in the closet nor in the drawer of the table. Then
+Hal's meager possessions were hauled over, and still nothing came to
+light.
+
+"Look in the bureau drawer," suggested Saunders, anxiously.
+
+Mrs. Ricket did so. From the rear the woman brought forth a large flat
+box, rolled up in a newspaper.
+
+The newspaper was cast aside, and the box opened. Out came a pair of
+cuff-buttons, a gold watch-chain, a flat pocket-book, two inkstands, and
+several boxes of pens.
+
+The instant Hal saw the articles he understood the trick that had been
+practiced upon him.
+
+Saunders gave a cry.
+
+"Those are mine! Let me see if the money is safe." He opened the
+pocket-book. "Gone, every dollar of it!"
+
+He turned upon Hal.
+
+"Give me that fourteen dollars, or I will have you locked up at once!"
+
+"Mr. Saunders, I never took these things," replied Hal, as calmly as he
+could.
+
+"Yes, but----" the dry-goods clerk was so angry he could hardly speak.
+
+"I know it looks black against me, but perhaps I can clear myself," went
+on the youth.
+
+"Yes, you can," sneered Ferris. "Look here," he pointed to the inkstands
+and the pens. "Aunt Amanda, do you know who those things belong to?"
+
+"Who?"
+
+"They belong to Sumner, Allen & Co.," replied Ferris, triumphantly.
+
+"You are sure?" asked Saunders.
+
+"I am, unless Carson will stick out for it that the firm gave them to
+him," returned Ferris.
+
+"Is that so?" questioned Mrs. Ricket.
+
+"They were not given to me," replied Hal, promptly. "But I know who
+brought them into the house."
+
+"Who?"
+
+"Your nephew, Mrs. Ricket. I am sorry for you, but I am telling the
+truth."
+
+"Dick a thief!"
+
+"See here, do you know what you are saying?" blustered Ferris, taken
+aback by this statement.
+
+"I do."
+
+"I won't have you talking to me in this fashion."
+
+"Then you had better own up to what you have done," replied Hal, calmly.
+
+"How could I get the things?" demanded Ferris. "The firm knows they were
+there after I left."
+
+"I know they do," returned Hal, significantly. "And they know more than
+that."
+
+Dick Ferris grew almost white at these last words. He seemed about to
+say something in return, but suddenly changed his mind.
+
+"Carson, this is a serious matter," said Saunders. "I hate to say much
+about it, but the stuff has been found here, and I don't see how I can
+do otherwise than look to you for that fourteen dollars."
+
+"Mr. Saunders, I didn't take the things, and I don't know anything about
+your money."
+
+"Easy enough to say, but----" and Saunders finished with a shrug of his
+shoulders.
+
+"Of course, I can't prove what I say, but I can give you my word of
+honor that I am telling the truth."
+
+"That's all very well, but it doesn't restore my money, which I can't
+afford to lose," replied Saunders, sharply.
+
+Hal looked around in perplexity. What was he to do?
+
+"I can't believe you guilty," said Mrs. Ricket. "But if you have the
+money you had better return it."
+
+"Of course, he's got the money," put in Ferris, who had somewhat
+recovered from the effects of Hal's last words to him.
+
+Hal picked up the newspaper which had been around the box and crumpled
+it nervously. Suddenly a peculiar look lit up his features.
+
+"I guess I had better send for a policeman," said Saunders, after a
+moment of silence.
+
+"Just wait a moment," said Hal.
+
+"What for?"
+
+"I wish to ask a few questions."
+
+"Better see that he doesn't escape," suggested Ferris.
+
+"Let that remark apply to Ferris as well as myself," said Hal.
+
+Saunders walked to the door, and locked it, putting the key in his
+pocket.
+
+"When did you miss your things?" asked Hal.
+
+"About an hour ago."
+
+"At five o'clock?"
+
+"A little before. I got off early to visit my uncle in Nyack. But I
+can't go without my money."
+
+"Were you home to dinner?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Did Dick Ferris come home?"
+
+"No."
+
+"When did your nephew come home?" asked Hal, turning to Mrs. Ricket.
+
+"Don't answer him, aunt," cried Ferris. He was beginning to get alarmed
+again.
+
+"What harm will it do?" questioned the woman. "If you are innocent,
+Dick, it won't matter."
+
+"He wants to get me into trouble."
+
+"Please answer my question," said Hal, decidedly.
+
+"Dick came home about two o'clock."
+
+"Has he been home ever since?"
+
+"I believe so."
+
+"Now, Mrs. Ricket, where were you all the afternoon?"
+
+"Me?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"I hope you don't suspect me!" cried the landlady, in alarm.
+
+"No, I do not. But please answer me."
+
+"After dinner I cleaned all the halls from top to bottom, and then saw
+to it that Katie cleaned the front stoop and the windows."
+
+"Then you were in the halls and around the front door most of the time?"
+
+"I was."
+
+"Did I come in at any time during the afternoon?"
+
+"I didn't see you?"
+
+"Wouldn't you have seen me if I had?"
+
+"I suppose I would," admitted the woman.
+
+"What does all this talk amount to?" put in Ferris.
+
+"Shut up!" cried Hal, sharply. "I am not addressing you."
+
+He turned to Saunders.
+
+"You hear what Mrs. Ricket says. I was not here to steal your things."
+
+"Humph! They might have been stolen this morning!" exclaimed Ferris.
+
+"Or last night," added Saunders. "The last I saw of the cuff-buttons was
+last night, and the pocket-book yesterday noon."
+
+"I don't see how that can be possible," replied Hal, quietly.
+
+"It's easy enough," exclaimed Ferris. "Just because I was home during
+the afternoon, and you were not, doesn't prove that you didn't take the
+things."
+
+"No, that doesn't, but something else does," replied Hal.
+
+"What?"
+
+"This newspaper, which was wrapped around the box."
+
+At these words Ferris grew white, and trembled from head to foot.
+
+"What about the paper?" asked Saunders, curiously.
+
+"It is an afternoon paper, dated to-day. It could not possibly have been
+put around the box before one o'clock this afternoon."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII.
+
+HAL IN A FEARFUL SITUATION.
+
+
+Every one in the room was surprised at Hal Carson's unexpected
+statement.
+
+"Let me see the paper!" cried Saunders.
+
+Hal handed it over, and the dry-goods clerk scanned it eagerly.
+
+"You are right," he muttered, and shook his head.
+
+"That can't be the same paper that was around the box," put in Dick
+Ferris, very red in the face.
+
+"It certainly is," replied Hal.
+
+"Yes, I saw Carson pick it up from the spot where I threw it," returned
+Saunders. "This puts a new face on the matter," he added, with a sharp
+look at Ferris.
+
+Mrs. Ricket also looked at her nephew.
+
+"Dick, come here," she commanded.
+
+"What do you want?" he demanded, doggedly.
+
+"I want you to return Mr. Saunders' fourteen dollars."
+
+"I haven't got it."
+
+"I know better."
+
+"What, Aunt Amanda, are you going back on me, too?" cried Ferris, in a
+pretended reproachful tone.
+
+"I tried to believe all along against my better judgment that you were
+innocent," said the landlady. "But I can't believe it any longer, and
+when you try to throw the blame on somebody who is innocent, I've got to
+speak my mind." Mrs. Ricket's voice began to grow stern. "Give up the
+money, and ask Mr. Saunders to forgive you before he sends for a
+policeman and has you arrested."
+
+This was a long speech for Mrs. Ricket, and she almost gasped for breath
+after she had finished.
+
+Dick Ferris' face grew black as he listened to the words.
+
+"You're a nice aunt to me!" he stormed. "Just wait till I tell dad about
+it when he comes home next time."
+
+But now Saunders had the fellow by the collar.
+
+"Which is it, the money or the station-house?" he asked, shortly.
+
+Dick Ferris looked into the determined black eyes, and then his courage
+oozed away.
+
+"Will you promise not to do anything, if I give you fourteen dollars?"
+he asked.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then here you are." He brought forth his pocket-book, and took out a
+roll of bills. "I didn't take your money, but it's no fun to be hauled
+up."
+
+"Why, Dick, where did you get so much money?" cried Mrs. Ricket, in
+amazement.
+
+"I earned it," replied the fellow, coolly. "Here you are, Saunders. Now,
+unlock the door and let me out."
+
+Saunders took the fourteen dollars, counted them over, and then did as
+requested. Without another word Ferris hurried out and down the stairs.
+
+"I hope you are satisfied," said Hal, to the dry-goods clerk.
+
+"I am sorry I suspected you," returned Saunders. "What a mean dog Ferris
+is."
+
+"He is down on me because I am filling the position he was discharged
+from," explained Hal.
+
+"Unless he takes a turn for the better I shall tell him to leave the
+house," cried Mrs. Ricket, trying to dry away her tears. "Ever since he
+came, two years ago, he has been a torment to me. I only keep him for my
+poor dead sister's sake."
+
+"How about this stuff?" questioned Saunders, pointing to the inkstands
+and the boxes of pens.
+
+"I shall return them to Sumner, Allen & Co."
+
+"Queer how that boy got hold of those things," said Mrs. Ricket.
+
+Hal pretended not to hear the remark, and a moment later Saunders and
+the landlady left the room.
+
+"So that was the plot against me," muttered Hal, as he fixed up to go to
+supper. "I wonder what Hardwick will say when he hears how it turned
+out?"
+
+The youth was compelled to smile to himself. The book-keeper would, no
+doubt, be very angry.
+
+"It was lucky I looked at the newspaper," Hal went on. "It was that
+saved me, and nothing else. Ferris overreached himself. I wish I could
+gain such an important point in that bond matter. It would be a great
+feather in my cap to recover the tin box and its contents."
+
+A little later Hal went down to supper. Ferris did not appear, and
+nothing was said about the recent happening upstairs.
+
+"Please keep it quiet," whispered Mrs. Ricket to him, as he was about to
+leave the room. "It will only hurt my reputation to say anything."
+
+The next morning, when Hal arrived at the office, he found Mr. Sumner
+already there. This was most unusual, and the youth could not help but
+show his surprise.
+
+The elderly broker was pouring over the books, but as soon as Hal
+appeared he put them away.
+
+Hal had the inkstands and the pens in his overcoat pocket, and he at
+once handed them over, much to Mr. Sumner's astonishment.
+
+"Where did they come from?" he asked.
+
+"I will explain later," replied Hal. "Please put them out of sight now,
+for Mr. Hardwick is coming, and I wish he wouldn't see them."
+
+Mr. Sumner promptly swept the things into his desk, and began to write a
+letter.
+
+When the book-keeper entered he was astonished to see Hal at work
+cleaning up. He had fully expected that the youth would be arrested for
+the robbery at Mrs. Ricket's, and that Hal was now in jail.
+
+Then he looked back and saw Mr. Sumner at his desk, and his astonishment
+increased.
+
+"Why, really, Mr. Sumner----" he began.
+
+"I'm early this morning, eh?" returned the broker. "Well, I wanted to
+get this correspondence off my hands, and I seem to be able to do better
+work early in the morning."
+
+"You are a hard worker," commented Hardwick, and that was all he said.
+
+When Hal was dusting near the rear Mr. Sumner looked up to see that the
+book-keeper was not noticing, and then motioned to the youth.
+
+"Don't say anything about my being at the books," whispered the broker,
+in a low tone.
+
+Hal nodded; and then he went on as if nothing had been said. But the
+words set him to thinking deeply.
+
+At the end of an hour Mr. Sumner arose.
+
+"I am going out for a couple of hours," he said. "If Mr. Allen comes in
+tell him to let that Wabash matter rest until to-morrow."
+
+"I will," replied Hardwick.
+
+"You may continue on that copying, Carson," went on the broker. "Mr.
+Hardwick will direct you."
+
+"Yes, sir," replied the youth.
+
+Mr. Sumner quitted the place, and hurried up the street.
+
+Dick Ferris stood on the opposite side near the corner. He then waved
+his hand to Hardwick.
+
+The book-keeper at once put on his hat and coat, and went out. Hal did
+not see the man join Ferris.
+
+Hal did his best to concentrate his thoughts upon his work, but found it
+almost impossible to do so.
+
+A half-hour dragged by slowly.
+
+Then the door burst open, and Hardwick rushed in. He was pale and
+terribly excited. Rushing up to Hal he caught the youth roughly by the
+arm.
+
+"See here, I want to have a talk with you!" he cried.
+
+"What about?" asked Hal, as coolly as he could.
+
+"You know well enough, you miserable sneak!" hissed Hardwick. "Tell me
+at once all you know."
+
+"Know about what?" asked Hal, trying to stand his ground.
+
+Hardwick glared at him for an instant. He seemed to be in a fearful
+rage. Suddenly he caught Hal by the throat with one hand, and picked up
+a heavy brass-bound ruler with the other.
+
+"Now, Carson, are you going to speak up or not?" he demanded.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII.
+
+HAL SHOWS HIS METTLE.
+
+
+Hal understood perfectly well that a crisis had come. Hardwick had him
+by the throat, and unless he acceded to the book-keeper's demand he
+would be in immediate danger of being choked to death.
+
+"Let--let go of me," he gasped.
+
+"Not until you do as I say," replied Hardwick. "I want you to understand
+that you can't get the best of me."
+
+Hal tried to push Hardwick away, but the book-keeper made a pass at him
+with the heavy ruler.
+
+"Keep quiet, if you value your head!" roared Hardwick.
+
+"Let me go!"
+
+"Not until you have told me what you mean by your doings."
+
+"What doings?"
+
+"Your doings up to Mrs. Ricket's."
+
+"Who told you about what happened up there?"
+
+"Never mind; I know all about it."
+
+"Then Ferris saw you last night."
+
+"No, he didn't."
+
+"Or this morning."
+
+"Shut up. You implicated me."
+
+"Did Dick Ferris say I did?" asked Hal.
+
+"Never mind who said so. I want to know what you mean by such work?"
+
+Hal did not reply. He was trying to think. What was Ferris' object in
+telling Hardwick he had been mentioned in connection with the matter?
+
+Clearly there could be but one reason. Ferris knew Hardwick already
+disliked Hal, and he wished to put the book-keeper against the youth, so
+as to get Hal into more difficulties.
+
+"Do you hear me?" demanded Hardwick, giving Hal an extra squeeze on the
+throat.
+
+"I do," gulped Hal. "Let--go--of me."
+
+"Not until you have answered."
+
+Hal commenced to struggle. Seeing this, Hardwick tried to strike him
+with the ruler, which, on account of its brass-bound edge, was an ugly
+weapon. The ruler came down twice, the second time cutting a gash on the
+youth's neck, from which the blood flowed copiously.
+
+This last blow aroused all the lion in Hal's nature. As the reader
+knows, he was a well-built boy, and strong for his age. He gave a sudden
+wrench and broke away.
+
+"Stand back!" he cried. "Don't you dare to touch me again!"
+
+Hardwick glanced toward the door, to see that no one was coming.
+
+"I'll show you!" he hissed, passionately.
+
+He rushed at Hal again. The youth saw him coming, and, drawing back his
+arm, he planted a blow on Hardwick's nose that sent the blood spurting
+in all directions.
+
+Hardwick was more surprised than hurt. Had that poor house chap dared to
+hit him? He turned first red and then white.
+
+"I'll fix you!" he cried.
+
+"Stand back, I tell you!" commanded Hal; he was getting excited himself.
+
+But Hardwick would not stand back, and, as a consequence, he received a
+blow on the forehead that almost stunned him.
+
+"You beggar, you've got muscle, haven't you?" he cried. "We'll try a
+different method with you."
+
+He ran toward his desk, and opened it. An instant later Hal saw a
+revolver in his hand.
+
+"Now we will see who is on top here," said Hardwick.
+
+It would be useless to deny that Hal was frightened at the sight of the
+shining barrel. He backed several feet.
+
+"I thought that would bring you to terms," said Hardwick. "Now, will you
+answer my question?"
+
+"You will not dare to shoot me," returned the youth, as calmly as he
+could.
+
+"Don't be too sure. I intend that you shall answer me."
+
+Hal looked about him. He had backed toward the rear of the office. The
+window was unlocked. Could he leap through it?
+
+Hardwick followed the youth's look and understood it.
+
+"No, you don't," he said, and, moving toward the window, he locked it.
+
+The only way that now remained to escape was by the street door.
+Hardwick placed himself in front of this.
+
+"Give me the key to this door," he demanded.
+
+The key hung on a nail close to where Hal was standing.
+
+Instead of complying, Hal took down the key, and placed it in his
+pocket.
+
+"Did you hear me?" went on the book-keeper.
+
+"I did."
+
+"You are playing with fire, young man."
+
+"Am I?"
+
+"You are. You think I haven't nerve enough to go ahead, but you'll find
+out your mistake. I'll give you just ten seconds in which to hand me
+that key."
+
+Hal made no reply.
+
+"Did you hear?"
+
+"I did."
+
+"Are you going to mind?"
+
+"No."
+
+Hardwick aimed the pistol at Hal's head. Whether or not he would have
+fired cannot be told, for at that instant the door opened, and Mr.
+Sumner stepped in.
+
+"I forgot my----" he began, and then stopped short in amazement.
+
+"Mr. Sumner!" cried Hal. "I am glad you have come."
+
+"What is the meaning of this?" gasped the elderly broker.
+
+He looked at Hardwick and then at the pistol.
+
+The book-keeper dropped back, unable for the moment to say a word.
+
+"He intended to shoot me," said Hal.
+
+"That is a falsehood!" exclaimed Hardwick.
+
+"It's the truth," retorted the youth.
+
+"No such thing! The young tramp pulled this pistol, and I just snatched
+it away from him."
+
+Hal was amazed at this deliberate falsehood. Mr. Sumner turned to him.
+
+"Did you have that pistol first?" he asked.
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"I say he did," put in Hardwick.
+
+"I never owned a pistol," added Hal.
+
+"Then he must have stolen it," sneered Hardwick. "I tell you, Mr.
+Sumner, he is a bad egg, and he ought to be discharged."
+
+"Perhaps," responded the elderly broker, dryly. "Just hand the weapon to
+me."
+
+Hardwick did so, and Mr. Sumner examined it.
+
+"Do you carry such a weapon?" he asked, shortly.
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Don't own one, I presume?"
+
+"I must say I do not."
+
+"Humph! So you say Carson drew it on you?"
+
+"He did."
+
+"Mr. Sumner----" began Hal.
+
+"Stop, Carson, until I get through with Mr. Hardwick. What was the cause
+of this quarrel?"
+
+"The boy got impudent, and I threatened to report him and have him
+discharged."
+
+"Is that all?"
+
+"Yes. He is an unmannerly dog."
+
+"I didn't think so when I hired him."
+
+"He is, Mr. Sumner."
+
+The elderly broker examined the pistol again.
+
+"I wish you would explain one thing to me, Mr. Hardwick," he said
+slowly.
+
+"What is that, sir?"
+
+"It is this: If you do not own a pistol how does it happen that I saw
+this very weapon in your desk over a week ago?"
+
+The book-keeper started back and changed color.
+
+"What--what do you mean?" he faltered.
+
+"Just what I say. About a week ago I had occasion to go to your desk for
+a certain paper, and I saw this very weapon lying in one corner."
+
+"There--there must be some mistake."
+
+"None, sir. This is your pistol, and I believe you pulled it upon this
+boy."
+
+Hal's face beamed. The cloud that had gathered so suddenly seemed to be
+breaking away.
+
+"Why should I draw it on the young cub?" growled Hardwick, not knowing
+exactly what to say.
+
+"Because you have a spite against Carson, and you wish to get him into
+trouble. I used to think you a fair and square man, Hardwick, but I find
+I am mistaken."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV.
+
+HAL EXPRESSED HIS OPINION.
+
+
+The perspiration was standing out upon Mr. Sumner's forehead. He took
+out his handkerchief and mopped himself. Hardwick shot an angry glance
+at him.
+
+"I don't see what you find so interesting in the boy," he muttered.
+
+"I am interested in him because he saved my life."
+
+"Saved your life?"
+
+"Exactly. It is true that he came from the poor-house, but he is a young
+hero, and I will not have him imposed on, especially when he is doing
+his best to get along."
+
+"Well, every one to his taste," returned Hardwick.
+
+"I want none of your impudence," cried the broker. "You were not as much
+of a man as this boy when I took you in, eight years ago."
+
+"Thanks," returned Hardwick, coolly. "Perhaps you would just as soon I
+would quit your service?"
+
+"I would."
+
+"Then I will quit on the first of the year."
+
+"You will quit to-day, and without recommendations."
+
+"Without recommendations!"
+
+"Yes. Let me tell you something. All last evening and this morning early
+I spent the time examining your books. I find you have made false
+entries, how many I do not know, and that you are a defaulter in the sum
+of several thousands of dollars."
