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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: Dan, The Newsboy - -Author: Horatio Alger Jr. - -Release Date: October 22, 2016 [EBook #53345] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAN, THE NEWSBOY *** - - - - -Produced by David Edwards, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -[Illustration: DAN, THE NEWSBOY.] - - -DAN, - -THE NEWSBOY. - -By HORATIO ALGER, JR., - -_Author of "The Train Boy," "The Errand Boy," "Tony the -Hero," "Tom Temple's Career," etc., etc._ - -[Illustration: Logo] - -NEW YORK: -A. L. BURT, PUBLISHER. - - -Copyright, 1893, by A. L. BURT. - - - - -CONTENTS. - - -CHAPTER. PAGE. - I.--Introducing Dan 9 - - II.--Dan at Home 16 - - III.--Gripp's Clothing Store 24 - - IV.--An Odd Couple 31 - - V.--Effecting a Loan 39 - - VI.--More than a Match 46 - - VII.--Mr. Gripp is Worsted 54 - - VIII.--Mike Rafferty's Trick 63 - - IX.--Mike's Theft is Discovered 69 - - X.--Dan as a Detective 77 - - XI.--Dan Has Another Adventure 85 - - XII.--A Mysterious Lady 93 - - XIII.--Althea 101 - - XIV.--A New Home 109 - - XV.--Dan Becomes a Detective 117 - - XVI.--Dan Makes a Discovery 125 - - XVII.--Talbot's Secret 133 - - XVIII.--Two Knights of the Highway 141 - - XIX.--Dan as a Good Samaritan 150 - - XX.--Laying the Train 154 - - XXI.--Twelve Thousand Dollars 158 - - XXII.--Talbot's Scheme Fails 166 - - XXIII.--The Calm Before the Storm 175 - - XXIV.--Old Jack, the Janitor 179 - - XXV.--The Burglary 183 - - XXVI.--Dan Learns to Dance 191 - - XXVII.--In the Dressing-room 195 - - XXVIII.--Dan at the Party 199 - - XXIX.--A Ne'er do Well 207 - - XXX.--How Hartley Got a Clew 215 - - XXXI.--Althea's Abduction 222 - - XXXII.--Donovan's 229 - - XXXIII.--Althea Becomes Katy Donovan 237 - - XXXIV.--Another Little Game 245 - - XXXV.--Dan Disguises Himself 252 - - XXXVI.--Dan Makes a Discovery 260 - - XXXVII.--Dan is Discovered 264 - -XXXVIII.--Unpleasant Quarters 268 - - XXXIX.--Dan Discomfits the Donovans 272 - - XL.--Hartley Surprised 279 - - XLI.--Dan is Adopted 286 - - XLII.--Conclusion 292 - - - - -DAN, THE NEWSBOY. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -INTRODUCING DAN. - - -"_Evening Telegram!_ Only one left. Going for two cents, and worth -double the money. Buy one, sir?" - -Attracted by the business-like tone of the newsboy, a gentleman paused -as he was ascending the steps of the Astor House, and said, with a -smile: - -"You seem to appreciate the _Telegram_, my boy. Any important news this -afternoon?" - -"Buy the paper, and you'll see," said the boy, shrewdly. - -"I see--you don't care to part with the news for nothing. Well, here are -your two cents." - -"Thank you, sir." - -Still the gentleman lingered, his eyes fixed upon the keen, pleasant -face of the boy. - -"How many papers have you sold to-day, my boy?" he asked. - -"Thirty-six, sir." - -"Were they all _Telegrams_?" - -"No; I sell all the papers. I ain't partial. I'm just as willing to make -money on the _Mail_, or _Commercial_, or _Evening Post_, as the -_Telegram_." - -"I see you have an eye to business. How long have you dealt in papers?" - -"Three years, sir." - -"How old are you?" - -"Fifteen." - -"What did you do before you sold papers?" - -A shadow rested on the boy's bright face. - -"I didn't have to work then, sir," he said. "My father was alive, and he -was well off. We lived in a nice house up town, and I went to a private -school. But all at once father failed, and soon afterward he died, and -then everything was changed. I don't like to think about it, sir." - -The gentleman's interest was strongly excited. - -"It is a sad story," he said. "Is your mother living?" - -"Yes, sir. The worst of it is, that I don't make enough to support us -both, and she has to work, too." - -"What does she do?" - -"She makes vests for a man on Chatham street." - -"I hope she is well paid." - -"That she is not. He only allows her twenty cents apiece." - -"That is a mere pittance. She can't earn much at that rate." - -"No, sir; she has to work hard to make one vest a day." - -"The man can't have a conscience," said the gentleman, indignantly. "It -is starvation wages." - -"So it is, sir, but he pretends that he pays more than the work is -worth. Oh, he's a mean fellow," pursued the boy, his face expressive of -the scorn and disgust which he felt. - -"What is your name, my boy?" - -"Dan, sir--Dan Mordaunt." - -"I hope, Dan, you make more money than your mother does." - -"Oh, yes, sir. Sometimes I make a dollar a day, but I don't average -that. I wish I could make enough so that mother wouldn't have to work." - -"I see you are a good son. I like to hear you speak in such terms of -your mother." - -"If I didn't," said Dan, impetuously, "I should deserve to be kicked. -She's a good mother, sir." - -"I have no doubt of it. It must be hard for her to be so reduced after -once living liberally. How happened it that your father failed?" - -The boy's pleasant face assumed a stern expression. - -"On account of a rascal, sir. His book-keeper ran off, carrying with him -thirty thousand dollars. Father couldn't meet his bills, and so he -failed. It broke his heart, and he didn't live six months after it." - -"Have you ever heard of this book-keeper since?" - -"No, sir, not a word. I wish I could. I should like to see him dragged -to prison, for he killed my father, and made my mother work for a -living." - -"I can't blame you, Dan, for feeling as you do. Besides, it has altered -your prospects." - -"I don't care for myself, sir. I can forget that. But I can't forgive -the injury he has done my poor father and mother." - -"Have you any idea what became of the defaulter?" - -"We think that he went to Europe, just at first, but probably he -returned when he thought all was safe." - -"He may have gone out West." - -"I shouldn't wonder, sir." - -"I live in the West myself--in Chicago." - -"That's a lively city, isn't it, sir?" - -"We think so out there. Well, my lad, I must go into the hotel now." - -"Excuse me for detaining you, sir," said Dan, politely. - -"You haven't detained me; you have interested me. I hope to see you -again." - -"Thank you, sir." - -"Where do you generally stand?" - -"Just here, sir. A good many people pass here, and I find it a good -stand." - -"Then I shall see you again, as I propose to remain in New York for a -day or two. Shall you have the morning papers?" - -"Yes, sir; all of them." - -"Then I will patronize you to-morrow morning. Good-day." - -"Good-day, sir." - -"He's a gentleman," said Dan to himself, emphatically. "It isn't every -one that feels an interest in a poor newsboy. Well, I may as well be -going home. It's lonely for mother staying by herself all day. Let me -see; what shall I take her? Oh, here are some pears. She's very fond of -pears." - -Dan inquired the price of pears at a street stand, and finally selected -one for three cents. - -"Better take two for five cents," said the fruit merchant. - -"I can't afford it," said Dan. "Times are hard, and I have to look after -the pennies. I wouldn't buy any at all if it wasn't for my mother." - -"Better take another for yourself," urged the huckster. - -Dan shook his head. - -"Can't afford it," he said. "I must get along without the luxuries. -Bread and butter is good enough for me." - -Looking up, Dan met the glance of a boy who was passing--a tall, -slender, supercilious-looking boy, who turned his head away scornfully -as he met Dan's glance. - -"I know him," said Dan to himself. "I ought to know Tom Carver. We used -to sit together at school. But that was when father was rich. He won't -notice me now. Well, I don't want him to," proceeded Dan, coloring -indignantly. "He thinks himself above me, but he needn't. His father -failed, too, but he went on living just the same. People say he cheated -his creditors. My poor father gave up all he had, and sank into -poverty." - -This was what passed through Dan's mind. The other boy--Tom Carver--had -recognized Dan, but did not choose to show it. - -"I wonder whether Dan Mordaunt expected me to notice him," he said to -himself. "I used to go to school with him, but now that he is a low -newsboy I can't stoop to speak to him. What would my fashionable friends -say?" - -Tom Carver twirled his delicate cane and walked on complacently, -feeling no pity for the schoolfellow with whom he used to be so -intimate. He was intensely selfish--a more exceptional thing with boys -than men. It sometimes happens that a boy who passes for good-hearted -changes into a selfish man; but Tom required no change to become that. -His heart was a very small one, and beat only for himself. - -Dan walked on, and finally paused before a large tenement-house. He went -in at the main entrance, and ascended two flights of stairs. He opened a -door, and found himself in the presence of the mother whom he so dearly -loved. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -DAN AT HOME. - - -While Dan was strong, sturdy, and the picture of health, his mother was -evidently an invalid. She was pale, thin, and of delicate appearance. -She was sitting in a cane-seated rocking-chair, which Dan had bought -second-hand on one of his flush days at a small place on the Bowery. She -looked up with a glad smile when Dan entered. - -"I am so glad to see you, my dear boy," she said. - -"Have you been lonely, mother?" asked Dan, kissing her affectionately. - -"Yes, Dan, it is lonely sitting here hour after hour without you, but I -have my work to think of." - -"I wish you didn't have to work, mother," said Dan. "You are not strong -enough. I ought to earn enough to support us both." - -"Don't trouble yourself about that, my dear boy. I should feel more -lonely if I had nothing to do." - -"But you work all the time. I don't like to have you do that." - -In truth the mother was very tired, and her feeble fingers were cramped -with the stitch, stitch, stitch in endless repetition, but she put on a -cheerful countenance. - -"Well, Dan, I'll stop now that you are at home. You want some supper." - -"Let me get it, mother." - -"No, Dan, it will be a relief to me to stir around a little, as I have -been sitting so long." - -"Oh, I nearly forgot, mother--here's a nice pear I bought for you." - -"It does look nice," said Mrs. Mordaunt. "I don't feel hungry, but I can -eat that. But where is yours, Dan?" - -"Oh, I've eaten mine," answered Dan, hastily. - -It was not true, but God will forgive such falsehoods. - -"You'd better eat half of this." - -"No; I'll be----flummuxed if I do," said Dan, pausing a little for an -unobjectionable word. - -Mrs. Mordaunt set the little table for two. On it she spread a neat -cloth, and laid the plain supper--a plate of bread, ditto of butter, and -a few slices of cold meat. Soon the tea was steeped, and mother and son -sat down for the evening meal. - -"I say, mother, this is a jolly supper," said Dan. "I get awfully hungry -by supper-time." - -"You are a growing boy, Dan. I am glad you have an appetite." - -"But you eat next to nothing, mother," said Dan, uneasily. - -"I am _not_ a growing boy," said Mrs. Mordaunt, smiling. "I shall relish -my supper to-night on account of the pear you brought me." - -"Well, I'm glad I thought of it," said Dan, heartily. "Pears ain't solid -enough for me; I want something hearty to give me strength." - -"Of course you do, Dan. You have to work hard." - -"I work hard, mother! Why, I have the easiest time going. All I do is to -walk about the streets, or stand in front of the Astor House and ask -people to buy my papers. Oh, by the way, who do you think I saw to-day?" - -"Any of our old friends?" asked Mrs. Mordaunt. - -"Any of our old friends! I should say not," answered Dan, disdainfully. -"It was Tom Carver." - -"Was it he? He used to sit next you in school, didn't he?" - -"Yes, for six months. Tom and I were chums." - -"Did he say whether his family was well?" - -"What are you thinking of, mother? Do you suppose Tom Carver would -notice me, now that I am a poor newsboy?" - -"Why shouldn't he?" demanded the mother, her pale face flushing. "Why -shouldn't he notice my boy?" - -"Because he doesn't choose to," answered Dan, with a short laugh. -"Didn't you know it was disgraceful to be poor?" - -"Thank Heaven, it isn't that!" ejaculated Mrs. Mordaunt. - -"Well, it might as well be. Tom thinks me beneath his notice now. You -should have seen him turn his head to the other side as he walked by, -twirling his light cane." - -"Did you speak to him, Dan?" - -"What do you take me for, mother? Do you think I'd speak to a fellow -that doesn't want to know me?" - -"I think you are proud, my boy." - -"Well, mother, I guess you're right. I'm too proud to force myself upon -the notice of Tom Carver, or any other purse-proud sneak." - -Dan spoke with a tinge of bitterness, and it was evident that he felt -Tom's slight more than he was willing to acknowledge. - -"It's the way of the world, Dan," said his mother, sighing. "Not one of -all my friends, or those whom I accounted such, in my prosperous days, -has come to see us, or shown any interest in our fate." - -"They can stay away. We can do without them," said Dan, sturdily. - -"We must; but it would be pleasant to see some of the old faces," said -his mother, plaintively. "There is no one in this house that is company -for me." - -"No, mother; you are an educated and refined lady, and they are poor and -ignorant." - -"They are very good people, some of them. There is Mrs. Burke on the -next floor. She was in this afternoon, and asked if she couldn't do -something for me. She thought I looked poorly, she said." - -"She's a brick, mother!" - -"My dear Dan, you do use such extraordinary language sometimes. You -didn't talk so when we lived on Madison avenue." - -"No, mother, but I associate with a different class now. I can't help -catching the phrases I hear all the time. But don't mind, mother; I mean -no harm. I never swear--that is, almost never. I did catch myself at it -the other day, when another newsboy stole half a dozen of my papers." - -"Don't forget that you are a gentleman, Dan." - -"I won't if I can help it, mother, though I don't believe anybody else -would suspect it. I must take good care not to look into the -looking-glass, or I might be under the impression that I was a -street-boy instead of a gentleman." - -"Clothes don't make the gentleman, Dan. I want you to behave and feel -like a gentleman, even if your clothes are poor and patched." - -"I understand you, mother, and I shall try to follow your advice. I have -never done any mean thing yet that I can remember, and I don't intend -to." - -"I am sure of that, my dear boy." - -"Don't be too sure of anything, mother. I have plenty of bad examples -before me." - -"But you won't be guided by them?" - -"I'll try not." - -"Did you succeed well in your sales to-day, Dan?" - -"Pretty well. I made ninety-six cents." - -"I wish I could earn as much," said Mrs. Mordaunt, sighing. "I can only -earn twenty cents a day." - -"You _earn_ as much as I do, mother, but you don't get it. You see, -there's a difference in earning and being paid. Old Gripp is a mean -skinflint. I should like to force one of his twenty-cent vests down his -miserly throat." - -"Don't use such violent language, Dan. Perhaps he pays me all he can -afford." - -"Perhaps he does, but I wouldn't bet high on it. He is making a fortune -out of those who sew for him. There are some men that have no -conscience. I hope some time you will be free from him." - -"I hope so, too, Dan, but I am thankful to earn something. I don't want -all the burden of our maintenance to fall on you." - -"Don't call it a burden, mother. There's nothing I enjoy so much as -working for you. Why, it's fun!" - -"It can't be fun on rainy, disagreeable days, Dan." - -"It wouldn't be fun for you, mother, but you're not a boy." - -"I am so sorry that you can't keep on with your education, Dan. You were -getting on so well at school." - -It was a thought that had often come to Dan, but he wouldn't own it, for -he did not wish to add to his mother's sadness. - -"Oh, well, mother," he said, "something may turn up for us, so we won't -look down in the mouth." - -"I have got my bundled work ready, Dan, if you can carry it round to Mr. -Gripp's to-night." - -"Yes, mother, I'll carry it. How many vests are there?" - -"There are six. That amounts to a dollar and twenty cents. I hope he'll -pay you to-night, for our rent comes due to-morrow." - -"So it does!" ejaculated Dan, seriously. "I never thought of it. Shall -we have enough to pay it? You've got my money, you know." - -"We shall be a dollar short." - -"Even if old Gripp pays for the vests?" - -"Yes." - -Dan whistled--a whistle of dismay and anxiety, for he well knew that the -landlord was a hard man. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -GRIPP'S CLOTHING STORE. - - -Nathan Gripp's clothing store was located about a quarter of a mile from -the City Hall, on Chatham street. Not many customers from Fifth avenue -owned him as their tailor, and he had no reputation up town. His prices -were undeniably low, though his clothes were dear enough in the end. - -His patrons were in general from the rural districts, or city residents -of easy tastes and limited means. - -The interior of the store was ill-lighted, and looked like a dark -cavern. But nearly half the stock was displayed at the door, or on the -sidewalk, Mr. Gripp himself, or his leading salesman, standing in the -door-way with keen, black eyes, trying to select from the moving crowds -possible customers. - -On the whole Gripp was making money. He sold his clothes cheap, but they -cost him little. He paid the lowest prices for work, and whenever told -that his wages would not keep body and soul together, he simply -remarked: - -"That's nothing to me, my good woman. If you don't like the pay, leave -the work for somebody else." - -But unfortunately those who worked for Mr. Gripp could not afford to -leave the work for somebody else. Half wages were better than none, and -they patiently kept on wearing out their strength that Nathan might wax -rich, and live in good style up town. - -Mr. Gripp himself was standing in the door-way when Dan, with the bundle -of vests under his arm, stopped in front of the store. Mr. Gripp was a -little doubtful whether our hero wished to become a customer, but a -glance at the bundle dispelled his uncertainty, and revealed the nature -of his errand. - -"I've brought home half a dozen vests," said Dan. - -"Who from?" asked Gripp, abruptly, for he never lavished any of the -suavity, which was a valuable part of his stock in trade, on his work -people. - -"Mrs. Mordaunt." - -"Take them into the store. Here, Samuel, take the boy's bundle, and see -if the work is well done." - -It was on the tip of Dan's tongue to resent the doubt which these words -implied, but he prudently remained silent. - -The clerk, a callow youth, with long tow-colored locks, made sleek with -bear's grease, stopped picking his teeth, and motioned to Dan to come -forward. - -"Here, young feller," he said, "hand over your bundle." - -"There it is, young feller!" retorted Dan. - -The clerk surveyed the boy with a look of disapproval in his fishy -eyes. - -"No impudence, young feller!" he said. - -"Where's the impudence?" demanded Dan. "I don't see it." - -"Didn't you call me a young feller?" - -"You've called me one twice, but I ain't at all particular. I'd just as -lief call you an old feller," said Dan, affably. - -"Look here, young chap, I don't like your manners," said the clerk, with -an irritating consciousness that he was getting the worst of the verbal -encounter. - -"I'm sorry for that," answered Dan, "because they're the best I've got." - -"Did you make these vests yourself?" asked the salesman, with a feeble -attempt at humor. - -"Yes," was Dan's unexpected rejoinder. "That's the way I amuse my -leisure hours." - -"Humph!" muttered the tallow-faced young man, "I'll take a look at -them." - -He opened the bundle, and examined the vests with an evident desire to -find something wrong. - -He couldn't find any defect, but that didn't prevent his saying: - -"They ain't over-well made." - -"Well, they won't be over-well paid," retorted Dan. "So we're even." - -"I don't know if we ought to pay for them at all." - -"Honesty is the best policy, young feller," said Dan. - -"No more of your impudence!" said the clerk, sharply. "Wait here a -minute till I speak to Mr. Gripp." - -He kept Dan before the counter, and approached the proprietor. - -"Well, what is it, Samuel?" asked Mr. Gripp, stroking his jet-black -whiskers. "Are the vests all right?" - -"Pretty well, sir, but the boy is impudent." - -"Ha! how is that?" - -"He keeps calling me 'young feller.'" - -"Anything more?" - -"He don't seem to have any respect for me--or you," he added, shrewdly. - -Nathan Gripp frowned. He cared very little about his clerk, but he -resented any want of respect to himself. He felt that the balance at his -bankers was large enough to insure him a high degree of consideration -from his work-people at least. - -"How many vests are there?" he asked. - -"Half a dozen." - -"And the boy wants his pay, I suppose." - -"He hasn't asked for it, but he will. They always do." - -"Tell him we only pay when a full dozen are finished and brought in. -We'll credit him, or his mother, with these." - -"That'll pay them off," thought the astute clothing merchant. - -Samuel received this order with inward satisfaction, and went back -smiling. - -"Well, young feller," said he, "it's all right. The vests ain't -over-well done, but we'll keep 'em. Now you can go." - -But Dan did not move. - -"It seems to me you've forgotten something," he said. - -"What's that?" - -"You haven't paid me for the work." - -"It's all right. We'll pay when the next half dozen are brought in. Will -you take 'em now?" - -Dan was disagreeably surprised. This was entirely out of the usual -course, and he knew very well that the delay would be a great -inconvenience. - -"We've always been paid when we brought in work," he said. - -"We've changed our rule," said the clerk, nonchalantly. "We only pay -when a full dozen are brought in." - -"What difference does it make to you? We need the money, and can't -wait." - -"It's my orders, young feller. It's what Mr. Gripp just told me." - -"Then I'll speak to him," said Dan, promptly. - -"Just as you like." - -Dan approached the proprietor of the establishment. - -"Mr. Gripp," said he, "I've just brought in half a dozen vests, but your -clerk here won't pay me for them." - -"You will get your pay, young man, when you bring in another half -dozen." - -"But, Mr. Gripp, we need the money. We haven't got a big bank account. -Our rent is due to-morrow." - -"Is it, indeed? I don't see how that concerns me." - -"Will you pay me to-night as a favor?" pleaded Dan, humbling himself for -his mother's sake. - -"I can't break over my rule," said Nathan Gripp. "Besides, Samuel says -the work isn't very well done." - -"Then he lies!" exclaimed Dan, provoked. - -"Do you hear that, Mr. Gripp?" ejaculated the angry Samuel, his tallowy -complexion putting on a faint flush. "Didn't I tell you he was -impudent?" - -Nathan Gripp's small black eyes snapped viciously. - -"Boy," said he, "leave my store directly. How dare you address me in -such a way, you young tramp?" - -"I'm no more a tramp than yourself," retorted Dan, now thoroughly angry. - -"Samuel, come here, and put out this boy!" exclaimed Nathan, too -dignified to attempt the task himself. - -Samuel advanced, nothing loth, his fishy eyes gleaming with pleasure. - -"Get out, you vagabond!" he exclaimed, in the tone of authority. - -"You're a couple of swindlers!" exclaimed Dan. "You won't pay for honest -work." - -"Out with him, Samuel!" ordered Gripp. - -Samuel seized Dan by the shoulder, and attempted to obey orders, but our -hero doubled him up with a blow from his fist, and the luckless clerk, -faint and gasping, staggered and nearly fell. - -Dan stepped out on the sidewalk, and raising his hat, said, with mock -politeness, "Good-morning, gentlemen!" and walked away, leaving Gripp -and his assistant speechless with anger. - -[Illustration: "You're a couple of swindlers!" exclaimed Dan. "You won't -pay for honest work." Page 30.] - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -AN ODD COUPLE. - - -When Dan's excitement was over, he felt that he had won a barren -victory. He had certainly been badly treated, and was justified in -yielding to his natural indignation; but for all that he had acted -unwisely. - -Nathan Gripp had not refused payment, he had only postponed it, and as -he had the decided advantage, which money always has when pitted against -labor, it would have been well to have been conciliatory. Now Gripp -would undoubtedly annoy him with further delay, and refuse to give Mrs. -Mordaunt any further work. - -"I suppose I've acted like a fool," said Dan to himself, with -compunction. "My spunk is always getting the better of me, and I am -afraid poor mother will have to suffer. Well, there's no use crying for -spilt milk; I must see what I can do to mend matters." - -While these thoughts were passing through Dan's mind he found himself -passing the clothing establishment of Jackson & Co., who were special -rivals of Mr. Gripp. - -"Perhaps I can get some work for mother here," thought Dan. "I'll try, -at any rate." - -He entered, and looking about him, attracted the attention of a clerk. - -"Do you want something in our line to-day?" asked the clerk, pleasantly. - -"Yes, I do," said Dan, "if you're giving things away; but as I've got a -note of ten thousand dollars to meet to-morrow, I can't pay anything -out." - -"Your credit ought to be good," said the salesman, smiling, "but we -don't trust." - -"All right," said Dan; "I may as well proceed to business. My mother -makes vests for amusement. Can you give her any work?" - -"I will speak to Mr. Jackson. One of our hands is sick, and if your -mother understands how to do the work, we may be able to give her some." - -The young man went to the rear of the store, and returned with the -proprietor. - -"Has your mother any experience?" asked the proprietor, a big man, with -sandy whiskers. - -He was an Englishman, as any one might see, and a decided improvement on -Nathan Gripp, whom he cordially hated. - -"Yes, sir; she has been making vests for the last two years." - -"For whom has she been working?" - -"For Nathan Gripp." - -"Humph! Has Gripp discharged her?" - -"No, sir; she has discharged him." - -Mr. Jackson laughed, and nodded to his salesman. He rather enjoyed this -allusion to his rival. - -"Then she didn't like Gripp?" - -"No, sir. He paid her starvation wages and made her wait for the money. -He's a mean fellow." - -"I don't admire him much myself," said the Englishman. "How much now did -he pay for vest-making?" - -"Twenty cents apiece." - -"We don't pay much more ourselves. There is so much competition that we -have to sell low." - -"Mother would rather make for you at eighteen cents than for Gripp for -twenty," said Dan. - -Mr. Jackson was pleased, but he said, by way of drawing out Dan: - -"How do you know but I am a mean skinflint, too?" - -"You don't look like one," said the boy. - -Mr. Jackson smiled graciously. - -"Joseph," said he, "have we any vests ready for making?" - -"Yes, sir. We have some bundles of half a dozen each." - -"Take this boy's name and address and give him one. My boy, we will pay -your mother twenty-five cents each, but we expect good work." - -"You will be satisfied, sir," said Dan, confidently, and he left the -store in excellent spirits. - -"It's turned out right, after all," thought he; "but I am afraid we -shall miss the money old Gripp owed mother. I don't know how we are -going to pay the rent to-morrow. We shall be over two dollars short -unless something turns up." - -Dan carried the bundle of work home, and told his mother what had -happened. She was pleased with the increase of pay, but that was in the -future. It would be a week before she could collect any pay from Jackson -& Co., and the landlord would not wait. - -"I wish I could think of some way of raising money," said Dan, putting -his face between his hands and looking thoughtful. "If you only had some -jewels, mother, that we could raise money on now, we would be all -right." - -"I have nothing but my wedding-ring," said Mrs. Mordaunt, sadly. - -"You must keep that, mother. Don't part with that unless you are obliged -to." - -"I would rather not, Dan, but if there is no other way----" - -"There must be another way. I will find another way. Just don't think of -it any more, mother. When does the landlord come?" - -"Generally between twelve and one." - -"Then we shall have all the forenoon to forage round in. It's only two -dollars and a half we want. I ought to be able to raise two dollars and -a half." - -"That is a great deal of money to us now, Dan." - -"I wonder whether Shorty wouldn't lend it to me?" said Dan, -reflectively. - -"Who is Shorty, my son?" - -"He is a little hump-backed dwarf that keeps a cigar stand down on -Broadway, not far from Trinity Church. He has a good trade, and doesn't -waste his money. Yes, I will ask Shorty." - -"I hope he will be willing to grant your request, Dan." - -"I hope so, too. He's a good-natured fellow, Shorty is, and he'll do it, -if he can. I'll see him the first thing to-morrow morning." - -Somewhat cheered by Dan's confident tone, Mrs. Mordaunt went to sleep as -early as usual, forgetting the trouble possibly in store. - -The next morning, before selling his papers, Dan went round to Shorty's -stand. - -"Good-morning, Dan," said the dwarf, in a singularly melodious voice. - -"Good-morning, Shorty. I thought I'd find you here." - -"Yes, I begin business early." - -"I am going to ask a favor of you," said Dan, abruptly. - -"What is it, Dan?" - -"Our rent's due to-day, and we are two dollars and a half short. I can -make the fifty cents before noon. Can you lend me two dollars till I am -able to pay it?" - -To Dan's dismay Shorty shook his head. - -"I wish I could, Dan, but there's something in the way." - -"If you're afraid I won't pay you back, you needn't think of that. I -never went back on a fellow that lent me money yet." - -"I am not afraid of trusting you, Dan, but I haven't got the money." - -"I understand," said Dan, coldly, for he suspected this to be a -subterfuge. - -"No, you don't understand," said Shorty, eagerly. "You think what I say -is a sham, but you wouldn't if you knew all." - -"If I knew all," repeated Dan, surprised. - -"Yes, I shall have to tell you. I didn't mean to, but I don't want you -to misunderstand me. The fact is, Dan," Shorty added, sheepishly, "I've -got more than myself to provide for now." - -"What? You don't mean to say?" ejaculated Dan. - -"I was married yesterday, Dan," said the cigar dealer, almost -apologetically, "and I've been buying furniture, and the fact is, I -haven't got a cent to spare." - -"Of course you haven't," said Dan. "I never dreamed of this. Is your -wife--about your size?" - -"No, Dan, she's rather tall. There she is, crossing the street. Do you -see her?" - -Dan looked, and saw a tall woman, of twenty-five or thereabouts, -approaching the cigar stand. She was very plain, with a large mouth and -a long, aquiline nose. - -"That's my wife," said the cigar dealer, regarding his tall partner with -evident pride. "Julia, my dear, this is my friend, Dan Mordaunt." - -"Glad to see any friend of my husband," said the lady, in a deep, hoarse -voice, which might have been mistaken for a man's. "He must come and see -us." - -"So I will, thank you," answered Dan, surveying the female grenadier -with a wondering glance. - -"We live at No. -- Varick street, Dan, and I shall be very glad to see -you any evening." - -"By gracious!" said Dan to himself, "that's the queerest match I ever -heard of. She might take Shorty up in her arms and carry him off. I -don't think he'll beat her very often," and Dan smiled at the thought. - -The morning wore away, and at eleven o'clock Dan had earned forty cents. -He began to get discouraged. There didn't seem to be much prospect of -raising the rent before twelve o'clock. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -EFFECTING A LOAN. - - -As Dan stood on the sidewalk with his bundle of papers, and only forty -cents toward the two dollars and a half required for the rent, he felt -like many a business man who has a note to meet and not enough money on -hand to pay it. Indeed, he was worse off, for generally business men -have friends who can help them with a temporary loan, but Dan's friends -were quite as poor as himself. One, however, Dick Stanton, a mere boy, -had the reputation of being more saving than his companions. It was -known that he had an account in the Bowery Savings Bank, and among the -street boys he was considered wealthy. - -"Perhaps I can borrow two dollars of him," thought Dan, as Dick passed -him on his way to Canal street. - -"I say, Dick," said Dan, "stop a minute. I want to speak to you." - -"Go ahead, Dan." - -"I want you to lend me two dollars. Our rent is due, and I can raise it -all but that." - -Dick shook his head, and was about to speak, when Dan said hurriedly, -for he felt that it was his last chance: - -"You needn't be afraid of me, Dick; I'll pay you sure, and give you more -interest, too, than you get in the bank." - -"I haven't got any money in the bank, Dan." - -"You had last week," said Dan, suspiciously. - -"So I had, but I haven't now." - -"You don't want to lend--that's what's the matter." - -"You are mistaken, Dan. I'm not a bit afraid of lending to you, but I -have lent my money already." - -"Who to?" asked Dan, ungrammatically, falling into a mistake made by -plenty of greater age and better experience than himself. "Of course it -isn't any of my business," he added, "if you don't want to tell." - -"I don't mind telling you, Dan. I've lent it to my aunt. She's got two -children, and a hard time to get along. Perhaps I shall never see it -again, but I couldn't refuse her." - -"Of course you couldn't," said Dan, heartily. "You've done right, and -you won't be sorry for it. I wish I knew some way of making two dollars -before twelve o'clock." - -"Are you in urgent need of two dollars, my boy?" asked a pleasant voice. - -Dan turned, and met the face of the stranger introduced in the first -chapter. - -"Yes, sir," he answered. "I want it the worst way." - -"Have you been extravagant and run up bills, Dan?" - -"No, sir; the only bill we have is the rent, and that comes due this -noon." - -"How much is it?" - -"Six dollars, sir." - -"I thought you said you wanted to borrow _two_ dollars." - -"I've got four dollars toward it, sir." - -"Do you often fall behind when rent day comes, Dan?" - -"No, sir; this is the first time in two years." - -"How do you account for it? Has business been duller than usual during -the last month?" - -"Yes, sir, I think it has. There hasn't been as much news in the papers, -and my sales have fallen off. There's another thing, too." - -"What is that?" - -"Mother has a dollar and twenty cents due her, and she can't collect -it." - -"Is it for making vests?" - -"Yes, sir. Mr. Gripp won't pay till she has made a full dozen." - -"That seems inconsiderate." - -"Oh, he's a mean fellow." - -"I've a great mind to buy the debt of you." - -"I wish you would, sir," said Dan, eagerly. "That would leave only sixty -cents short, for I shall make ten cents more before twelve o'clock, it's -likely." - -"It is only half-past eleven. To put you quite at ease, I mean to lend -you five dollars, and help you collect your mother's bill." - -"You are very kind, sir," said Dan, surprised and grateful; "but I don't -need so much." - -"You may get short again when I am not here to assist you." - -"Are you not afraid I shall never pay you, sir?" - -"That thought won't keep me awake nights," said the gentleman, laughing. - -"You sha'n't lose anything by me, sir; I promise you that," said Dan, -earnestly. - -"Then come into the hotel with me, and we will arrange the matter in a -business-like way." - -"All right, sir." - -Dan followed his new friend into the Astor House, and up stairs into a -pleasant bedroom, which in its comfortable apartments reminded Dan of -the days before his father's failure. - -"I wish I could live so again," he thought. "I don't like a -tenement-house." - -Mr. Grant--for this was his name--took writing materials from his -valise, and seated himself at a table. - -"I am going to draw up a note for you to sign," he said. "I probably -understand better than you the necessary form." - -"Thank you, sir." - -His pen ran rapidly over the paper, and in a minute or two he handed Dan -the following form of acknowledgment: - - - "NEW YORK, Sept. 15, 18--. - - "For value received I promise to pay to Alexander Grant five - dollars on demand with interest." - - -"Now," said Mr. Grant, "put your name at the bottom." - -Dan did so. - -"I added 'with interest,' but only as a form; I shall require none." - -"I would rather pay it, sir." - -"That may be as you please. How much will six per cent. interest make it -amount to in a year?" - -"Five dollars and thirty cents," answered Dan, promptly. - -"Good! I see you have not forgotten what you learned in school." - -"I have ciphered through cube root," said Dan, with some pride. "I am -not sure whether I remember that now, but I could do any sum in square -root." - -"It is a pity you could not have remained in school." - -"I should like to; but it's no use crying for spilt milk." - -"As long as you didn't spill it yourself," added Mr. Grant. - -"No, sir; it was not my fault that I had to leave school." - -Mr. Grant folded up the note and carefully deposited it in his wallet. - -"The next thing is to hand you the money," he said. "Shall I give you a -five-dollar bill, or small bills?" - -"Small bills, sir, if it is just as convenient." - -Mr. Grant placed in Dan's hands two two-dollar bills and a one. - -"One thing more," he said. "Give me an order on Mr. Gripp for the money -due your mother. It is as well to have it in your own handwriting. I -won't tell you how to write it. See if you can find a way." - -Dan wrote an order, which Mr. Grant pronounced satisfactory. - -"On the whole," said he, "I believe I will take you with me when I call -upon Mr. Gripp. Can you call here at three o'clock this afternoon?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"That is settled, then. We will see whether Mr. Gripp will be any more -polite to me than he was to you." - -"He will be surprised to see me in your company," said Dan, laughing. - -"It is a good thing to surprise the enemy, Dan. A surprise often leads -to victory. When does your landlord call for his rent?" - -"Between twelve and one." - -"Then I won't detain you longer. Remember your appointment at three." - -"I won't forget it, sir." - -"Well, I'm in luck!" said Dan to himself, as he emerged into the street. -"Who would have thought that a stranger would lend me so large a sum? -He's a trump, and no mistake. Now, if I could only sell the four papers -I have left before twelve o'clock. I don't want to get stuck on them." - -Fortune was not tired of favoring Dan. In ten minutes he had sold his -papers, and turned his steps toward the humble home where his mother was -awaiting, not without anxiety, the visit of an unamiable landlord. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -MORE THAN A MATCH. - - -Mrs. Mordaunt looked up anxiously as Dan entered the room. She had -little expectation that he had been able in one morning to make up the -large deficiency in the sum reserved for the rent, but there was a -possibility, and she clung to that. Dan thought of postponing the -relation of his good news, but when he saw his mother's anxious face, he -felt that it would be cruel. - -So when she said, "Well, Dan?" he nodded his head cheerfully. - -"I've got it, mother," he said. - -"Thank God for all His goodness!" ejaculated Mrs. Mordaunt, fervently. - -"You see He hasn't forgotten us," said Dan, gleefully. - -"No, my boy, it is a rebuke to my momentary want of faith. How could you -raise so large a sum? Surely you did not earn it in one forenoon?" - -"You're right there, mother. I'm not smart enough to earn two dollars -before twelve o'clock." - -"But you've got the money, Dan?" - -"Look at this, mother," and Dan displayed the bills. - -"Where did you get them, Dan?" asked his mother, astonished. - -"I borrowed them." - -"I didn't know we had a friend left, able or willing to lend us that -sum." - -"I borrowed them of Alexander Grant, of St. Louis, and gave my note for -them," answered Dan, in a tone of some importance. - -"Alexander Grant, of St. Louis! I don't remember that name." - -"He's a new friend of mine, mother. I haven't known him over twenty-four -hours. As the old friends have treated us so badly, I'm goin' in for new -ones." - -"You quite mystify me, Dan. Tell me all about it." - -Dan did so. - -"He's very kind to a stranger, Dan. Heaven will reward him, I am sure." - -"I hope it will, mother. I wish I was a rich man. I should enjoy helping -those who needed it. If I ever get rich--though it doesn't look much -like it now--I will do all the good I can. I wonder rich men don't do it -oftener." - -"It springs from thoughtlessness sometimes, Dan." - -"And from selfishness pretty often," added Dan, whose views of human -nature were considerably less favorable than they had been in his more -prosperous days. "A good many men are like Tom Carver, as he is now and -will be when he is grown up." - -"Perhaps there are more good and generous men than we suppose, Dan," -urged his mother, who liked to think well of her fellow-beings. - -"Like Mr. Gripp and our landlord, for instance. By the way, I hear Mr. -Grab's steps on the stairs. I want to deal with him. Just you step into -the bedroom, mother." - -Mrs. Mordaunt had no desire to meet Mr. Grab, but she was a little -afraid of Dan's impetuous temper. - -"You will treat him respectfully, won't you, Dan?" she urged, as she -turned to go into the adjoining room. - -Dan's eyes danced with fun. - -"I'll treat him with all the respect he deserves, mother," he answered. - -Mrs. Mordaunt looked a little doubtful, for she understood Dan, but did -not say more, for Mr. Grab was already knocking at the door. - -"Don't come out, whatever you hear, mother," said Dan, in a low voice. -"I'll come out all right, though I shall tantalize him a little at -first." - -The knock was repeated. - -"Come in!" Dan called out, in a loud, clear tone. - -The door opened, and a thin, undersized man, with bushy red hair and the -look of a cross mastiff, entered the room. - -Before his entrance Dan had seated himself in the plain wooden -rocking-chair with his feet on a cricket. He looked quite easy and -unconcerned. - -"How are you, Grab?" he said, in a friendly manner. - -"You might call me _Mr._ Grab," returned the landlord, angrily. - -"I've no objection, I'm sure, Mr. Grab," said Dan. "How is your health? -You're looking very yellow. Got the jaundice?" - -"I am perfectly well, and I am not yellow at all. Do you mean to insult -me?" demanded Grab, irritated. - -"I wouldn't do that for a cent, Mr. Grab. I am glad you feel well, -though you ain't looking so. It's very friendly of you to come round to -see me and mother." - -"Where is your mother?" snapped Mr. Grab. - -"She is engaged just now, and won't have the pleasure of seeing you." - -"But I _must_ see her." - -"Must! You are quite mistaken. You can't see her. You can see me." - -"I've seen more of you than I want to already," said Grab. - -"That isn't talking like a friend, Mr. Grab," said Dan, "when I'm so -glad to see you. Perhaps you have come on business." - -"Of course I have come on business, and you know very well what that -business is, you young monkey." - -"Thank you, Mr. Grab, you are very complimentary. It isn't about the -rent, is it?" - -"Of course it is!" snapped the landlord. - -"Oh, dear, how could I have forgotten that it was rent-day," said Dan, -with well-feigned confusion. - -Mr. Grab's brow grew dark. He concluded that he wasn't going to collect -the rent, and that always chafed him. - -"It's your business to know when rent-day comes," he said, bringing down -his fist with such emphasis on the table that he hurt his knuckles, to -Dan's secret delight. - -"Please don't break the table, Grab," said Dan. - -"Oh, blast the table!" said Grab, surveying his red knuckles. - -"We haven't got any blasting powder, and I don't think it would be a -very interesting experiment. It might blow you up, for you are nearest -to it." - -"Have done with this trifling, boy," said the landlord. - -"I am afraid you got out of the wrong end of the bed this morning, Mr. -Grab. You should control yourself." - -"Look here, boy," said the landlord, savagely, "do you know what I am -tempted to do?" - -"No, what is it?" asked Dan, indifferently. - -"I am strongly tempted to chastise you for your impudence." - -Dan looked critically at the small, thin form, and secretly decided that -Mr. Grab would find it difficult to carry out his threat. - -"Oh, how you frighten me!" he said. "I don't believe I shall sleep any -to-night." - -Mr. Grab made a motion to pound on the table again, but he looked at his -red knuckles and wisely forbore. - -"I can't waste any more time," he said. "You must pay your rent, or turn -out. I want six dollars." - -"Won't it do, Mr. Grab, if we pay you next week?" - -"No, it won't. The rent must be paid to-day, or out you go." - -"Why doesn't Dan pay him?" thought Mrs. Mordaunt, uneasily. "Really, he -ought not to tease the poor man so. He has such a bad temper, he might -hurt Dan." - -"Mr. Gripp is owing mother for work. As soon as he pays her, I will call -round at your office and pay you." - -"It won't do," said Grab. "I won't let you stay here another night, and -I mean to have security for my money, too." - -So saying, the landlord seized the bundle of vests which lay on the -table beside him. - -This aroused Dan to action. - -He sprang to his feet, his eyes flashing with anger. - -"Put down that bundle, Mr. Grab!" he exclaimed. - -"Then pay me my rent," said the landlord, recoiling a little. - -"Put down that bundle before you say another word about rent. It isn't -my mother's or mine. You have no business with it." - -"What do you mean, boy, by your impudence?" demanded the landlord, a -little uneasily. - -"I mean that if you take that bundle from the room, I shall put you in -charge of the nearest policeman on a charge of stealing." - -"That is nonsense," said Grab; but he looked nervous, and laid down the -bundle. - -"All right, Grab," said Dan. "Now, as I don't want any more of your -company, I'll pay the rent, if you'll give me a receipt." - -"Have you got the money?" asked Grab, astonished. - -"Of course I have. I never told you I hadn't." - -"You made me think so." - -"It isn't my business what you think. There, that is settled, and now, -Mr. Grab, I have the honor of wishing you good-evening. I hope you won't -hurt your knuckles again." - -Mr. Grab left the room, inwardly wishing that he could wring Dan's neck. - -"Oh, Dan, how could you?" asked his mother, reproachfully, as she -re-entered the room. - -"He deserves it all," said Dan. "Didn't he turn out the poor Donovans on -a cold day last winter? I have no pity for him." - -"He may turn us out." - -"Not as long as we pay the rent." - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -MR. GRIPP IS WORSTED. - - -Punctually at three o'clock Dan knocked at the door of Mr. Grant's room -in the Astor House. - -That gentleman looked at his watch as he admitted our hero. - -"You are punctual to the minute," he said. "Your watch keeps excellent -time." - -"I'll tell you why," answered Dan, smiling. "I always keep it at -Tiffany's. I don't dare to carry it for fear it will get out of order." - -"You ought to have a watch," said Mr. Grant. "That will come in time." - -"I hope so," said Dan. "Then I could be sure to keep my business -appointments. Now I have to depend on the City Hall clock. I'd rather -look at it than carry it round." - -"Well, Dan, do you think Mr. Gripp is prepared to receive us?" - -"He'll be glad to see you. He'll think you are going to buy some -clothes. I don't think he'll be very happy to see me." - -"He must see us both, or neither. Has he any good clothes?" - -"Yes, sir--good enough for me. I don't think you would like to patronize -his establishment." - -"By the way, Dan, you have given me an order for money, and I have not -handed you the equivalent." - -"You may not get the money, sir." - -"I will make the effort at any rate. By the way, Dan, that coat of yours -is getting shabby." - -"It is the best I have, sir. Boys in my business don't have to dress -much." - -"That gives me an idea. Please hand me my hat, and we will start." - -The two left the Astor House together. One or two of Dan's associates -whom they encountered on the way, were surprised to see him walking on -terms of apparent friendly companionship with a well-to-do stranger, but -decided that Dan was probably acting as his guide. - -They found Mr. Gripp standing as usual in the door-way of his shop -watching for customers. He did not at first observe Dan, but his -attention was drawn to Mr. Grant. - -"Walk in, sir," he said, obsequiously. "You will find what you want -here. Styles fashionable, and as for prices--we defy competition." - -Alexander Grant paused, and looked critically about him. He understood -very well the sort of establishment he was about to enter, and would not -have thought of doing so but in Dan's interests. - -He stepped over the threshold, and Dan was about to follow, when the -eagle eye of Mr. Gripp recognized our hero. - -"Clear out, you young rascal!" he exclaimed. "Don't you come round here -any more." - -Dan did not answer, for he knew Mr. Grant would do so for him. - -Mr. Grant turned back, and said, quietly: - -"To whom are you speaking, sir?" - -"I beg your pardon, sir--it's that boy." - -"Then, sir, you will oblige me by stopping at once. That boy is in my -company and under my