+
+Hal was almost as much surprised at Mr. Sumner's statement as Hardwick.
+
+"You--have--examined--the--books?" said the book-keeper, slowly.
+
+"I have."
+
+Hardwick breathed hard. It was a terrible blow Mr. Sumner had dealt him.
+He had supposed his little crooked actions in the office well hidden
+from prying eyes.
+
+"You may have to prove what you say," he exclaimed, haughtily.
+
+"I can easily do so," returned Mr. Sumner, coolly. "Shall I send for an
+officer to take charge of you in the meanwhile?"
+
+At the mention of an officer, Hardwick grew white, and his lips
+trembled.
+
+"N-no!" he cried. "There must be some mistake."
+
+"There is no mistake whatever. Do you deny that you have appropriated
+the bank funds of the firm----"
+
+"Mr. Allen gave me the right to----"
+
+"Mr. Allen had no rights, as you are aware. Our partnership is a limited
+one, and I shall settle with Mr. Allen later."
+
+"You can't hold me accountable for that money."
+
+"I can, but I won't, for I imagine the greater part of it has been
+spent. How much have you in your pocket now?"
+
+"Sir!"
+
+"You heard my question; answer me."
+
+"I will not! I'm no fool!"
+
+"Very well. Hal, will you call a policeman?"
+
+Hal started for the door. Hardwick caught him by the arm, and shoved him
+back.
+
+"Stay here! There is my pocket-book."
+
+"Hal, you may remain." Mr. Sumner took the pocket-book and counted the
+money in it. "A hundred and eighty dollars," he went on. "Have you any
+more with you?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Is that a genuine diamond you are wearing?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"What is it worth?"
+
+"It cost seventy-five dollars."
+
+"Then listen to me; I have found out that you are a pretty high liver,
+Hardwick, and you have probably squandered nearly all of what you have
+stolen----"
+
+"Look here, I----"
+
+"Stop, or Hal shall go at once for the officer. Now, what I propose to
+do is this: I will keep this money and that pin and the one hundred and
+twenty-five dollars of salary coming to you and let the matter drop, so
+far as that crookedness in the books is concerned."
+
+"And if I refuse?"
+
+"Then Hal shall go for an officer, and you can stand trial."
+
+Hardwick muttered something under his breath, not at all complimentary
+to his employer. He felt that he was in a tight place.
+
+"There is no alternative?" he asked.
+
+"None."
+
+"And you will let this matter rest?"
+
+"Yes. I wish to give you a chance to turn over a new leaf, if there is
+any turn over in you."
+
+Hardwick hesitated for a moment.
+
+"I accept," he said, doggedly.
+
+"Very well, hand over the pin."
+
+The diamond scarf pin was transferred to the broker's hand.
+
+"Here is your pocket-book and ten dollars. I don't wish to see you go
+away without a cent."
+
+"Keep the money; you might as well rob me of all of it," exclaimed
+Hardwick. He reached for his hat and coat. "You will rue this day,
+Horace Sumner; mark my word for it. And you, you young tramp!"--Hardwick
+turned to Hal--"I will get square, and don't you forget it."
+
+He went out, slamming the door behind him. Hal watched him from the
+window, and saw him turn down Broad Street.
+
+Mr. Sumner gave a long sigh.
+
+"I am glad I am rid of that man," he said.
+
+"So am I," responded Hal. "He is a worse villain than you think, Mr.
+Sumner."
+
+The elderly broker smiled faintly.
+
+"You still think him connected with the disappearance of the tin box, I
+suppose."
+
+"I do."
+
+"The police are almost certain they are on the right track of the
+criminal. I cannot give you the details, but the party is not Hardwick."
+
+"The police don't know everything. Hardwick is thoroughly bad, and he is
+in league with Dick Ferris and Mr. Allen."
+
+"You speak very positively, Hal."
+
+"Because I know what I am speaking about, sir."
+
+"You say Hardwick is in with Dick Ferris?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"How do you know?"
+
+"Because they formed a plot to have me arrested. But that is not the
+worst of it. Hardwick made an attempt on my life because I followed
+him."
+
+"Is it possible?" Mr. Sumner was now thoroughly interested. "Why did you
+not tell me of this before?"
+
+"Because I wished to follow out the matter on my own hook, and, besides,
+I am almost a stranger to you, and you might think I was making up a
+yarn."
+
+"No, Hal, I trust you thoroughly. I don't know why, but you have
+something about you that seems perfectly honest."
+
+"Thank you." The youth was blushing. "I will never deceive you, Mr.
+Sumner, and you may depend on it."
+
+"Tell me about this attempt on your life?" said the broker.
+
+Standing by Mr. Sumner's desk, Hal related very nearly all that had
+occurred since his first appearance at the office. The broker listened
+with eager attention.
+
+"You are right," he said, when Hal had concluded. "And apparently Ferris
+is as bad a villain as Hardwick. But how do you account for Mr. Allen
+being in with them?"
+
+"On account of that conversation I overheard on the ferry-boat that
+night. They may try to explain it away as they please, I am convinced
+that they were talking of robbing your private safe."
+
+"But Mr. Allen comes of very fine connections----" began the broker.
+
+"That may be, but didn't you just say he didn't do just right?"
+
+"So I did, and it is true. But that might be put down to a mere matter
+of sharp business practice, legally right if not morally so. But this
+other----"
+
+And the elderly broker shook his head.
+
+"If a man will cheat legally, I don't think he will stop at cheating any
+other way," replied Hal. "He may for a while, but his conscience soon
+gets blunted, and that's the end of it. You say the police think
+somebody else is guilty?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Do they think the thief came through the window?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"That the man who came in while I was here had nothing to do with it?"
+
+"That is their theory."
+
+"But that doesn't explain one point."
+
+"And what is that?"
+
+"Why the marks on the window-sill, which are very plain and made by dirt
+and ashes, did not extend to the safe."
+
+"Didn't they?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Humph! Who discovered that?"
+
+"I did."
+
+"When?"
+
+"The day the two detectives were here."
+
+"Did you say anything about it?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"Because, as I said before, I wished to sift the matter myself, if I
+could. I know I am nothing but a boy, but I intend to do all I can
+toward getting back your bonds."
+
+"Well, you are smart, Hal, there is no denying that. What is your
+opinion of the marks?"
+
+"I think they were only a blind."
+
+"Put there to form a wrong impression?"
+
+"Exactly, sir. That robbery was committed by somebody who came in
+through the office, and who knew the combination of the safe."
+
+"Possibly. But that doesn't fasten the crime on Hardwick."
+
+"It does not. But I look at it in this light. As one of the detectives
+said, it is possible that somebody stood outside of the rear window and
+saw you work the combination, but I doubt very much if they could learn
+the process in that way. There is a glare of light on the window that
+renders it very difficult to see at all."
+
+"Yes, but----"
+
+"Now wait a moment, please," Hal was growing enthusiastic. "Do you keep
+the combination written down anywhere?"
+
+"I do not. I gave it to my daughter, Laura, in case something happened
+to me, and I suppose she has it down, but I do not know."
+
+"Then it isn't likely any one could get the combination unless they
+watched you?"
+
+"I suppose not."
+
+"Very well. Now, the only persons employed in the office were you, Mr.
+Allen, Hardwick, Ferris and myself. I know you and I are innocent. Now,
+who knew of the bonds being in the tin box?"
+
+Mr. Sumner started.
+
+"By Jove! I never thought of that!"
+
+"Please answer me."
+
+"We all knew of it."
+
+"Did any outsider know?"
+
+"I think not."
+
+"Was the tin box locked?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"After you placed the bonds in it no outsider heard of their being
+there?"
+
+"Not unless the others told them."
+
+"Which they would not likely do. Now, tell me, was anything else taken?"
+
+"Not a thing."
+
+"Not even placed out of position?"
+
+"As far as I could see, no."
+
+"Was there any trace of the tin box having been opened?"
+
+Mr. Sumner shook his head.
+
+"Doesn't it seem probable that if the thieves had not been certain of
+what was in the box they would have opened it, and if they were ordinary
+fellows that they would have taken something else of value?"
+
+"Hal, you ought to be a detective!" cried the broker, in admiration of
+the body's logical reasoning.
+
+"I tell you that robbery was committed by somebody who knew all about
+your private affairs, and was here to obtain the combination of your
+safe, and _that_ somebody was either Hardwick, Mr. Allen, Ferris, or
+else the three of them."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV.
+
+HAL DEFENDS A GIRL.
+
+
+Hal Carson's face glowed with earnestness as he spoke.
+
+It was easy to see that he was fully convinced of the truth of what he
+had just said.
+
+"It would seem as if you must be right," replied Mr. Sumner, after
+rather a long pause.
+
+"You may depend on it I am, sir."
+
+"But to think that of Allen!"
+
+"Many a man in a high position has fallen before now. Did you ever
+inquire into his financial standing--that is, outside of your business
+relationships?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Then he may not be as well fixed as you think. Could he use the bonds,
+if he had them?"
+
+"Yes. They were not registered, and there are several ways in which they
+might have been worked off."
+
+"You are to dissolve partnership on New Year's Day, I believe?"
+
+"Yes. I am not satisfied with the way matters are running, and I intend
+to run the place alone as I used to."
+
+"Perhaps the dissolution may bring other matters to light, sir."
+
+"Ha! I never thought of that."
+
+"That is, if Mr. Allen doesn't wipe them out in the meantime."
+
+Mr. Sumner jumped to his feet, and began to walk up and down nervously.
+
+"I understand what you are driving at, Hal," he cried. "Where do you get
+such keen wit? I never saw your equal in a boy."
+
+"I don't know, sir, unless it may be because I take such a strong
+personal interest in the matter--a thing that most detectives do not."
+
+"It must be that I must have the books investigated by an expert; I am
+too old to go over them myself and do the work as it ought to be done."
+
+"I think that would be best, but I would not let Mr. Allen know of it."
+
+"I will not."
+
+"Not even if you find he has been robbing you."
+
+"What!"
+
+"No."
+
+"But he ought to be arrested----"
+
+"Not until you have your bonds back, Mr. Sumner."
+
+"I see."
+
+"If you arrest him that won't bring your bonds back. I have a plan to
+propose, if you will let me carry it out."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"That while I nominally remain here as clerk and office-boy you allow me
+to watch him, as well as Hardwick and Dick Ferris."
+
+"You may get into trouble. See how Hardwick threatened you and attacked
+you in the dark."
+
+"I am not afraid, sir."
+
+"I would not have you go on such a mission for me and get hurt for all
+the bonds on the street."
+
+"I would be very careful, sir."
+
+"Well, supposing I let you do that, what would you do first?"
+
+"That will depend on circumstances. Where is Mr. Allen now?"
+
+"Gone to Philadelphia on business."
+
+"For the firm?"
+
+"No, for himself."
+
+"Then you are not sure if he has gone there or not?"
+
+"I only know what he said."
+
+"When do you expect him back?"
+
+"Not until to-morrow."
+
+"Will you tell me where he lives?"
+
+"On Fifty-third Street. The number is on the card over there."
+
+Hal took it down.
+
+"Is there anything special to do just now?"
+
+"I must have those papers written up that Hardwick was at work on. The
+books I can write up myself."
+
+"Then, with your permission, I'll write up the papers and then begin my
+hunt."
+
+"Very well. But mind and keep out of trouble."
+
+Hal smiled, and turned at once to the desk. A strange feeling filled his
+breast. He was really going to turn detective--he, a country boy, and
+that, too, in New York.
+
+"It sounds like the wildest kind of a romance," he thought to himself.
+"But it isn't; it's sober truth, and I may find it a mighty hard truth
+before I get through."
+
+He fairly flew at the work, and by two o'clock it was finished. He
+handed it to Mr. Sumner.
+
+"That is excellent," said the broker, glancing over the written pages.
+"And now I suppose you are ready to go?"
+
+"If you are willing, sir."
+
+"There is nothing more to be done to-day. To-morrow I shall get a
+first-class book-keeper whom I happen to know, to take Hardwick's
+place."
+
+In a minute more Hal was off. He knew not exactly in what direction to
+go, but thought he would cross Broadway and take the Sixth Avenue
+elevated cars to Fifty-third Street.
+
+As he stepped on the sidewalk in front of Trinity Church, which stands
+at the beginning of Wall Street, he happened to glance up, and not far
+away saw Hardwick.
+
+The ex-book-keeper was smoking a cigar and scowling. He did not see Hal,
+and the youth soon put himself where he was not likely to be seen.
+
+Five minutes passed. Then Hardwick began to move slowly up Broadway,
+casting sharp glances to his right and left. Hal slowly followed,
+keeping several people between himself and the man he was shadowing.
+
+At length Hardwick stopped at the corner of Cedar Street. Here he was
+joined by Dick Ferris, and the two at once began an animated
+conversation, which Hal managed to overhear.
+
+"Got the bounce?" were the first words he heard. "Well, that's rich,
+Hardwick."
+
+"I don't see the point," growled the ex-book-keeper. "I wish I had fixed
+the young tramp!"
+
+"He seems to be worrying us pretty bad," said Ferris. "But, say, how
+about that money I was to have?"
+
+"I can't give it to you now."
+
+"Why not?"
+
+"I haven't got it."
+
+"Tell that to your grandmother!"
+
+"It's a fact. Old Sumner made me fork over every cent I had about me."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"He claims I have been getting in on him."
+
+"I'll bet he's right, too."
+
+"Well, he isn't."
+
+"No, of course not," returned Ferris, sarcastically. "A fellow who
+would----"
+
+"Shut up, you monkey!" cried Hardwick, getting angry. "You know too
+much."
+
+"Well, when am I to have that money?"
+
+"To-morrow."
+
+"Sure?"
+
+"Yes. I'll get it for you."
+
+"What will you do--bleed old Allen?"
+
+"Never mind, I'll get it, and that's enough. By the way, I want you to
+do something for me."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Deliver a letter to Tommy Macklin. I have got an engagement to-night,
+and I want Tommy to get the letter before morning."
+
+"All right. Hand it over. Where are you going now?"
+
+"Home to get shaved and fixed up and have a nap. I was up all night, and
+I feel it."
+
+"You're going it pretty strong."
+
+"Don't preach, Dicky, my boy. For your age, I think you go it pretty
+well yourself."
+
+Ferris laughed and stuffed the letter Hardwick handed him into his
+pocket. Then the two separated.
+
+Hal pondered for a moment, and then concluded to follow Dick Ferris.
+Hardwick was going home, "I wish I knew what was in that letter,"
+thought Hal, as he shadowed Ferris up Broadway to Park Row. "It may be
+something that has to do with the missing tin box."
+
+Ferris passed the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, and then turned into
+a side street.
+
+"I'll wager he's going to the same place Hardwick visited the other
+night," exclaimed Hal to himself.
+
+With increased interest he followed Ferris, until the latter came to a
+narrow and dirty alley-way, piled high on one side with empty boxes and
+barrels.
+
+Here a number of children were playing, some making snow-men and others
+coasting on home-made "bread-shovel" sleds.
+
+Ferris tried to walk between them, and in doing so got directly in the
+way of a small sled upon which was seated a ragged girl not over ten
+years of age.
+
+The sled brushed against Ferris' leg and angered him.
+
+"What do you mean by doing that, you dirty thing?" he exclaimed. "Take
+that, and learn better manners."
+
+He hauled off and struck the girl in the face. It was a heavy blow, and
+it caused her nose to bleed and her cheek to swell.
+
+"You--you brute!" sobbed the girl.
+
+"What's that?" howled Ferris. "A brute, am I? There's another for you!"
+
+He stepped back to hit the girl again. But now there was a rush from the
+rear, and on the instant the bully found himself in the strong grasp of
+Hal Carson.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI.
+
+HAL ON THE WATCH.
+
+
+"Let up there, you brute!"
+
+Dick Ferris looked around with a startled air.
+
+When he caught sight of Hal his face fell, and he released the girl.
+
+"What, you!" he exclaimed.
+
+"Exactly. What do you mean by treating this girl so rudely?"
+
+"You are following me," went on Ferris, ignoring the question which had
+been put to him.
+
+"What if I am?"
+
+"You think you're smart, don't you?" sneered Ferris.
+
+"He's a mean, ugly thing!" put in the girl, between her sobs. "I wish he
+was arrested."
+
+"Shut up!" roared Ferris, turning to her. "You ran into me on purpose."
+
+"I didn't. We've got a right to coast in this alley; mamma said so."
+
+"You ought to be arrested for striking the little girl," said Hal. "I am
+awfully glad I arrived in the nick of time to save her from more
+punishment."
+
+"Good fer you, mister!" cried a small youth standing near. "Give him one
+in der eye!"
+
+"Yes, do him up, mister," cried several others.
+
+Ferris turned upon them like a savage animal.
+
+"Get out of here, every one of you," he howled, "unless you want to be
+hammered to death."
+
+"Don't you move," said Hal. "You evidently have more right here than he
+has."
+
+"Indeed!" said Ferris, turning to Hal. "I wish you would keep your nose
+out of my affairs."
+
+"Don't let him sass you, mister," put in one of the urchins. "He didn't
+have no cause ter hit Katie."
+
+Ferris pounced upon the boy at once, and cuffed him right and left. In
+the midst of the castication, however, Hal caught the bully by the arm,
+and a second later Dick Ferris measured his length in the gutter.
+
+A shout went up from the boys and girls.
+
+"Dat's der way ter do it!"
+
+"Ain't der gent got muckle, dough?"
+
+Then somebody threw a snow-ball, and in a trice the entire crowd were
+snow-balling Ferris as furiously as they could.
+
+Hal looked on, and he was compelled to laugh. Then a sudden idea struck
+him. Like a flash he darted out of sight behind the pile of empty boxes
+and barrels.
+
+Muttering something under his breath, Dick Ferris struggled to his feet.
+As soon as he did this the street children took to their legs, dragging
+their sleds after them. Ferris made after one or two of them, but was
+unable to effect a capture.
+
+"Run off wid yerself!"
+
+"We ain't got no use fer bullies!"
+
+Spat!
+
+A snow-ball took Ferris right in the ear, and caused him to utter a
+sharp cry of pain.
+
+Then another took him in the face, and in trying to dodge he slipped and
+went into a snow-drift.
+
+He was quickly on his feet, and this time ran after the crowd so fast
+that he caught one of the boys.
+
+"Lemme go!" howled the youngster.
+
+"Not much, you rat! Take that!"
+
+Ferris struck the boy in the mouth, and the little fellow let out a
+yell.
+
+Hal was just about to dart to his assistance when a policeman came along
+and touched Ferris on the shoulder.
+
+"What's the trouble here?" he demanded.
+
+Ferris turned savagely, but his manner changed when he beheld the
+officer of the law.
+
+"This chap is a rascal," he explained.
+
+"In what way?"
+
+"He fired a snow-ball at me and hit me in the ear."
+
+"I didn't," howled the urchin. "It was anudder fellow wot fired dat
+snow-ball."
+
+And he began to cry bitterly.
+
+"It was only done in fun, I suppose," said the officer.
+
+"Fun!" fumed Ferris. "Look at my clothes!"
+
+The officer did so. Ferris was covered with snow and dirt, principally
+the latter.
+
+"The snow-ball couldn't have done that," said the policeman.
+
+He was in sympathy with the small boy, whom he knew as the son of one of
+his friends.
+
+"I know. But this boy and a lot of his chums got to throwing at me, and
+in trying to dodge I went down."
+
+The policeman paused for a moment, and then turned to the urchin.
+
+"See here, bubby, if I let you go will you promise not to throw any more
+snow-balls?"
+
+"Yes, sir," came in one breath, and very eagerly.
+
+"Then run."
+
+"What! ain't you going to arrest him?" cried Dick Ferris, in some
+excitement.
+
+"I think not."
+
+"But he ought to be."
+
+"I fancy I know my own business best," was the short reply.
+
+"But he is a little imp, and----"
+
+"Better let it go. I dare say you throw snow-balls yourself once in a
+while."
+
+And with this remark the policeman moved on.
+
+"Well, that's a fine way to treat a fellow," muttered Ferris to himself.
+"I suppose that policeman would let the whole ward pounce on me without
+doing anything toward helping me. I wonder where that Hal Carson is?"
+
+The tall youth brushed off his clothing hastily, and returned to the
+entrance to the alley. He looked around carefully, but Hal kept well
+hidden.
+
+Dick Ferris was undecided what to do. Should he deliver the letter
+intrusted to him by Hardwick? He hesitated and then continued up the
+alley-way, upon which a number of dirty, dingy tenement houses were
+situated.
+
+Arriving at the very last of these, he ascended the front stoop and
+knocked loudly upon the door. There was no reply, and while he was
+waiting for some one to answer his summons, Hal managed to skulk up
+behind the other buildings and approach within hearing distance.