protection." - -Nathan Gripp stared as if transfixed. - -"Do you know him, sir?" he asked. - -"Yes, sir." - -"You are mistaken in him, sir. He's an artful young rascal. He was here -yesterday, and acted outrageously. He assaulted my clerk and insulted -me." - -"I have nothing to do with that. He is in my company, and if I enter the -store he will." - -"Oh, of course, if he's with you he can come in. Samuel, show the -gentleman what he wants." - -Dan smiled, and nothing but a sense of his own interest prevented Mr. -Gripp from objecting to his entrance. - -"What will I show you, sir?" asked the callow young man named Samuel, -glaring at Dan in vivid remembrance of the blow which had doubled him -up. - -"Have you any coats and vests that will fit this young gentleman?" - -"Young gentleman!" repeated Samuel, mechanically, glancing at Dan in -silent hatred. - -"That means me, Samuel," said Dan, mischievously. "Samuel is an old -friend of mine, Mr. Grant." - -"I think we can fit him," said Samuel, by no means relishing the task of -waiting upon his young opponent. "Take off your coat, young feller." - -"Don't be too familiar, Samuel. You may call me Mr. Mordaunt," said Dan. - -"I'll be ---- if I do," muttered the young man. - -Dan took off his coat, and tried on the one submitted to his inspection. -He afterward tried on the vest, and they proved to be a good fit. - -"Do they suit you, Dan?" asked Mr. Grant. - -"Yes, sir, they fit as well as if they had been made for me." - -"What is the price of these articles, young man?" asked Mr. Grant. - -"Twelve dollars," answered Samuel. - -"He'll take eight," suggested Dan, in a low voice. - -Mr. Grant knew well enough the ways of Chatham street merchants to -appreciate the suggestion. - -"That is too high," he said, quietly. - -Samuel, who was trained to read customers, after a glance at Mr. Grant's -face, prepared to reduce the price. - -"We might say eleven," he said, meditatively. "Shall I put them up?" - -"Not at that price." - -"You don't want us to give 'em away?" said Samuel, in the tone of one -whose reasonable demands had been objected to. - -"There is no fear of that, I apprehend," returned Mr. Grant, dryly. - -"I've no objection, I'm sure," remarked Dan, on his own account. - -"I'd make a few remarks to you, young feller, if you were alone," he -read in the eyes of the indignant salesman, and Dan enjoyed the -restraint which he knew Samuel was putting upon himself. - -"You are still asking too much," said the customer. - -"What'll you give, sir?" asked Samuel, diplomatically. - -"Eight dollars." - -"Eight dollars! Why the cloth cost more than that!" protested Samuel. - -"The work didn't cost you much, I presume." - -"We pay the highest prices for work in this establishment, sir," said -Samuel, hastily. - -He forgot that Dan knew better. - -"So they do, Mr. Grant," said Dan. "They pay twenty cents apiece for -making vests." - -"We pay more than that to our best hands," said Samuel. - -"You told me you never paid more," retorted Dan. - -Mr. Grant interrupted this discussion. - -"Young man," said he, "I will give you eight dollars for the clothes." - -"Say nine, sir." - -"Not a cent more." - -As the regular price was eight dollars--when they couldn't get any -more--Samuel felt authorized to conclude the bargain without consulting -Mr. Gripp. - -"Shall I do up the clothes?" he asked. - -"No," said Dan, "I'll wear 'em. You may put up my old ones." - -Samuel felt it derogatory to his dignity to obey the orders of our hero, -but there was no alternative. - -The bundle was placed in Dan's hands. - -"Now write me a receipt for the price," said Mr. Grant. - -This was done. - -Mr. Grant counted out six dollars and eighty cents. - -"I have an order upon you for the balance," he said. - -"I don't understand," ejaculated Samuel. - -"Your principal owes my young friend, or his mother, one dollar and -twenty cents for work. This you will receive as part of the price." - -"I must see Mr. Gripp," said Samuel. - -Mr. Gripp came forward frowning. - -"We can't take the order, sir," he said. "The boy's money is not yet -due." - -"Isn't the work done and delivered?" - -"Yes, sir; but it is our rule not to pay till a whole dozen is -delivered." - -"Then it is a rule which you must break," said Mr. Grant, firmly. - -"We can't." - -"Then I refuse to take the suit." - -Nathan Gripp did not like to lose the sale on the one hand, or abdicate -his position on the other. - -"Tell your mother," he said to Dan, "that when she has finished another -half-dozen vests I will pay her the whole." - -He reflected that the stranger would be gone, and Dan would be in his -power. - -"Thank you," said Dan, "but mother's agreed to work for Jackson. He -pays better." - -"Then you'll have to wait for your pay," said Mr. Gripp, sharply. - -"Don't you care to sell this suit?" asked Mr. Grant, quickly. - -"Yes, sir, but under the circumstances we must ask all cash." - -"You won't get it, sir." - -"Then I don't think we care to sell," said Gripp, allowing his anger to -overcome his interest. - -"Very good. I think, Dan, we can find quite as good a bargain at -Jackson's. Mr. Gripp, do I understand that you decline to pay this -bill?" - -"I will pay when the other half-dozen vests are made," said Gripp, -stubbornly. - -"I have nothing to do with that. The bill is mine, and it is with me you -have to deal. The boy has nothing to do with it." - -"Is that so?" asked Gripp, in surprise. - -"It is. You may take your choice. Settle the bill now, or I shall -immediately put it in a lawyer's hands, who will know how to compel you -to pay it." - -A determined will carries the day. - -"Take this gentleman's money, Samuel," said Gripp, in a tone of -annoyance. - -There was no further trouble. Dan walked out of the store better -dressed than he had been since the days of his prosperity. - -"How can I thank you, Mr. Grant?" he said, gratefully. - -"By continuing to care for your mother, my lad. You are lucky to have a -mother living. Mine is dead, God bless her! Now, my lad, what do you -think of my success in collecting bills?" - -"You were too many for old Gripp, sir. He won't sleep to-night." - -"He doesn't deserve to, for he grows rich by defrauding the poor who -work for him." - -Opposite the City Hall Park Dan and his friend separated. - -"I shall not see you again, my boy," said Mr. Grant, "for I take the -evening train. If you ever come to St. Louis, find me out." - -"I will, sir." - -"That's a good man," said Dan, as he wended his way homeward. "If there -were more such, it would be good for poor people like mother and me. If -I ever get rich, I mean to help along those that need it." - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -MIKE RAFFERTY'S TRICK. - - -Dan carefully husbanded the money which Mr. Grant had lent him, and the -result was that for two months he was comparatively easy in his -circumstances. His mother earned five cents more daily, on account of -the higher price she received for work, and though this was a trifle, it -was by no means to be despised where the family income was so small as -in the case of the Mordaunts. - -Still Dan was not satisfied. - -"Mother," said he, "I suppose I ought to be contented with earning -enough to pay our expenses, but I should like to be saving something." - -"Yes, Dan, it would be pleasant. But we ought to be thankful for what we -are now receiving." - -"But, mother, suppose I should fall sick? What should we do then?" - -Mrs. Mordaunt shuddered. - -"Don't mention such a thing, Dan," she said. "The very idea terrifies -me." - -"But it might happen, for all that." - -"Don't you feel well, Dan? Is anything the matter with you?" asked Mrs. -Mordaunt, anxiously. - -"Don't be frightened, mother," answered Dan, laughing. "I'm as strong as -a horse, and can eat almost as much. Still, you know, we would feel -safer to have a little money in the savings-bank." - -"There isn't much chance of that, Dan, unless we earn more than we do -now." - -"You are right there. Well, I suppose there is no use thinking of it. By -the way, mother, you've got enough money on hand to pay the rent -to-morrow, haven't you?" - -"Yes, Dan, and a dollar over." - -"That's good." - -The door of the room was partly open, and the last part of the -conversation was heard by Mike Rafferty, the son of the tenant who -occupied the room just over the Mordaunts. He was a ne'er-do-well, who -had passed more than one term of imprisonment at Blackwell's Island. His -mother was an honest, hard-working washerwoman, who toiled early and -late to support herself and her three children. Mike might have given -her such assistance that she could have lived quite comfortably, for her -own earnings were by no means inconsiderable. Her wash-tub paid her much -more than Mrs. Mordaunts needle could possibly win, and she averaged a -dollar a day where her more refined neighbor made but twenty-five -cents. But Mike, instead of helping, was an additional burden. He got -his meals regularly at home, but contributed scarcely a dollar a month -to the common expenses. He was a selfish rowdy, who was likely to belong -permanently to the shiftless and dangerous classes of society. - -Mike had from time to time made approaches to intimacy with Dan, who was -nearly two years younger, but Dan despised him for his selfishly -burdening his mother with his support, and didn't encourage him. -Naturally, Mike hated Dan, and pronounced him "stuck up" and proud, -though our hero associated familiarly with more than one boy ranking no -higher in the social scale than Mike Rafferty. - -Only the day before, Mike, finding himself out of funds, encountering -Dan on the stairs, asked for the loan of a quarter. - -"I have no money to spare," answered Dan. - -"You've got money, Dan; I saw you take out some a minute ago." - -"Yes, I've got the money, but I won't lend it." - -"You're a mane skinflint," said Mike, provoked. - -"Why am I?" - -"Because you've got the money, and you won't lend it." - -"What do you want to do with it?" - -"I want to go to the Old Bowery to-night, if you must know." - -"If you wanted it for your mother I might have lent it to you, though I -need all I can earn for my own mother." - -"It's for my mother I want it, thin," said Mike. "I guess I won't go to -the theater to-night." - -"That's too thin. Your mother would never see the color of it." - -"Won't you lend me, thin?" - -"No, I can't. If you want money, why don't you earn it, as I do?" - -"I ain't lucky." - -"It isn't luck. If you go to work and sell papers or black boots, you -will be able to help your mother and pay your way to the theater -yourself." - -"Kape your advice to yourself," said Mike, sullenly. "I don't want it." - -"You'd rather have my money," said Dan, good-humoredly. - -"I'll never see that. You're too mane." - -"All right. I'll be _mane_, then." - -"I'd like to put a head on you," muttered Mike. - -"I've got one already. I don't need another," said Dan. - -"Oh, you think you're mighty smart wid your jokes," said Mike. - -Dan smiled and walked off, leaving Mike more his enemy than ever. - -This was the boy who overheard Mrs. Mordaunt say that she had more than -the rent already saved up. Mike's cupidity was excited. He knew that it -must amount to several dollars, and this he felt would keep him in -cigarettes and pay for evenings at the theater for several days. - -"I wish I had it," he said to himself. "I wonder where the ould woman -kapes it." - -The more Mike thought of it the more he coveted this money, and he set -to work contriving means to get possession of it. - -Finally he arranged upon a plan. - -About three o'clock in the afternoon he knocked at Mrs. Mordaunt's door. -She answered the knock in person. - -"Mike Rafferty!" she said, in surprise. "Won't you come in?" - -"Oh, no; I can't. It's bad news I bring you about Dan." - -"What is it? Tell me quick, in Heaven's name!" she exclaimed, her heart -giving a great bound. - -"He's been run over, ma'am, by a hoss, in front of the Astor House, and -they took him into the drug store at the corner. He wants you to go -right over." - -"Is he--badly hurt?" asked the agonized mother. - -"I guess he's broke his leg," said Mike. - -In two minutes Mrs. Mordaunt, trembling with apprehension, her faltering -limbs almost refusing to bear her weight, was on her way to the Astor -House. - -As Mike had calculated, she did not stop to lock the door. - -The young scape-grace entered the deserted room, rummaged about till he -found the scanty hoard reserved for the landlord, and then went off -whistling. - -"Now I'll have a bully time," he said to himself. "Didn't I fool the -ould woman good?" - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -MIKE'S THEFT IS DISCOVERED. - - -Dan was standing in front of the Astor House, talking to a boy -acquaintance, when his mother tottered up to him in a state of great -nervous agitation. - -"Why, mother, what's the matter?" asked Dan, in surprise. "What brings -you out this afternoon?" - -"Oh, Dan!" she gasped, "are you hurt?" - -Dan opened his eyes in wonder. It occurred to him that his mother must -have lost her mind. - -"Hurt!" he repeated. - -"Yes; they told me you were run over, and had your leg broken." - -"My leg broken! Who told you so?" - -"Mike Rafferty." - -"Then I wish I had him here," said Dan, indignantly; "I'd let him know -whether my leg is broken or not. You bet I would!" - -"Haven't you been run over, then?" - -"Not that I know of, and I guess it couldn't be done without my knowing -it." - -"I am so glad, so relieved!" sighed Mrs. Mordaunt. "I don't know how I -got here, I was so agitated." - -"When did Mike Rafferty tell you this cock-and-bull story, mother?" -asked Dan. - -"Only a few minutes ago. He said you had been taken into a drug store, -and wanted me to come right over." - -"It's a mean trick he played on you, mother," said Dan, indignantly. "I -don't see what made him do it." - -"Nor I," said Mrs. Mordaunt. "He must have meant it as a joke." - -"A pretty poor joke. I'll get even with him for that." - -"I don't mind it now, Dan, since I have you safe. I am ready to forgive -him. He didn't know how much he was distressing me." - -"Then he ought to have known. You may forgive him if you want to; I -sha'n't." - -"I will go home now, Dan. I feel a good deal happier than I did when I -was hurrying over here." - -"I will go with you, mother. I have sold my papers, and sha'n't work any -more this afternoon. Where did you leave Mike? I hope I can come across -him soon." - -"I left him at the door of our room." - -"Did you lock the door when you came away, mother?" asked Dan. - -"No; I believe not." - -"Then let us go home at once. Some one might get in." - -"There isn't much to take, Dan," said Mrs. Mordaunt, with a faint smile. - -"There is our rent money, mother." - -"I didn't think of that." - -"We shall be in a pretty pickle if that is lost." - -"You don't think Mike would take it do you, Dan?" - -"I think he would if he knew where to find it." - -"I wish I had brought it with me," said Mrs. Mordaunt, in a tone of -anxiety. - -"Don't fret, mother; I guess it's all right." - -"Perhaps you had better go home at once without waiting for me, Dan. You -can go quicker." - -"All right; I'll do it. Where is the money?" - -"In my pocket-book, in the drawer of the work-table." - -"Are the drawers locked?" - -"No." - -"Then hereafter you'd better lock them. Well, I'll be off, and will meet -you at the room." - -Dan was not long in reaching his humble home. The more he thought of it, -the more he distrusted Mike, and feared that he might have had a -sinister design in the deception he had practiced upon his mother. To -lose the rent money would be a serious matter. Mr. Grab hated him, he -knew full well, and would show no mercy, while in the short time -remaining it would be quite impossible to make up the necessary sum. - -Dan sprang up the stairs, several at a bound, and made his way at once -to the little work-table. He pulled the drawer open without ceremony, -and in feverish haste rummaged about until, to his great joy, he found -the pocket-book. - -His heart gave a joyous bound. - -"It's all right, after all," he said. "Mike isn't so bad as I thought -him." - -He opened the pocket-book, and his countenance fell. There was a -twenty-five cent scrip in one of the compartments, and that was all. - -"He's stolen the money, after all," he said, his heart sinking. "What -are we going to do now?" - -He waited till his mother reached home. She looked inquiringly at him. -One glance told her what had happened. - -"Is it gone, Dan?" she gasped. - -"That is all that is left," answered Dan, holding up the scrip. - -"Mike could not be wicked enough to take it." - -"Couldn't he, though? You don't know him as I do, mother. He's a mean -thief, and he sent you off to have a clear field. I wish you had locked -the door." - -"I couldn't think of that, or anything else, Dan, when I thought you -were hurt." - -"That's why he told you." - -"What can we do, Dan? Mr. Grab will be angry when he finds we can't pay -him." - -"I will try to find Mike; and if I do, I will get the money if I can. -That's the first thing." - -Dan went up stairs at once, and knocked at Mrs. Rafferty's door. - -She came to the door, her arms dripping with suds, for she had been -washing. - -"Is it you, Dan?" she said. "And how is your mother to-day?" - -"Is Mike in?" asked Dan, abruptly, too impatient to answer the question. - -"No; he went out quarter of an hour ago." - -"Did he tell you where he was going, Mrs. Rafferty?" - -"Yes, he did. He said he was going over to Brooklyn to see if he could -get a job, shure. Did you want him?" - -"Yes, I did, Mrs. Rafferty. I'm sorry to tell you that Mike has played a -bad trick on my mother." - -"Oh, whirra, whirra, what a bye he is!" wailed Mrs. Rafferty. "He's -always up to something bad. Sorra bit of worruk he does, and I at the -wash-tub all day long." - -"He's a bad son to you, Mrs. Rafferty." - -"So he is, Dan, dear. I wish he was like you. And what kind of trick has -he played on your good mother?" - -"He told her that I had been run over and broken my leg. Of course she -went out to find me, thinking it was all true, and while she was away he -took the money from her pocket-book." - -Some mothers would have questioned this statement, but Mrs. Rafferty -knew to her cost that Mike was capable of stealing, having been -implicated in thefts on several occasions. - -"Was it much, Dan?" she asked. - -"Six or seven dollars. I can't say just how much." - -"Oh, what a bad bye! I don't know what to do wid him, shure." - -"It was the money we were to pay our rent with to-morrow," continued -Dan. "It is a very serious matter." - -"I wish I could make it up to you, Dan, dear. It's a shame it is." - -"You are an honest woman, Mrs. Rafferty, but you ought not to make it -up. I wish I could find Mike. Do you think he has really gone to -Brooklyn." - -"Shure, I don't know. He said so." - -"He might have done it as a blind, just to put me on the wrong scent." - -"So he might, shure." - -"Well, Mrs. Rafferty, I can't stop any longer. I'll try to find him." - -He went down stairs and told his mother what he had discovered or failed -to discover. - -"Don't wait supper for me, mother," he said. "I'm going in search of -Mike." - -"You won't fight with him, Dan?" said Mrs. Mordaunt, anxiously. - -"I can't promise, mother. I will only agree to be prudent. I am not -going to submit to the loss without trying to get the money back, you -may be sure of that." - -So Dan went down stairs, considerably perplexed in mind. Mike was sure -to keep out of the way for a time at least, anticipating that Dan would -be upon his track. While our hero was searching for him, he would have -plenty of opportunities of spending the money of which he had obtained -unlawful possession. To punish him without regaining the contents of the -lost pocket-book would be an empty triumph. In the street below Dan -espied Terence Quinn, an acquaintance of Mike. - -"How are you, Terence?" he said. "Have you seen anything of Mike?" - -"I saw him only a few minutes ago." - -"Where did he go?" - -"I don't know." - -"I want to see him on business." - -"I'll tell you where he'll be this evening." - -"Where?" - -"He's going to the Old Bowery, and I'm goin' wid him." - -"Does he treat?" - -"Yes." - -"Where did he get the money?" - -"He didn't tell me," said Terence. - -"He's taken the rent money. I'm sure of it now," said Dan to himself. "I -wish I knew where to find him." - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -DAN AS A DETECTIVE. - - -Dan quickly decided that if Mike had been going to Brooklyn, he would -not have announced it under the circumstances. - -"He meant to send me there on a wild-goose chase," he reflected. "I am -not quite so green as he takes me to be." - -Dan could not decide as easily where Mike had gone. Hood says in his -poem of "The Lost Heir," - - - "A boy as is lost in London streets is like a needle in a bundle - of hay." - - -A hunt for a boy in the streets of New York is about equally hopeless. -But Dan did not despair. - -"I'll just stroll round a little," he said to himself. "Maybe I'll find -him." - -Dan bent his steps toward the Courtlandt-street Ferry. - -"Perhaps Mike has gone to Jersey City," he said to himself. "Anyway, -I'll go over there." - -It was not an expensive journey. Six cents would defray Dan's expenses -both ways, and he was willing to incur this expense. He meant to look -about him, as something might turn up by which he could turn an honest -penny. - -Something did turn up. - -Near him in the cabin of the ferry-boat sat a gentleman of middle age, -who seemed overloaded with baggage. He had two heavy carpet-bags, a -satchel, and a bundle, at which he looked from time to time with a -nervous and uncomfortable glance. When the boat touched shore he tried -to gather his various pieces of luggage, but with indifferent success. -Noticing his look of perplexity, Dan approached him, and said, -respectfully: - -"Can't I assist you, sir?" - -"I wish you would, my boy," said the gentleman, relieved. - -"All right, sir. I'll take one of the carpet-bags and the satchel, if -you like." - -"Thank you; that will do nicely." - -So the two left the boat together. - -"Where are you going, sir?" asked Dan. - -"Do you know the wharf of the Cunard steamers?" asked the gentleman. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Is it far off?" - -"Not more than five or six minutes' walk," answered Dan. - -"Can you help me as far as that with my luggage?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"I will make it worth your while, and you will be doing me a great favor -besides. I was brought down to the ferry, but the rascally hackman -demanded five dollars more to carry me across and land me at the Cunard -pier. He thought I would have to submit to this imposition, but I was so -indignant that I tried to handle all my luggage myself. I don't know how -I should have managed without you." - -"I won't charge you so much, sir," said Dan, smiling. - -"It isn't for the money I cared so much as for the imposition. I would -rather pay you ten dollars than the hackman five." - -"Be careful, sir," said Dan, smiling, "or I may take advantage of your -liberal offer." - -The gentleman smiled in turn. - -"You don't look like a boy that would take advantage of a traveler." - -"You can't judge from appearances, sir. I have been robbed of six -dollars to-day, and I might try to make it up that way." - -"You have been robbed! How?" - -Dan briefly related the circumstances. - -"Was it all the money your mother had?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"How did you happen to be coming across the ferry?" - -"I thought Mike might be here somewhere." - -By this time they were in sight of the Cunard wharf. - -"Were you ever on a Cunard steamer?" asked the gentleman. - -"No, sir." - -"Help me on board with my luggage, and I will show you about." - -"I thought the steamers generally left in the morning," said Dan. - -"So they do; but to-day the tide did not serve till later." - -Dan helped Mr. Stevens down below with his luggage, and assisted him in -storing them in his stateroom. He surveyed with interest the cabin, the -deck, the dining-saloon, and the various arrangements. - -"Well," said the gentleman, smiling, "how do you like it?" - -"First-rate, sir." - -"Do you think you would like to be going with me?" - -"Yes, sir, but for my mother." - -"Of course, it won't do to desert her; otherwise I might be tempted to -make you an offer. I am sure you would be very useful to me." - -"I should like it very much, if mother did not need me." - -Dan went up stairs with Mr. Stevens, and remained till visitors were -warned that it was time to go ashore. - -"I must go, sir," he said. - -Mr. Stevens drew a five-dollar bill from his vest pocket and handed it -to Dan. - -"I haven't any change, sir," said Dan. - -"None is required," said the gentleman, smiling. - -"Do you really mean to give me five dollars, sir?" - -"That is what the hackman wanted to charge me." - -"But it was too much." - -"It was too much for him; it is not too much for you, if I am willing to -give it to you." - -"You are very kind, sir," said Dan, almost doubting the reality of his -good fortune. - -"It will prove that I spoke truly when I said I didn't care for the -amount of money, only for the imposition. I am really very glad to give -it to you. Good-by, my boy." - -He offered his hand. Dan shook it heartily, and, wishing him a pleasant -voyage, descended the gangplank. - -"That is almost as much as Mike robbed me of," he said to himself. "How -lucky I came over to Jersey City! Now, if I could only get back part of -the money Mike robbed me of, I should be the better off for his mean -trick." - -Dan did not immediately return to New York. He had been so fortunate -that he decided to spend the rest of the afternoon as he liked. - -He walked on for ten minutes, Mike being temporarily out of his mind, -when his attention was suddenly drawn to him. Just in front of him he -saw Mike himself swaggering along, with a ten-cent cigar in his mouth, -and both hands thrust deep in his trousers pockets. He was strolling -along in fancied security, not dreaming of the near presence of the boy -whom he had so meanly robbed. - -Dan's eyes sparkled when he recognized his enemy, and hastening his -pace, he put his hand on Mike's shoulder. - -Mike turned quickly, and his countenance changed when he saw Dan. - -"Has he found it out?" suggested his guilty conscience. "Anyway, he -can't prove anything. I'll bluff him off." - -"Hallo, Dan!" he said, in affected cordiality. "What brings you over -here?" - -"What brings _you_ over here, Mike?" asked Dan, significantly. - -"I'm looking for a job," said Mike. - -"You look like it," retorted Dan, "with both hands in your pockets and -a cigar in your mouth! Times seem to be good with you. How much did that -cigar cost?" - -"I don't know," answered Mike, with unblushing falsehood. "A man gave it -to me for holdin' his hoss." - -Mike was never at a loss for a plausible lie. - -"I thought you bought it." - -"I haven't got any money." - -"Did they let you over the ferry free, then?" - -"Oh, I had money enough for that." - -"I guess you have got more." - -"No, I haven't. Ten cents was all I had." - -"Then how are you going to take Terence Quinn to the theater to-night?" -asked Dan. - -Even Mike's brazen effrontery was hardly prepared to meet this -unexpected question. - -"What do you mane?" he stammered. - -"Terence told me you had invited him." - -"Then he lies!" said Mike, his self-assurance returning. "He invited -me." - -"Look here, Mike Rafferty," said Dan, out of patience; "that won't go -down! Terence told the truth. I know where you got the money you were -going to treat him with." - -"Where, then?" - -"From my mother's pocket-book." - -"It's a lie!" blustered Mike. - -"It's the truth, and if you don't hand over what's left without making -any more trouble, I'll have you arrested." - -"You can't. We're in Jersey----" - -"I shall have you arrested as soon as you get home." - -"I didn't take the money," said Mike, sullenly. - -"You did, and you know it," said Dan, firmly. "Give me what you have -left, and I'll make no trouble about it. If you don't, you're booked for -another term at the island." - -Mike tried to save his ill-gotten gains, but Dan was persistent, and -finally extracted from him four dollars and a half. The rest Mike -pretended he had spent. He was sly enough, however, to have saved enough -to take him to the Old Bowery. - -On the whole, Dan was satisfied, considering the five dollars he had -received on the Cunard steamer, but he could not forbear giving Mike a -farewell shot. - -"How did it happen, Mike, that you took the Jersey Ferry to Brooklyn?" - -Mike did not deign a reply. - -"That is my first appearance as a detective," thought Dan. "It seems to -pay." - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -DAN HAS ANOTHER ADVENTURE. - - -It was only five o'clock when Dan, returning from Jersey City, found -himself again in front of the Astor House. - -"Shall I buy any evening papers?" Dan asked himself. "No, I won't. I've -made enough to satisfy me for one day." - -Dan stood at the corner of Vesey street, glancing at the hurrying -crowds. - -He rather enjoyed his temporary freedom from business cares. - -He had made a good day's work, the morrow's rent was provided for, and -he felt like a gentleman of leisure. - -All at once his attention was drawn to a low sob. It proceeded from a -little flower-girl of ten years, who usually stood near the hotel. - -"What's the matter, Fanny?" asked Dan, calling her by her name, for the -little flower-girl was one of his acquaintances. "Haven't you sold as -many bouquets as usual?" - -"Yes," said Fanny, pausing in her sobs, "I've sold more." - -"Then what's the matter? Has any one been teasing you?" - -"No, but a young man passed a bad half-dollar on me." - -"Let me see it." - -Dan inspected the piece. He did not need to ring it, for it was dull in -appearance and unmistakably bad. - -"When did you take it?" - -"Just now. A young man came up and bought a five-cent bouquet, and gave -me this to change." - -"Didn't you see that it was bad?" - -"I didn't look at it till afterward. Then it was too late." - -"So you gave him forty-five cents in good money, Fanny?" - -"Yes," said the little girl, again beginning to sob. - -"How many bouquets had you sold?" - -"Seven." - -"Then you have less money than when you began?" - -"Yes, Dan." - -"Do you think the fellow knew the piece was bad?" - -"Yes, for he hurried away." - -"Which way did he go?" - -"Down Broadway." - -"Maybe he was going to Jersey City." - -"No, I saw him turn down Fulton street." - -"Then he was going to Brooklyn. How did he look?" - -"He was short and had red hair." - -"How was he dressed?" - -"He had on a gray suit." - -"How long ago did this happen?" - -"About five minutes." - -"Give me the bad piece, and I'll go after him. Stay here till I come -back." - -Dan seized the money, and proceeded toward Fulton Ferry at a half run. - -"I hope he won't have taken the boat," he said to himself. "If he has I -shall lose him." - -Dan nearly overthrew an apple woman's stand not far from the ferry, but -did not stop to apologize. He ran into a fat gentleman who looked -daggers at him, but kept on. - -Breathless he paid his ferriage, and just succeeded in catching a boat -as it was leaving the New York pier. - -Thus far he had not seen the young man of whom he was in search. - -"He may be on board the boat. I'll go forward," said Dan to himself. - -He walked through the ladies' cabin, and stepped out on the forward -deck. The boat was crowded, for it was at the time when men who live in -Brooklyn, but are employed in New York, are returning to their homes. - -Dan looked about him for a time without success, but all at once his -eyes lighted up. Just across the deck, near the door of the gentlemen's -cabin, stood a young man with red hair, holding a small bouquet in his -hand. His face was freckled, his eyes small, and he looked capable of -meanness. - -Of course appearances are often deceptive, but not unfrequently a man's -character can be read upon his face. - -"That's the fellow that cheated poor Fanny, I'll bet a hat," Dan decided -within himself. "He looks like it." - -He immediately crossed to the other side of the deck. - -The red-headed young man was talking to another young man of about the -same age. - -"Where did you get that bouquet, Sanderson?" asked the latter. - -"Bought it of a little girl in front of the Astor House," answered -Sanderson. - -"That settles it," thought Dan. - -He waited to hear what would come next. - -"I suppose it is meant for some young lady," suggested the other. - -"Maybe it is," answered Sanderson, with a grin. - -Dan thought it was about time to come to business. - -He touched the red-haired young man on the arm. - -Sanderson looked round. - -"Well, boy, what is it?" he asked. - -"You bought that bouquet of a girl near the Astor House," said Dan. - -"What if I did?" asked Sanderson, uneasily, for he had a suspicion of -what was coming. - -"You gave her a bogus half-dollar in payment," continued Dan. - -"Do you mean to insult me?" blustered Sanderson. "Be off with you." - -"I am sorry I cannot accommodate you," said Dan, "but I want you to give -me a good piece for this first." - -"I never saw that half-dollar before," said Sanderson. "I gave her good -money." - -"Perhaps you can prove that before the court," said Dan. - -"What do you mean?" demanded Sanderson, uneasily. - -"I mean that you have passed counterfeit money, and unless you give me a -good piece for it I will give you in charge as soon as we reach the -pier," said Dan, firmly. - -Sanderson looked about him, and saw that the boy's charge was believed. -Soon his friend looked disgusted. Dan followed up his attack. - -"Fanny is a poor girl," he said. "I found her crying over her loss, for -it was more than all the money she had taken to-day." - -"Are you her friend?" asked Sanderson, sneering. - -"Yes, I am," said Dan, stoutly. - -"This is a put-up job between you two," said Sanderson. - -"Gentlemen," said Dan, turning and appealing to the passengers near him, -"this young man has passed a bad fifty-cent piece on a poor flower-girl. -Shall he make it good?" - -"Yes, yes!" exclaimed half a dozen, and several cried "shame!" with -looks of scorn and disgust directed toward the young man with red hair. - -"I don't believe a word of it," he ejaculated, in a rage. "I gave the -girl a quarter." - -"Too thin!" said several. - -"But I'll give you the money to get rid of you," and he threw a -half-dollar at Dan with a look very far from amiable. - -"Thank you, sir; here's your money," said Dan. - -Though Sanderson had disclaimed all knowledge of the bogus half-dollar, -he took it and put it carefully in his pocket. - -"Keep it to pay your washerwoman with," said a jeering voice. - -It was a young fellow in the garb of a workman who spoke. - -The boat touched the pier, and Sanderson was only too glad to hurry away -from the unfriendly crowd. - -"You're a smart boy!" cried a keen-looking businessman, addressing Dan. -"How did you discover that this fellow was the one that passed the -coin." - -"Fanny described him to me." - -"Then you hadn't seen him before?" - -"No, sir." - -"What are you doing for a living?" - -"Selling papers, sir." - -"You are fit for something better. Come and see me to-morrow." - -He placed in Dan's hands a card bearing the firm's name - - - BARTON & ROGERS, - Commission Merchants, - No. -- Pearl street. - - -"My name is Rogers," he continued. "Inquire for me." - -"Thank you, sir." - -Dan was so pleased at having recovered Fanny's money that he gave -little thought to this last incident, though it was destined to exert an -important influence on his fortunes. He took the same boat back to New -York, and hurried to the Astor House. - -Little Fanny, the flower-girl, with a sad look upon her face, was still -standing in her wonted place. - -"I've got your money back, Fanny," said Dan. - -"Oh, have you?" exclaimed Fanny, joyfully. - -"Yes; I made the fellow give it up." - -"Oh, how kind you are, Dan!" - -There was a listener to what passed between the two children. A tall -lady, standing at the corner of the street, regarded them attentively. -She was evidently revolving some plan in her head. As Dan was about -turning away, she placed her hand on his arm. - -"Young man," she said, "I want to speak to you." - -"All right, ma'am," said Dan, surprised. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -A MYSTERIOUS LADY. - - -Dan thought it probable that the lady who accosted him might wish to -send him on an errand, and his surprise vanished. She was tall, slender, -and grave in appearance. She was probably not over thirty-five. Her -first words renewed Dan's surprise. - -"Have you a mother living?" - -"Yes, ma'am." - -"A father?" - -"No, ma'am." - -"Are you an only child, or have you brothers and sisters?" - -"There is only one of me," answered Dan, humorously. - -"I suppose you are poor?" - -"If I were not, I would not sell papers for a living." - -"Probably you live in a poor place?" - -"Yes," answered Dan, beginning to be tired of satisfying what might be -only curiosity on the part of the lady. She noticed at once the change -in his manner. - -"I am not making these inquiries out of curiosity," she said, quickly. -"I have an object in what I ask." - -This naturally surprised Dan the more. - -"All right, ma'am," he said; "I am ready to answer." - -"Are you at leisure for an hour or two?" asked the lady. - -Dan hesitated. - -"I suppose mother will be worried if I don't come home to supper," he -said, hesitating. - -"Can't you send her a message not to expect you? Does this little girl -know where you live?" - -"Yes," answered Fanny, readily. - -To her the lady turned. - -"Little girl," she said, "go at once and tell this boy's mother that he -will not be home till nine o'clock. Say he is called away by business." - -"Yes, ma'am." - -"This will pay you for your trouble." - -The little girl's eyes sparkled with joy as the lady placed fifty cents -in her hand. - -"Thank you. How glad mother will be!" she said. - -As for Dan, he was puzzled to conjecture what the lady could want of -him. What would justify such a handsome compensation to Fanny merely to -explain his absence to his mother? - -"Now," said the lady, "if you will hail the next stage we will go up -town." - -They had not long to wait. Soon they were rattling over the pavements -through thronged Broadway. It was two years since Dan had been in a -Broadway stage. He could not afford to pay ten cents for a ride, but -when it was absolutely necessary rode in a horse-car for half price. - -Dan looked about him to see if he knew any one in the stage. Nearly -opposite sat his former schoolmate, Tom Carver, with a young lady at his -side. Their glances met, and Dan saw Tom's lip curl with scorn. Of -course he did not betray any mark of recognition. - -"I like riding in a Broadway stage," he heard the young lady say. "There -is more to see as you go along. Besides, the company is more select." - -"Not always," said Tom, with a significant glance at Dan. - -Dan felt indignant, but was too proud to show it. - -"The price excludes the lower classes from using the stage," said the -young lady. - -"It ought to, but I have seen a newsboy in a stage." - -"How can they afford to pay ten cents for riding?" - -"I give it up," said Tom, shrugging his shoulders. - -The lady who was with Dan noticed the direction of Tom Carver's look. - -"Do you know that boy?" she asked. - -"Yes," answered Dan, "I used to know him." - -"Why don't you know him now?" - -"Because my father lost his property." - -"I see," said the lady. "It is the way of the world. Don't mind it." - -"I don't," said Dan, promptly, returning Tom Carver's stare. - -Tom could not help hearing this conversation, and learned for the first -time that Dan and the handsomely dressed lady beside him were in -company. - -"What can they have to do with each other?" he asked himself, curiously. -"She can't be a relation--she is too handsomely dressed." - -At this moment the young lady beside him dropped her handkerchief. -Before Tom could stoop to pick it up Dan had handed it to her with a -polite bow. - -"Thank you," said the young lady, with a pleasant smile. - -"You needn't have troubled yourself," said Tom Carver, irritated. "This -young lady is under _my_ charge." - -"It is no trouble, I assure you," answered Dan. - -"He is very polite," said the young lady, in a low voice, "and very -good-looking, too," she added, with a second look at Dan. - -"He is only a common newsboy," said Tom, not relishing Julia Grey's -tribute to a boy he disliked. - -"I can't help what he is," said the young lady, independently; "he looks -like a gentleman." - -Dan could not help catching the drift of their conversation, and his -face flushed with pleasure, for Julia was a very pretty girl, but not -being addressed to him, he could not take notice of it otherwise. - -"He lives at the Five Points somewhere," muttered Tom. - -The young lady seemed rather amused at Tom's discomposure, and only -smiled in reply. - -The stage kept on till it reached Madison square. - -"Will you pull the strap opposite the Fifth Avenue Hotel?" said the -lady, addressing Dan. - -Dan did so. - -He got out first, and helped his companion out. - -"Follow me into the hotel," she said. - -Dan did so. - -"What is your name?" asked the lady, as they ascended the stairs. - -"Dan Mordaunt." - -"I needn't ask if you have a good mother?" she proceeded. - -"One of the best," said Dan, promptly. - -"You look like a well-bred boy, and I infer that your mother is a lady. -Come into the parlor. I wish to speak to you on business." - -Dan followed her, wondering, and she signed to him to take a seat on the -sofa beside her. - -"You have already told me that you have no sister," she began. - -"No, ma'am." - -"Do you think your mother would enjoy the society of a little girl?" - -"I think she would." - -"I have a little girl under my charge--my niece--from whom, for reasons -unnecessary to state, I am obliged to part for a time. Do you think your -mother would be willing to take charge of her? Of course I would make it -worth her while." - -"I am sure she would like it," said Dan, for he saw at a glance that -this would be a very desirable arrangement for them. - -"Then you feel authorized to accept the charge in your mother's name?" - -"I do." - -"The little girl is five years old. Your mother would be willing to -teach her until such time as she may be old enough to go to school?" - -"Oh, yes, ma'am." - -"I think little girls are best off at home until the age of seven or -eight." - -"There is one objection," said Dan. - -"What is that?" asked the lady, quickly. - -"We live in a poor room and a poor neighborhood." - -"That objection can be obviated. I shall pay you enough to enable you to -take better rooms." - -Dan heard this with satisfaction. - -"I may as well be explicit," said the lady. "I propose to pay fifty -dollars a month for my ward's board, including, of course, your mothers -care." - -"Fifty dollars a month!" repeated Dan, astonished. - -"If you consider that sufficient." - -"I am afraid it won't be worth it," said Dan, frankly. - -"If Althea is well cared for, as I am sure she will be, I shall have no -fear of that. Let me add that I shall allow your mother ten dollars per -month extra for the child's clothing--say sixty dollars in all. For the -present that will probably be enough." - -"Oh, yes, I should think so," said Dan. "When do you want her to come to -us?" - -"Now. You will take her back with you." - -"To-night?" asked Dan, startled. - -"Yes, to-night. I must leave New York early to-morrow. In fact, I leave -the city by an early train." - -"She would have to come to our poor lodgings," said Dan, hesitatingly. - -"One night there won't matter. To-morrow you can secure rooms up town." - -"Yes, ma'am, I will. Our month expires to-morrow." - -"Now," said the lady, rising, "since the matter is settled, come up -stairs with me, and I will show you the child." - -Dan followed the lady up stairs, feeling as if he were in a dream, but a -very pleasant one. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - -ALTHEA. - - -As the lady entered the room a little girl, with an expression of joy, -ran from the window from which she had been looking, and took her hand. - -"I'm so glad you've got home, auntie," she said. "I got tired of being -alone." - -"I staid away longer than I intended, Althea," said the lady. "I was -afraid you would feel lonely." - -"I was _very_ lonely. I wanted to go out into the hall and play with a -little girl that lives in the next room, but I thought you wouldn't find -me." - -"I am glad you did not. I have brought you a playfellow, Althea." - -This drew the little girl's attention to Dan. Unlike most girls of her -age, she was not bashful. - -"What is his name?" she asked. - -"Dan." - -"What a funny name! Are you going to live with us, Dan?" - -"You are coming to live with me," said Dan, smiling. - -"Will you be my brother?" - -"Yes." - -"And will you play with me?" - -"Sometimes." - -"I think I shall like you. You are nice-looking," said Althea, in a -matter-of-fact tone. - -Dan blushed. He found the compliment agreeable, though it came from a -little girl. - -"So are you, Althea," he said. - -"I don't think I am," said Althea. "I've black hair, and my skin is -dark. You have nice brown hair, and are whiter than I am." - -"Some like dark people best," suggested Dan. - -"I don't. I asked auntie to buy me a big cake of soap to wash the brown -off, but it wouldn't come." - -Dan smiled. He thought the bright, vivacious little face, with the -brilliant dark eyes, pretty, though Althea did not. - -"You will like to live with Dan, my dear?" said her aunt, inquiringly. - -"Yes, if you come, too." - -"But I can't." - -"Why, not, auntie?" - -"I have got to go away--on business." - -Althea looked disappointed. - -"I don't want you to go away, auntie," she said. "Dan and I can't live -alone." - -"Dan has a mother, who will be very good to you." - -"Will she take care of me?" asked Althea, brightening up. - -"Yes, Althea." - -"Is she nice?" - -"Yes." - -"Then she will be my mother?" - -"Yes; you can call her mother." - -"And you will come to see me some time, auntie?" - -"Yes, my dear." - -"Then I will go with Dan;" and the little girl placed her hand -confidingly in that of our hero. - -Dan thought it would be pleasant for him to have a little sister, and he -knew that it would brighten his mother's existence. - -"Shall we go now, madam?" asked Dan, turning to the lady. - -"Not just yet. Come here, Dan." - -Dan followed her to the window. She drew from her pocket a wallet -containing a considerable sum of money. - -"I will hand you two months' payment in advance," she said, "and -afterward I will remit you monthly, or direct you where to call for -money. Two months at fifty dollars will amount to one hundred, and -twenty more for Althea's dress will make it up to a hundred and twenty. -Have you a pocket-book?" - -"Yes, ma'am." - -"Are you careful of money?" - -"Whenever I have any to be careful about," answered Dan. - -"I hope you will be comfortably provided from this time. There is a -little trunk of Althea's clothes in the trunk-room below. I will write -you an order for it, but you may as well wait till you have moved before -carrying it away. It will save you trouble." - -"Yes, ma'am." - -"Have you had any supper?" - -"No, ma'am." - -"Then you shall go into supper with Althea and myself." - -"What! here, at the Fifth Avenue Hotel?" asked Dan. - -"Certainly." - -"I'm afraid I don't look fit." - -"You look well enough. At any rate, it's nobody's business. We may as -well go down now." - -There was nothing to say, so Dan followed the mysterious lady into the -supper-room, Althea clinging to his hand. He felt awkward as he took his -seat. Suppose some one should recognize him as the newsboy who usually -stood in front of the Astor House! - -Some one did recognize him. - -The young lady whom Tom Carver was escorting boarded at the Fifth Avenue -Hotel, and had alighted at the same time with our hero, though he did -not observe it. - -Tom had been invited to supper, and, with Julia and her father, was -seated at a neighboring table when Dan entered. - -Tom could hardly credit his eyes when he saw Dan entering the -supper-room, with the little girl clinging to his hand. - -"Well, I'll be blowed!" he ejaculated, forgetting his manners in his -surprise. - -"What did you remark?" asked Julia, rather amused. - -"I beg your pardon, but I was so astonished. There is that newsboy -coming into supper!" - -"Where?" - -"There." - -"What a pretty little girl is with him!" - -"That's so. Who can she be?" - -"You must be mistaken about your friend being a newsboy." - -"He is no friend of mine." - -"Your acquaintance, then; though he is nice enough looking to be a -friend. Are you sure he is a newsboy?" - -"Certain. I saw him selling papers yesterday in front of the Astor -House." - -"His business must be good, or he would not board at the Fifth Avenue -Hotel." - -"Of whom are you speaking, Julia?" asked her father. - -"Of that boy at the next table, pa." - -"That boy! Why, that's my young friend of the ferry-boat. Tom, have the -kindness to ask him to come here a moment and speak to me." - -Much surprised, and considerably against his will, Tom rose and walked -over to where Dan was sitting. - -"Look here," said he; "come over to the next table, will you?" - -"What for?" asked Dan. - -"There's a gentleman wants to speak to you." - -Dan looked over and he recognized Mr. Rogers, of the firm of Barton & -Rogers, who had asked him to call at his place of business on Pearl -street. - -"Good-evening, Mr. Rogers," he said, politely. - -"Good-evening, my boy. Do you board here?" - -"Not as a rule," answered Dan, smiling. "My business don't allow it. I -am dining here with some friends." - -"What's your name?" - -"Daniel Mordaunt. Everybody calls me Dan." - -"Then, Dan, let me make you acquainted with my daughter, Julia." - -Dan bowed and smiled. - -"I think you were sitting opposite me in the stage, Mr. Mordaunt," said -Julia. - -"Yes, Miss Rogers." - -"You were polite enough to hand me my handkerchief when I awkwardly -dropped it." - -"Oh, don't mention it." - -"I hope to meet you again." - -"Thank you." - -"What a pretty girl she is!" thought Dan. - -"Dan, this young gentleman is Thomas Carver. You must be nearly of an -age. You ought to know each other." - -"I have known Mr. Carver a long time," said Dan, smiling. - -"Indeed!" said Mr. Rogers, surprised. - -"We used to sit together at school." - -"You didn't tell me that, Tom," said Julia Rogers, turning to Tom. - -"No," said Tom, embarrassed; "it is a good while ago." - -"I won't detain you any longer from your friends," said Mr. Rogers, -politely. "I shall see you at the office in the morning." - -Dan bowed and withdrew. - -"Where did you meet him, papa?" asked Julia. - -Her father told the story of Dan's exploit on the ferry-boat. - -"He is a very smart boy," he said. "I shall probably take him into my -employ." - -"I hope you will, papa. He is a very gentlemanly boy." - -All this was very disagreeable to Tom Carver, but he did not venture to -say all that he felt, being somewhat in awe of Mr. Rogers. - -"They are making a great fuss over a common newsboy," he muttered to -himself. - -After supper, Dan prepared to take Althea home with him. She felt so -well acquainted already that she made no objection, but, hand-in-hand, -left the hotel with Dan. He halted a Broadway stage, and they got in. - -"Are you carrying me to where you live, Dan?" asked the little girl. - -"Yes, Althea." - -"Will your mother be glad to see me?" - -"Yes, she will be very glad. She wants a little girl to keep her -company." - -"Then I'm glad I'm going." - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -A NEW HOME. - - -Mrs. Mordaunt was apprised by Fanny that Dan had gone up town with a -lady, and therefore was not alarmed when he did not return home at the -usual time. She hoped he would clear fifty cents, but had no idea to -what extent their fortunes would be advanced by Dan's evening's work. - -"I will save Dan some supper," she said to herself. "He will be hungry." - -So, mother-like, she supped economically herself, on a cup of tea and -some dry bread, and bought a bit of steak for Dan's supper, for she -thought he would be very hungry at so late an hour. - -It was nearly half-past eight when she heard Dan's well known step on -the stairs. - -She opened the door to welcome him, but the cheerful welcome upon her -lips died away in surprise when she saw his companion. - -"Who is this, Dan?" she asked. - -"She is going to be my little sister, mother," said Dan, gayly. - -"Will you be my mother?" said Althea, releasing Dan's hand, and putting -her own confidingly in that of Mrs. Mordaunt. - -"Yes, my dear," said the widow, her heart quite won by the little girl's -innocent confidence, and she bent over and kissed her. - -"What does it all mean, Dan?" she asked, in bewilderment. - -"It means that Althea is to board with us, and be company for you. I -have agreed with her aunt that you will take her." - -"But does her aunt know that we live in such a poor place?" asked his -mother in a tone of hesitation. - -"Yes, mother, but that makes no difference, as we shall move up town -to-morrow." - -"I am sure you have acted for the best, Dan, but it seems so strange." - -"Will it seem strange to receive fifty dollars a month for Althea's -board?" asked Dan. - -"Fifty dollars a month!" repeated the widow, incredulously. - -"That's the figure, mother. I didn't suppose we ought to charge more." - -"More, Dan! Why, it is a fortune!" - -"I don't know. That depends on Althea's appetite. Are you a great eater, -Althea?" - -"Sometimes I am," said the little girl, naively. - -"Never mind, I guess there will be enough." - -"I nearly forgot, Dan. You will want some supper. I didn't know there -would be two, but I will go cut and buy some more meat, if you can -wait." - -"I have had supper, mother, or dinner rather. I dined with Althea and -her aunt at the Fifth Avenue Hotel." - -Here was another surprise. - -"Has Althea been stopping there, Dan?" - -"Yes, mother." - -"Then how can she stay even one night in this poor place?" - -"I will ask her. Althea, do you mind stopping here just one night? We -will go to a better place to-morrow." - -"No, Dan, I don't care." - -"There, mother, I told you so, Althea is a brick." - -"What a funny boy you are, Dan! How can I be a brick? A brick is red and -ugly, and I am not." - -"No, Althea, you are not ugly, but your cheeks are red." - -"They don't look like a brick, Dan." - -"No, they don't. I take it all back." - -"I had got your supper all ready, Dan," said his mother, regretfully. - -"Then eat it yourself, mother." - -"I have had my supper." - -"You didn't have any meat, I'll warrant. Now, like a good mother, sit -down and eat the steak." - -Assured that Dan had supped well, Mrs. Mordaunt didn't resist his -advice. - -Dan looked on, and saw with pleasure that his mother relished the meat. - -"We will be able to live better hereafter, mother," he said. "There -won't be any stinting. Fifty dollars will go a good ways, and then, -besides, there will be my earnings. I forgot to tell you, mother, that I -have probably got a place." - -"Our good fortune is coming all at once, Dan," said Mrs. Mordaunt, -cheerfully. - -"So it seems, mother. I think it has come to stay, too." - -"I feel so tired," said Althea, at this point. "Can I go to bed?" - -"Certainly, my dear child. You can go at once." - -In twenty minutes the little girl was in a sound sleep. Dan was not -sorry, for he wanted to tell his mother about the days adventures, and -he could do so more freely without any one to listen. - -"So, mother," he concluded, "we are going to turn over a new leaf. We -can't go back to our old style of living just yet, but we can get out of -this tenement-house, and live in a respectable neighborhood." - -"God has been good to us, Dan. We ought to feel grateful to Him." - -"I know it, mother, but somehow I don't think of that as quick as you. -Who do you think I saw in the supper-room at the Fifth Avenue? Who but -Tom Carver. He was wonderfully puzzled to know how I happened to be -there. He told the party he was with that I was a common newsboy." - -"He is a very mean boy," said Mrs. Mordaunt, indignantly. "After being -so intimate with you too." - -"Never mind, mother. He can't do me any harm, and I don't care for his -friendship. The time may come when I can meet him on even terms." - -"You can now, Dan." - -"I mean in a worldly way. I shall work along, and if I get rich I -sha'n't be the first rich man that has risen from the ranks." - -"God grant you success, my son!" - -Early the next morning Dan started out in search of a new home. - -He and his mother decided that they would like to live somewhere near -Union Square, as that would be a pleasant afternoon resort for their -young boarder. - -"Will you go with me, mother?" he asked. - -"No, Dan, I have not time this morning. Besides you know what will suit -us." - -"Very well, mother; I will do my best." - -Dan crossed Broadway, and took a horse-car up town. - -In West Sixteenth street his attention was drawn to the notice, -"Furnished Rooms to Let," upon a good-looking brick house. - -He rang the bell, and asked to see the lady of the house. - -A stout, matronly looking woman, with a pleasant face, answered the -servant's call. - -"I called to inquire for rooms," said Dan. - -"For yourself?" asked Mrs. Brown. - -"For my mother, and sister, and myself." - -"I have a large back room on the third floor, and a small room on the -fourth floor." - -"May I see them?" - -"Come up stairs, sir." - -First Dan went into the large room. - -It was neatly carpeted and furnished, and had a cheerful outlook. - -"This will do for mother and Althea," he said. - -"Will you look at the little room?" - -"Yes, ma'am, but I am sure that will suit. It is for me, and I am not -particular. But there's one thing that may trouble us." - -"What is that?" - -"Where can mother prepare our meals? She can't cook in the bedroom." - -"I will give her the privilege of using my kitchen. I don't care to -take boarders, as it would be too much care, but your mother is welcome -to use my kitchen stove." - -"Won't it interfere with you?" - -"Leave that to your mother and myself," said Mrs. Brown, with a pleasant -smile. "We can make some satisfactory arrangement." - -"How much do you want for your rooms?" asked Dan. - -"Will you be permanent?" - -"We will be permanent, if suited." - -"Of course; that is all I ask. Will four dollars a week suit you?" - -"We will pay it," said Dan, quite relieved, for he feared he should have -to pay more. "Can we move in to-day?" - -"Any time, sir." - -"Thank you." - -"I generally ask a week's rent in advance," said Mrs. Brown, "but in -your case I won't insist upon it." - -"Oh, it is perfectly convenient," said Dan, and he drew out his -pocket-book containing the money--over a hundred dollars--which Althea's -aunt had given him. - -Mrs. Brown's respect for Dan was considerably increased by this display -of wealth, and she congratulated herself on securing such substantial -lodgers. - -This business accomplished Dan went down town, and informed his mother -of the arrangement he had made. Before night Mrs. Mordaunt, Althea, and -he were installed in their new home, much to the regret of Mrs. -Rafferty, who regretted losing so good a neighbor. Before this, however, -Dan sought the counting-room of Barton & Rogers. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -DAN BECOMES A DETECTIVE. - - -Barton & Rogers evidently did business in a large way. They occupied an -imposing-looking building of five stories, the greater part being used -to store goods. Dan entered and looked around him. A spare, -dark-complexioned man of about thirty-five, with a pen behind his ear, -was issuing orders to a couple of workmen. - -Dan approached him. - -"Is Mr. Rogers in?" he asked. - -"No, he is not," said the dark man, curtly. - -"Will he be in soon?" - -"I don't know." - -"You might be more civil," thought our hero. - -He stood his ground, feeling authorized to do so because he had come by -appointment. - -Observing this, the book-keeper turned and said, sharply: - -"Didn't you hear? I said Mr. Rogers was out." - -"I heard you," said Dan, quietly. - -"Then why do you remain? Do you doubt my word?" - -"Not at all, sir; but Mr. Rogers asked me to call this morning. I can -wait." - -"You can tell me your business." - -"Thank you, but I don't think that would do." - -The book-keeper eyed him sharply, and his face lighted up with a sudden -discovery. - -"I know you now," he said. "You sell papers in front of the Astor House, -don't you?" - -"That has been my business." - -"I thought so; I have bought papers of you." - -"Thank you for your patronage." - -"What can you want of Mr. Rogers?" - -"Mr. Rogers wants me, I suppose, or he would not have asked me to call," -returned Dan. - -"You are a cool hand." - -"Not always," said Dan, with a smile. "Some hot days I am far from -cool." - -"I suppose Mr. Rogers wishes you to supply him with an evening paper?" - -"Perhaps he does," returned Dan, with a smile. - -"Confound the fellow! I can't make anything of him. When did you see Mr. -Rogers last?" - -"In the supper-room of the Fifth Avenue Hotel." - -"How happened you to be there?" demanded Talbot, the book-keeper, in -surprise. - -"I was taking supper," said Dan, rather enjoying the others surprise, -"and Mr. Rogers saw me from another table." - -"Humph! Do you often take supper at the Fifth Avenue Hotel?" - -"Not often." - -"Selling papers must be very profitable." - -"I'm willing to change places with you." - -Just then Mr. Rogers entered the warehouse. - -"Ah! you are here before me, Dan," he remarked, pleasantly. "Have you -been here long?" - -"No, sir; only about five minutes." - -"I must keep you waiting a few minutes longer while I look at my -letters. The letters have arrived, have they not, Mr. Talbot?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Amuse yourself as you like while you are waiting, Dan," said the -merchant. - -Mr. Talbot, the book-keeper, followed the merchant into the -counting-room, and Dan was left alone. He looked about him with -interest, thinking it probable that this was to be his future business -home. It would certainly be a piece of good fortune to become attached -to so large and important a house, and he felt in very good spirits, -though he foresaw that Mr. Talbot would not make it very pleasant for -him. But with his employer on his side he need not be alarmed. - -Fifteen minutes passed, and Mr. Rogers emerged from the counting-room. - -"I have to go out a few minutes," he said to Dan. "Come with me, and we -can talk on the way." - -"Certainly, sir." - -Mr. Talbot followed the two with a frown upon his brow. - -"How on earth has that boy managed to get round Mr. Rogers?" he asked -himself. "I hope he won't be foolish enough to take him in here." - -Talbot had a nephew whom he was anxious to get into the business, and -Dan's engagement would interfere with his little plan. This partly -accounts for his brusque reception of Dan on his first arrival. - -"Well, how do you like our place of business, Dan?" asked Mr. Rogers. - -"Very much, sir." - -"Would you rather sell papers or take employment with me?" - -"I should like very much to be in your employ, sir." - -"How much did you earn as a newsboy?" - -"When I was lucky I made a dollar a day." - -"Then I ought to give you six dollars a week." - -"I will come for less, sir." - -"I will pay you what I said. It is more than boys generally get at the -start, but I am willing to pay a good sum to a boy who suits me." - -"I will try to suit you, sir." - -"Do you know why I take you into my employ?" - -"Out of kindness, sir." - -"I feel kindly disposed to you, Dan, but that is not my chief reason." - -Dan was puzzled, and waited to hear more. - -"My attention was drawn to you on the ferry-boat. I observed your -detection of the mean scamp who cheated a poor flower-girl by offering -her bad money, and I inferred that you were sharp and keen." - -"I hope I am, sir." - -"That is the sort of boy I want just now. Did you observe Mr. Talbot, my -book-keeper?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"What did you think of him?" - -Dan smiled. - -"I don't think he admires me much," he answered. "He wanted to clear me -out before you came in." - -"Did he?" - -"Yes; he recognized me as a newsboy." - -"I understand his reception of you. He has a nephew whom he wishes me to -engage. He is jealous of all possible rivals." - -"Perhaps his nephew would suit you better, sir," said Dan, modestly. - -"Are you willing to resign in his favor?" - -"I prefer to leave that to you, sir." - -"You can do so safely. The nephew is a disagreeable boy, who would not -suit me at all. He thinks more of dress than of duty, and, if I read him -aright, is lazy and incompetent. Nevertheless, Mr. Talbot has spoken to -me about taking him." - -"Perhaps he doesn't know his nephew's faults." - -"He knows them well enough, but is desirous of promoting his interests. -He won't look upon you very favorably when he learns that I have engaged -you." - -"If you are satisfied, I won't care for that." - -"Well spoken, my lad. And now for a few words in confidence," and Mr. -Rogers lowered his voice. "Our business is a large one, and the sums of -money handled are necessarily large. Three months since I ascertained -that somewhere in my establishment there was a leak. We are losing money -in some unexplained way. I believe that some one in whom I repose -confidence is betraying me." - -Dan listened in earnest attention. - -"Do you suspect any one, sir?" he asked. - -"I suspect Mr. Talbot," he said, in the same low voice. - -Dan started in surprise. - -"It seems strange, perhaps, that I should speak so confidentially to -you--a mere boy--but I am impressed with the idea that you can help me." - -"If I can, sir, I will," said Dan, earnestly. - -"I don't doubt it. My first injunction is to say no word, even to your -nearest relations, of what I have told you." - -"I won't, sir." - -"Next, keep a watch over Mr. Talbot. I want to know what are his habits, -whether he uses money freely, with whom he associates. Can you, without -betraying to him that he is watched, find out some information for me on -these points?" - -"I will try, sir." - -"If you secure any information, never communicate it to me in the -office. Either come to my house, or write me there." - -"Yes, sir." - -"You understand that I am employing you in a detective capacity, and -that your time will partly be taken up out of business hours. I intend -to pay you extra, according to results. Is that satisfactory?" - -"Perfectly so, Mr. Rogers, but I am afraid you will be disappointed in -me." - -"I will take my risk of that." - -"Have you any directions to give me, sir, as to how to go to work?" - -"No; I am nothing of a detective myself. I leave that to you. I might, -of course, employ a professional detective, but Talbot is sharp, and he -would suspect. You he will not suspect. He won't dream of my employing a -boy. That is all I have to say for the present. When can you come to -work?" - -"I can come to-morrow morning. To-day we are going to move." - -"To-morrow let it be, then. Good-morning, Dan." - -Mr. Rogers shook hands with our hero, and walked away. - -"I am afraid I have a hard job on my hands," thought Dan, "but I will do -my best." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -DAN MAKES A DISCOVERY. - - -Dan's mother was much pleased with her new quarters. The large room, -occupied by Althea and herself, was bright and cheerful, and well -furnished. Besides the ordinary chamber furniture, there was a -comfortable arm-chair and a lounge. Mrs. Mordaunt felt that she would -not be ashamed now to receive a visit from some of her former friends. - -She had anticipated some trouble about the preparation of meals, but -Mrs. Brown made a proposition which wonderfully removed all -difficulties. - -"Mrs. Mordaunt," she said, "your family is about the same as mine. I -have a son who is employed in a newspaper office down town, and you have -two young children. Now, suppose we club together, and each pay half of -the table supplies. Then one day you can superintend the cooking--you -will only have to direct my servant Maggie--and the next day I will do -it. Then, every other day, each of us will be a lady of leisure, and not -have to go into the kitchen at all. What do you say?" - -"The arrangement will be so much to my advantage that I can say only -one thing--I accept with thanks. But won't you be doing more than your -share? You will be furnishing the fuel, and pay Maggie's wages." - -"I should have to do that at any rate. The plan is perfectly -satisfactory to me, if it suits you." - -Mrs. Mordaunt found that the expense was not beyond her means. Her -income for the care of Althea was fifty dollars a month, and Dan paid -her four dollars a week out of his wages, reserving the balance as a -fund to purchase clothes. She went herself to market and selected -articles for the table, and, for the first time since her husband's -failure, found herself in easy circumstances. - -There was no need now to make vests at starvation prices. She had -thought of continuing, but Dan insisted upon her giving it up entirely. - -"If you want to sew, mother," he said, "you can make some of Althea's -clothes, and pay yourself out of the ten dollars a month allowed for her -clothes." - -This was sensible and proper, and Mrs. Mordaunt decided to follow Dan's -advice. She lost no time in obtaining books for the little girl, and -commencing her education. Althea knew her letters, but nothing more. She -was bright and eager to learn, and gained rapidly under her new teacher. - -Naturally, Dan and his mother were curious as to Althea's early -history, but from the little girl they obtained little information. - -"Do you remember your mother, Althea?" asked Dan, one evening. - -"Yes," said the little girl. - -"When did you see her last?" - -"Not long ago. Only a little while before you brought me here." - -"Your mother isn't dead, is she?" - -"No; but she's gone away." - -"Why did she go away?" - -"She is sick. That's what auntie told me. Poor mamma cried very much -when she went away. She kissed me, and called me her darling." - -"Do you know where she went?" - -"No; I don't know." - -"Perhaps her lungs are affected, and she has gone to a warmer climate," -suggested Mrs. Mordaunt. "She may have gone to Florida, or even to -Italy." - -"Where is your father?" asked Dan, turning to Althea. - -"Father is a bad man," said the child, positively. "He made mamma cry. -He went away a good while ago." - -"And didn't he come back?" - -"He came back once, and then mamma cried again. I think he wanted mamma -to give him some money." - -Dan and his mother talked over the little girl's revelations, and -thought they had obtained a clew to the mystery in which the child's -history was involved. Althea's mother might have married a man of bad -habits, who wanted to get possession of her fortune, and rendered a -separation necessary. Ill health might have required her to leave home -and shift the care of the little girl upon strangers. It seemed rather -odd that she should have been handed over to utter strangers, but there -might have been reasons of which they knew nothing. - -"We won't trouble ourselves about it," said Dan. "It's good luck for us, -even if it was bad luck for Althea's mother. I like the idea of having a -little sister." - -Althea's last name was not known to her new protector. When Dan -inquired, he was told that she could pass by his name, so Althea -Mordaunt she became. - -Both Dan and his mother had feared that she might become homesick, but -the fear seemed groundless. She was of a happy disposition, and almost -immediately began to call Mrs. Mordaunt mother. - -"I call you mother," she said, "but I have a mamma besides; but she has -gone away." - -"You must not forget your mamma, my dear," said the widow. - -"No, I won't. She will come back some day; she said she would." - -"And I will take care of you till she does, Althea." - -"Yes," said the child, nodding. "I am glad I came to you, for now I have -a brother Dan." - -"And I have a little sister," said Dan. - -While Dan was away, and now he was away after supper regularly, Althea -was a great deal of company for Mrs. Mordaunt. - -In the pleasant afternoons she took the little girl out to walk, -frequently to Union Square Park, where she made acquaintance with other -little girls, and had a merry time, while her new mother sat on one of -the benches. - -One day a dark-complexioned gentleman, who had been looking earnestly at -Althea, addressed Mrs. Mordaunt. - -"That is a fine little girl of yours, madam," he said. - -"Thank you," said Mrs. Mordaunt. - -"She does not resemble you much," he said, inquiringly. - -"No; there is very little resemblance," answered Mrs. Mordaunt, quietly, -feeling that she must be on her guard. - -"Probably she resembles her father?" again essayed the stranger. - -Mrs. Mordaunt did not reply, and the stranger thought she was offended. - -"I beg your pardon," he said, "but she resembles a friend of mine, and -that called my attention to her." - -Mrs. Mordaunt bowed, but thought it wisest not to protract the -conversation. She feared that the inquirer might be a friend of the -father, and hostile to the true interests of the child. - -For a week to come she did not again bring Althea to the park, but -walked with her in a different direction. When, after a week, she -returned to the square, the stranger had disappeared. At all events, he -was not to be seen. - -We pass now to Dan and his interests. - -Mr. Talbot heard of his engagement with anything but satisfaction. He -even ventured to remonstrate with Mr. Rogers. - -"Do you know that this boy whom you have engaged is a common newsboy?" -he asked. "I have bought a paper more than once of him, in front of the -Astor House." - -"So have I," answered Mr. Rogers, quietly. - -"Then you know all about him?" - -"Yes." - -"It is none of my business, but I think you could easily get a better -boy. There is my nephew----" - -"Your nephew would not suit me, Mr. Talbot." - -The book-keeper bit his lip. - -"Won't you give him a trial?" he asked. - -"I have engaged Dan." - -"If Dan should prove unsatisfactory, would you try my nephew?" - -"Perhaps so." - -It was an incautious concession, for it was an inducement to the -book-keeper to get Dan into trouble. - -It was Dan's duty to go to the post-office, sometimes to go on errands, -and to make himself generally useful about the warehouses. As we know, -however, he had other duties of a more important character, of which Mr. -Talbot knew nothing. - -The first discovery Dan made was made through the book-keeper's -carelessness. - -Mr. Rogers was absent in Philadelphia, when Talbot received a note which -evidently disturbed him. Dan saw him knitting his brows, and looking -moody. Finally he hastily wrote a note, and called Dan. - -"Take that to -- Wall street," he said, "and don't loiter on the way." - -The note was directed to Jones & Robinson. - -On reaching the address, Dan found that Jones & Robinson were stock -brokers. - -Jones read the note. - -"You come from Mr. Talbot?" he asked. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Tell him we will carry the stocks for him a week longer, but can't -exceed that time." - -"Perhaps you had better write him a note," suggested Dan, "as he may not -like to have me know his business." - -"Very well." - -So Dan carried back the note. - -"I believe I have made a discovery," he said to himself. "Mr. Talbot is -speculating in Wall street. I wonder if he speculates with his own money -or the firm's?" - -His face, however, betrayed nothing as he handed the note to the -book-keeper, and the latter, after a searching glance, decided that -there was nothing to fear in that quarter. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -TALBOT'S SECRET. - - -Some light may be thrown upon Mr. Talbot's operations, if the reader -will accompany him to a brownstone house on Lexington avenue, on the -evening of the day when Dan was sent to the office of the Wall street -brokers. - -Mr. Talbot ascended the steps, not with the elastic step of a man with -whom the world is prospering, but with the slow step of a man who is -burdened with care. - -"Is Miss Conway at home?" he inquired of the servant who answered the -bell. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Will you tell her I should like to speak with her?" - -"Yes, sir." - -Talbot walked in with the air of one who was familiar with the house, -and entering a small front room, took a seat. - -The furniture was plain, and the general appearance was that of a -boarding-house. - -Talbot seemed immersed in thought, and only raised his eyes from the -carpet when he heard the entrance of a young lady. His face lighted up, -and he rose eagerly. - -"My dear Virginia," he said, "it seems a long time since I saw you." - -"It is only four days," returned the young lady, coolly. - -"Four days without seeing you is an eternity." - -The young lady smiled. It was easy to see that Talbot was in love, and -she was not. - -"A very pretty compliment," she said. "Well, have you any news?" - -"Not good news," said he, soberly. - -She shrugged her shoulders, and looked disappointed. - -Before going further, it may be as well to describe briefly the young -lady who had so enthralled the book-keeper. - -She had the advantage of youth, a complexion clear red and white, and -decidedly pretty features. If there was a defect, it was the expression -of her eyes. There was nothing soft or winning in her glance. She -seemed, and was, of a cold, calculating, unsympathetic nature. She was -intensely selfish, and was resolved only to marry a man who could -gratify her taste for finery and luxurious living. - -She was the niece of Mrs. Sinclair, who kept the boarding-house, and -though living in dependence upon her aunt, did nothing to relieve her -from the care and drudgery incidental to her business. - -"It's too provoking," she said, pouting. - -"So it is, Virginia;" and Talbot tried to take her hand, but she quietly -withdrew it. - -"You told me that you would have plenty of money by this time, Mr. -Talbot." - -"I expected it, but a man can't foresee the fluctuations of Wall street. -I am afraid I shall meet with a loss." - -"I don't believe you are as smart as Sam Eustis--he's engaged to my -cousin. He made ten thousand dollars last month on Lake Shore." - -"It's the fools that blunder into luck," said Talbot, irritated. - -"Then you'd better turn fool; it seems to pay," said Virginia, rather -sharply. - -"No need of that--I'm fool enough already," said Talbot, bitterly. - -"Oh, well, if you've only come here to make yourself disagreeable, I'm -sure you'd better stay away," said the young lady, tossing her head. - -"I came here expecting sympathy and encouragement," said Talbot. -"Instead, you receive me with taunts and coldness." - -"You are unreasonable, Mr. Talbot," said Virginia. "I will be cheerful -and pleasant when you bring me agreeable news." - -"Oh, Virginia!" exclaimed Talbot, impulsively. "Why will you require -impossibilities of me? Take me as I am. I have an income of two thousand -dollars a year. We can live comfortably on that, and be happy in a snug -little home." - -"Snug little home!" repeated the young lady, scornfully. "Thank you; I'd -rather not. I know just what that means. It means that I am to be a -household drudge, afraid to spend an extra sixpence--perhaps obliged to -take lodgers, like my aunt." - -"Not so bad as that, Virginia." - -"It would come to that in time." - -"I am sure you cannot love me when you so coolly give me up for money." - -"I haven't given you up, but I want you to get money." - -"Would to Heaven I could!" - -"You could if you were in earnest." - -"Do you doubt that?" - -"Where there's a will, there's a way, Mr. Talbot. If you really care so -much for me, you will try to support me as I want to live." - -"Tell me, in a word, what you want." - -"Well," said Virginia, slowly, "I want to go to Europe for my -honey-moon. I've heard so much of Paris, I know I should like it ever -so much. Then I want to live _respectably_ when I get back." - -"What do you call living respectably?" asked Talbot. - -"Well, we must have a nice little house to ourselves, and I think, just -at first, I could get along with three servants; and I should want to go -to the opera, and the theater, and to concerts." - -"You have not been accustomed to live in that way, Virginia." - -"No; and that's why I have made up my mind not to marry unless my -husband can gratify me." - -"Suppose this is impossible?" - -"Impossible for you!" said Miss Conway, significantly. - -"You mean you will look elsewhere?" said Talbot, hastily. - -"Yes, I think so," said Virginia, coolly. - -"And you would desert me for a richer suitor?" he demanded, quickly. - -"Of course I would rather marry you--you know that," said Virginia, with -perfect self-possession; "but if you can't meet my conditions, perhaps -it is better that we should part." - -"You are cruel--heartless!" exclaimed Talbot, angrily. - -"No; only sensible," she returned, calmly. "I don't mean to marry you -and be unhappy all my life; and I can't be happy living in the stuffy -way my aunt does. We should both be sorry for such a marriage when it -was too late." - -"I will take the risk, Virginia," said Talbot, fixing his eyes with -passionate love on the cold-hearted girl. - -"But I will not," said Virginia, decidedly. "I am sure you needn't take -it to heart, Mr. Talbot. Why don't you exert yourself and win a fortune, -as other people do? I am sure plenty of money is made in Wall street." - -"And lost." - -"Not if you are smart. Come now, smooth your face, and tell me you will -try," she said, coaxingly. - -"Yes, Virginia, I will try," he answered, his face clearing. "And if I -try----" - -"You will succeed," she said, smiling. - -"Well, I hope I may." - -"And now don't let us talk about disagreeable things. Do you know, sir, -it is a week since you took me to any place of amusement? And here I -have been moping at home every evening with my aunt, who is terribly -tiresome, poor old soul!" - -"I would rather spend the evening here with you, Virginia, than go to -any place of amusement." - -"Then I can't agree with you. One gets tired of spooning." - -"I don't--if you call by that name being in the company of one you -love." - -"You would, if you had as little variety as I have." - -"Tell me one thing, Virginia--you love me, don't you?" asked Talbot, in -whose mind sometimes there rose an unpleasant suspicion that his love -was not returned. - -"Why, of course I do, you foolish man," she said, carelessly. "And now, -where are you going to take me?" - -"Where do you want to go, my darling?" - -"To the Italian opera. To-morrow they play 'The Huguenots.'" - -"I thought you didn't care for music, Virginia?" - -"I don't go for that. I want to go because it's fashionable, and I want -to be seen. So, be a good boy, and get some nice seats for to-morrow -evening." - -"Very well, my darling." - -"And you'll try to get rich, for my sake?" - -"Yes, Virginia. How rich must I be?" - -"As soon as you can tell me you have ten thousand dollars, and will -spend half of it on a trip to Europe, I will marry you." - -"Is that a bargain?" - -"Yes." - -"Then I hope to tell you so soon." - -"The sooner the better." - -When Talbot left the house it was with the determination to secure the -sum required by any means, however objectionable. His great love had -made him reckless. - -Virginia Conway followed his retreating form with her cool, calculating -glance. - -"Poor man! he is awfully in love!" she said to herself. "I'll give him -two months to raise the money, and if he fails, I think I can captivate -Mr. Cross, though he's horrid." - -Mr. Cross was a middle-aged grocer, a widower, without children, and -reputed moderately wealthy. - -When Mr. Talbot had entered the house, Dan was not far off. Later, he -saw him at the window with Virginia. - -"I suppose that's his young lady," thought Dan. "All right! I guess he's -safe for this evening." - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -TWO KNIGHTS OF THE HIGHWAY. - - -Stocks took an upward turn, so that Talbot's brokers were willing to -carry them for him longer without an increase of margin. The market -looked so uncertain, however, that he decided to sell, though he only -made himself whole. To escape loss hardly satisfied him, when it was so -essential to make money. - -He was deeply in love with Virginia Conway, but there was no hope of -obtaining her consent to a marriage unless he could raise money enough -to gratify her desires. - -How should he do it? - -He was returning to his boarding-house at a late hour one night, when, -in an unfrequented street, two figures advanced upon him from the -darkness, and, while one seized him by the throat, the other rifled his -pockets. - -Talbot was not a coward, and having only a few dollars in his -pocket-book, while his watch, luckily, was under repair at Tiffany's, he -submitted quietly to the examination. - -The pocket-book was opened and its contents eagerly scanned. - -An exclamation of disgust mingled with profanity followed. - -"Only five dollars, Mike!" muttered one of the ruffians. - -"Why don't you carry money, like a gentleman?" demanded the man called -Mike. "Ain't you ashamed to carry such a lean wallet as that there?" - -"Really, gentlemen, if I had expected to meet you, I would have provided -myself better," said Talbot, not without a gleam of humor. - -"He's chaffing us Bill," said Mike. - -"You'd better not, if you know what's best for yourself," growled Bill. -"Where's your ticker?" - -"My watch is at Tiffany's." - -"That's too thin." - -"It's the truth. You ought to have waited till next week, when I'd have -had it for you." - -"You're a cool customer." - -"Why not?" - -"We might hurt you." - -"You have already. Don't squeeze my throat so next time." - -"Have you any jewelry about you?" - -"Only a pair of sleeve buttons." - -"Gold?" - -"Yes; but they are small, and not worth much." - -"You've took us in reg'lar! A gent like you ought to have diamond studs, -or a pin, or something of value." - -"I know it, and I'm sorry I haven't, for your sakes." - -"No chaffing!" said Bill, with an ominous growl. - -"Don't be afraid. I look upon you as gentlemen, and treat you -accordingly. In fact, I'm glad I've met with you." - -"Why?" asked Mike, suspiciously. - -"I may be able to put something in your way." - -"Are you on the square?" asked Bill, rather surprised. - -"Yes." - -"What is it?" - -"I can't tell you in the street. Is there any quiet place, where we -shall not be disturbed or overheard?" - -The men looked at each other in doubt. - -"This may be a plant," said Mike, suspiciously. - -"On my honor, it isn't." - -"If it is," growled Bill, "you'd better make your will." - -"I know the risk, and am not afraid. In short, I have a job for you." - -The men consulted, and finally were led to put confidence in Talbot. - -"Is there money in it?" asked Mike. - -"Two hundred dollars apiece." - -"We'll hear what you have to say. Bill, let's go to your room." - -"Is it far away?" asked Talbot. - -"No." - -"Lead on, then." - -The three made their way to a dilapidated building on Houston street, -and ascended to the fourth floor. - -Bill kicked open the door of a room with his foot and strode in. - -A thin, wretched-looking woman sat in a wooden chair, holding a young -child. - -"Is it you, Bill?" she asked. - -"Yes, it's me!" growled her husband. "Just clear out into the other -room. Me and these gentlemen have business together." - -She meekly obeyed the command of her lord, glancing curiously at Talbot -as she went out. Mike she knew only too well, as one of her husband's -evil companions. - -The door was closed, but the wife bent her ear to the keyhole and -listened attentively. - -Suspecting nothing, the conspirators spoke in louder tones than they -were aware of, so that she obtained a pretty clear idea of what was -being planned. - -"Now go ahead," said Bill, throwing himself on the chair his wife had -vacated. "What's your game?" - -"Can you open a safe?" asked Talbot. - -"We might, 'specially if we knowed the combination." - -"Perhaps I can manage that." - -"Where is it?" - -Talbot gave the name of his employer and the number of his store. - -"What have you got to do with it?" - -"I'm the book-keeper." - -"You are? What are you going to make out of it?" - -"Leave that to me. I'll guarantee that you'll find four hundred dollars -there to pay you for your trouble." - -"That isn't enough. The risk is too great." - -"It is only one night's work." - -"If we're caught, it'll be Sing Sing for seven years." - -"That's true. How much do you require, gentlemen?" - -The men consulted. - -"We might do it for five hundred apiece," said Bill. - -There was a little discussion, but finally this was acceded to. Various -details were discussed, and the men separated. - -"I'm goin' your way," said Mike. "I'll show you the way out." - -"All right, thank you, but we'd better separate at the street door." - -"Why? Are you too fine a gentleman to be seen with the likes of me?" -demanded Mike, feeling insulted. - -"Not at all, my friend; but if we were seen together by any of the -police, who know me as book-keeper, it would excite suspicion later." - -"You're right. Your head's level. You're sure you're on the square?" - -"Yes, my friend. I shouldn't dare to tamper with men like you and Bill. -You might find a way to get even with me." - -"That's so, stranger. I guess we can trust you." - -"You may be sure of that." - -"More crime!" said the miserable wife to herself, as she heard through -the keyhole the details of the plan. "Bill is getting worse and worse -every day. Where will it all end?" - -"Here, Nancy, get me something to eat," said Bill, when his visitors had -departed. - -"Yes, Bill, I will get you all there is." - -The wife brought out from a small closet a slice of bread and a segment -of cheese. - -"Pah!" said the burly ruffian, turning up his nose. "What are you giving -us?" - -"It's all I've got, Bill." - -"Where's the meat, I say?" - -"There is none." - -"You and your brat have eaten it!" said he, irritably. - -"God help us, Bill! We have had no meat for a week." - -"That's a lie! I can't eat such trash as that. Do you mean to starve -me?" - -"I can't make food, Bill. If you will give money, I will provide better. -I can't do anything without money." - -"Whining, are you?" said the brute, furiously. "I'll teach you to -complain of me. Take that, and that!" and he struck the woman two brutal -blows with his fist. One, glancing, struck the child, who began to cry. -This further irritated Bill, who, seizing his wife by the shoulders, -thrust her out on the landing. - -"There, stay there with the cursed brat!" he growled. "I mean to have -one quiet night." - -The wretched wife crept down stairs, and out into the street, scarcely -knowing what she did. She was not wholly destitute of spirit, and -though she might have forgiven personal injury, felt incensed by the -treatment of her innocent child. - -"My poor baby!" she said, pitifully, "must you suffer because your -father is a brute? May Heaven avenge our wrongs! Sooner or later it -will." - -She sat down on some steps near by; the air was chilly, and she shivered -with the cold, but she tried to shelter her babe as well as she could. -She attracted the attention of a boy who was walking slowly by. - -It was Dan, who had at a distance witnessed Talbot's encounter with the -burglars, and his subsequent friendly companionship with them, and was -trying to ascertain the character of the place which he visited. - -"What's the matter with you?" asked Dan, in a tone of sympathy. - -[Illustration: "What's the matter with you?" asked Dan, in a tone of -sympathy. Page 148] - -"My husband has thrust me out of doors with my poor baby." - -"He must be a nice husband. Do you want a lodging?" - -"I have no money." - -"I can let you have enough for that. There's a cheap hotel near by. I'll -take you to it, and pay for your lodging, and pay for it in advance." - -"Heaven bless you! You are indeed a friend." - -"Take my arm." - -Supported by Dan, the poor woman rose and walked to an humble tavern not -far away. - -"She may know something about Talbot's visit. I'll question her," -thought Dan. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -DAN AS A GOOD SAMARITAN. - - -"What made your husband treat you so badly?" asked Dan. - -"Rum!" answered the woman. "Rum has been sinking him lower and lower, -and it's easy to see the end." - -"What will be the end?" - -"The prison--perhaps the gallows." - -"You are taking too dark a view of your husband," said Dan, soothingly. -"He won't go as far as that." - -The woman shook her head. - -"I know him only too well," she said. "This very evening he has been -planning a burglary." - -Dan started, and a sudden suspicion entered his mind. - -"Did you hear him doing it?" he asked. - -"Yes." - -"Do you know where it is?" he asked, eagerly. - -"Yes; it is a store on Pearl street." - -Dan felt that he was on the track of a discovery. He was likely to be -repaid at last for the hours he had spent in detective service. - -"Who put him up to it?" he asked, fixing his eyes intently on the woman. - -"I don't know his name; he is a well-dressed man. I think he is in the -store." - -"Was it a man who came to your rooms this evening?" - -"Yes." - -"Is this the way he looked?" Here Dan gave a rapid description of -Talbot. - -"That is the man. Do you know him?" - -"Yes, I know him. He is the book-keeper of the firm." - -"He is a bad man. He is to pay a thousand dollars for the job. Bill is -to have half of it." - -"Bill, I suppose, is your husband?" - -"Yes." - -Dan looked thoughtful. Here was a most important discovery. He must -consider what to do. - -By this time they had reached a small public-house, of humble exterior, -but likely to afford his companion better accommodations than she had at -home. - -"Come in," said Dan. - -The woman followed him, with the child in her arms. A stout German, who -appeared to be the proprietor of the establishment, was sitting in an -arm-chair, smoking a pipe. He scanned the party phlegmatically. - -"What you wants?" he asked. - -"Can you give this lady a room?" asked Dan. - -"Is she your vife?" asked the German, with a broad grin. - -"No; she is an acquaintance of mine. Her husband has driven her out of -his house in a fit of drunkenness. Can she sleep here?" - -"Has she got any money?" asked the Dutchman, shrewdly. - -"I will pay for her lodging." - -"That's all right. She shall stay here." - -"What will you charge?" - -"Fifty cents a night for the lodging." - -"Here it is." - -"Will the lady go up now?" asked the landlord, upon whom the silver -half-dollar produced a visible impression. - -"Yes," said the woman; "my poor baby is tired." - -"You had better stay here two nights," said Dan. "Don't let your husband -know where you are just yet. Here is money to pay for another night's -lodging, and enough to buy food besides." - -"God bless you, boy!" she said, gratefully. "But for you I should have -had to stay out all night." - -"Oh, no; some one would have taken you in." - -"You don't know this neighborhood; the policeman would have found me, -and taken me to the station-house. For myself I care little; but my poor -babe, who is worse than fatherless----" and she burst into tears. - -"Keep up your courage, madam. Brighter days may be in store," said Dan, -cheerfully. - -"I will come and see you day after to-morrow," said Dan. "Good-night." - -Our hero must not be awarded too great credit for his generosity. He -knew that Mr. Rogers would willingly defray all expenses connected with -the discovery, and that the money he had advanced to his unfortunate -companion would be repaid. Had it been otherwise, however, his generous -heart would have prompted him to relieve the woman's suffering. - - - - -CHAPTER XX. - -LAYING THE TRAIN. - - -Very early the next morning Dan rang the bell at Mr. Rogers' residence. - -"Can I see Mr. Rogers?" he asked. - -"The master won't be up for an hour," said the servant. - -"Tell him Dan wishes to see him on business of importance." - -The girl shrugged her shoulders. - -"I don't think he'll see you. He was up late last night," she said. - -"Never mind. Let him know I am here." - -"It's very important you make yourself," said Susan, crossly. - -"I _am_ a person of great importance," said Dan, smiling. "Mr. Rogers -will see me, you'll find." - -Two minutes later Susan descended the stairs a little bewildered. - -"You're to walk into the parlor," she said. "Master'll be down -directly." - -Dan did not have long to wait. Mr. Rogers came down stairs almost -directly in dressing-gown and slippers. - -"Well, Dan, what is it?" he asked. - -"The store is to be broken open to-night and the safe robbed!" said Dan. - -"Good heavens! By whom?" - -"By two men living in Houston street--at least, one lives there." - -"Have you any more to tell?" - -"Yes, sir; they are employed by Mr. Talbot." - -Mr. Rogers started. - -"Are you sure of this?" he asked. - -"Quite sure." - -"How did you find out?" - -"Partly by accident, sir." - -"Go on. Tell me all." - -Dan rehearsed the story, already familiar to our readers, combining with -it some further information he had drawn from the woman. - -"I didn't think Talbot capable of this," said Mr. Rogers. "He has been -in our employ for ten years. I don't like to think of his treachery, -but, unhappily, there is no reason to doubt it. Now, Dan, what is your -advice?" - -"I am afraid my advice wouldn't be worth much, Mr. Rogers," said Dan, -modestly. - -"I am not sure of that. I am indebted to you for this important -discovery. You are keen and ready-witted. I won't promise to follow your -advice, but I should like to hear it." - -"Then, sir, I will ask you a question. Do you want to prevent the -robbery, or to catch the men in the act?" - -"I wish to catch the burglars in the act." - -"Then, sir, can you stay away from the store to-day?" - -"Why?" - -"Your looks might betray your suspicions." - -"There is something in that. But how can I take measures to guard -against loss?" - -"You can act through me, sir. Is there much money in the safe?" - -"No; but Talbot is authorized to sign checks. He will draw money if I am -not at the store." - -"Will he place it in the safe?" - -"Probably." - -"Then let him do so. He is to tell the burglars the combination. He will -get it from the janitor." - -"The scoundrel!" - -"I will see the janitor, and ask him to give the book-keeper the wrong -word." - -"What else?" - -"I will secretly notify the police, whom he will admit and hide till the -time comes." - -"That is well planned." - -"Then," continued Dan, flushing with excitement, "we'll wait till the -burglars come, and let them begin work on the safe. While they are at -work, we will nab them." - -"You say we." - -"Yes, sir; I want to be there." - -"There may be danger." - -"I'll risk it, sir." - -"Dan, you are a brave boy." - -"I don't know about that, sir. But if anything is going on to-night, I -want to be in it." - -"You shall, but be prudent. I don't want you to be hurt." - -"Thank you, sir. If Mr. Talbot sends me with a large check to the bank, -what shall I do?" - -"Take it." - -"He may make off with the money during the day." - -"I will set another detective to watch him, and have him arrested in -that event." - -"This is going to be an exciting day," said Dan to himself, as he set -out for the store. - - - - -CHAPTER XXI. - -TWELVE THOUSAND DOLLARS. - - -As Dan entered the store he noticed that Talbot looked excited and -nervous. Ordinarily the book-keeper would have reprimanded him sharply -for his late arrival, but he was not disposed to be strict this morning. - -"I'm a little late this morning, Mr. Talbot," said Dan. - -"Oh, well, you can be excused for once," said Talbot. - -He wished to disarm suspicion by extra good humor. Besides, he intended -to send Dan to the bank presently for a heavy sum, and thought it best -to be on friendly terms with him. - -About ten o'clock a messenger entered the store with a note from Mr. -Rogers to the book-keeper. It was to this effect: - - - "I am feeling rather out of sorts this morning, and shall not come - to the store. Should you desire to consult me on any subject, send - a messenger to my house." - - -Talbot read this note with great satisfaction. The only obstacle to -carrying out his plans was the apprehended presence and vigilance of his -employer. Now he had a clear field. - -About one o'clock he called Dan into the office. - -"Here, Dan," he said, "I want you to go to the bank at once." - -"Yes, sir." - -"Here is a check for twelve thousand dollars--rather a heavy amount--and -you must be very careful not to lose any of it, or to let any one see -that you have so much with you. Do you understand?" - -"Yes, sir. In what denominations shall I get the money?" - -"You may get one hundred dollars in fives and tens, and the remainder in -large bills." - -"All right, sir." - -"He means to make a big haul," said Dan to himself, as he left the -store. "I hope our plans won't miscarry. I wouldn't like Mr. Rogers to -lose so large a sum." - -As Dan left the store a man of middle size, who was lounging against a -lamp-post, eyed him sharply. As Dan was turning the corner of the street -he left his post, and, walking rapidly, overtook him. - -"Where are you going?" he asked. - -"What is that to you?" demanded Dan. - -"You are in the employ of Barton & Rogers, are you not?