+
+At last Ferris got tired of waiting, and he tried the door. It was
+unlocked, and, pushing it open, the tall boy entered.
+
+Hal waited for a moment, and then, mounting the stoop, peered in at the
+door, which Ferris had left partly open.
+
+As the youth had surmised, the hall-way was quite dark. He heard Ferris
+mounting the rickety stairs, and like a shadow he followed, fairly
+holding his breath, lest some sound might betray his presence.
+
+Ferris mounted almost to the top of the tenement, and then hammered on a
+door in the rear.
+
+"Come!" cried a voice from inside, and Ferris entered.
+
+No sooner was the door closed than Hal approached it and applied his eye
+to the key-hole. He saw a small apartment, scantily furnished with a
+small cook-stove, a table, three chairs, and some kitchen utensils.
+
+A man sat before the stove, smoking a short briar pipe. He was unshaved,
+but his face bore evidence of former gentility and manhood, in spite of
+the fact that it was now dissipated.
+
+"Hullo, Ferris!" he exclaimed.
+
+"How are you, Macklin?" returned the tall boy.
+
+"Not very well, I can tell you," returned Macklin, removing his pipe and
+spitting into the stove. "I've got rheumatism, yer know."
+
+"Rheumatism!" laughed Ferris. "More likely it's rumatism, Tommy."
+
+"Don't give me any o' yer jokes, Ferris. Wot brings yer?"
+
+"I've got a letter for you."
+
+"From Hardwick?"
+
+Ferris nodded.
+
+"I thought I would hear from him before long. Hand it over."
+
+Ferris did so. Macklin tore open the epistle and began to peruse it
+hastily. As he did so Ferris tried to glance over his shoulder.
+
+"Here! none o' dat!" cried Macklin, savagely. "Wot's my business is my
+business."
+
+He finished reading the letter and put it in his coat pocket. Then he
+pulled away on his pipe for a moment.
+
+"Well?" said Ferris, by way of inquiry.
+
+"Tell him it's all right if he doubles the figger."
+
+"Makes the amount twice as large?"
+
+"Dat's it. It's a ticklish piece o' business."
+
+"What is the work, Macklin?" questioned Ferris, sitting down on the
+opposite side of the stove.
+
+The man closed one eye.
+
+"Hardwick knows," he replied, shortly.
+
+"I know that," replied Ferris. "And I know something about this new
+deal, too."
+
+"Wot do yer know?"
+
+"Never mind. I know."
+
+"Dat's all put on, Ferris; yer don't know a t'ing, see?" cried Macklin,
+with a laugh that sounded more like a croak.
+
+Dick Ferris colored slightly.
+
+"Hardwick said there was something new on," he explained, lamely.
+
+"Yes, but he didn't tell yer wot it was."
+
+Ferris arose, thinking that further attempts at pumping would be
+useless.
+
+"Say, don't be in no hurry," went on Macklin. "Sit down an' git warmed
+up."
+
+"I ain't cold."
+
+Ferris started for the door, but the man pulled him back.
+
+"How did yer make out wid Hardwick on dat last deal?" he asked.
+
+"All right," responded the tall boy, hurriedly.
+
+"Wot do you call all right?"
+
+"That's my affair, Tommy."
+
+"Don't git on yer high horse, Ferris."
+
+"I can keep as mum as you can, Tommy, and don't you forget it."
+
+"Did he give you more dan a hundred?"
+
+"Is that what you got out of it?"
+
+"Naw! I didn't git half o' dat."
+
+"Hardwick is a close one."
+
+"Dat's so. But some day he'll have ter pony up, yer see if he don't."
+
+"I suppose it will be you who will squeeze him," said Ferris, with
+another laugh.
+
+"You bet."
+
+"He ought to be squeezed a little," said Ferris, reflectively. "He makes
+a small fortune alongside of what we get out of it."
+
+"Yes, but der trouble is, yer can't corner him," responded Macklin. "If
+yer try, yer git yerself in trouble. But before long----" he did not
+finish in words, but bobbed his head vigorously.
+
+"Where's your wife?" asked Ferris, glancing around.
+
+"Der old woman's gone to der market."
+
+"Ain't any one else here, is there?"
+
+Ferris glanced around suspiciously. "No."
+
+"Then supposing we come to an understanding?" went on Ferris, in a low
+tone. "We both do work for Hardwick, and we ought to get more money for
+it."
+
+"Well?"
+
+"Unless we get together we can't do anything. But when he finds we are
+both of a mind he may listen to us, and both of us will make by it."
+
+Hal listened to every word of this conversation with deep interest. From
+it he discovered that Macklin was a tool of Hardwick as well as Ferris
+and both were in the habit of doing underhand work for the
+ex-book-keeper.
+
+"If either of them would only mention something definite," he thought.
+"The tin box robbery for instance. Then I would be certain I was on the
+right track."
+
+"That's an idea, Ferris," replied Macklin. "It ain't fair fer Hardwick
+ter be rollin' in money an' me livin' here."
+
+"That's it."
+
+"I uster be jest as fine a liver as him, Ferris, in the flush days. An'
+when old Sumner took Hardwick in an' bounced me----"
+
+Macklin did not finish. There was a racket in the hall-way, and then
+came the tones of an excited Irishwoman.
+
+"Phot's this? Phot be yez doin' here, young mon, sn'akin' along like a
+thafe? Tommy Macklin, cum here!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII.
+
+NEAR TO DEATH.
+
+
+The Irishwoman had come up behind Hal so softly--she wore rubbers--that
+the youth did not hear her, and he was, therefore, thoroughly startled
+when she made the exclamation quoted at the end of the preceding
+chapter.
+
+Ferris and Macklin jumped to their feet and both rushed out in the hall.
+
+"What's the row, Mary?" cried the latter.
+
+"Sure an' that's phot Oi want to know," replied the woman. "Oi found
+this fellow pakin' in the kay-hole of your dure, so Oi did."
+
+"It's Hal Carson!" exclaimed Ferris. "So this is the way you followed
+me, eh?" he continued.
+
+"Who is Hal Carson?" asked Macklin, grasping the youth by the arm.
+
+"Old Sumner's new clerk and office boy," replied Ferris. "Don't let him
+get away."
+
+Macklin gave a whistle.
+
+"Dat's kinder serious, if he follered yer here. Wot have yer got ter say
+fer yerself?" he demanded, turning to Hal.
+
+"Let go of my arm," returned Hal. "Are you the only one who lives in
+this building?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Then I presume I have a right to enter the hall-way, haven't I?"
+
+"That won't wash, Carson!" exclaimed Ferris. "You are doing nothing but
+following me, and you know it."
+
+"Just you step inside, do you hear?" commanded Macklin. "That's all
+right, Mary, I'll take care o' him," he added to the woman.
+
+"Oi wondher if he was up in me apartment," she said, suspiciously.
+"Oi'll go up an' see if there is anything missing."
+
+The woman departed, and Macklin tried to shove Hal into the room.
+
+"Stop that!" ordered the youth.
+
+"Don't pay no attention to him," cried Ferris. "He's a regular spy, and
+he's trying his best to get us all into trouble."
+
+Macklin caught Hal by the arm. The next instant Hal received a terrible
+blow behind the right ear that almost stunned him.
+
+"Now I think yer will come in an' mind," howled Macklin. "Take hold o'
+him, Ferris."
+
+The tall boy came out, and before Hal could recover he was dragged into
+the apartment and the door was closed and locked.
+
+When he came to realize what had happened he found himself confronted by
+the angry pair.
+
+"That's what you get for spying on us," said Ferris.
+
+"Tain't no healthy business fer a feller ter be in around here," added
+Macklin, with a coarse laugh.
+
+"I want you to open the door," returned Hal, as calmly as he could.
+
+"That's right!" laughed Ferris. "I suppose you think you can command us
+to do anything, don't you?"
+
+Hal walked toward the door and shook it. It was strongly built, and to
+break it down was out of the question.
+
+"Give me the key," he said.
+
+Another laugh followed this speech.
+
+Hal glanced out of the window. It was tightly closed, and the distance
+to the court below was fully twenty feet.
+
+The youth looked at Macklin, who had resumed his smoking.
+
+"What do you propose to do with me?" he asked.
+
+"That is hard ter tell," replied the tough. "It all depends on wot
+Ferris is got ter say."
+
+"You have the key of the door?"
+
+"I kinder think it's in my pocket."
+
+"Give it to me."
+
+Macklin chuckled.
+
+"Don't waste yer breath; yer may need it."
+
+He had hardly spoken when Hal sprang upon him. The youth was thoroughly
+aroused, and a well directed blow sent Macklin sprawling in one corner,
+while his pipe went flying in another.
+
+The tough uttered a howl as he went down, and Ferris gave a cry of
+consternation.
+
+"Now will you give me the key?" demanded Hal.
+
+"Git orf of me!" spluttered Macklin.
+
+"Let up there," put in Ferris.
+
+"Stand back, Ferris," cried Hal. "I am not to be trifled with."
+
+"Pull him orf!" roared Macklin.
+
+Ferris advanced, but rather gingerly.
+
+He knew Hal's strength, and he had a great horror of being struck.
+
+Macklin tried to rise, but Hal hit once more and he went down a second
+time. Then Hal sat down on his body.
+
+"Hand over the key."
+
+Hal had an idea the key was in Macklin's outer pocket, and into this he
+inserted his hand.
+
+It soon came in contact with what he was searching for. He tried to
+withdraw the key, but now Macklin began to squirm worse than ever, and
+he had hard work to master the fellow.
+
+"Help me, Ferris!" howled the tough.
+
+"Don't you dare come near," said Hal.
+
+"Don't mind him--help me," said Macklin again.
+
+Ferris hesitated, but at last approached and caught Hal by the arm.
+
+"Let Macklin up," he said.
+
+Instead of replying Hal sprang to his feet. In one hand he held the key,
+and with the other he shoved Ferris up against the wall.
+
+"Now let me pass!"
+
+"Don't do it!" howled Macklin.
+
+"I won't," replied Ferris.
+
+He caught Hal by the coat tail. This compelled the youth to turn once
+more. He aimed a blow at Ferris' head, and the fellow went down over the
+table.
+
+Hal now thought he saw his way clear to escape. He bounded toward the
+door, and was just inserting the key into the lock when Macklin sprang
+up.
+
+Beside the stove lay a heavy billet of wood, which the man had intended
+to split up for kindlings. Macklin caught up the stick, and jumping
+behind Hal, hit the youth a fearful blow directly on the top of the
+head.
+
+With a low cry, Hal sank down in a heap. Macklin gave a sudden gasp, and
+Ferris straightened up.
+
+"Have you--killed him?" asked Ferris in a tone, of horror.
+
+"I don't know," replied the tough. "Dat was a kinder heavy crack, wasn't
+it?"
+
+Ferris shuddered. A thin stream of blood was issuing from Hal's head,
+and this made the tall boy sick. He approached and gazed at Hal's pallid
+face and motionless form.
+
+"I'm afraid you have killed him, Macklin," he said.
+
+"Me killed him?" cried the tough. "I kinder think you had as much ter do
+wid it as me."
+
+Ferris had a sudden chill dart down his back-bone at these words. If
+anything was wrong it was certain Macklin did not intend to shoulder the
+blame.
+
+"What made you hit him so hard?" he asked.
+
+"I couldn't help it. Let's see how bad he is."
+
+Macklin approached Hal and turned over the limp body. Then he placed his
+hand over the youth's heart.
+
+"He ain't dead yet. Dat was a hard crack, but he's got a strong
+constitution, dat feller has. Say?"
+
+"Well?"
+
+Macklin came up close to Dick Ferris, who was now as white as a sheet.
+
+"We is good friends, Ferris, ain't we?"
+
+"Ye-as."
+
+"Den let me do sum'thin' fer yer."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"I'll tell yer. Yer see der feller ain't----"
+
+Macklin broke off short, as a footstep sounded in the hall-way.
+
+"It's der old woman comin' back," he muttered.
+
+"Your wife?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Oh, what shall we do with the--the body?" cried Ferris, in alarm.
+
+As he spoke the door-knob was turned, and then came the tones of a
+woman's voice:
+
+"Let me in, Tommy!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII.
+
+HAL IN A TIGHT SITUATION.
+
+
+Before Dick Ferris could say a word or move, Macklin clapped his hand
+over the tall boy's mouth.
+
+"Hush!" he muttered. "I'll fix it all right."
+
+A square table stood in one corner of the room, and under it was a
+quantity of old bagging.
+
+Macklin seized hold of Hal's body and dragged it toward the table.
+
+Then he shoved the motionless form under the piece of furniture and
+covered it with the loose bagging.
+
+The key to the door lay on the floor, and picking it up, Macklin
+inserted it in the lock and gave it a turn.
+
+In a second the door was opened and a stout and harsh-looking woman
+appeared.
+
+It was Tommy Macklin's wife.
+
+She was a heavy drinker, but she was not a really bad woman at heart.
+
+Had she been as unscrupulous as Macklin himself, the tough would never
+have pursued the course he did.
+
+Before the woman could enter the room he met her and cut her short.
+
+"I want you to go upstairs," he said, taking the market basket she
+carried from her.
+
+She looked surprised.
+
+"What for?"
+
+"There was a sneak-thief around, and I want you to see if Mary lost
+anything."
+
+"A thief? Did he get----"
+
+"No, I didn't give him the chance."
+
+The woman at once turned and went up the flight of stairs leading to the
+top floor. She had not seen Ferris, and the tall boy breathed a sigh of
+relief as he turned to listen to what Macklin had to say.
+
+"We've got a good chance ter git him out o' der way."
+
+"Out of the way?" whispered Ferris.
+
+"Dat's wot I said."
+
+"You don't mean----"
+
+Ferris stopped short.
+
+"Yes, I do. You say he's an enemy ter you an' Hardwick?"
+
+"He is that."
+
+"Den I'd git him outer der way."
+
+Ferris' lip twitched.
+
+"What would you do with him?"
+
+"I'll show yer." Macklin scratched his matted hair. "Give me dat potato
+bag in der closet."
+
+Ferris hesitated, and then, opening the closet in the corner, brought
+forth an unusually long potato sack.
+
+Raising up the top part of Hal's body, Macklin slipped the sack over
+head and shoulders. Then he tied the string of the sack fast around
+Hal's waist.
+
+The tough opened the door and passed out into the hall way.
+
+No one was in sight. Macklin returned to the room.
+
+"Quick, catch him by der legs," he said to Ferris. "I'll take him by der
+shoulders, an' we'll have him outer sight in a jiffy."
+
+"Where--where will you take him?" faltered Ferris. His teeth were
+chattering, and his face was as pale as death.
+
+"I'll show yer. Catch hold."
+
+Macklin's tones were angry ones, and Ferris complied. With the body of
+Hal between them, the pair passed down one flight of stairs, and then to
+a narrow stairway in the rear leading to a dirty wash-shed.
+
+"Wait here wid him till I come back," said Macklin, and he darted out of
+the wash-shed door.
+
+Ferris stood beside Hal's body. Presently he thought he heard a low
+moan, and he imagined that Hal moved one arm. His teeth chattered worse
+than ever, and it was all he could do to keep from rushing away.
+
+At length, after what seemed to be an age, but which was really less
+than five minutes, Macklin reappeared.
+
+"We've got der boss chance!" he exclaimed, in a low tone. "Chuck dat
+piece of rag carpet over him. Dat's it. Now pick him up ag'in."
+
+Once more the two took up Hal's body. Their course was now through the
+court and into a narrow lane. Here the snow was piled high, but neither
+seemed to mind it.
+
+"Here we are."
+
+It was Macklin who spoke. He stood at the basement door of an old stone
+structure which in years gone by had been a vinegar and pickle factory.
+Pushing open the door, he motioned to Ferris, and Hal's body was taken
+inside and the door once more closed.
+
+"Wait till I strike a light," said Macklin.
+
+"What is this place?" asked Ferris.
+
+"It's a factory wot ain't in use," was the reply. "His body won't be
+found here for two or t'ree months, if da finds it at all."
+
+Macklin struck a match and lit a bit of dirty tallow candle which he
+carried.
+
+"See dat big hole in der floor over dare?" he asked.
+
+"Yes, what is it?"
+
+"Sum kind of a vat, I t'ink. Dat's der place. Hold der glim, will yer?"
+
+Ferris took the candle. His hand shook so that the tallow dropped all
+over it.
+
+"Wot's der matter wid yer nerves?" asked Macklin, sarcastically.
+
+"Nothing," returned the tall boy, briefly.
+
+"Yer shakin' like a leaf."
+
+"I am cold."
+
+And for once Ferris told the truth. An icy chill seemed to have struck
+his heart.
+
+Catching hold of Hal's body, Macklin dragged it to the edge of the vat.
+There was a slight scraping sound as the body was pushed over the edge
+of the hole, and then all became quiet.
+
+"Dat settles it," said Macklin. "Come on back."
+
+And Hal was left to his fate.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX.
+
+A NARROW ESCAPE.
+
+
+Hal came to himself with a shiver. Where was he, and what had happened?
+
+For a moment he could not collect his scattered senses. Then the cold
+water in the vat reached his mouth and nose, and he gave a gulp.
+
+He put out his hands. They were tight in the sack. With a struggle he
+stood up. The water in the vat reached his waist, and it was icy cold.
+
+Presently the string of the sack gave way, and he pulled the article off
+of him. Then he realized what had happened up in the tenement, and felt
+the blood trickling over his forehead.
+
+"They have put me here thinking I was dead," he thought. "I wonder what
+sort of a place this is?"
+
+He stepped around in the water, and applied some of it to his head. This
+stopped the flow of blood, and appeared to clear his brain.
+
+It was semi-dark in the vat, but presently his eyes grew accustomed to
+this, and he saw where he was.
+
+He gave a shiver. The top of the vat was fully three feet above his
+reach. What if he could not get out? He would soon perish from the
+extreme cold.
+
+The vat was some ten or twelve feet in diameter, and Hal walked around
+the bottom in hopes of finding some spot higher than that upon which he
+was standing.
+
+In this he was disappointed. The bottom of the vat was perfectly level.
+By the time he had discovered this fact, he was shivering so he could
+hardly stand upright.
+
+He jumped up several times in hopes of getting out by that means. But
+though his hands once touched the upper edge of the vat, he could gain
+no hold, and immediately slipped back again.
+
+"Help! help!" he cried.
+
+Then he listened. There was no reply. Macklin and Ferris had returned to
+the tenement.
+
+"I'm all alone," he muttered to himself. "I will die here, and no one
+will ever know what became of me."
+
+This thought filled Hal with despair, and he again cried out, louder
+than before.
+
+The cry went echoing through the vast and gloomy building, but there was
+no response.
+
+"This will never do," thought the youth. "Must I die like a rat in a
+trap?"
+
+The very thought was maddening, and again he essayed to reach the top of
+the vat.
+
+It was utterly useless.
+
+"The building must be deserted," he said to himself. "And I suppose it
+is too far to the street for any one to hear my call."
+
+Five minutes passed. Hal was getting weaker fast. Oh, how his head
+ached!
+
+Filled with something akin to desperation, Hal cried out again, this
+time at the very top of his lungs. A deep and profound silence followed.
+
+"It's no use," he thought. "This is some old building that no one will
+visit all winter. I suppose Ferris and that Macklin think----"
+
+He held his breath. What was that sound overhead?
+
+He strained his ears. Yes, it was footsteps!
+
+"Help! help! Come down in the cellar!" he cried.
+
+Again and again his voice rang out, and the footsteps came closer. Then
+his heart seemed to stop beating. Supposing it should be Ferris or
+Macklin returning?
+
+"What's the trouble?" suddenly cried a voice from the stairs in the
+corner.
+
+"Help me out of the vat!" replied Hal. "Quick! I am freezing to death!"
+
+"Wall, I swan!" ejaculated the voice.
+
+Then came more footsteps, and an elderly man, carrying a lantern,
+appeared at the edge of the vat.
+
+"Give me your hand," he said, setting down the lantern. "This is a nice
+fix ter git into."
+
+He leaned down, and Hal held up his hand. The new-comer grasped the
+youth's wrist, and in a moment Hal was upon the cellar floor.
+
+"Oh, thank you!" chattered Hal. "I--I--couldn't have stood it another
+minute."
+
+"'Most froze, be you?" returned the man. "Here, strip off that coat of
+yourn and put on mine. That's a most all-fired cold bath. How did you
+git in?"
+
+"I was pushed in," replied Hal. He tried to pull off his coat, but had
+not the strength. "Will you help me?"
+
+"Of course." In a twinkle the man had the coat off, and his own on Hal's
+shivering form. "Belong around here?"
+
+"No."
+
+"Then come with me. I live right across the way, and I'll soon warm you
+up. It's lucky I came over to see if everything was all right. I'm
+looking after the place till spring."
+
+The man took up his lantern once more and led the way up stairs and
+across the street. The two entered a neat-looking tenement, and the man
+took Hal to a set of rooms on the second floor.
+
+A hot fire was blazing in the kitchen, and drawing up a chair the man
+motioned for Hal to sit down.
+
+"Maybe the old woman kin lend you some clothes," said the man. "But I
+allow as how you may be better off, if you let the wet ones dry onto
+you. It may save you from a spell of sickness."
+
+"I am doing very nicely now," replied Hal. "I am used to some pretty
+tough knocks," he added, and he spoke the truth, for life at the Fairham
+poor-house had been anything but easy.
+
+At that moment, the door opened, and a girl rushed in. She looked at
+Hal, and then gave a cry of surprise.
+
+"Hullo! What brings you here?" she asked.
+
+"What's that?" put in the man.
+
+"He saved me from getting a beating," said the girl. "Didn't you?"
+
+Hal turned and looked at the girl. It was the same that Ferris had
+attacked at the entrance to the alley.
+
+He smiled and nodded.
+
+"It was awful good of you," she went on. "He's a brave man, pop."
+
+"Who was going to beat you?"
+
+The girl gave her version of the affair. The man listened attentively,
+and then turned to Hal.
+
+"I'm doubly glad I did you that service," he said. "Katie is my only
+girl, and I don't want her abused. May I ask your name?"
+
+"Hal Carson."
+
+"Mine is McCabe."
+
+"McCabe!" cried Hal. "Are you Jack McCabe's father?"
+
+"I am. Do you know my boy?"
+
+"Do I? He saved my life only the other night."
+
+"So it was you he saved?" exclaimed McCabe.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"He told me about it. It seems you have enemies."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"And they are the ones who pushed you into the vat?"
+
+"One of them did, aided by a chum."
+
+"You have been struck on the head. Here, let me bind it up. I suppose
+you are in no hurry to go?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+McCabe brought out a handkerchief and a strip of cloth, and bound up the
+wound, which was but a slight one.
+
+"You ought to have the pair of them arrested," he said.
+
+"I have my reasons for not doing so," replied Hal. "But you may rest
+assured their time will come."
+
+"They must be villains."
+
+"They are. But, Mr. McCabe, let me thank you for what you have done."
+
+"Oh, don't say a word!"
+
+"I shall never forget it. But for you I might at this moment be dead."
+
+"I only hope you down the rascals, every one of them. Now, I must go and
+finish looking after the place. Come along, Katie. We'll be back in
+quarter of an hour. You had better take off your shoes and warm your
+feet in the oven."
+
+"Thank you."
+
+McCabe and his daughter departed. After they were gone, Hal locked the
+door and took off part of his clothing, and also did as the man had
+advised.
+
+The roaring fire soon dried the clothing and warmed Hal through and
+through. As soon as he heard McCabe's footsteps on the stairs he
+rearranged his toilet.
+
+"Katie says she saw the fellow that wanted to hit her down in the street
+just now," said McCabe.
+
+Hal jumped up.
+
+"Which way did he go?"
+
+"Over toward Park Row."
+
+The youth thought for a moment.
+
+"Mr. McCabe."
+
+"What is it, Mr. Carson?"
+
+"Will you do me a great favor?"
+
+"Let's hear what it is."
+
+"Please keep the fact that you saved me a secret."
+
+"A secret?" cried the old watchman, in considerable astonishment.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"What for?"
+
+"I have my reasons for it."
+
+"The villains that attacked you ought to be punished. They ought to be
+in the hands of the police this blessed minute."
+
+"You are right, ordinarily speaking, but I have work to do before I have
+them locked up."
+
+"Well, I'll do as you say."
+
+"You see, I want to have them believe that I am really done for."
+
+"I see."
+
+"If they think that, I can follow them up wherever they go quite
+easily."
+
+"I don't see how. If they see yer----"
+
+"I will be disguised."
+
+"Oh! Goin' ter play a kind of detective part, be you?"
+
+"That is what it amounts to, I suppose."
+
+"It's a great plan, Mr. Carson. You have a long head on yer shoulders."
+
+And the old man chuckled.
+
+"Thank you. Then I can depend or you to----"
+
+"I won't say a blessed word."
+
+"And please caution Katie."
+
+"All right. I will, sir."
+
+"Thank you."
+
+"But when you get through I'll expect to learn how you come out," said
+McCabe, hastily.
+
+"You can rest assured that I will let you know the full particulars. And
+I am not going to forget what you have done for me, either."
+
+"Shoo! that's all right. And say----"
+
+At that moment Katie came flying into the apartment, her tangled hair
+floating in all directions.
+
+"He's downstairs and coming up!" she cried, shrilly.
+
+"Who?" questioned her father, while Hal stood still in wonder.
+
+"The tall boy who hit me."
+
+"Dick Ferris!" muttered Hal under his breath. "What can he want here?"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX.
+
+FOLLOWING ALLEN.
+
+
+Hal was astonished to learn from Katie McCabe that Dick Ferris was
+coming up the tenement stairs.
+
+"He can't be coming here!" exclaimed the youth.
+
+"What shall we do if he does?" asked McCabe.
+
+"I don't know. Perhaps I had better hide. He may----"
+
+At that instant came a knock on the door.
+
+"It's him!" whispered Katie.
+
+Andy McCabe, the father, pointed to a closet. Hal tiptoed his way to it,
+and motioned for Katie to follow. The door was closed, and then Andy
+McCabe answered the summons.
+
+Ferris stood at the door, his hair disheveled and his lips trembling.
+
+"May I ask who lives here?" he asked.
+
+"My name is McCabe."
+
+"Isn't there a man by the name of Macklin living here?" went on Ferris.
+
+"Macklin?" repeated McCabe, slowly.
+
+"Yes, Tommy Macklin."
+
+"Not as I know on. What does he do?"
+
+"I don't know. I have a letter to deliver to him. So you don't know
+where he lives?"
+
+"No, sir."
+
+"It's too bad. Will you please tell me what time it is?"
+
+Andy McCabe glanced at the alarm clock that stood on the mantel-shelf.
+
+"Quarter to six."
+
+"As late as that!" cried Ferris. "I must hurry and catch him before six.
+Only quarter of an hour. Good-day, sir."
+
+"Good-day."
+
+In a moment Ferris was gone. McCabe closed the door, and Hal came out of
+the closet followed by Katie.
+
+"What does he mean?" questioned the man.
+
+"I'll tell you what it means," said Hal. "He is trying to prove an
+alibi, in case a body was found in the vat. He thinks you can remember
+he was here looking for Macklin at quarter to six. If that was true, how
+could he have helped Macklin at five o'clock?"
+
+"Well, well! he's a smart villain, so he is!" exclaimed Andy McCabe. "I
+wonder what he would have done if you had stepped out of the closet?"
+
+"I was strongly tempted to do that," laughed Hal. "But now I must be
+off, Mr. McCabe. Please keep quiet, as I told you."
+
+"I will, Mr. Carson. But where be you going?"
+
+"To follow Ferris. Say, have you an old slouch hat you will exchange for
+this cap of mine?"
+
+"Here is one of Jack's."
+
+"That will do first-rate."
+
+Hal put on the hat and drew it down over his brow.
+
+"Going to turn spy, be you?" remarked Andy McCabe.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Well, I wish you luck."
+
+Hal was soon out of the house. Once in the street, he looked up and
+down.
+
+Ferris was not in view, but he soon caught sight of the fellow coming
+out of a tenement across the way. He crossed over and followed Ferris
+toward Park Row, and then to the boarding house.
+
+Here Hal heard the youth say something to his aunt about changing his
+clothing, and the boy slipped into the house unobserved by anyone, and
+did likewise. Ferris then left again, followed by Hal.
+
+"I suppose he thinks he has laid good ground-work for his alibi,"
+thought Hal. "Well, let him think so, he will be surprised before long
+to learn the truth."
+
+At Fourteenth Street Dick Ferris turned and walked toward Broadway. Hal
+followed close behind, but in the crowd at the corner he lost track of
+the fellow he was after.
+
+He looked this way and that, and into the restaurants, but Ferris had
+disappeared.
+
+What was to do next? It was past supper-time, but Hal was in no humor
+for eating.
+
+Suddenly somebody brushed him rudely. It was a man wearing a heavy cape
+coat. Hal glanced at the individual sharply, and was astonished to see
+it was Mr. Caleb Allen.
+
+Allen had not seen Hal, and the boy at once placed himself where he was
+not likely to be noticed.
+
+"I wonder if he and Ferris met?" thought Hal. "It isn't likely, but yet
+it may be so. The three of them are into this, and so is that fellow
+Macklin. I must be careful, and keep my eyes wide open."
+
+Allen passed up Union Square on the west side, and Hal made it a point
+to follow close behind.
+
+Arriving at Seventeenth Street, Allen turned down toward the North
+River. He passed over several blocks, and finally ascended the steps of
+a small mansion on the left.
+
+The front of the mansion was totally dark, but when the door was opened
+Hal saw that the interior was brilliantly illuminated.
+
+As soon as Allen passed in the door was closed, and all became as dark
+as before, Hal hesitated, and then ascending the steps, looked for a
+door-plate.
+
+There was the number in bright silver numerals, but nothing was to be
+seen of any name.
+
+"Most of them have a name," he said to himself. "I wonder who lives
+here?"
+
+Hal descended again to the street, and walked on to the end of the
+block.
+
+Here was a small stand with a flaring gasoline torch, at which an old
+German was selling apples and other fruit.
+
+Hal entered into conversation with the proprietor of the stand, and at
+length asked if he knew who lived at the place, mentioning the number.
+
+"Dot blace?" The man gave a low laugh. "I dinks me nopody vos lif dere."
+
+"Nobody?"
+
+"Nein."
+
+"But there must be somebody," urged Hal. "I saw a man go in."
+
+"Dot's so, too." The German laughed again. "But da don't vos lif dere."
+
+"Well, what are they doing there, then?"
+
+The apple man put his long finger up beside his nose.
+
+"Dot vos a blace ver dere rich fool vos plow in his money; see?"
+
+"A gambling-place?"
+
+"Oxactly."
+
+"Who runs it?"
+
+"Dot I don't vos know. I dinks me a fellow named Ditson."
+
+"Do many men go there?"
+
+"Yah. Somedimes so many as two dozen by von night."
+
+"And they do nothing there but gamble?"
+
+The German nodded. "Of you got some money you don't vont to kept dot's
+der blace to lose it."
+
+"Thank you, but I need all I have," laughed Hal.
+
+"Den you don't better keep away, ain't it?"
+
+"I think that would be best."
+
+"Dake mine vort it vos."
+
+"Did you see many men go in to-night?"
+
+"Vot you ask dot for, hey?"
+
+"I'm looking for a man I know."
+
+"I seen nine or ten men go in by dere front door. I don't vos know how
+many go py der pack."
+
+"Then there is a back door?"
+
+"Yah, on der next street."
+
+"I see. Well, I guess I won't wait for the man."
+
+Hal walked back slowly, and passed the house. What should he do next?
+Would it be worth while to track Allen farther at present?
+
+Suddenly an idea popped into his mind. Farther up the street he had
+passed a costumers' establishment, where everything in the shape of a
+make-up for detective or actor was to be had.
+
+He walked back to the place, and entered it. Back of the counter stood a
+young who came up and asked what was wished.
+
+"Can I get a small, black mustache cheap?" asked Hal.
+
+"We have them for twenty-five cents."
+
+"Will they stay on?"
+
+"Yes, if you adjust them properly."
+
+"Then let me have one."
+
+The clerk brought forth the false mustache, and helped Hal to put it on.
+The youth looked in a mirror at the effect.
+
+"Changes me completely," he said.
+
+"It does, sir. Makes you look five years older, too."
+
+"Here is your money."
+
+The clerk took Hal's quarter, and the boy walked forth from the place
+without taking the trouble to remove the mustache. Once outside he could
+not help but laugh.
+
+"I am certainly going into the detective business, and no mistake," he
+thought. "I trust I am successful in what I undertake to do."
+
+Hal walked back toward the gambling-house, and after some hesitation
+ascended the stone steps and rang the bell.
+
+A negro answered his summons.
+
+"Is Mr. Arnold here?" asked the lad, as coolly as he could.
+
+"Mr. Arnold?" The negro shook his head.
+
+"But he must be," persisted Hal. "He said he was coming here."
+
+"Don't t'ink I see him, sah. What kind ob a lookin' gen'men he is?"
+
+"About medium built, with a dark mustache," replied Hal. "I have
+important news for him. He said he was going to try his luck here
+to-night."
+
+"I see, sah. Den you knows dis place, sah."
+
+"Oh, yes!"
+
+"Come in, sah."
+
+Hal entered, and the door was closed and locked behind him.
+
+"Now you kin go upstairs an' see if de gen'men am here," said the negro.
+"He might be, yo' know, an' I not know his name, sah."
+
+"All right; I'll take a look around," replied Hal.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI.
+
+IN A DANGEROUS PLACE.
+
+
+Hal felt that his situation was a delicate one, and that he must go
+slow. Were it discovered that he had entered the den of vice merely for
+the purpose of spying, it might go hard with him.
+
+The negro waved his hand toward the thickly carpeted stairway, and Hal
+ascended to the second floor of the mansion.
+
+He looked behind to see if the negro had followed, but that burly
+individual had disappeared.
+
+The upper hall-way was as dark as below, but from under several doors a
+bright light was streaming.
+
+Hal approached the first one he came to, and, removing his hat, tried
+the handle.
+
+The door came open, and Hal peered into the apartment.
+
+No one was present, but a young man asleep in an arm-chair, and Hal
+stepped inside.
+
+The room was gorgeously furnished, costly rugs covering the floor, and
+heavy curtains hanging over the doors. On the walls were beautiful
+paintings, and on a stand to one side of the room rested a remarkable
+piece of statuary representing three jolly gamblers at the gaming-table.
+
+"It must be some sort of a waiting-room," thought Hal. "I wonder who the
+fellow asleep in the chair is?"
+
+He gave a slight cough, and the young man slowly opened his eyes.
+
+"Did anybody call me?" he asked, in a heavy tone.
+
+"Where is the playing-room, please?" asked Hal.
+
+"Eh? playing-room?" repeated the young man. "Go right in the next room."
+
+He pointed with his finger, and bowing, Hal did as directed.
+
+The sight that met Hal's eyes as he opened the door filled the youth
+with wonder. He had often heard of such places, but he had never dreamed
+of them being as they are. He saw a long hall, brilliantly lighted.
+Crowded about the table, some standing and some sitting, were young men
+and old, all intent on the games that were going on.
+
+The table was piled with money, which seemed to change hands rapidly,
+for the resort was a well-known one among club men.
+
+"What do you make it?"
+
+"A twenty, Charley."
+
+Hal recognized the last voice. It was that of Mr. Caleb Allen!
+
+The boy looked at the man. There was an excited appearance upon the
+broker's features.
+
+"He looks as if he has been losing," thought Hal. "I wonder how much he
+has staked?"
+
+No one appeared to notice his coming, and he stood just back of the
+crowd, taking in everything so far as it concerned Allen.
+
+The game went on, and Allen lost. Then the broker played once more, and
+lost again.
+
+"A hundred this time," he said.
+
+The broker played with extreme caution, as indeed did all of the others.
+In consequence the game lasted fully quarter of an hour.
+
+Hal saw by the broker's actions that the game was going against the man,
+and he was not surprised, when the play ended, to hear that Allen had
+lost.
+
+Allen turned away from the table. As he did so he came face to face with
+Hal. He started back, and gave the youth a keen look.
+
+"Where have I met that fellow before?" he muttered to himself.
+
+He had not recognized Hal with the false mustache.
+
+The game went on, but Allen took no more interest, and soon disappeared
+from the room.
+
+Hal was about to follow, when a tall man stepped up to him, and tapped
+him on the shoulder.
+
+"I want to have a talk with you, my friend," he said, in a low tone.
+"Come this way, please."
+
+Somewhat astonished, the youth followed the man into a side apartment.
+
+"What is it?" he asked.
+
+"I want to know what your game is," was the cool response. "You haven't
+put up a cent, and that mustache of yours is false. I have an idea you
+are a spy."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII.
+
+HAL MEETS LAURA SUMNER.
+
+
+Hal was somewhat taken aback by the statement made to him by one of the
+proprietors of the resort he had entered, but he quickly recovered.
+
+"It is true the mustache is false, but it is not true that I am spying
+upon you," he said.
+
+And this was true, for he cared nothing as to what took place in the
+resort so long as it did not appertain to Mr. Allen or Hardwick.
+
+"That's easy enough to say, but how can you prove it?" was the short
+reply.
+
+"Is it necessary to prove it?" returned Hal, just as quickly.
+
+"Well, the case is just here, we don't want spies around here."
+
+Hal could not help but smile.
+
+"Do you know how I learned of this resort?" he asked.
+
+"One of the dudes who didn't know how to keep his mouth shut told you, I
+suppose."
+
+"No. An old apple-stand fellow told me."
+
+"Is that true?"
+
+"It is. So if the police wanted to stop you they could easily do so."
+
+The proprietor muttered something under his breath.
+
+"Well, you are sure you don't intend to give us away, then?"
+
+"I do not."
+
+"What brought you?"
+
+"Curiosity concerning a fellow who played here."
+
+"What fellow?"
+
+"Mr. Caleb Allen."
+
+"What! the man who just left?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Are you spotting him?"
+
+"Excuse me, but that's my business. He has gone, and with your
+permission I will follow him."
+
+The man looked at Hal for a second in silence.
+
+"I'll trust you, for you have the right kind of eyes. You are following
+Allen for a purpose, but that's none of my affair. When you go just
+forget all about this place, unless you want to come in some time and
+try a hand."
+
+"Thank you, I don't gamble," and without another word Hal left the room
+and hurried down stairs.
+
+A hasty look into the various rooms convinced him that Allen had left
+the building, and then Hal lost no time in doing likewise.
+
+What he had seen disgusted him beyond measure.
+
+"How men can stay up all night and gamble in a place like that I can't
+understand," he murmured to himself. "I would rather be in bed and
+asleep. And it stands to reason the proprietors have the best of it,
+otherwise how could they run such a gorgeous house?"
+
+Hal was soon on the snow-covered pavement.
+
+He looked up and down, but Allen was nowhere in sight.
+
+"It is no use to try to follow him any farther to-night," thought the
+youth. "I may as well get home and get some sleep--but, no, I can't do
+that. I must find a new boarding house, and go under a different name
+for the present. One thing is sure. Mr. Allen can't gamble in that
+fashion with what he makes honestly. He and Hardwick are a couple of
+deep rogues, and that's all there is to it, and Dick Ferris and that
+Macklin are their tools."
+
+It was now too late to hunt up a regular boarding place, and upon second
+thought Hal resolved for the present to put up at one of the cheap
+hotels.
+
+This he did, and slept soundly until morning.
+
+When he slouched into the office at ten o'clock, still wearing the false
+mustache and Jack McCabe's hat, Mr. Sumner did not at first recognize
+him.
+
+"What do you want?" he asked, from the book-keeper's desk, where he was
+busy instructing the new man in his work.
+
+"I wish to see you in private, sir," was Hal's reply, and he winked.
+
+For a second Mr. Sumner was puzzled. Then he smiled and led the way to
+his private office.
+
+"Hal, I hardly knew you!" he burst out, the instant the door was closed.
+
+"I hardly know myself, Mr. Sumner," was the youth's reply.
+
+"The mustache is almost a complete disguise."
+
+"I have news for you. Mr. Allen was not in Philadelphia yesterday."
+
+"No? Where, then?"
+
+"He spent a great part of the time in the evening in a gambling-house
+uptown."
+
+"You are certain?"
+
+"Yes, sir. I followed him into the place and watched him play."
+
+"Humph! Did he win?"
+
+"No, sir, he lost heavily."
+
+Horace Sumner gave something like a groan.
+
+"I am being deceived on all sides," he said. "If a man is a gambler he
+is often something worse. How about Hardwick?"
+
+"I have reason to believe he went home last night. He gave a note to
+Dick Ferris and I followed Ferris. It nearly cost me my life."
+
+And Hal related the particulars. Horace Sumner listened with keen
+interest. When he learned how Hal had been struck down, and afterward
+found himself in the icy vat, he shuddered.
+
+"That will never do," he cried. "Hal, you must give up running such
+risks. I would not have you lose your life for all the bonds in New
+York. We will call in one of the regular detectives and----"
+
+"No, Mr. Sumner, I started on my theory and I wish to finish the work. I
+did not know how desperate the men were with whom I have to deal, but in
+the future I shall be prepared for them. And I wish to ask a favor."