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Is your name Dan?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"I am a detective, on watch here by order of Mr. Rogers. Now will you -answer my question?" - -"Certainly. I am going to the bank." - -"To draw money?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"How much?" - -"Twelve thousand dollars." - -"Whew! That is a big sum. Who sent you?" - -"Mr. Talbot." - -"He is the book-keeper, is he not?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"I will walk along with you. There is no need of watching till you bring -back the money. Where do you think Talbot will put the money?" - -"In the safe, I think, sir." - -"I am not sure of that. I believe he will retain the greater part on his -own person. If the men who are to rob the safe got hold of all the money -they would be likely to keep it, and not limit themselves to the sum he -agrees to pay them." - -"I suppose you are right, sir. What, then, are we to do?" asked Dan, -perplexed. - -"I shall take care to keep Talbot in view. He doesn't propose to run -away. He means to have it understood that all this money has been taken -by the burglars, whereas but a tithe of the sum will be deposited in the -safe." - -Dan nodded assent. He was convinced that the detective was right. Still -he was anxious. - -"It seems to me there is a risk of losing the money," he said. - -The detective smiled. - -"Don't be afraid," he said, confidentially. "Talbot won't leave the -city. I will take care of that." - -His words inspired confidence, and Dan entered the bank without -misgivings. - -The check was so large that the bank officials scrutinized it carefully. -There was no doubt about its being correct, however. - -"How will you have it?" was asked. - -Dan answered as he had been directed. - -"Be very careful, young man," said the disbursing clerk. "You've got too -much to lose." - -"All right, sir." - -Dan deposited one roll of bills in the left inside pocket of his coat, -and the balance in the right pocket, and then buttoned up the coat. - -"I'm a boy of fortune for a short time," he said to himself. "I hope -the time will come when I shall have as much money of my own." - -Dan observed that the detective followed him at a little distance, and -it gave him a feeling of security. Some one might have seen the large -sum of money paid him, and instances had been known where boys in such -circumstances had suddenly been set upon in the open street at midday -and robbed. He felt that he had a friend near at hand who would -interfere in such a case. - -"What time is it, boy?" asked an ill-looking man, suddenly accosting -him. - -"Half-past one." - -"Look at your watch." - -"I don't carry one," said Dan, eying the questioner suspiciously. - -"Nor I. I have been very unfortunate. Can't you give me a quarter to buy -me some dinner?" - -"Ask some one else; I'm in a hurry," said Dan, coldly. - -The man went away muttering. - -"I'm not as green as you take me for," said Dan to himself. - -He thought his danger was over, but he was mistaken. - -Suddenly a large man, with red hair and beard, emerging from Dan knew -not where, laid his hand on his shoulder. - -Dan turned in surprise. - -"Boy," said he, in a fierce undertone, "give me that money you have in -your coat-pocket, or I will brain you." - -"You forget we are in the public street," said Dan. - -"No, I don't." - -"You would be arrested." - -"And you would be--stunned, perhaps killed!" hissed the man. "Look here, -boy, I am a desperate man. I know how much money you have with you. Give -me half, and go." - -Dan looked out of the corner of his eye, to see the detective close at -hand. This gave him courage, for he recognized that the villain was only -speaking the truth, and he did not wish to run any unnecessary risk. He -gave a nod, which brought the detective nearer, and then slipped to one -side, calling: - -"Stop thief!" - -The ruffian made a dash for him, his face distorted with rage, but his -arm was grasped as by an iron vise. - -"Not so fast, Jack Benton!" exclaimed the detective, and he signaled to -a policeman. "You are up to your old tricks again, as I expected." - -"Who are you?" demanded Jack, angrily. - -"A detective." - -"The devil!" ejaculated the foiled burglar. "I have taken nothing," he -added, sullenly. - -"That isn't your fault. I heard you threatening the boy, unless he gave -up the money in his possession. Take him away, officer. I will appear -against him." - -"Thank you, sir," said Dan, gratefully. - -"All right. Go on as quickly as possible. I will keep you in view." - -All this took a little time. - -Talbot, whose conscience was uneasy, and with good cause, awaited Dan's -arrival very anxiously. - -"What made you so long?" he asked. - -"A man tried to rob me." - -"Did he succeed?" asked Talbot, quickly. - -"No; he was recognized by a policeman, who arrested him as he was on the -point of attacking me." - -Talbot asked no further questions, considerably to Dan's relief, for he -did not wish to mention the detective if it could be avoided. - -The book-keeper contented himself with saying, in a preoccupied tone, as -he received the money: - -"You can't be too careful when you have much money about you. I am -almost sorry I sent for this money," he proceeded. "I don't think I -shall need to use it to-day." - -"Shall I take it back to the bank, sir?" asked Dan. - -"No; I shall put it in the safe over night. I don't care to risk you or -the money again to-day." - -"That's a blind," thought Dan. "He won't put it in the safe." - - - - -CHAPTER XXII. - -TALBOT'S SCHEME FAILS. - - -Talbot went into the office where he was alone. But the partition walls -were of glass, and Dan managed to put himself in a position where he -could see all that passed within. - -The book-keeper opened the package of bills, and divided them into two -parcels. One he replaced in the original paper and labeled it "$12,000." - -The other he put into another paper, and put into his own pocket. Dan -saw it all, but could not distinguish the denominations of the bills -assigned to the different packages. He had no doubt, however, that the -smaller bills were placed in the package intended to be deposited in the -safe, so that, though of apparently equal value, it really contained -only about one-tenth of the money drawn from the bank. - -Talbot was not conscious of observation. Indeed, he was not observed, -except by Dan, whose business it was to watch him. - -The division being made, he opened the safe and placed the package -therein. - -"Not quite smart enough, Mr. Talbot," thought Dan. "You will need more -watching." - -He was anxious to communicate his discovery to the detective outside, -but for some time had no opportunity. - -About an hour later he was sent out on an errand. He looked about him in -a guarded manner till he attracted the attention of the outside -detective. The latter, in answer to a slight nod, approached him -carelessly. - -"Well," he asked, "have you any news?" - -"Yes," answered Dan. "Mr. Talbot has divided the money into two -packages, and one of them he has put into his own pocket." - -"What has he done with the other?" - -"Put it into the safe." - -"As I expected. He means to appropriate the greater part to his own -use." - -"Is there anything more for me to do?" asked Dan. - -"I don't know. Keep your eyes open. Does the book-keeper suspect that he -is watched?" - -"I am sure that he doesn't." - -"That is well." - -"I am afraid he will get away with the money," said Dan, anxiously. - -"I am not. Do you know whether there's any woman in the case?" - -"He visits a young lady on Lexington avenue." - -"Do you know the number?" - -"No." - -"That is important. It is probably on her account that he wishes to -become suddenly rich." - -This supposition was a correct one, as we know. It did not, however, -argue unusual shrewdness on the part of the detective, since no motive -is more common in such cases. - -Dan returned to the office promptly, and nothing of importance occurred -during the remainder of the day. - -When Mr. Talbot was preparing to leave, he called in the janitor. - -"You may lock the safe," he said. - -"Very well, sir." - -"By the way, you may use the word 'Hartford' for the combination." - -"Very well, sir." - -"Be particularly careful, as the safe contains a package of -money--twelve thousand dollars." - -"Wouldn't it have been better to deposit it in the bank, Mr. Talbot?" - -"Yes, but it was not till the bank closed that I decided not to use it -to-day. However, it is secure in the safe," he added, carelessly. - -"I have no doubt of that, Mr. Talbot." - -Mr. Talbot put on his coat and departed. - -In turning a street corner, he brushed against a rough-looking man who -was leaning against a lamp-post. - -"I beg your pardon," said the book-keeper, politely. - -"What did you say?" growled Bill. - -"Hartford," said Talbot, in a low tone. - -"All right, sir. If you apologize it's all correct." - -"They've got the word," said Talbot to himself. "Now the responsibility -rests with them. Now I will go and see Virginia." - -His face flushed, and his eyes lighted up with joy, as he uttered her -name. He was deeply in love, and he felt that at last he was in a -position to win the consent of the object of his passion. He knew, or, -rather, he suspected her to be coldly selfish, but he was infatuated. It -was enough that he had fulfilled the conditions imposed upon him. In a -few days he would be on his way to Europe with the lady of his love. -Matters were so arranged that the loss of the twelve thousand dollars -would be credited to the burglars. He would escape suspicion. If his -European journey should excite a shadow of suspicion, nothing could be -proved, and he could represent that he had been lucky in stock -speculations, as even now he intended to represent to Miss Conway. - -He was not afraid that she would be deeply shocked by his method of -obtaining money, but he felt that it would be better not to trust her -with a secret, which, if divulged, would compromise his safety. - -"Is Miss Conway at home?" he inquired. - -Yes, Miss Conway was at home, and she soon entered the room, smiling -upon him inquiringly. - -"Well," she said, "have you any news to tell me?" - -"Virginia, are you ready to fulfill your promise?" asked Talbot, -eagerly. - -"What promise?" - -"You know, surely." - -"I make so many promises, you know," she said, fencing. - -"Your promise to marry me." - -"But there were conditions to that." - -"Suppose that the conditions are fulfilled, Virginia?" - -"Do you really mean so?" she asked, betraying strong interest now. "Have -you been lucky in stocks?" - -"I took your advice, Virginia. I dared everything, and I have -succeeded." - -"As you might have done before, had you listened to me. How much did you -make?" - -"Ten thousand dollars--the amount you required." - -The girl's eyes sparkled. - -"And you will take me to Europe?" she said. "We will make the grand -tour?" - -"As soon as you please." - -"Then you deserve a reward." - -She stooped and pressed a kiss lightly upon his cheek. - -It was a mercenary kiss, but he was so much in love that he felt repaid -for the wrong and wickedness he had done. It would not always be so, -even if he should never be detected, but for the moment he was happy. - -"Now let us form our plans," he said. "Will you marry me to-morrow -evening?" - -"But that gives me no time." - -"You need no time. We will call on a clergyman, quietly, to-morrow -evening, and in fifteen minutes we shall be man and wife. On Saturday a -steamer leaves for Europe. We will start then." - -"Oh, that will be nice. I can hardly believe that I shall so soon -realize the dreams of years. I want to go to Paris first." - -"Anywhere you please. Your wish shall be my law." - -"How can you be spared from your business?" asked Virginia, after a -pause. - -"I will plead ill health--anything. There will be no difficulty about -that." - -"Shall I tell my aunt?" - -"No; not till you are almost ready to start." - -"Why not?" - -"It is better that there should be no gossip about it. Besides, your -aunt would probably be scandalized by our hasty marriage, and insist -upon delay. That's something we should neither of us be willing to -consent to." - -"No, for it would interfere with our European trip." - -"You consent, then, to my plans?" - -"Yes; I will give you your own way this time," said Virginia, smiling. - -"And you will insist on having your own way ever after?" - -"Of course," she said; "isn't that right?" - -"I am afraid I must consent, at any rate; but, since you are to rule, -you must not be a tyrant, my darling." - -Talbot agreed to stay to dinner; indeed, it had been his intention from -the first. He remained till the city clocks struck eleven, and then took -leave of Miss Conway at the door. - -He set out for his boarding-place, his mind filled with thoughts of his -coming happiness, when a hand was laid on his arm. - -He wheeled suddenly, and his glance fell on a quiet man--the detective. - -"What's wanted?" he asked, not dreaming of the truth. - -"You must come with me, Mr. Talbot," was the reply. "You are suspected -of robbing the firm that employs you." - -"This is absurd nonsense!" exclaimed Talbot, putting on a bold face, -though his heart sank within him. - -"I hope so; but you must accompany me, and submit to a search. If my -suspicions are unfounded, I will apologize." - -"Hands off, fellow! I believe you intend to rob me. I will give you into -custody." - -The detective put a whistle to his mouth, and his summons brought a -policeman. - -"Take this man into custody," he said. - -"This is an outrage!" exclaimed Talbot; but he was very pale. - -"You will be searched at the station-house, Mr. Talbot," said the -detective. "I hope nothing will be found to criminate you. If not, you -shall go free." - -Talbot, with a swift motion, drew something from his pocket, and hurled -it into the darkness. But he was observed. - -The detective darted after it, and brought it back. - -"This is what I wanted," he said. "Policeman, you will bear witness -that it was in Mr. Talbot's possession. I fear we shall have to detain -you a considerable time, sir." - -Talbot did not utter a word. Fate had turned against him, and he was -sullen and desperate. - -"How did they suspect?" he asked himself; but no answer suggested -itself. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIII. - -THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM. - - -In the house on Houston street, Bill wasted little regret on the absence -of his wife and child. Neither did he trouble himself to speculate as to -where she had gone. - -"I'm better without her," he said to his confederate, Mike. "She's -always a-whinin' and complainin', Nance is. It makes me sick to see her. -If I speak a rough word to her, and it stands to reason a chap can't -always be soft-spoken, she begins to cry. I like to see a woman have -some spirit, I do." - -"They may have too much," said Mike, shrugging his shoulders. "My missus -ain't much like yours. She don't cry, she don't. If I speak rough to -her, she ups with something and flings it at my head. That's her style." - -"And what do you do?" asked Bill, in some curiosity. - -"Oh, I just leave her to get over it; that's the best way." - -"Is it?" said Bill, grimly. "Why, you're not half a man, you ain't. Do -you want to know what I'd do if a woman raised her hand against me?" - -"Well, what would you do?" - -"I'd beat her till she couldn't see!" said Bill, fiercely; and he looked -as if he was quite capable of it. - -"I don't know," said Mike. "You haven't got a wife like mine." - -"I just wish I had. I'd tame her." - -"She ain't easy to tame." - -"Just you take me round there some time, Mike. If she has a tantrum, -turn her over to me." - -Mike did not answer. He was not as great a ruffian as Bill, and the -proposal did not strike him favorably. - -His wife was certainly a virago, and though strong above the average, he -was her superior in physical strength, but something hindered him from -using it to subdue her. So he was often overmatched by the shrill-voiced -vixen, who knew very well that he would not proceed to extremities. Had -she been Bill's wife, she would have had to yield, or there would have -been bloodshed. - -"I say, Bill," said Mike, suddenly, "how much did your wife hear of our -plans last night?" - -"Nothing." - -"She might." - -"If she had she would not dare to say a word," said Bill, carelessly. - -"You don't know. Women like to use their tongues." - -"She knows I'd kill her if she betrayed me," said Bill. "There ain't no -use considerin' that." - -"Well, I'm glad you think so. It would be awkward if the police got wind -of it." - -"They won't." - -"What do you think of that chap that's puttin' us up to it?" - -"I don't like him, but I like his money." - -"Five hundred dollars a-piece ain't much for the risk we run." - -"We'll have more." - -"How?" - -"If we don't find more in the safe, we'll bleed him when all's over. -He'll be in our power." - -"Well, Bill, you know best. You've got a better head nor me." - -"And a stouter heart, man. You're always afeared of something." - -It was true that Bill was the leading spirit. He was reckless and -desperate, while Mike was apt to count the cost, and dwell upon the -danger incurred. - -They had been associated more than once in unlawful undertakings; and -though both had served a short term of imprisonment, they had in -general escaped scot-free. - -It was Bill who hung round the store, and who received from Talbot at -the close of the afternoon the "combination," which was to make the -opening of the safe comparatively easy. - -"It's a good thing to have a friend inside," he said to his confederate. -"Our money is as good as made." - -"There'll be the janitor to dispose of," suggested Mike. - -"Leave him to me. I'll knock him on the head." - -"Don't kill him if you can help it, Bill. Murder has an ugly look, and -they'll look out twice as sharp for a murderer as for a burglar. -Besides, swingin' ain't pleasant." - -"Never you mind. I'll only stun him a little. He can wake up when we're -gone, but we'll tie him so he can't give the alarm." - -"How cool you take things, Bill!" - -"Do I? Well, it's my business. You just leave everything to me. Obey -orders, and I'll bring you out all right." - -So the day passed, and darkness came on. It was the calm before the -storm. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIV. - -OLD JACK, THE JANITOR. - - -The janitor, or watchman, was a sturdy old man, who in early life had -been a sailor. Some accident had made him lame, and this incapacitated -him for his early vocation. It had not, however, impaired his physical -strength, which was very great, and Mr. Rogers was glad to employ him in -his present capacity. Of his fidelity there was no question. - -When Jack Green--Jack was the name he generally went by--heard of the -contemplated burglary, he was excited and pleased. It was becoming -rather tame to him to watch night after night without interruption, and -he fancied he should like a little scrimmage. He even wanted to -withstand the burglars single-handed. - -"What's the use of callin' in the police?" he urged. "It's only two men, -and old Jack is a match for two." - -"You're a strong man, Jack," said Dan, "but one of the burglars is as -strong as you are. I have seen him, you know. He's broad-shouldered and -big-chested." - -"I ain't afraid of him," said Jack, defiantly. - -"Perhaps not, but there's another man, too. You couldn't overcome both." - -"I don't know about that." - -But Jack finally yielded, though reluctantly, and three policemen were -admitted about eight o'clock, and carefully secreted, to act when -necessary. Jack pleaded for the privilege of meeting the burglars first, -and the privilege was granted, partly in order that they might be taken -in the act. Old Jack was instructed how to act, and though it was a part -not wholly in accordance with his fearless spirit, he finally agreed to -do as he was told. - -It is not necessary to explain how the burglars effected their entrance. -This was effected about twelve o'clock, and by the light of a -dark-lantern Bill and Mike advanced cautiously toward the safe. - -At this point old Jack made his appearance, putting on an air of alarm -and dismay. - -"Who are you?" he demanded, in a tone which he partially succeeded in -making tremulous. - -Bill took up the reply. - -"Are you the janitor?" he asked. - -"Yes, gentlemen. What do you want?" - -"Keep quiet, and we will do you no harm. We want you to open the safe." - -"I can't do that, gentlemen. I can't betray my trust." - -"All right; I'll do it myself. Give us the key. What's the combination?" - -"Hartford." - -Bill glanced at Mike significantly. The word agreed with the information -they had received from Talbot. It served to convince them that the -janitor had indeed succumbed, and could be relied upon. There was no -suspicion in the mind of either that there was any one else in the -establishment, and they felt moderately secure from interruption. - -"Here, old fellow, hold the lantern while we go to work. Just behave -yourself, and we'll give you ten dollars--shall we, Mike?" - -"Yes," answered Mike; "I'm agreed." - -"It'll look as if I was helpin' to rob my master," objected Jack. - -"Oh, never mind about that; he won't know it. When all is over we'll tie -you up, so that it will look as if you couldn't help yourself. What do -you say?" - -Jack felt like making a violent assault upon the man who was offering -him a bribe, but he controlled his impulse, and answered: - -"I'm a poor man, and ten dollars will come handy." - -"All right," said Bill, convinced by this time that Jack's fidelity was -very cheaply purchased. He plumed himself on his success in converting -the janitor into an ally, and felt that the way was clear before him. - -"Mike, give the lantern to this old man, and come here and help me." - -Old Jack took the lantern, laughing in his sleeve at the ease with which -he had gulled the burglars, while they kneeled before the safe. - -It was then that, looking over his shoulder, he noticed the stealthy -approach of the policemen, accompanied by Dan. He could content himself -no longer. Setting down the lantern, he sprang upon the back of Bill as -he was crouching before him, exclaiming: - -"Now, you villain, I have you!" - - - - -CHAPTER XXV. - -THE BURGLARY. - - -The attack was so sudden and unexpected that Bill, powerful as he was, -was prostrated, and for an instant interposed no resistance. But this -was not for long. - -"You'll repent this, you old idiot!" he hissed between his closed teeth, -and, in spite of old Jack's efforts to keep him down, he forced his way -up. - -At the same moment Mike, who had been momentarily dazed by the sudden -attack, seized the janitor, and, between them both, old Jack's life was -likely to be of a very brief tenure. But here the reinforcements -appeared, and changed the aspect of the battle. - -One