+
+"What is it?"
+
+"Will you advance me a little money? I may need it in traveling around,
+and my disguises may cost----"
+
+"You shall have what you please, Hal. You are the only one I have in the
+office to depend on, and you are doing a remarkable work for one so
+young."
+
+"If you will let me have, say ten or fifteen dollars----"
+
+"Here are fifty," returned Mr. Sumner, handing over five crisp
+ten-dollar bills. "When you need more let me know."
+
+"But--but I won't want this much!" gasped Hal.
+
+"Yes, you will, if you are determined to go ahead. Don't let dollars
+stand in the way. Why, I have already spent one hundred and fifty
+dollars on the detectives, and they have done absolutely nothing."
+
+Without another word Hal pocketed the bills. As he did so there was a
+knock on the door, then it was flung open and a girl rushed in.
+
+She was apparently a year or two younger than Hal, and had blue eyes,
+light hair, and a remarkably pretty face. She rushed up to Mr. Sumner
+and kissed him.
+
+"Oh, papa, why didn't you tell me?" she burst out, with something like a
+sob in her voice.
+
+"Tell you what, pet?" asked Mr. Sumner with a shadow on his face.
+
+"About all those bonds being gone. Lucy Cavaler mentioned it to me this
+morning when I called on her to go shopping. Have you got them back?"
+
+"Not yet, pet."
+
+"And who stole them?"
+
+"I don't know. This young man and I have just been trying to find out."
+
+The girl turned to Hal, who took off his hat, bowed, and then blushed
+furiously.
+
+"This is Mr. Hal Carson, one of my employees," went on Mr. Sumner. "Hal,
+this is my daughter, Laura."
+
+Laura Sumner extended her hand, and Hal took it. Their eyes met, and
+from that instant the two were friends.
+
+"You are trying to help papa find the stolen bonds?" she said.
+
+"Yes, Miss Sumner."
+
+"He has done some excellent work on the case," said Mr. Sumner. "He is
+disguised now, as you can see," he added, with a faint smile, which made
+poor Hal blush again.
+
+"Oh, I trust you get the bonds back for papa," cried Laura. "If you do,
+I'll be friends with you for life."
+
+"It's a whack--I mean a bargain," returned Hal, and then both laughed.
+
+"But you haven't told me why you did not mention the matter to me,
+papa," went on Laura, turning to Horace Sumner.
+
+"I did not wish to worry you, pet. Since your mother died you have had
+enough on your shoulders running the household."
+
+"And haven't you had more than your share, papa, with troubles in the
+office, and trying to find a trace of baby Howard?"
+
+"I have given up all hopes of ever learning of the fate of my little
+boy," sighed Mr. Sumner, and as he spoke a tear stole down his cheek,
+which he hastily brushed away.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII.
+
+HAL'S BOLD SCHEME.
+
+
+Hal could not help but feel a keen interest in the conversation between
+Mr. Sumner and his daughter. Evidently there was some deep family sorrow
+behind the words that had been uttered.
+
+He stood respectfully by until Laura turned to him suddenly.
+
+"Excuse me, but I suppose I interrupted you when I came in."
+
+"No, I had about finished," replied Hal. "You have no further
+instructions?" he continued, turning to Mr. Sumner.
+
+"No, save that you must keep from trouble, Hal."
+
+"I will keep my eyes open, sir."
+
+"Then that is all."
+
+"For the present, you will get along without me in the office, I hope."
+
+"Yes. The new book-keeper is a very rapid man, and we shall not attempt
+to do anything more until Mr. Allen and I dissolve partnership."
+
+"Then I will go. Good-day, Miss Sumner," and with a deep bow Hal
+withdrew.
+
+"What a nice young man!" murmured Laura, as the outer door closed.
+
+"He is little more than a boy, pet," said her father. "That mustache he
+wears is a false one."
+
+"Why, papa?"
+
+"He is playing a part. He is a very smart young man."
+
+"I am glad to hear it. Where did you meet him?"
+
+"It was he who saved my life the night I told you of."
+
+"Indeed! That was grand of him. But, papa," Laura's voice grew serious,
+"these missing bonds--are they going--going to ruin you?"
+
+Horace Sumner turned away.
+
+"If they are not recovered, yes," he answered, in a low tone.
+
+"My poor papa!"
+
+"They are worth seventy-nine thousand dollars, and that, coupled with
+some bad investments made through Allen, will send me to the wall."
+
+"Can nothing be done to get the bonds back?"
+
+"I am doing everything I can. Besides Carson, there are two regular
+detectives from the department on the case, and a private man from the
+agency."
+
+"Then all together ought to bring in a good result."
+
+"We will hope for the best, Laura," said the old broker, bravely.
+
+"If you do not recover the bonds, cannot you get outside help to tide
+over the crisis?"
+
+"I could have done so years ago. But I find that I made a big mistake in
+going into partnership with Caleb Allen. While many are willing to help
+me individually, they do not trust Allen, and therefore will not now
+assist me."
+
+"Is Mr. Allen, then, such a bad man?"
+
+"I don't know how bad he is. He is in with Hardwick, so Carson says, and
+Hardwick is a villain."
+
+At the mention of the ex-book-keeper's name, Laura drew herself up.
+
+"I never liked him, papa, and I am glad to find that you have discovered
+his true character."
+
+Horace Sumner looked in surprise at his daughter.
+
+"Why, pet, I do not understand you."
+
+"Then let me tell you something. For the past two months Mr. Hardwick
+has been paying his addresses to me, and--"
+
+"Laura!"
+
+"Yes, it's so. I did not mention it to you, because I did not wish to
+humiliate him. I told him there was no hope for him, and asked him to
+drop the matter."
+
+"And has the villain done so?"
+
+"Partly, but he frequently follows me about when he gets the chance, and
+I do not like it."
+
+"If he does so in the future I'll cowhide him," cried Horace Sumner.
+"But I have discovered his true character, and sent him off, and in the
+future I imagine he will not dare approach you."
+
+"If he does not, I will be thankful, papa."
+
+Horace Sumner passed his hand over his brow, and heaved a deep sigh.
+
+"Everything seems to go wrong of late years," he said. "The
+disappearance of little Howard has undermined my whole prosperity."
+
+"And you have given up looking for him?" questioned Laura.
+
+"Yes. What is the use? I have had detectives on the case for years, and
+it has cost me thousands of dollars."
+
+"And they have learned nothing?"
+
+"Nothing further than that a man took the child to Philadelphia."
+
+"They could not trace him in that city?"
+
+"No. The half-decomposed body of a man was found, a month later, in the
+Schuylkill River, and the detectives thought it must be his remains."
+
+"But there was no child with him?"
+
+"No, nor had the police seen anything of the little one."
+
+"Howard must be dead," said Laura, softly, and her blue eyes filled with
+tears.
+
+"I am afraid so," returned the father; and then the subject changed.
+
+Meanwhile Hal had left the outer office and hurried up Nassau Street in
+the direction of Park Row. On a previous visit to this vicinity he had
+noticed a first-class costumer's establishment, where everything in the
+shape of a disguise could be bought.
+
+At the door he hesitated for a moment, and then entered with a brisk
+step.
+
+A fat, pleasant-looking man came to wait on him.
+
+"I wish to obtain a perfect disguise," Hal explained. "Something for my
+face, besides some clothing."
+
+"Yes, sir. What sort of a character?"
+
+"A young business man."
+
+"Please step this way."
+
+Hal stepped to the rear of the establishment. Here fully half an hour
+was spent in selecting this thing and that, and trying the effect before
+the mirror.
+
+At last the business was finished, and Hal came forth looking for all
+the world like a spruce clerk of twenty or twenty-two. He wore a silken
+mustache and small mutton-chop whiskers, and the color of his skin was
+several shades paler than was natural.
+
+The cheap suit and overcoat he had worn were cast aside, and a nobby
+check outfit took their place.
+
+"Gracious! I hardly know myself!" he murmured. "This ought to deceive
+almost anybody."
+
+Hal had only rented the things. He was to pay two dollars a day for
+them, besides leaving a deposit of forty dollars for their safe return.
+
+When this transaction was finished the youth visited a hardware store,
+and there bought a pistol and some cartridges.
+
+"Now, I imagine I am ready for them," he said to himself. "Although I
+sincerely hope I will not have occasion to draw the pistol."
+
+Once out on the sidewalk Hal did not know exactly how to proceed. He was
+about to take an elevated train to Allen's house uptown, when looking
+toward the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, he caught sight of Dick
+Ferris standing at the foot of the elevated railroad stairs, smoking his
+usual cigarette.
+
+Hal approached him, and then passed by. Ferris looked at him, but not
+the faintest gleam of recognition passed over his features.
+
+"He is deceived, at any rate," thought Hal. "I wonder if he is waiting
+for somebody, or merely hanging around? I think I will remain for a
+while and find out."
+
+Hal crossed Park Row, and took up a stand by the railing to City Hall
+Park. A gang of men were clearing off the snow, and the street-cars and
+wagons were running in all directions, making the scene a lively one.
+
+Presently an elevated train rolled in at the station, and in a moment a
+stream of people came down the stairs on both sides of the street.
+
+Hal saw Ferris straighten up, and keep his eyes on the crowd.
+
+"That settles it; he is looking for somebody," was Hal's mental
+conclusion. "Now, I'll wait and see if it isn't Hardwick."
+
+The crowd passed by. Ferris had met no one, and he resumed his old
+stand, and puffed away as before.
+
+Presently another train rolled in. Again Ferris watched out. In a moment
+he had halted a man wrapped up in an immense ulster, and with his hat
+pulled far down over his eyes.
+
+Hal once more crossed the street. He passed Ferris, and saw that the man
+the tall boy had stopped was Caleb Allen.
+
+Hal was surprised at this. He was under the impression that Allen used
+the Sixth Avenue elevated to come down from his home. Had the broker
+spent the night away from home, instead of going to that place after
+leaving the gambling den?
+
+Standing not over fifteen feet away, Hal saw Ferris talk earnestly to
+Allen for fully five minutes. Then the broker put his hand in his vest
+pocket, and passed over several bank bills. This was followed by a small
+package from his overcoat pocket, which the tall boy quickly placed in
+his breast.
+
+"I wonder what that package contains?" mused Hal, as the two separated.
+
+Allen continued on the way downtown, calling a cab for that purpose. Hal
+felt certain the broker was going to the office, so there was no use of
+following him for the present.
+
+He turned to Ferris and saw the tall youth stride up Park Row, and then
+turn into a side street.
+
+"Is it possible he is going to see Macklin again?" was Hal's comment.
+
+Such seemed to be Ferris' purpose, and it left Hal in perplexity as to
+whether he should follow or not.
+
+Then he thought of his mission, and a bold plan came into his mind.
+
+"I will follow," he said to himself. "The only way to get at the bottom
+of the tin box mystery is to learn of all the plans this band of
+evil-doers form."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV.
+
+HAL IN A NEW ROLE.
+
+
+Instead of continuing toward the East River, Dick Ferris soon turned
+northward and presently reached Grand Street.
+
+This neighborhood was entirely new to Hal, and he was at once satisfied
+that the tall boy was not going to pay a visit to Tommy Macklin.
+
+Passing down Grand Street, Ferris presently came to a tall, white
+building, with a large open hall-way, the entrance to which was covered
+on either side with signs.
+
+Entering the hall-way, Ferris mounted the stairs to the third floor, and
+then passed to a small office in the rear.
+
+Hal was not far behind, and he had no difficulty in locating the
+apartment Ferris entered.
+
+The upper part of the office door contained a ground-glass panel, upon
+which was painted in black letters:
+
+        ROBERT E. HAMILTON,
+    FINE LAW AND BLANK PRINTING.
+
+For a second Hal studied how to get into the place, but soon an idea
+struck him, and he lost no time in entering.
+
+He saw Ferris in earnest conversation at a small counter, which ran
+across the office, which was narrow but quite deep. Hal edged up and
+listened to what passed between the tall youth and a man in charge.
+
+Ferris had a number of slips in his hand, and these the proprietor was
+examining with great care.
+
+"You wish all of them duplicated?" he asked.
+
+"Yes," replied Dick Ferris.
+
+"It's a nice piece of work."
+
+"I suppose it is, but the firm is willing to pay for it."
+
+"Who are the blanks for?"
+
+"Mr. Albert Schwartz. But I am to call for them."
+
+"I do not know the gentleman."
+
+"I will leave a deposit on the work," replied Ferris, promptly.
+
+"Oh, all right! And how many of each of these blanks do you want?"
+
+"Twenty of each."
+
+"What! No more?"
+
+"No. Next year we are going to have an entirely new set. If you do these
+right, Mr. Schwartz says he may give you the new work."
+
+"I'll do them in the best style. How soon do you want them?"
+
+"As soon as possible. We are in a great hurry for them."
+
+"In two days do?"
+
+"Oh, yes!"
+
+"Very well. They will cost thirty-six dollars."
+
+"As much as that?"
+
+"Yes. I will have to take my workmen from another job, and we always
+charge a little more for a rush."
+
+"How much of a deposit shall I leave?"
+
+"Five dollars will do."
+
+"Then here you are."
+
+Dick Ferris pulled a five-dollar bill from his pocket, and, after
+receiving his receipt, walked out of the office.
+
+He glanced at Hal as he passed, but our hero's back was turned to him,
+and Hal seemed to be interested in some prints which hung upon the wall.
+
+"Now, sir, what can I do for you?" questioned the proprietor, turning to
+Hal.
+
+He left the slips Ferris had brought lying upon the counter.
+
+"I would like to know how much you charge for printing wedding
+invitations," replied Hal, approaching the counter where the slips lay.
+
+"Wedding invitations, eh?" The proprietor smiled. "Here is a young man
+about to get married," he thought. "By his looks, I think, he wants
+something rather nice."
+
+"Yes, sir," said Hal.
+
+"With an engraved plate, I suppose?"
+
+"Of course."
+
+"I'll show you our book of specimens."
+
+The man turned away to where a number of books were lying upon a side
+desk. As he did so, Hal carelessly picked up the slips Ferris had left
+and examined them.
+
+He could make nothing of them, excepting that one had the words: "Bonds
+of the Second Class, receivable," printed across its face, and another,
+"Sumner, Allen & Co. Transfer Slip of Limited Calls, December."
+
+"Here you are," said the man, coming up with one of the books, and he
+gathered up the slips and put them away with a memorandum.
+
+Hal looked over the book, and noted down the prices of several styles of
+invitations.
+
+"I do not want to order," he said. "I merely wanted the prices."
+
+"Very well. Glad to see you at any time," returned the man.
+
+Once down in the street again, Hal looked up and down, but could see
+nothing of Ferris.
+
+But when the youth reached Grand Street he beheld Ferris making for
+downtown as rapidly as his long legs would carry him.
+
+"I suppose he is going to stand outside and meet Mr. Allen when he comes
+out," thought Hal. "I will follow him, and see what turns up next."
+
+Dick Ferris walked up Grand Street until he came to Broadway. Here he
+stood upon the corner, and presently waved his hand toward a passing
+horse-car.
+
+Immediately a man descended from the car, and came toward the tall
+youth. It was Hardwick.
+
+"Hullo! This can't be a chance meeting," said Hal to himself. "No wonder
+Ferris hurried to the corner. He almost missed his man."
+
+As Hardwick stepped from the street to the sidewalk, he glanced toward
+where Hal was standing, gazing into a shop window. Then he turned to
+Ferris, and the two began an earnest conversation.
+
+Hal passed the pair, but did not catch a word of what was said. Nor did
+the young watcher notice Dick Ferris' quick, nervous look in his
+direction.
+
+A few minutes later, Hardwick and Ferris walked back down Grand Street.
+Reaching Chrystie, they turned into it, and walked along several blocks
+until they came to a narrow alley leading to a lumber-yard.
+
+Both passed into the lumber-yard and out of Hal's sight. Wondering what
+had become of them, the boy passed the place.
+
+No one was in sight.
+
+"That's queer. I wonder if they entered that building in the rear?"
+
+For fully ten minutes Hal hung around, but neither Hardwick nor Ferris
+put in an appearance.
+
+A wagon was leading up on one side of the yard, but presently this drove
+off, and then all became quiet.
+
+Watching his chance, when he thought no one was observing him, Hal
+entered the gate of the lumber-yard and hurried down to the building in
+the rear.
+
+There was a window beside the door to the place, and Hal gazed inside.
+
+An elderly man was present. He was seated beside a hot stove, toasting
+his shins and reading a morning paper.
+
+"They didn't enter the office, that's certain," said Hal to himself.
+"Now, where did they go?"
+
+Suddenly he stopped short. Was it possible that Hardwick and Ferris had
+discovered that they were being followed, and had slipped through the
+lumber-yard merely to throw him off the scent?
+
+"It certainly looks like it," thought Hal. "I'll sneak around the back
+way, and see what I can discover."
+
+Back of the office were great piles of lumber, all thickly covered with
+snow. Among them could plainly be seen the footsteps of two people. The
+marks were fresh, and led along the back fence and then to the right.
+
+Hal followed the marks among the piles of lumber until he came to a spot
+where all became mixed, as if some one had retraced his steps.
+
+As he paused, examining the tracks, he heard a noise behind him, and,
+turning, he found himself confronted by Hardwick.
+
+"I want to know what you are following me about for?" demanded the man,
+savagely.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV.
+
+HAL'S ESCAPE FROM HARDWICK.
+
+
+Hal could not help but shrink back as Hardwick advanced.
+
+"Did you hear what I said?" demanded the man, after a second of silence.
+
+"I did," replied Hal, in a disguised voice. He did not know whether or
+not Hardwick had discovered his real identity, and he intended to run no
+risk in the matter.
+
+"Then answer me."
+
+"Supposing I refuse to do so?"
+
+"It won't help you," fumed Hardwick. "I know perfectly well who you
+are."
+
+"You do?" cried Hal, and he was taken aback by the ex-book-keeper's
+words.
+
+"Exactly. You are one of those mighty smart detectives old Sumner has
+employed to shadow me."
+
+Hal could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. His identity was still
+a secret.
+
+"Ain't I right?" went on Hardwick, seeing the youth did not reply.
+
+"I decline to answer," replied Hal, firmly.
+
+"Oh, you do?" sneered Hardwick.
+
+"I do."
+
+"Then you understand I've got you in a corner."
+
+"I understand nothing of the sort."
+
+"Supposing I should pull out my pistol?"
+
+"You won't dare to do so."
+
+"And pray why? How do I know but what you are not a footpad?" cried
+Hardwick, getting angry at Hal's apparent coolness.
+
+"Because a shot might bring others to the spot," said the youth,
+bravely.
+
+"No one is around."
+
+"You forget that in New York detectives often travel in pairs."
+
+It was a random remark, but it told. Hardwick turned pale, and shifted
+uneasily.
+
+"You're a cool customer," he said, eyeing Hal sharply.
+
+"Detectives have to be cool."
+
+"You won't gain anything by following me."
+
+"I haven't said that I was following you."
+
+"But you have admitted that you are a detective, and that amounts to the
+same thing."
+
+"Perhaps it does and perhaps it doesn't."
+
+As Hal spoke, he looked around for Dick Ferris. The tall youth was
+nowhere to be seen.
+
+"What are you looking for?"
+
+"That's my business."
+
+"Come, don't get cheeky."
+
+"Then don't question me."
+
+Hardwick's eyes flashed fire. A dark look of hatred came into his face,
+and he made a spring forward.
+
+"I'll teach you a lesson," he hissed.
+
+"Stand back!" cried Hal. "Stand back, or take the consequence!"
+
+Hardly had Hal spoken the words when a sudden shadow caused him to
+glance upward.
+
+It was well that he did so.
+
+On a large pile of lumber stood Dick Ferris, and in his hands he held a
+heavy beam, which he was just on the point of letting fall upon Hal's
+head.
+
+The boy had barely time enough to spring to one side when with a boom
+the beam came down and buried itself in the snow.
+
+"You mean coward!" cried the youth. "Wait till I catch you!"
+
+He made a dash to the side of the pile, which was arranged like steps,
+intending to mount to where Ferris stood.
+
+As he did so, Hardwick shouted something to the tall boy, and then
+leaped the fence of the lumber-yard, and ran out on the side street.
+
+Ferris could not see Hal now, but he understood what Hardwick said, and
+as Hal mounted to the top of the pile the tall boy got down and let
+himself drop off the edge.
+
+He landed in the deep snow, and was not hurt in the least. Before Hal
+could discover his flight, he was over the fence and on his way to join
+Hardwick.
+
+It took Hal but a minute to learn of the direction the two escaping
+evil-doers had taken, and then he made after them with all possible
+speed.
+
+But the pursuit was a useless one, and at the end of several blocks Hal
+gave it up, and dropped into a walk.
+
+What was best to do next? Hal revolved the question in his mind a number
+of times, and then, without wasting time, made his way back to the
+costumer's establishment.
+
+"I wish my disguise changed," he said.
+
+"What, already?" said the proprietor, in astonishment.
+
+"Yes, something has happened since I was here, and now I wish you to fix
+me up differently."
+
+"But the same sort of a character?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Then supposing I give you a different colored mustache and a beard for
+those side whiskers?"
+
+"That will do, if you will also change this suit and overcoat."
+
+"Certainly."
+
+The exchange was quickly made, and, looking like an entirely different
+person, Hal left the costumer's and hurried down to Wall Street.
+
+Making sure that no one but the new book-keeper and Mr. Sumner were
+about the place, he entered.
+
+"That's a splendid disguise," said the old broker, when the two were
+alone.
+
+"It's the second I've had to-day," said Hal.
+
+"The second?"
+
+"Yes. Since I saw you last I've had quite a few adventures."
+
+"Of what nature, Hal? I trust you had no more trouble?"
+
+"It didn't amount to much."
+
+And, sitting down, Hal related all that had occurred.
+
+"Dick Ferris must be a very wicked boy," remarked the broker, when Hal
+had finished. "But about these slips that he is going to have printed.
+Are you positive Mr. Allen gave them to him?"
+
+"No, sir. But I think he did. He gave Ferris something and some money,
+and Ferris lost no time in getting to the printing establishment."
+
+"Humph!" Mr. Sumner mused for a moment. "I can hardly believe it, even
+though the evidence seems plain enough."
+
+"What are the slips?" asked Hal, with considerable curiosity.
+
+"They are of the kind which we use in our daily business. Since Mr.
+Allen and myself agreed to end our limited partnership, I have kept the
+regular slips in my safe. Formerly they were in Hardwick's charge, where
+both of us could have easy access to them, but now--well, to be plain, I
+allow no business to be conducted unless under my supervision."
+
+"And that is right, Mr. Sumner."
+
+"Now, if Mr. Allen is really having these extra slips printed, it would
+seem as if he--he----"
+
+"Intended to make use of them without consulting you," finished Hal,
+bluntly.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"He is none too good for that, sir. But wasn't he here this morning?"
+
+"Yes. We had a very stormy interview. He is angry because I discharged
+Hardwick, and would not believe me when I said Hardwick was a
+defaulter."
+
+"That's part of his plan."
+
+"You may be right, Hal. You are a wonderful boy. As I was saying, we had
+a stormy interview, and I doubt if he spends a great deal of time here
+during the remaining days of our partnership."
+
+"The partnership ends on New Year's day, doesn't it?"
+
+"That was the day set, but by mutual agreement we have made the date the
+twentieth of December."
+
+"Why, that is day after to-morrow."
+
+"Yes."
+
+"The day the slips are to be finished."
+
+"So it is."
+
+"No wonder Ferris wished them as soon as possible."
+
+Horace Sumner arose, and walked up and down the office.
+
+"If there is to be any crooked work in the matter of the slips, I will
+take good care to head it off. I might be swindled out of thousands of
+dollars in that way."
+
+"You will look over the genuine slips, I suppose?"
+
+"I will, in the presence of the new book-keeper and another witness.
+There shall be no under-handed work in the matter. I believe you are
+altogether right, Hal. I have been surrounded by villains, and they
+would pluck me to the end if I but gave them the chance."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI.
+
+HAL OBTAINS ANOTHER SITUATION.
+
+
+For a moment there was silence, and then Horace Sumner stopped short
+before Hal.
+
+"There is another matter I might mention," he said. "Caleb Allen is
+going, or rather, has gone, into business for himself."
+
+"What kind of business?" asked the youth, in surprise.
+
+"A brokerage and loan office."
+
+"Near here?"
+
+"Yes, right around the corner of Broad Street, not five minutes, walk.
+He hired the place from the first, and I understand he and another man
+are already doing business there."
+
+"Who is the other man?"
+
+"A fellow named Parsons."
+
+"Has he a good reputation?"
+
+"Far from it. He was arrested for forgery five years ago, but his
+friends hushed the matter up."
+
+"Have you the number of the place?"
+
+"Yes, here it is. What do you intend to do?"
+
+"I don't know. I'll take a look at the place. That will do no harm.
+Perhaps Hardwick will call on Mr. Allen."
+
+After a few words more Hal left the private office, and passed out on
+Wall Street.
+
+He soon turned the corner into Broad Street, the second great money
+center of New York, and presently came to the building in which was
+situated the offices now occupied by the firm of Allen & Parsons.
+
+The offices were down three steps, and as Hal passed on the pavement
+above, a small sign pasted in the corner of the window attracted his
+attention:
+
+     YOUNG MAN WANTED. RAPID WRITER.
+
+Stopping short, Hal descended the steps, and peered into the window. A
+middle-aged man stood at the front desk, smoking a cigar and writing.
+
+"That must be either Mr. Parsons or a book-keeper," thought Hal.
+
+Then a sudden determination sprang up in his mind. Without a second
+thought he entered the office and walked up to the desk.
+
+The man looked up, and laid down his cigar.
+
+"Well, sir, what is it?" he asked, in a pleasant voice.
+
+"Is this one of the proprietors?"
+
+"Yes, I am Mr. Parsons."
+
+"I see you want a young man, sir."
+
+"We do." Most of the pleasantness vanished, and a sharp look came to the
+man's face. "You are looking for a situation?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Are you a good writer?"
+
+"I will show you my hand, sir?"
+
+"All right. Here is paper and ink. Write a sheetful as rapidly as you
+can do so in good style."
+
+Hal took up the pen. He was really a rapid writer, and in five minutes
+the job was done. Parsons looked at the work.
+
+"That might do. Have you any recommendations?"
+
+"No, sir. I am a stranger in New York."
+
+"Ah, a stranger." A certain pleased look came into the broker's eyes.
+"What's your idea of salary?"
+
+"I hardly know. I must support myself."
+
+"All alone?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Parsons appeared better pleased than ever.
+
+"Just the kind of a fellow Allen and I want," he muttered to himself.
+
+"I will give you a trial on seven dollars a week, and, if you suit, I
+will raise you to eight."
+
+"Thank you, sir."
+
+"What is your name?"
+
+"Frank Hallen," replied Hal, using the cognomen of one of his poor-house
+associates.
+
+"Very well, Hallen. Are you ready to go to work at once?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Then come inside."
+
+Hal walked behind the railing, and Parsons showed him where to place his
+coat and hat.
+
+"Here is a copy of a letter I wish duplicated ten times. You can go to
+work at this second desk. At one o'clock you can take half an hour for
+lunch."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Hal gathered his material about him, and went to work as if his very
+life depended on it.
+
+"He seems to be an awfully shrewd man," he thought, meaning Parsons. "I
+wonder what he would say if he knew I had taken the job merely as a
+blind?"
+
+He could not help but smile to himself, and Parsons saw the smile, but
+misinterpreted it.
+
+"He feels good over dropping into a situation, I suppose," he muttered.
+"Well, if he's a stranger in New York and alone, he is probably just the
+fellow for Allen's work. It won't do to have a chap around who is too
+well acquainted."
+
+Hal had made four copies of the letter when the front door opened, and
+Caleb Allen entered.
+
+The broker looked rather surprised when he saw Hal, but he did not
+recognize the youth, and Hal drew a deep sigh of relief.
+
+"Got a clerk, eh?" said Allen, to his new partner.
+
+"Yes," replied Parsons. "Hallen, this is Mr. Allen, your other
+employer."
+
+Hal bowed. Then Allen turned to an office in the rear, and Parsons
+immediately followed him.
+
+The door, which was partly of ground glass, was tightly closed.
+
+Hal waited for an instant, and then, leaving the desk, tiptoed his way
+to the rear.
+
+By listening intently, he could just catch what was said.
+
+"You say he is a stranger in New York?" were the first words he heard,
+coming from Allen.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Humph! He will have a job finding his way around, I'm thinking."
+
+"He looks bright enough. I thought it would be better than to hire
+somebody who knew too much about financial matters here," returned
+Parsons.
+
+"That's so!" cried Allen. "A good idea. Has Samuels called yet?"
+
+"No."
+
+"He ought to be here by this time."
+
+"Samuels is always slow. But tell me, how did you make out over at the
+old place?"
+
+"We had a deuce of a racket," exclaimed Allen, savagely. "Since Hardwick
+was found out Sumner has watched me like a cat."
+
+"Of course, you didn't give him any satisfaction."
+
+"Not much! But I can tell you I had to talk mighty smooth to keep things
+down."
+
+"How about dissolving?"
+
+"The affair comes off on the twentieth."
+
+"What! Can you get ready by that time?"
+
+"Luckily, yes."
+
+"Are you going to do as I suggested about those slips?"
+
+"Yes. I was just after the boy who ordered them for me, and he says they
+are to be done in two days, sure. It won't take an hour to fix them up
+after I get them."
+
+"Nothing like being a slick penman, Caleb."
+
+And Parsons chuckled.
+
+"Hush! That new man might hear you."
+
+"That's so. But I fancy he's rather green, in spite of the fact that he
+wants to appear like a New Yorker."
+
+"If he's green, so much the better. Now, about this business with
+Samuels. Do you think he can be trusted?"
+
+"Yes. I know Samuels thoroughly, and, besides, I have a hold on him."
+
+"A good hold?"
+
+"I could send him to prison if I wished."
+
+"And he will undertake to work off the bonds in Chicago?"
+
+"I believe so. But he wants big pay."
+
+"How much?"
+
+"Twenty per cent."
+
+"Twenty per cent.!" cried Allen. "Is he crazy?"
+
+"He says he will run a big risk."
+
+"Any more than Hardwick and I ran in obtaining them?"
+
+"No, indeed. Perhaps you can make him come down."
+
+"I certainly shall. Hardwick hasn't shown up, has he?"
+
+"No. Do you expect him?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Is it prudent? Old Sumner may have his detectives around."
+
+"I thought of that, and wrote to Hardwick about it. Hereafter he will
+disguise himself, and----"
+
+Hal heard no more. The front door opened, and a stranger hurried in.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII.
+
+HAL PLAYS A DARING PART.
+
+
+Hal lost no time in confronting the new-comer.
+
+"Is Mr. Parsons in?" asked the stranger.
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"Tell him Mr. Samuels is here."
+
+"I will, sir."
+
+Hal walked back, and knocked on the rear office door.
+
+"Come!" said Allen.
+
+"A Mr. Samuels to see Mr. Parsons," said the youth.
+
+"Show him in."
+
+Mr. Samuels was conducted to the rear office, and once more the door was
+tightly closed.
+
+Hal was slightly disturbed. Had the new-comer caught him listening in
+the back, or had he taken no notice?
+
+The only way to learn was to remain where he had been before, and this
+the youth did.
+
+"Well, Samuels, on hand I see," said Parsons. "Mr. Allen just came in."
+
+"Then we can come to business without delay," replied Samuels.
+
+He was a small-faced Jew, with eyes that appeared to be more than half
+closed. As he spoke, he drew up a chair close to where the other two
+were sitting.
+
+"Say," he went on. "Who is the young fellow outside?"
+
+"Our new clerk."
+
+"Can you trust him?"
+
+"I think so. Why?"
+
+"He might overhear what was said."
+
+"He won't if you don't talk too loud."
+
+"Very well."
+
+"Hold on," put in Allen. "Parsons, send him off to mail some letters."
+
+The junior partner at once walked outside, and, taking up a bunch of
+letters, handed them to Hal.
+
+"Mail these," he said. "And then you can go to lunch."
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+Hal at once put on his overcoat and hat, and walked out with the
+letters. He wished he could have remained in the office, for he felt
+certain the conversation about to ensue would be a most important one.
+
+He dropped the letters into the nearest box, and then stood undecided
+what to do next.
+
+"Mr. Allen has those bonds, that's certain," he said to himself. "I
+wonder if it would do any good to notify the police?"
+
+But this plan did not appear to be just the right one. If arrested,
+Allen would, of course, deny any knowledge of the stolen property and
+all the proof Hal had was his own word, and that might not go very far
+in a court of law.
+
+"No, the only thing to do is to find those bonds and get them back
+myself," he muttered. "Perhaps Allen only has part of them, and Hardwick
+the other part. Besides, I have not yet learned what Macklin and Ferris
+have to do with the case."
+
+He knew there was a window in the back of the rear office; this was
+tightly closed, so it would be of no use to attempt to hear anything
+from that direction.
+
+At last Hal took his stand opposite the entrance to the office. He had
+hardly done so when Parsons and Samuels came out, and hurried up the
+street at the top of their walking powers.
+
+"Something is up," thought Hal. "Shall I follow them, or remain behind
+with Allen?"
+
+He knew if he wished to keep his place as clerk, he ought to go back
+soon. He hesitated, and then decided to remain. So, procuring a sandwich
+and an apple, he munched them down, and then walked in.
+
+Caleb Allen looked at him darkly as he entered, but said nothing, and,
+hanging up his coat and hat, Hal resumed the copying of the letter.
+
+Half an hour later, a tall man came in. He was well dressed, and wore a
+heavy black mustache and beard.
+
+He glanced at Hal, and then walked over to where Allen sat at a desk,
+writing a letter.
+
+"I want to see you in private," he said, in a low tone.
+
+The voice of the stranger sounded strangely familiar to Hal. Where had
+he heard it before?
+
+Allen looked perplexed for an instant, and then seemed to comprehend the
+situation. He at once led the way to the office in the rear. The
+stranger entered, and the door was once more tightly closed.
+
+Our young hero at once left off writing, and tiptoed his way back. An
+idea had struck him concerning the stranger's identity, and the first
+words from behind the thin partition proved that he was correct.
+
+"So you have donned the disguise, Hardwick," were Allen's words.
+
+"Yes, deuce take the luck, I was forced to do it."
+
+"You got my letter advising it?"
+
+"I did. But that wasn't what brought me to it. I was followed by one of
+old Sumner's detectives."
+
+"Ha! Did he discover anything?"
+
+"Not from me. But I'm afraid he did in another direction."
+
+Allen turned pale, and shifted uneasily.
+
+"What way?" he exclaimed, hoarsely.
+
+"I am pretty well satisfied the same fellow followed Ferris to the
+establishment where you are having those bogus bills printed."
+
+"And what did he learn?"
+
+"I am not sure he really followed, and, of course, I don't know how much
+he learned."
+
+"Too bad! Did you come face to face with the man?"
+
+"I did, but he got away from us."
+
+"Who do you mean--was Ferris with you?"
+
+"Yes. He thought he recognized the man as one who followed him to the
+printing office."
+
+"I see. We must be careful, Hardwick, very careful."
+
+"If it hadn't been for that Carson it would be all right," growled the
+ex-book-keeper. "I would like to wring that boy's neck."
+
+"So would I. But what has become of him? He was not at the office this
+morning when I was there."
+
+"I don't know. He boarded with Ferris' aunt, but he has left there,
+too."
+
+"That's queer."
+
+"I have an idea he isn't so much of a boy as we think," said Hardwick,
+with a shake of his head.
+
+"What do you mean?"
+
+"I believe if he isn't a regular detective, he is next door to it, and
+was hired by Sumner to spot me. That scene in the office when I accused
+him was a put-up job on his part and Sumner's. See how easily Sumner
+sided with him in every instance."
+
+"By Jove! you may be right," cried Allen. "We must be more than careful,
+or----"
+
+Hal did not catch the words that followed, for the door of the office
+opened and a slouching figure entered. It was Tommy Macklin.
+
+Veiling his astonishment as best he could, Hal approached the tough.
+
+"What is it?" he asked, briefly.
+
+"Is der boss in?" asked Macklin.
+
+"Do you mean Mr. Allen or Mr. Parsons?" asked Hal, although he knew very
+well.
+
+"Mr. Allen."
+
+"I will see. What name?"
+
+"Wot's dat?"
+
+"What is your name?"
+
+"Me name ain't got nothin' ter do wid it. Tell him a gent from der east
+side wants ter talk ter him a few minits."
+
+"I will."
+
+Hal rapped on the door. It was quickly opened by Mr. Allen.
+
+"Here is a man wants to see you, sir," said Hal. "He says he's from the
+east side, and won't give any name."
+
+Allen looked out toward Macklin. He looked disturbed when he recognized
+the tough.
+
+"Step this way," he called out, and Macklin entered the office.
+
+"Now, what brings you?" demanded Allen, as soon as the door was shut.
+
+Instead of replying, Macklin looked at Hardwick, who had taken off part
+of his disguise.
+
+"Wot! You here?" he faltered.
+
+"Yes, Tommy, you didn't expect it, did you?" returned Hardwick, with a
+short laugh.
+
+"No, I didn't."
+
+"What brought you?"
+
+"I want money," said the tough, coming forward and putting on a bold
+front. "I want money from both of yer; see?"
+
+"How much?" asked Allen.
+
+"A t'ousand dollars."
+
+"You are crazy!" cried the broker.
+
+"No I ain't. I mean just wot I say, Allen. I want five hundred from you,
+an' der udder from Hardwick."
+
+"Supposing we won't pay it?"
+
+"Den I'll tell der police wot I know; I ain't doin' yer work fer
+nothin'."
+
+And the tough poked his nose close to that of Caleb Allen.
+
+"Nonsense, Tommy!" put in Hardwick. "I agreed to give you a hundred
+dollars for keeping quiet about what you know, and that's all you'll
+get."
+
+"Den I'll--wot's dat?"
+
+A loud noise in the outer office startled Macklin. Hal, listening at the
+door, suddenly found himself in the hands of Parsons and Samuels.
+
+"A spy, as I thought," cried Samuels. "Hardwick! Allen!"
+
+The two called, rushed out, and Hal was surrounded.
+
+"A spy, is he?" cried Allen. "Who can----"
+
+"That beard is false!" exclaimed Hardwick, tearing it as well as the
+mustache from our hero's face. "Hal Carson! Boys, lock the front door!
+If he escapes, we shall be ruined!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII.
+
+HAL IS EXPOSED.
+
+
+The moment that Hardwick made his announcement, Parsons sprang to the
+front door and locked it.
+
+"Carson!" muttered Allen. "Hardwick, you were right, he is nothing more
+nor less than a spy."
+
+When Tommy Macklin saw the face of Hal he grew pale as death.
+
+"Carson!" he gasped, falling back.
+
+"What's the matter with you?" demanded Hardwick.
+
+"Dat's der chap wot followed Ferris ter my house."
+
+"Followed Ferris. When?"
+
+"Der night he brung me dat letter from you about dat bus'ness over to
+der--you know."
+
+"You are sure?"
+
+"Sure," repeated Macklin, in deep disgust. "I t'ink I am."
+
+"How did you happen to catch him?"
+
+"He was spyin' at der door, same as here. We collared him, and knocked
+him down. I t'ought he was dead, an' me an' Ferris chucked him in a vat
+in der cellar of der old pickle factory."
+
+"Ferris said nothing of this to me," said Hardwick.
+
+"He was most scared stiff, dat feller was," replied Macklin,
+disdainfully. "I guess he t'ought he would not say nuthin' ter nobody."
+
+During this time Hal had not said a word, but now he spoke up.
+
+"What do you intend to do with me?" he asked.
+
+"You'll see fast enough," replied Hardwick. "We have got you fast this
+time. Do you know what I think? I think you are the same fellow that I
+met in the lumber-yard."
+
+"And if I am, Hardwick, what of it?"
+
+"It will go so much the harder with you."
+
+"Let us bind him so he cannot escape," said Allen. "He is a dangerous
+young man to have loose."
+
+"There is a rope in the closet," said Parsons. "Bind him with that, if
+you want to."
+
+The rope was speedily brought forth, and Hal was bound hands and feet.
+There was no use trying to escape, and consequently he did not undertake
+to do so.
+
+"Put him in the closet," ordered the broker, when the job of binding Hal
+was completed.
+
+"Gag him first," cautioned Hardwick. "We don't want him to raise the
+roof, if he's left alone. We'll fix him later."
+
+The gag was inserted in Hal's mouth, and then he was lifted up by
+Macklin and the others and dumped into the corner of the closet, and the
+door was closed and locked upon him.
+
+From the closet, which was damp and cold, he could hear the confused
+murmur of voices, but could not make out a word of what was being said.
+The murmur continued fully half an hour, and then all became as silent
+as the grave.
+
+Hal was all but suffocated by the rude gag which had been forced into
+his mouth. All was dark, and his position was a painful one, not only
+mentally, but bodily as well.
+
+What the rogues intended to do with him he did not know. If only he
+could free himself and get away!
+
+With might and main he tugged at the rope which bound his hands. At
+first it remained tight, but at last it loosened sufficiently to allow
+him to slip out his right hand.
+
+The left soon followed; and Hal's next work was to remove the gag from
+his mouth. What a relief it was to once more close his mouth!
+
+His feet freed, the boy looked about for some means by which to escape
+from the closet. The door was locked, as has been mentioned, but it was
+a poor affair, and Hal knew he could easily force it open with his
+shoulder.
+
+Before proceeding to this extremity, he listened intently. It must be
+near three o'clock, and he wondered if all the others had left.
+
+Suddenly voices broke upon his ear, and he heard Hardwick and Macklin
+enter the rear office. By applying his ear to the key-hole Hal heard
+what was said. If they opened the closet door, he determined to make a
+bold dash for liberty.
+
+"How much is der in dis new ob?" Macklin asked.
+
+"Two hundred dollars, if he never comes back."
+
+"Den pass over der cash."
+
+"I'll pay you after the job is done, Tommy."
+
+"No yer don't. Dis is a cash-in-advance job."
+
+"Can't you trust me?"
+
+"I kin, but I ain't goin' ter."
+
+"It's to your interest as much as ours to have him out of the way."
+
+"Dat's all right, too, but its pay or no job, Hardwick."
+
+"If I pay you now you may make a balk as you did before."
+
+"No, dis will be a sure t'ing, I'll give yer me word."
+
+"Then here you are."
+
+A silence followed.
+
+"Is that right?" asked Hardwick.
+
+"Yes. But, remember, dis ain't part of dat t'ousand I'm ter have fer dat
+udder work."
+
+"I understand. Now, go for the coach, and I'll stay till you come back.
+It's getting dark, and the street is almost deserted."
+
+"I will. Better lock der door, and don't unlock it again till yer hear
+four knocks; see?"
+
+"Yes."
+
+Macklin at once went off, and Hal heard Hardwick lock the door after him
+as agreed, but the key was left in the lock.
+
+By the conversation Hal knew it must be later than he had supposed.
+Under cover of the darkness Macklin was going to bring a coach to the
+place. For what purpose?
+
+In spite of his naturally brave spirit, Hal shivered. He was in the
+power of a desperate set of men, and he had learned enough of their
+secrets to convict every one of them. They would not hesitate to do
+anything to escape their just deserts.
+
+"I must fight for it," he muttered to himself, "and now is the best time
+to do it."
+
+He opened the closet door cautiously, and peeped out. Hardwick sat in an
+easy-chair, smoking savagely, as if he were out of humor. No one else
+was in the place.
+
+The office was heavily carpeted, so Hal made no noise as he stepped out
+of the closet. He had to pass within five feet of Hardwick, who sat with
+his back half turned to the boy.
+
+Hardly daring to breathe, Hal tiptoed his way past Hardwick and into the
+outer office, the door to which stood wide open. Here it was quite dark,
+and the boy saw through the window that it was again snowing heavily.
+
+At last the door was reached, and his hand was upon the key, ready to
+turn it in the lock.
+
+Suddenly, as if struck by an idea, Hardwick jumped to his feet and came
+out. His intention was to examine something on one of the outer desks,
+and when he beheld Hal he stared at the youth in blank amazement.
+
+"Where--where--" he began.
+
+Without saying a word, Hal turned the key and caught hold of the latch
+of the door. Then, with something that sounded like the growl of a wild
+animal, Hardwick pounced upon him.
+
+"No, you don't!" he hissed. "You sha'n't escape this time. Come back
+here!"
+
+He caught Hal by the coat collar. The youth struggled, and then struck
+out with all force.
+
+The blow landed on Hardwick's chin, and knocked his head back with such
+force that for the instant he let slip his grasp and Hal was free.
+
+But before the plucky youth could open the door the man had him fast
+again, and was punching him with all his might.
+
+"I'll teach you a lesson!" he cried. "Take that! and that! You are
+smart, but you are not smart enough for me!"
+
+"Let go!" cried Hal.
+
+But Hardwick continued to pound him. Then, in sheer desperation, Hal
+closed in and fought tooth and nail, as if his very life depended on it.
+
+Hardwick was a heavy-built man, but he was no match for the youth, who
+all his life had been used to hard labor, and whose muscles,
+consequently, were like steel. He struck Hal many times, but the youth
+squirmed and twisted, and suddenly hit him a crack between the eyes that
+made him see stars.
+
+"Oh!" he howled, and dropped back, while Hal, taking advantage of this
+stroke of good luck, made another dash for the front door.
+
+He opened the door, and was half-way out when Hardwick, realizing what
+escape meant, leaped forward and caught him by the coat.
+
+"Let go!" cried Hal, and with a jerk he tore away and started up the
+steps leading to the street.
+
+He had scarcely taken half a dozen steps when he ran full tilt into
+Macklin, who had just driven up on the box of a closed coach.
+
+"Wot's dis?" cried the tough. "Carson! no yer don't!"
+
+He carried his whip in his hand, and as he spoke he brought the butt
+down on Hal's head with full force.
+
+There was a strange flash of fire through Hal's brain, and then all
+became a dark blank.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX.
+
+HAL MAKES A LIVELY MOVE.
+
+
+When Hal came to his senses he found himself bound and gagged as before,
+but instead of being in a closet he was now in a coach that was whirling
+along as fast as the deep snow would permit.
+
+The curtains of the vehicle were tightly drawn, so the youth had no
+chance of seeing where he was being taken.
+
+His head ached fearfully from the blow Tommy Macklin had administered,
+and for several minutes he could hardly collect himself.
+
+"Missed it!" he groaned to himself. "And now those villains have me
+completely in their power."
+
+It was not a pleasant thought, and therefore Hal did not allow his mind
+to dwell upon it.
+
+He wondered if he could get open one of the doors of the coach, and
+leap, or rather tumble, to the ground. It would be a dangerous
+experiment, considering how he was tied up, but Hal was willing to
+assume desperate risks just now.
+
+He fumbled around with his bound hands for fully five minutes, and at
+last succeeded in turning the handle to one of the coach doors, which
+immediately swung open.
+
+Hal looked out. They were on an almost deserted road. It was quite dark,
+and still snowing.
+
+"If I drop out here I may be frozen to death before I can free myself,"
+he thought. "I will wait until we pass a house of some sort."
+
+Hal had hardly reached this conclusion before the coach rolled past an
+elegant road-house, brilliantly illuminated from top to bottom.
+
+"Now is my chance," he thought. "There ought to be somebody around to
+pick me up."
+
+Losing no time, for they had now passed several rods beyond the
+road-house, the plucky boy wriggled his body toward the open door of the
+coach.
+
+Watching for what he thought a favorable opportunity, Hal gave himself a
+lurch forward and tumbled out into the snow. But as he did so one of the
+rear wheels of the coach struck him on the side of the head, and the
+blow rendered him unconscious.
+
+His body lay where it had fallen for several minutes. Then two young men
+in a cutter came driving from the road-house.
+
+"Hullo, Ike, what's that?" cried one of them, pulling up.
+
+"Looks like a tramp in the snow," replied the other. "Let's drive out of
+the way."
+
+"We can't leave him here. He'll be frozen to death."
+
+"By Jove, Will, you're right. Wait, I'll jump out and investigate."
+
+The speaker leaped out into the snow, and bent over the motionless form.
+
+"By Jove! It isn't a tramp at all!" he burst out. "It's a well-dressed
+young man. Go back and get help. He's hurt on the head."
+
+The young fellow remaining in the cutter at once did as directed, and
+returned with a negro and a white man.
+
+Hal's body was lifted up, and he was carried to the road-house and
+placed on a lounge in the waiting-room.
+
+Restoratives were applied, and presently Hal gave a gasp and sat up, the
+cords with which he had been bound having been cut.
+
+"Where--where am I?" he asked, in bewilderment.
+
+"You're safe indoors," was the reply. "What was the matter. How came you
+to be bound?"
+
+"I was trapped, and a man was carrying me off in a coach."
+
+"What! A regular abduction, eh?"
+
+"Yes, sir."
+
+"What's the matter? Did the fellow want to get your money?"
+
+"No. I know too much, and he, or rather the men who employ him, want to
+get me out of the way."
+
+"Humph! They ought to be locked up! We don't want any such work as that
+around New York City."
+
+"Where am I?" asked Hal, again.
+
+"You are at the half-way house on the Jerome Avenue road."
+
+"How far is that from downtown?"
+
+"Quite a few miles, young man."
+
+"Which is the nearest way down?"
+
+"There is a station on the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad not
+far from here. But there won't be a train down until half-past ten."
+
+"And what time is it now?"
+
+"Quarter past nine."
+
+"Then I think I'll wait."
+
+"You had better. That crack on the head is an ugly one."
+
+"I must have gotten it when I jumped from the coach."
+
+"It was a desperate leap. Who was the fellow who was carrying you off?"
+
+"A tough from the east side."
+
+"Maybe he'll be coming back looking for you."
+
+"That's so," cried Hal. "Is there a police officer around?"
+
+"I'll find out."
+
+"Macy is down by the stable," put in a man present.
+
+"Call him, please," said Hal.
+
+The policeman was summoned, and to him and the proprietor of the place
+the youth told his story, omitting all details that were not necessary.
+
+"We might follow him in one of the rigs here," said the policeman. "But
+it's more than likely he'll be back."
+
+"Will you arrest him for me?"
+
+"Sure."
+
+A few minutes passed. Then the door opened, and the negro who had helped
+to pick Hal up came in.
+
+"A feller wid an empty coach jess drove up," he said, somewhat
+excitedly.
+
+"It must be Macklin!" exclaimed Hal. "Where is he?"
+
+"Jess gitting ready ter cum in, I reckon, sah."
+
+"We'll go down and meet him," said the policeman, and he led the way.
+
+The door leading to the bar-room was partly of glass. Beaching it, the
+policeman pointed to a man standing at the bar, gulping down a glass of
+liquor.
+
+"Is that the chap?" he asked.
+
+Hal gave a look.
+
+"Yes, that's Macklin. Don't let him get away!"
+
+"No fear. I've dealt with many a tough customer, and I know how to
+handle them."
+
+"I will step in first, and give him a surprise," said the youth, and he
+opened the door.
+
+Macklin's back was turned at the time, and he did not see our hero until
+Hal tapped him on the shoulder.
+
+"Well, Macklin, were you looking for me?"
+
+The tough turned quickly. Then he grew pale, and the glass almost
+dropped from his hand.
+
+"Wot--where----" he stammered.
+
+"You didn't expect to meet me here, did you?" went on Hal, pleasantly.
+
+"No--dat is--where did yer cum from?"
+
+"From your coach, Macklin. I got tired of riding in such a cramped
+fashion."
+
+The tough shifted uneasily. Hal beckoned to the policeman.
+
+"Here, officer, is the rascal."
+
+Macklin wheeled about, and gave the policeman a single glance, when,
+muttering something, he made a dash for the door.
+
+But both Hal and the policeman were after him, and our hero caught him
+by the arm, and held him until the officer had slipped a pair of
+hand-cuffs onto him.
+
+"I'll fix yer fer dis!" hissed Macklin in Hal's ear.
+
+"Your days for fixing people are about over, Macklin," replied the
+youth. "You and the others have overreached yourselves for once."
+
+"I didn't do nuthin'."
+
+"We will see about that later. Where are Hardwick and Allen?"
+
+"I don't know dem," replied the tough, sullenly.
+
+"All right; then you want to take the whole responsibility of this
+matter on your own shoulders!"
+
+At this the tough winced. It was putting the matter in a different
+light.
+
+"Say, supposin' I put you on to dere game, will yer be easy wid me?"
+
+"That depends on how much you have to tell," said Hal.
+
+"I knows more dan da t'inks I do."
+
+"About what?"
+
+"About dem--never mind. I know wot you are after, an' don't fergit it!"
+
+"The tin box?"
+
+Macklin nodded
+
+"Who has it, Hardwick or Allen?"
+
+"I ain't sayin' anyt'ing."
+
+"All right, officer, take him to the station-house, and I will go along
+and make a charge."
+
+"No, no!" cried Macklin. "I wasn't goin ter do yer, I was only goin' ter
+take yer to an old house up der river, an' Hardwick and Allen was goin'
+ter settle wid yer in der mornin'."
+
+"Where is the old house?"
+
+"Der Flack mansion."
+
+"I know the place," said the policeman. "It has been unoccupied for
+years."
+
+"What time were they coming up?"
+
+"Hardwick said at eight o'clock sharp," replied Macklin. He seemed
+anxious now to inform on his companions in villainy.
+
+"Very well, we will see what happens at that time," returned Hal,
+briefly.
+
+His words meant a good deal.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX.
+
+THE MISSING TIN BOX.
+
+
+Less than an hour later Macklin was taken to the police station in his
+own coach and locked up.
+
+As soon as this was accomplished Hal lost no time in making his way to
+Horace Sumner's elegant mansion.
+
+It was now quite late, and only a single light gleamed out from the
+mansion, and that from the library, where the old broker sat, busy with
+his accounts.
+
+His face was furrowed with care, and just before Hal rang the bell he
+heaved a deep sigh.
+
+"Unless the tin box containing the stolen bonds is recovered I will be a
+ruined man!" he groaned. "It is impossible to cover the loss. Allen has
+ruined me, and even though he tries to use those slips, and I have him
+arrested, it will do no good."
+
+The ring at the bell aroused him, and, as the servants had retired, he
+answered the summons himself.
+
+"What, Hal!" he cried. "You must have important news, or you would not
+come at this hour of the night."
+
+"I have important news, Mr. Sumner," replied the youth. "And I came
+because I want your assistance the first thing in the morning."
+
+"You shall have it, Hal. But what news do you bring? Come into the
+library and tell me."
+
+The two passed into the sumptuously-furnished apartment, and, seated by
+the open grate fire, the youth told of all that had occurred since he
+had obtained employment at Allen & Parsons'.
+
+"You have had several narrow escapes, my boy," cried the old broker,
+shuddering. "You must be more careful, really you must."
+
+"I think we have about reached the end of the matter," returned Hal.
+
+"Why, what do you mean? The tin box----"
+
+"I have an idea Hardwick, Allen, and the others intend to come to some
+sort of a settlement to-morrow, either at the old house, or at the
+office in Broad Street. This Samuels is about to take some of the bonds
+to Chicago, and we must be on hand to stop the scheme."
+
+"You are right, Hal, and mighty smart. What do you propose? You have
+done so well thus far I must really allow you to go on."
+
+"I propose we go to the old house, accompanied by a couple of officers,
+and lay low for Hardwick and Allen. When they come I can appear before
+them with my hands and feet bound, and accuse them of the crime. They
+will not know that Macklin has been arrested--I have taken care of
+that--and they may give themselves away."
+
+"A good plan. What rogues they are, and how blind I have been! Hal, I
+shall not forget all you have done for me."
+
+A little more conversation ensued, and then the youth arose.
+
+"Where are you going, now?"
+
+"To the hotel to get some sleep."
+
+"No need of going to the hotel. I will call up one of the servants, and
+she can show you to a room."
+
+"You are very kind, Mr. Sumner----"
+
+"It is nothing, Hal, in comparison to what you have done for me. I shall
+reward you well if the missing box is recovered."
+
+Quarter of an hour later Hal was shown to a bedroom on the second floor.
+It was quite the finest apartment of the kind he had ever entered. The
+servant opened the bed and drew the curtains, and then retired.
+
+"Gracious, this is style!" murmured the youth, as he began to disrobe.
+"I wonder if I will ever own anything as nice?"
+
+On the walls were a number of steel engravings and etchings, and on the
+mantel rested a large photograph of a handsome, middle-aged lady.
+
+Hal gazed at the portrait for fully five minutes. The features were so
+motherly they appealed to his heart.
+
+"It must be a picture of the late Mrs. Sumner," he thought. "What a good
+woman she must have been! No wonder Mr. Sumner and Miss Laura miss her."
+
+And then, as he thought of his own condition--that of a mere poor-house
+foundling--his eyes grew moist.
+
+"How I wish I had known a mother, and that she was like her," was his
+soliloquy. "Or that I had a father like kind Mr. Sumner--and such a girl
+like Miss Laura for a sister," he added, suddenly, and then he blushed.
+
+His mind presently turned back to the missing tin box, and thinking over
+this, he soon fell asleep.
+
+He was up bright and early. When he went down to the library he found
+Laura Sumner there, and the old broker soon joined them.
+
+A hasty breakfast was had, livened by the bright conversation of Laura,
+who was of a vivacious turn of mind, and then Mr. Sumner and Hal hurried
+off to police headquarters.
+
+Their quest was soon explained to the officer in charge, and two men
+were detailed to accompany them to the old mansion up on the Jerome
+Avenue road.
+
+It had stopped snowing, and the early morning sun made everything
+glisten. A large sleigh was procured, and one of the policemen and Hal
+mounted the box and off they drove.
+
+It was twenty minutes to eight when the vicinity of the old Flack
+mansion was reached. The sleigh was driven around a bend and into a
+clump of trees, and then the party dismounted.
+
+"I'll go ahead, and see if anybody is around," said Hal. "If it's all
+right I'll wave a handkerchief from one of the windows."
+
+The youth was somewhat excited. Supposing Macklin had made up the story
+of the meeting between Hardwick and Allen? Such a thing was possible.
+
+"But no, he wouldn't dare," thought Hal. "He is thoroughly scared, and
+wants to gain our good graces by giving the others away."
+
+The deserted mansion was in a dilapidated condition. More than half the
+shutters were gone, and the front door stood wide open.
+
+Sneaking up along an old hedge, Hal gained the half-tumbled-down piazza
+and glided swiftly into the hall, now more than quarter filled with
+snow, which the sharp wind had driven in.
+
+"Certainly a cheerless place," he thought. "But I suppose they thought
+no one would come here, and so they would be free from interruption."
+
+He entered the parlor of the house, and then walked through to the
+dining-room, the library, and then the kitchen. Nothing was disturbed,
+and the smooth snow, wherever it had drifted in, did not show the first
+sign of a footstep.
+
+"Good! I am in plenty of time," said Hal to himself. "I must tramp
+around a bit, and then bind myself up as best I can."
+
+He waved his handkerchief out of one of the windows and then proceeded
+to tie his feet together.
+
+He had just finished the work, when Horace Sumner and two officers
+rushed in.
+
+"They are coming!" exclaimed the old broker. "There are Allen, Hardwick,
+and two strangers."
+
+"The strangers must be Parsons and Samuels," said Hal. "Here, bind my
+hands, and shove me into the closet, and then hide."
+
+This was done, and less than a minute later a stamping was heard, and
+Allen, Hardwick, Parsons, and Samuels entered the parlor.
+
+"Hullo, Macklin, where are you?" cried Hardwick.
+
+Of course, there was no reply.
+
+"Must have gone off to get his breakfast," said Allen. "Wonder what he
+did with the boy?"
+
+"Boy!" cried Hardwick. "Better say man. Carson is altogether too smart
+to be called a boy."
+
+"We must get him out of the way, and then finish this bond matter," went
+on Allen.
+
+"Yes, and hurry up," put in Samuels. "I want to catch, the twelve
+o'clock train to Chicago, and you might as well give me the bonds to
+take along. The sooner they are worked off the better."
+
+"That's an easy matter to settle," said Hardwick. "I have the tin box
+right here with me. I didn't dare leave it behind, for fear old Sumner
+might get a search warrant and go through my house."
+
+As the ex-book-keeper spoke, he unbuttoned his great coat, and brought
+forth the missing tin box for which Hal and the others had been so long
+searching.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI.
+
+HARDWICK'S DASH FOR LIBERTY.
+
+
+Hal and the others listened with keen interest to Hardwick's words. The
+ex-book-keeper had the missing railroad bonds with him, and he intended
+to transfer them to Samuels, to be disposed of to the best advantage.
+
+"Now is the time to capture the gang," thought Hal. "I wish my hands
+were free."
+
+"Let us see what has become of Carson first," said Allen, nervously.
+"Somehow I don't feel safe as long as that boy is within possible
+hearing."
+
+"Don't get afraid," replied Parsons. "Tommy Macklin has probably done
+him up, or you would hear something from him."
+
+"Macklin tried to remove him once before," returned Allen, with a shake
+of his head. "That boy beats all for shrewdness."
+
+"I would like to settle him myself," growled Hardwick. "We would never
+have had the least bit of trouble if it hadn't been for him. Like as not
+I would still have been Sumner's head and confidential clerk," he added,
+with a sarcastic laugh.
+
+"Yes, and I could have made life bitterness itself for Horace Sumner,"
+cried Allen. "I wanted to do more than ruin him."
+
+"What makes you so bitter against Sumner?" asked Parsons.
+
+"That's my affair," replied Allen, shortly.
+
+"It's because Sumner married the girl Allen wanted," put in Samuels.
+"Allen was clean gone on her, and when she married Sumner it broke him
+all up."
+
+"Shut up, Samuels!" exclaimed Allen, evidently angry at having the
+matter mentioned. "There are but few know of it, and I don't want it to
+reach Horace Sumner's ears, or----"
+
+"It won't reach him through me, Allen, and he will never suspect that
+you had anything to do with his son's----"
+
+"Will you shut up!" roared Allen, turning white with rage. "One would
+think, by the way your tongue rattles, that you had been drinking."
+
+"Only had a couple of glasses," returned Samuels, coolly. "So don't get
+worked up, Allen."
+
+Hal listened to this conversation with deep interest. It revealed why
+Allen was so bitter against Horace Sumner, and so willing to cheat his
+partner.
+
+"But I don't understand about that child business yet," muttered Hal to
+himself.
+
+While the others were talking Hardwick had been examining the closets,
+and he now came to the one in which the others had placed Hal.
+
+"Hullo! here he is!" he shouted. "Well, how do you feel, you beggar?"
+the last to the boy.
+
+"Not very well," replied Hal coolly. His hands were now loose, but he
+kept them behind him.
+
+"You'll feel a sight worse before we are done with you," returned
+Hardwick, grimly.
+
+"What do you intend to do with me?"
+
+"You'll see soon enough," said the ex-book-keeper.
+
+He turned to the others, and as he did so Hal bent down and freed his
+feet.
+
+"By Jove! he's loose!" cried Parsons, glancing around.
+
+"Yes, and I intend to stay so," cried Hal, stepping into the room.
+"Hardwick, I want that tin box."
+
+"Ho! ho! hear him talk!" exclaimed Hardwick. "Jump on him, boys!"
+
+"Stand back, every one of you!" cried Hal. "I am not alone here. There
+is plenty of help!"
+
+He uttered the last word loudly, and on the instant the doors leading to
+the dining-room, and the one from the library opened, and Horace Sumner
+stepped into the parlor, followed by the two officers.
+
+"Trapped!" howled Allen. "Macklin has either been outwitted or he has
+played us false!"
+
+The two officers held pistols in their hands, and they lost no time in
+coming to the front.
+
+"Surrender, all of you!" cried one of them.
+
+"Never!" cried Allen. "Do you think I am to be caught like a rat in a
+trap?"
+
+He made a dash for the hall-way, and was quickly followed by Samuels.
+
+But the two policemen were too quick for the pair, and they were
+speedily overtaken, and then a desperate struggle ensued.
+
+In the meantime Parsons tried to jump through the door-way leading to
+the library. In order to do this he had to pass Horace Sumner, and
+putting out his foot the old broker sent the man sprawling to the floor,
+and then ended his struggles by sitting down on him so suddenly that
+Parsons' wind was knocked completely out of him.
+
+Hal still confronted Hardwick, whose eyes were fairly blazing with
+passion.
+
+"Give me the box!" commanded Hal. "Quick! I mean what I say."
+
+Instead of complying Hardwick made a vicious blow for Hal's head. The
+boy dodged, but in doing so slipped and went down on his back.
+
+Before he could recover, Hardwick sprang for one of the open windows,
+and leaped through, carrying part of the long sash with him.
+
+He had hardly disappeared when Hal was on his feet again. Without
+hesitation the youth followed through the broken window. Hardwick was
+making for the road, where stood a team of horses attached to a fine
+sleigh.
+
+"If he gets away in that he and the tin box are goners!" was Hal's rapid
+conclusion. "I must stop him at all hazards."
+
+Hardwick had a good start, but Hal made quick time after him, and when
+the ex-book-keeper reached the sleigh the boy was not a dozen yards
+behind.
+
+"Stop, Hardwick!" he cried.
+
+"Not much, Carson! Take that!"
+
+Hardwick pulled out his weapon. There were two reports in rapid
+succession. Hal was struck in the side, and Hardwick stumbled down.
+
+Hal was quite badly hurt, but he braced up and staggered to where
+Hardwick lay.
+
+"Now give up the tin box," he ordered, in as steady a voice as he could.
+
+"Never to you!" roared Hardwick. "You have been the cause of all my
+trouble. Take that!"
+
+He fired. One bullet grazed Hal's shoulder, the others flew wide of
+their mark. Then the boy took the butt of his own weapon and with one
+blow on Hardwick's head knocked the villain unconscious.
+
+The mist was swimming before his eyes as he gathered up the tin box and
+its precious contents, and staggered toward the house. The policemen had
+made prisoners of the gang, and Horace Sumner ran out to meet the youth.
+
+"You are shot, Hal?" he cried, in quick alarm.
+
+"Yes, Mr. Sumner--I--I am shot," was the low reply. "But here is the tin
+box and--the--bonds--safe."
+
+And with these words Hal pitched over insensible into the broker's arms.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII.
+
+A SURPRISING REVELATION.
+
+
+Horace Sumner was terribly alarmed. Paying no attention to the tin box,
+he knelt down and raised Hal up on his knee.
+
+"Shot in the shoulder and in the side," he murmured after a brief
+examination. "Oh, I trust it be not serious!"
+
+All of the prisoners had been handcuffed, and one of the officers
+followed Mr. Sumner out.
+
+"Hullo! is he shot?" he cried.
+
+"Yes."
+
+"Where is the fellow with the tin box?"
+
+"The box is here, safe. There lies the fellow. Arrest him, and fix it so
+he cannot get away."
+
+The policeman at once hurried to Hardwick's side, and before the
+ex-book-keeper had fully recovered consciousness he was handcuffed and
+then placed in a room with the other prisoners.
+
+"What are you going to do with us?" he demanded of the policeman who
+stood guard at the door, pistol in hand.
+
+"You will see later. Not another word now."
+
+And Hardwick was forced to keep silent, as were also the others.
+
+There was another house not far distant, and getting the sleigh, Mr.
+Sumner placed Hal's form into it, and drove him around to the door.
+
+Matters were quickly explained, and as the broker showed that he was a
+wealthy man, and well able to pay for accommodations, Hal was at once
+lifted into the house and placed on a comfortable bed in one of the
+upper rooms.
+
+"Send for the nearest doctor, please," said Horace Sumner. "And tell him
+he must come at once, no matter what the expense. Tell him I am Horace
+Sumner, the broker, of Wall Street."
+
+The man about the place at once hurried off, and placing the tin box,
+which he had picked up out of the snow, on the table, Horace Sumner bent
+over Hal's motionless form, and sought by every means in his power to
+restore him to consciousness.
+
+In working over Hal's clothing the golden locket the youth considered
+his birthright came to light. For the moment Horace Sumner paid no
+attention to it, but placed it on top of the tin box.
+
+At last Hal opened his eyes and stared around him.
+
+"Hal, how do you feel?" questioned the old broker, with real anxiety in
+his tones.
+
+"Mr. Sumner! the box--did you----"
+
+"It is safe, Hal."
+
+"I am so glad," and a smile came over the pallid face.
+
+"But, my poor boy, you are hurt--Hardwick shot you. Can't you feel it?"
+
+"Yes, in my side and my shoulder, but I don't think it's very bad, and
+I'll soon----"
+
+Before Hal could finish he fainted away. Less than ten minutes later the
+man about the place returned with an experienced physician.
+
+"Not dangerously wounded," was his opinion, after a thorough
+examination. "He will be as sound as a dollar in a couple of months. But
+he ought not to be moved for several weeks."
+
+"He shall not be," said Horace Sumner.
+
+And he at once made arrangements with the owner of the house to have the
+use of that room and the next for the entire time mentioned with board
+and care for a nurse and Hal.
+
+An hour later Hal was resting easier, and then Horace Sumner arose to
+leave and find out what the officers had done with the captured
+criminals.
+
+As he turned to pick up the tin box he noticed the golden locket. He
+took it up rather carelessly, but suddenly a peculiar look stole into
+his eyes, and dropping the tin box he hurriedly opened the locket.
+
+"My heavens!" he ejaculated.
+
+The exclamation was so pronounced that it awoke Hal, and the youth
+opened his eyes wide, and stared at the man.
+
+"Where--where did you get this locket?" demanded Horace Sumner, in a
+voice husky with emotion.
+
+"It is my birthright--or at least all I have of one," replied the youth.
+
+"Your birthright?"
+
+"That's what I call it, sir. It was around my neck when I was found on
+the streets of Fairham."
+
+"Can this be true? When was this?"
+
+"About sixteen years ago. But what--what--"
+
+"Stop! what part of the year, Hal? answer me quickly."
+
+"It was one Fourth of July night."
+
+Horace Sumner staggered back.
+
+"Fourth of July," he muttered to himself. "And little Howard disappeared
+on the twenty-seventh of June. Can it be----"
+
+"You say you do not know anything about yourself?" he asked of Hal.
+
+"No, sir. The people at Fairham tried to find out, but they didn't make
+a very great effort, I'm thinking, and so I--I--well, you can see how it
+is."
+
+"You are not to blame, Hal. A better or more noble boy never
+lived--and--and I thank God that is so, for it--I will explain later. I
+must see Caleb Allen without delay."
+
+And with his tin box under his arm, Horace Sumner rushed from the house,
+taking the golden locket with him.
+
+When he appeared at the station-house he seemed almost like a crazy man,
+so eager was he to interview Allen. A private meeting between the two
+was speedily arranged.
+
+"Allen, I have come on an important mission," began Horace Sumner.
+
+"Have you? I thought you had your bonds," returned the swindler, as
+cooly as he could.
+
+"I am not referring to the bonds. This matter is far more important."
+
+"Indeed!"
+
+"When you and the others were at the old Flack mansion Samuels mentioned
+a subject that lies close to my heart."
+
+"Samuels didn't know what he was saying," growled Allen, turning pale.
+
+"He did, Allen. I have been blind, but my eyes are now wide open. Caleb
+Allen, years ago you stole my son, my little baby boy."
+
+"It's not true!" almost shouted Allen, but he trembled from head to
+foot.
+
+"It is true. I have the evidence to prove it. Do you deny that you took
+the little one first to Philadelphia and then to the village of Fairham,
+and on the night of the Fourth of July----"
+
+Caleb Allen jumped up as if shot.
+
+"So Tommy Macklin has been blabbing, had he?" he screamed. "But it won't
+do you any good, Horace Sumner. The boy is lost to you--you will never
+hear of him again."
+
+"So?" The old broker pulled the golden locket from his pocket. "Look at
+this. It was around his neck when he was stolen, and it has been the
+connecting link to prove his identity. He is found, and my little boy
+Howard is--Hal Carson, the youth who helped to bring you to justice."
+
+Here we must bring our tale to a close.
+
+What Horace Sumner had said was true. Hal Carson was really his son, who
+had been stolen by Caleb Allen and Tommy Macklin, the latter having,
+even in those days, been a ready tool of the swindler.
+
+Even after having robbed Sumner of his only son, Allen's hatred was not
+satisfied, and he entered into the limited partnership only for the
+purpose of ruining the man.
+
+Allen had fallen in with Hardwick at a gambling house uptown, and the
+two soon became firm friends. At that time Dick Ferris was a great
+admirer of Hardwick, who found the tall boy a fellow without scruples of
+any kind.
+
+Hal was amazed when he learned the truth concerning himself. At first he
+could not believe it, but when it came home to him he was overjoyed. He
+speedily recovered from the wounds Hardwick had inflicted, and one fine
+day in the early part of the following year Horace Sumner and Laura took
+him to the elegant mansion which was in future to be his home as well as
+theirs.
+
+Hardwick, Allen, Macklin, and Samuels were all tried, and sentenced to
+various terms of imprisonment. Parsons escaped, and went to England.
+
+When the police started to find Dick Ferris they found that the tall boy
+had shipped on a three years, whaling voyage. To this day he has not
+returned to New York.
+
+The recovery of the tin box containing the railroad bonds saved Horace
+Sumner from ruin. He and his son are now in partnership on Wall Street,
+and trusty Jack McCabe is their office boy. Hal, or Howard, as he is now
+called, is rich, and is surrounded by friends, but it is not likely that
+he will ever forget the time he came to New York a poor boy, and solved
+the mystery of the Missing Tin Box.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+
+End of Project Gutenberg's The Missing Tin Box, by Arthur M. Winfield
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE MISSING TIN BOX ***
+
+***** This file should be named 30864.txt or 30864.zip *****
+This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:
+        http://www.gutenberg.org/3/0/8/6/30864/
+
+Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Mary Meehan and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+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.  Special rules,
+set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to
+copying and distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works to
+protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG-tm concept and trademark.  Project
+Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you
+charge for the eBooks, unless you receive specific permission.  If you
+do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the
+rules is very easy.  You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose
+such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and
+research.  They may be modified and printed and given away--you may do
+practically ANYTHING with public domain eBooks.  Redistribution is
+subject to the trademark license, especially commercial
+redistribution.
+
+
+
+*** START: FULL LICENSE ***
+
+THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE
+PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK
+
+To protect the Project Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting the free
+distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work
+(or any other work associated in any way with the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg"), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License (available with this file or online at
+http://gutenberg.org/license).
+
+
+Section 1.  General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic works
+
+1.A.  By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to
+and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property
+(trademark/copyright) agreement.  If you do not agree to abide by all
+the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy
+all copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in your possession.
+If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the
+terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or
+entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8.
+
+1.B.  "Project Gutenberg" is a registered trademark.  It may only be
+used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who
+agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement.  There are a few
+things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works
+even without complying with the full terms of this agreement.  See
+paragraph 1.C below.  There are a lot of things you can do with Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement
+and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.  See paragraph 1.E below.
+
+1.C.  The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation ("the Foundation"
+or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic works.  Nearly all the individual works in the
+collection are in the public domain in the United States.  If an
+individual work is in the public domain in the United States and you are
+located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from
+copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative
+works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg
+are removed.  Of course, we hope that you will support the Project
+Gutenberg-tm mission of promoting free access to electronic works by
+freely sharing Project Gutenberg-tm works in compliance with the terms of
+this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg-tm name associated with
+the work.  You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by
+keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project
+Gutenberg-tm License when you share it without charge with others.
+
+1.D.  The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern
+what you can do with this work.  Copyright laws in most countries are in
+a constant state of change.  If you are outside the United States, check
+the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement
+before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or
+creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project
+Gutenberg-tm work.  The Foundation makes no representations concerning
+the copyright status of any work in any country outside the United
+States.
+
+1.E.  Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg:
+
+1.E.1.  The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate
+access to, the full Project Gutenberg-tm License must appear prominently
+whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg-tm work (any work on which the
+phrase "Project Gutenberg" appears, or with which the phrase "Project
+Gutenberg" is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed,
+copied or distributed:
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+1.E.2.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is derived
+from the public domain (does not contain a notice indicating that it is
+posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied
+and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees
+or charges.  If you are redistributing or providing access to a work
+with the phrase "Project Gutenberg" associated with or appearing on the
+work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1
+through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the
+Project Gutenberg-tm trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or
+1.E.9.
+
+1.E.3.  If an individual Project Gutenberg-tm electronic work is posted
+with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution
+must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional
+terms imposed by the copyright holder.  Additional terms will be linked
+to the Project Gutenberg-tm License for all works posted with the
+permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work.
+
+1.E.4.  Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this
+work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg-tm.
+
+1.E.5.  Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this
+electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without
+prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with
+active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm License.
+
+1.E.6.  You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary,
+compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any
+word processing or hypertext form.  However, if you provide access to or
+distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg-tm work in a format other than
+"Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other format used in the official version
+posted on the official Project Gutenberg-tm web site (www.gutenberg.org),
+you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a
+copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon
+request, of the work in its original "Plain Vanilla ASCII" or other
+form.  Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1.
+
+1.E.7.  Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying,
+performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg-tm works
+unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9.
+
+1.E.8.  You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing
+access to or distributing Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works provided
+that
+
+- You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from
+     the use of Project Gutenberg-tm works calculated using the method
+     you already use to calculate your applicable taxes.  The fee is
+     owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark, but he
+     has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the
+     Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.  Royalty payments
+     must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you
+     prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax
+     returns.  Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and
+     sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the
+     address specified in Section 4, "Information about donations to
+     the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation."
+
+- You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies
+     you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he
+     does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg-tm
+     License.  You must require such a user to return or
+     destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium
+     and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of
+     Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+- You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any
+     money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the
+     electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days
+     of receipt of the work.
+
+- You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free
+     distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm works.
+
+1.E.9.  If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg-tm
+electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set
+forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from
+both the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and Michael
+Hart, the owner of the Project Gutenberg-tm trademark.  Contact the
+Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below.
+
+1.F.
+
+1.F.1.  Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable
+effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread
+public domain works in creating the Project Gutenberg-tm
+collection.  Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain
+"Defects," such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or
+corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual
+property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a
+computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by
+your equipment.
+
+1.F.2.  LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the "Right
+of Replacement or Refund" described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project
+Gutenberg-tm trademark, and any other party distributing a Project
+Gutenberg-tm electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all
+liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal
+fees.  YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT
+LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE
+PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH F3.  YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE
+TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE
+LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR
+INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH
+DAMAGE.
+
+1.F.3.  LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a
+defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can
+receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a
+written explanation to the person you received the work from.  If you
+received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with
+your written explanation.  The person or entity that provided you with
+the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a
+refund.  If you received the work electronically, the person or entity
+providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to
+receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund.  If the second copy
+is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further
+opportunities to fix the problem.
+
+1.F.4.  Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth
+in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you 'AS-IS' WITH NO OTHER
+WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO
+WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE.
+
+1.F.5.  Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied
+warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages.
+If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the
+law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be
+interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by
+the applicable state law.  The invalidity or unenforceability of any
+provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions.
+
+1.F.6.  INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the
+trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone
+providing copies of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works in accordance
+with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production,
+promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg-tm electronic works,
+harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees,
+that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do
+or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg-tm
+work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any
+Project Gutenberg-tm work, and (c) any Defect you cause.
+
+
+Section  2.  Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg-tm
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm is synonymous with the free distribution of
+electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers
+including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers.  It exists
+because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from
+people in all walks of life.
+
+Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the
+assistance they need, are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg-tm's
+goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg-tm collection will
+remain freely available for generations to come.  In 2001, the Project
+Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure
+and permanent future for Project Gutenberg-tm and future generations.
+To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation
+and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4
+and the Foundation web page at http://www.pglaf.org.
+
+
+Section 3.  Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive
+Foundation
+
+The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non profit
+501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the
+state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal
+Revenue Service.  The Foundation's EIN or federal tax identification
+number is 64-6221541.  Its 501(c)(3) letter is posted at
+http://pglaf.org/fundraising.  Contributions to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent
+permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state's laws.
+
+The Foundation's principal office is located at 4557 Melan Dr. S.
+Fairbanks, AK, 99712., but its volunteers and employees are scattered
+throughout numerous locations.  Its business office is located at
+809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887, email
+business@pglaf.org.  Email contact links and up to date contact
+information can be found at the Foundation's web site and official
+page at http://pglaf.org
+
+For additional contact information:
+     Dr. Gregory B. Newby
+     Chief Executive and Director
+     gbnewby@pglaf.org
+
+
+Section 4.  Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg
+Literary Archive Foundation
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm depends upon and cannot survive without wide
+spread public support and donations to carry out its mission of
+increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be
+freely distributed in machine readable form accessible by the widest
+array of equipment including outdated equipment.  Many small donations
+($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt
+status with the IRS.
+
+The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating
+charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United
+States.  Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a
+considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up
+with these requirements.  We do not solicit donations in locations
+where we have not received written confirmation of compliance.  To
+SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any
+particular state visit http://pglaf.org
+
+While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we
+have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition
+against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who
+approach us with offers to donate.
+
+International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make
+any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from
+outside the United States.  U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff.
+
+Please check the Project Gutenberg Web pages for current donation
+methods and addresses.  Donations are accepted in a number of other
+ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations.
+To donate, please visit: http://pglaf.org/donate
+
+
+Section 5.  General Information About Project Gutenberg-tm electronic
+works.
+
+Professor Michael S. Hart is the originator of the Project Gutenberg-tm
+concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared
+with anyone.  For thirty years, he produced and distributed Project
+Gutenberg-tm eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support.
+
+
+Project Gutenberg-tm eBooks are often created from several printed
+editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the U.S.
+unless a copyright notice is included.  Thus, we do not necessarily
+keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.
+
+
+Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility:
+
+     http://www.gutenberg.org
+
+This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm,
+including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary
+Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to
+subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.