burly policeman seized Bill by the collar, while Mike was taken in -hand by another, and their heavy clubs fell with merciless force on the -heads of the two captives. - -In the new surprise Jack found himself a free man, and, holding up the -lantern, cried, exultingly: - -"If I am an old idiot, I've got the better of you, you scoundrels! -You'll open the safe, will you?" - -Bill looked about him doggedly. It was hard for him to give in, but the -fight was too unequal. - -"Mike," said he, "this is a plant. I wish I had that cursed book-keeper -here; he led us into this." - -"Is it Mr. Talbot you mean?" asked the janitor. - -"Yes," answered Bill; "he put us up to this. Curse him!" - -"No need to curse him," said Jack, dryly; "he meant you to succeed." - -"Didn't he tell you we were coming to-night?" - -"Not he." - -"How did you find it out, then?" asked Bill, quickly. - -"Not through him. He was watched, for we suspected him. What did he -promise you?" - -"Five hundred dollars apiece." - -"Was that all?" - -"It wasn't enough; but we should have got more out of him." - -"Before you go away with your prisoners," said Jack to the policeman, "I -wish to open the safe before you, to see if I am right in my suspicions. -Mr. Talbot drew over ten thousand dollars from the bank to-day, and led -us to think that he deposited it in the safe. I wish to ascertain, in -the presence of witnesses, how much he placed there, and how much he -carried away." - -"Go ahead," said the oldest policeman. - -The janitor proceeded to open the safe. - -"Did we have the right combination?" asked Bill. - -"No." - -"That cursed book-keeper deceived us, then." - -"You are mistaken. He was himself deceived. I gave him the wrong word." - -"Curse you, then!" said Bill, savagely. - -"Suit yourself, Mr. Burglar," said old Jack, indifferently. "There's an -old saying, 'Curses, like chickens, still come home to roost.' Your -cursing won't hurt me any." - -"If my curses don't my fists may!" retorted Bill, with a malignant look. - -"You won't have a chance to carry out your threats for some years to -come, if you get your deserts," said Jack, by no means terrified. "I've -only done my duty, and I'm ready to do it again whenever needed." - -By this time the safe was open; all present saw the envelope of money -labeled "$12,000." - -The two burglars saw the prize which was to have rewarded their efforts -and risk with a tantalizing sense of defeat. They had been so near -success, only to be foiled at last, and consigned to a jail for a term -of years. - -"Curse the luck!" muttered Bill, bitterly, and in his heart Mike said -amen. - -"Gentlemen, I will count this money before you," said the janitor, as he -opened the parcel. - -The count was quickly accomplished. It resulted, as my readers already -know, in the discovery that, in place of twelve thousand, the parcel -contained but one thousand dollars. - -"Eleven thousand dollars short!" said Jack. "Gentlemen, will you take -notice of this? Of course it is clear where the rest is gone--Talbot -carried it away with him." - -"Where is he?" inquired one of the policemen. "He ought to be pursued." - -"By this time he is in custody," said Jack. - -"Look here, old man, who engineered this thing?" demanded Bill. - -"Come here, Dan," said Jack, summoning our hero, who modestly stood in -the background. "Mr. Burglar, this boy is entitled to the credit of -defeating you. We should have known nothing of your intentions but for -Dan, the Detective." - -"He!" said Bill, scornfully. "Why, I could crush him with one hand." - -"Force is a good thing, but brains are better," said Jack. "Dan here has -got a better head-piece than any of us." - -"You've done yourself credit, boy," said the chief policeman. "When I -have a difficult case I'll send for you." - -"You are giving me more credit than I deserve," said Dan, modestly. - -"If I ever get out of jail, I'll remember you," said Bill, scowling. "I -wouldn't have minded so much if it had been a man, but to be laid by the -heels by a boy like you--that's enough to make me sick." - -"You've said enough, my man," said the policeman who had him in charge. -"Come along, will you?" - -The two prisoners, escorted by their captors, made their unwilling way -to the station-house. They were duly tried, and were sentenced to a ten -years' term of imprisonment. - -As for Talbot, he tried to have it believed that he took the money found -on him because he distrusted the honesty of the janitor; but this -statement fell to the ground before Dan's testimony and that of Bill's -wife. - -He, too, received a heavy sentence, and it was felt that he only got his -just deserts. - - * * * * * * * - -On the morning after the events recorded above, Mr. Rogers called Dan -into the counting-room. - -"Dan," he said, "I wish to express to you my personal obligations for -the admirable manner in which you have managed the affair of this -burglary." - -"Thank you, sir," said Dan. - -"I am convinced that but for you I should have lost twelve thousand -dollars. It would not have ruined me, to be sure, but it would have been -a heavy loss." - -"Such a loss as that would have ruined me," said Dan, smiling. - -"So I should suppose," assented his employer. "I predict, however, that -the time will come when you can stand such a loss, and have something -left." - -"I hope so, sir." - -"As there must always be a beginning, suppose you begin with that." - -Mr. Rogers had turned to his desk and written a check, which he handed -to Dan. - -This was the way it read: - - - No. 375. - - PARK NATIONAL BANK. - Pay to Dan Mordaunt or order One Thousand Dollars. - ($1,000.) BARTON & ROGERS. - - -Dan took the check, supposing it might be for twenty dollars or so. When -he saw the amount, he started in excitement and incredulity. - -"One thousand dollars!" he repeated, in bewilderment. - -"Yes," said Mr. Rogers, smiling. "It is a large sum for a boy like you, -Dan. I hope you will invest it wisely." - -"But, sir, you don't mean all this for me?" said Dan. - -"Indeed I do. It is less than ten per cent on the money you have saved -for us." - -"How can I thank you for your kindness, sir?" said Dan, gratefully. - -"By continuing to serve us faithfully. By the way, what wages do we pay -you?" - -"Six dollars a week." - -"It is too little. From this time you will draw ten dollars." - -"You have made me rich, Mr. Rogers," said Dan, gratefully. - -"It is a little better than selling papers in front of the Astor House, -isn't it, Dan?" - -"A good deal, sir." - -"I hope you will continue to prosper. Now, Dan, let me give you two -pieces of advice." - -"I wish you would, sir." - -"First, put this money in a good savings-bank, and don't draw upon it -unless you are obliged to. Let it be a nest-egg." - -"I mean to do that, sir." - -"And next, spend a part of your earnings in improving your education. -You have already had unusual advantages for a boy of your age, but you -should still be learning. It may help you, in a business point of view, -to understand book-keeping." - -"I will learn it, sir." - -Dan not only did this, but resumed the study of both French and German, -of which he had some elementary knowledge, and advanced rapidly in all. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVI. - -DAN LEARNS TO DANCE. - - -Several months passed without any incidents worth recording. - -Punctually every month Dan received a remittance of sixty dollars -through a foreign banker, whose office was near Wall street. - -Of this sum it may be remembered that ten dollars were to be -appropriated to Althea's dress. - -Of the little girl it may be said she was very happy in her new home. -She formed a strong attachment for Mrs. Mordaunt, whom she called mamma, -while she always looked forward with delight to Dan's return at night. - -Mrs. Mordaunt was very happy in the child's companionship, and found the -task of teaching her very congenial. - -But for the little girl she would have had many lonely hours, since Dan -was absent all day on business. - -"I don't know what I shall do, Althea, when you go to school," she said -one day. - -"I don't want to go to school. Let me stay at home with you, mamma." - -"For the present I can teach you, my dear, but the time will come when -for your own good it will be better to go to school. I cannot teach you -as well as the teachers you will find there." - -"You know ever so much, mamma. Don't you know everything?" - -Mrs. Mordaunt smiled. - -"Compared with you, my dear, I seem to know a great deal, but there are -others who know much more." - -Althea was too young as yet, however, to attend school, and the happy -home life continued. - -Mrs. Mordaunt and Dan often wondered how long their mysterious ward was -to remain with them. Had she a mother living? If so, how could that -mother voluntarily forego her child's society? - -These were questions they sometimes asked themselves, but no answer -suggested itself. They were content to have them remain unanswered, so -long as Althea might remain with them. - -The increase of Dan's income, and the large sum he had on interest, -would have enabled them to live comfortably even without the provision -made for their young ward. - -As it was they could do better. Dan felt himself justified in indulging -in a little extravagance. - -"Mother," said he, one evening, "I am thinking of taking a course of -lessons in dancing." - -"What has put that into your head, Dan?" - -"Julia Rogers is to have a birthday party in two or three months, and I -think from a hint her father dropped to-day I shall have an invitation. -I shall feel awkward if I don't know how to dance. Besides----" - -Here Dan hesitated. - -"Well, Dan, what besides?" - -"Tom Carver will be sure to be there, and if I don't dance, or if I am -awkward, he will be sure to sneer at me." - -"Will that make you feel bad, Dan?" - -"Not exactly, but I don't want to appear at disadvantage when he is -around. If I have been a newsboy, I want to show that I can take the -part of gentleman as well as he." - -"Does the ability to dance make a gentleman, Dan?" - -"No, mother, but I should feel awkward without it. I don't want to be a -wall-flower. What do you say to my plan, mother?" - -"Carry it out by all means, Dan. There is no reason why you shouldn't -hold up your head with any of them," and Mrs. Mordaunt's eyes rested -with pride on the handsome face and manly expression of her son. - -"You are a little prejudiced in my favor, mother," said Dan, smiling. -"If I were as awkward as a cat in a strange garret, you wouldn't see -it." - -"I am not quite blind, Dan." - -Dan accordingly decided to take lessons in dancing. He selected a -fashionable teacher, although the price was high, for he thought it -might secure him desirable acquaintances, purchased a handsome suit of -clothes, and soon became very much interested in the lessons. He had a -quick ear, a good figure, and a natural grace of movement, which soon -made him noticeable in the class, and he was quite in demand among the -young ladies as a partner. - -He was no less a favorite socially, being agreeable as well as -good-looking. - -"Mr. Mordaunt," said the professor, "I wish all my scholars did me as -much credit as you do. You dance beautifully." - -"Thank you, sir," said Dan, modestly, but he felt gratified. - -By the time the invitation came Dan had no fears as to acquitting -himself creditably. - -"I hope Tom Carver will be there," he said to his mother, as he was -dressing for the party. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVII. - -IN THE DRESSING-ROOM. - - -Mr. Rogers lived in a handsome brown-stone-front house up town. - -As Dan approached, he saw the entire house brilliantly lighted. He -passed beneath a canopy, over carpeted steps, to the front door, and -rang the bell. - -The door was opened by a stylish-looking colored man, whose grand air -showed that he felt the importance and dignity of his position. - -As Dan passed in he said: - -"Gentlemen's dressing-room third floor back." - -With a single glance through the open door at the lighted parlors, where -several guests were already assembled, Dan followed directions, and went -up stairs. - -Entering the dressing-room, he saw a boy carefully arranging his hair -before the glass. - -"That's my friend, Tom Carver," said Dan to himself. - -Tom was so busily engaged at his toilet that he didn't at once look at -the new guest. When he had leisure to look up, he seemed surprised, and -remarked, superciliously: - -"I didn't expect to see _you_ here." - -"Why not?" demanded Dan, who understood his meaning. - -"Are you engaged to look after this room? If so, just brush me." - -"With all my heart, if you'll brush me," answered Dan, partly offended -and partly amused. - -"What do you mean?" demanded Tom, haughtily. - -"Just what I say. One good turn deserves another." - -"Our positions are rather different, I think." - -"How so? You are a guest of Miss Rogers, and so am I." - -"You don't mean to say that you are going down into the parlor?" - -"Why not?" - -"A boy who sells papers in front of the Astor House is not a suitable -guest at a fashionable party." - -"That is not your affair," said Dan, coldly. "But it is not true that I -sell papers anywhere." - -"Oh, I forgot. You're a shop-boy now. You used to sell papers, though." - -"And I will again, if necessary," answered Dan, as he took Tom's place -in front of the glass and began to arrange his toilet. - -Then, for the first time, Tom took notice that Dan was dressed as well -as himself, in a style with which the most captious critic could not -find fault. Tom was both surprised and disappointed. He would have liked -to see Dan in awkward, ill-fitting, or shabby clothes. It seemed to him -that an ex-newsboy had no right to dress so well, and he was greatly -puzzled to understand how he could afford it. - -"Where did you borrow those clothes?" he asked, impudently. - -"Where did you borrow yours?" retorted Dan. - -"Don't be saucy." - -"You set me the example." - -"It is not remarkable that I should be well dressed. I can afford it." - -"So can I," answered Dan, laconically. - -"Do you mean to say that you bought that suit and paid for it?" - -"I do." - -"It must have taken all your money." - -"You are very kind to take so much interest in me. It may relieve your -mind to see this." - -Dan took a roll of bills from his pocket, and displayed them to the -astonished Tom. - -"I don't see where you got so much money," said Tom, mystified. - -"I've got more in the bank," said Dan. "I mention it to you that you -needn't feel bad about my extravagance in buying a party suit." - -"I wouldn't have come to this party if I had been you," said Tom, -changing his tone. - -"Why not?" - -"You'll be so awkward, you know. You don't know any one except Miss -Rogers, who, of course, invited you out of pity, not expecting you would -accept." - -"Did she tell you so?" asked Dan, smiling. - -"No, but it stands to reason." - -"You forget I know you," said Dan, smiling again. - -"I beg you won't presume upon our former slight acquaintance," said Tom, -hastily. "I shall be so busily occupied that I really can't give you any -attention." - -"Then I must shift for myself, I suppose," said Dan, good-humoredly. -"Shall we go down?" - -"Go first, if you like," said Tom, superciliously. "I will follow -directly." - -"He doesn't want to go down with me," thought Dan. "Perhaps I shall -surprise him a little;" and he made his way down stairs. - - - - -CHAPTER XXVIII. - -DAN AT THE PARTY. - - -As Dan entered the parlors he saw the young lady in whose honor the -party was given only a few feet distant. - -He advanced with perfect ease, and paid his respects. - -"I am very glad to see you here this evening, Mr. Mordaunt," said Julia, -cordially. - -"What a handsome boy he is!" she thought. "I had no idea he would look -so well." - -Mentally she pronounced him the handsomest young gentleman present. - -"Take your partners for a quadrille, young gentlemen," announced the -master of ceremonies. - -"Are you engaged, Miss Rogers?" asked Dan. - -"Not as yet," answered the young lady, smiling. - -"Then may I have the honor?" - -"Certainly." - -So it happened that as Tom Carver entered the room, he beheld, to his -intense surprise and disgust, Dan leading the young hostess to her place -in the quadrille. - -"What a cheek that fellow has!" said Tom to himself. "I suppose he -never attempted to dance in his life. It will be fun to watch his -awkwardness. I am very much surprised that Julia should condescend to -dance with him--a common newsboy." - -At first Tom thought he wouldn't dance, but Mrs. Rogers approaching -said: - -"Tom, there's Jane Sheldon. She has no partner." - -Accordingly Tom found himself leading up a little girl of eight. - -There was no place except in the quadrille in which Dan and Julia Rogers -were to dance. Tom found himself one of the "sides." - -"Good-evening, Julia," he said, catching the eye of Miss Rogers. - -"Good-evening, Tom. You are late." - -"I am too late to be your partner." - -"Yes, but you see I am not left a wall-flower," said the young lady, -smiling. "Mr. Mordaunt kindly relieved me of that apprehension." - -"You are fortunate," said Tom, sneering. - -"I leave my partner to thank you for that compliment," said Julia, -determined not to gratify Tom by appearing to understand the sneer. - -"There's no occasion," said Tom, rudely. - -"I am glad of it," said Dan, "for I am so unused to compliments that I -am afraid I should answer awkwardly." - -"I can very well believe that," returned Tom, significantly. - -Julia did not smile. She looked offended rather for she felt that -rudeness to her partner reflected upon herself. - -But here the music struck up, and the quadrille began. - -"Now for awkwardness," said Tom to himself, and he watched Dan closely. - -But, to his surprise, nothing could be neater or better modulated than -Dan's movements. Instead of hopping about, as Tom thought he would, he -was thoroughly graceful. - -"Where could the fellow have learned to dance?" he asked himself, in -disappointment. - -Julia was gratified; for, to tell the truth, she too had not been -altogether without misgivings on the subject of Dan's dancing, and, -being herself an excellent dancer, she would have found it a little -disagreeable if Dan had proved awkward. - -The quadrille proceeded, and Tom was chagrined that the newsboy, as he -mentally termed Dan, had proved a better dancer than himself. - -"Oh, well, it's easy to dance in a quadrille," he said to himself, by -way of consolation. "He won't venture on any of the round dances." - -But as Dan was leading Julia to her seat he asked her hand in the next -polka, and was graciously accepted. - -He then bowed and left her, knowing that he ought not to monopolize the -young hostess. - -Although Tom had told Dan not to expect any attentions from him, he was -led by curiosity to accost our hero. - -"It seems that newsboys dance," said he. - -"Does it?" asked Dan, indifferently. - -"But it was not in very good taste for you to engage Miss Rogers for the -first dance." - -"Why not?" - -"It was making yourself too prominent." - -"Somebody had to be prominent, or Miss Rogers would have been left to -dance by herself." - -"There are others who would have made more suitable partners for her." - -"Yourself, for instance." - -"Yes." - -"I am sorry to have stood in your way." - -"Oh, you needn't mind. I shall have plenty of opportunities of dancing -with her, and you won't. I suppose she took pity on you, as you know no -other young lady here." - -Just then a pretty girl, beautifully dressed, approached Dan. - -"Good-evening, Mr. Mordaunt," she said, offering her hand with a beaming -smile. - -"Good-evening, Miss Carroll," said Dan. "Are you engaged for the galop?" - -Miss Carroll shook her head. - -"Then will you give me the pleasure?" - -In a minute Dan was whirling round the room with the young lady, greatly -to Tom's amazement, for Edith Carroll was from a family of high social -standing, living on Murray Hill. - -"How in the duse does Dan Mordaunt know that girl?" Tom asked himself, -with a frown. "They spoke as if they were acquainted." - -To Tom's further disappointment Dan danced as gracefully in the galop as -in the quadrille. - -When the galop was over, Dan promenaded with another young lady, whose -acquaintance he had made at dancing-school, and altogether seemed as -much at his ease as if he had been attending parties all his life. - -Tom managed to obtain Edith Carroll as a partner. - -"I didn't know you were acquainted with Dan Mordaunt," he said. - -"Oh, yes, I know him very well. Doesn't he dance charmingly?" - -"Humph!" said Tom, not very well pleased. "I thought him rather -awkward." - -"How can you say so, Mr. Carver? Why I think he dances _beautifully_, -and so do all the girls." - -"How do the girls know how he dances?" - -"Why he goes to our dancing-school. The professor says he is his best -pupil. We all like to dance with him." - -"That's fortunate for him," said Tom, with a sneer. "Perhaps he may -become a dancing-master in time." - -"He would make a good one, but I don't think he's very likely to do -that." - -"It would be a good thing for him. He is poor, you know." - -"No, I don't. I am sure he dresses well. He is as well-dressed as any -young gentleman here." - -This was true, and Tom resented it. He felt that Dan had no right to -dress well. - -"He ought not to spend so much money on dress when he has his mother to -support," he said, provoked. - -"It seems to me you take a great deal of interest in Mr. Mordaunt," said -the young beauty, pointedly. - -"Oh, no; he can do as he likes for all me, but, of course, when a boy -in his position dresses as if he were rich one can't help noticing it." - -"I am sure he can't be very poor, or he could not attend Dodworth's -dancing-school. At any rate I like to dance with him, and I don't care -whether he's poor or rich." - -Presently Tom saw Dan dancing the polka with Julia Rogers, and with the -same grace that he had exhibited in the other dances. - -He felt jealous, for he fancied himself a favorite with Julia, because -their families being intimate, he saw a good deal of her. - -On the whole Tom was not enjoying the party. He did succeed, however, in -obtaining the privilege of escorting Julia to supper. - -Just in front of him was Dan, escorting a young lady from Fifth avenue. - -"Mr. Mordaunt appears to be enjoying himself," said Julia Rogers. - -"Yes, he has plenty of cheek," muttered Tom. - -"Excuse me, Tom, but do you think such expressions suitable for such an -occasion as this?" - -"I am sorry you don't like it, but I never saw a more forward or -presuming fellow than this Dan Mordaunt." - -"I beg you to keep your opinion to yourself," said Julia Rogers, with -dignity. "I find he is a great favorite with all the young ladies here. -I had no idea he knew so many of them." - -Tom gave it up. It seemed to him that all the girls were infatuated with -a common newsboy, while his vanity was hurt by finding himself quite -distanced in the race. - -About twelve o'clock the two boys met in the dressing-room. - -"You seemed to enjoy yourself," said Tom, coldly. - -"Yes, thanks to your kind attentions," answered Dan, with a smile. "It -is pleasant to meet old friends, you know. By the way, I suppose we -shall meet at Miss Carroll's party." - -"Are _you_ to be invited?" asked Tom, in astonishment. - -"So the young lady tells me," answered Dan, smiling. - -"I suppose _you'll_ be giving a fashionable party next," said Tom, with -a sneer. - -"Consider yourself invited if I do. Good-night, and pleasant dreams." - -But Dan's dreams were by no means sweet that night. - -When he reached home, it was to hear of a great and startling -misfortune. - - - - -CHAPTER XXIX. - -A NE'ER DO WELL. - - -At half-past twelve Dan ascended the stairs to his mother's room. He had -promised to come in and tell her how he had enjoyed himself at the -party. He was in excellent spirits on account of the flattering -attentions he had received. It was in this frame of mind that he opened -the door. What was his surprise, even consternation, when his mother -advanced to meet him with tearful eyes and an expression of distress. - -"Oh, Dan, I am so glad you have got home!" she ejaculated. - -"What is the matter, mother? Are you sick?" asked Dan. - -"I am quite well, Dan; but Althea----" - -And Mrs. Mordaunt burst into tears. - -"What has happened to Althea? Is she sick?" asked Dan, alarmed. - -"We have lost her, Dan." - -"Lost her! You don't mean she is----" - -He couldn't finish the sentence, but his mother divined what he meant. - -"Not dead, thank God!" she said, "but she has disappeared--she has been -stolen." - -"You don't mean it, mother!" exclaimed Dan, startled and grieved. "Tell -me about it." - -Mrs. Mordaunt told what she knew, but that related only to the -particulars of the abduction. We are in a position to tell the reader -more, but it will be necessary to go back for a month, and transfer the -scene to another continent. - -In a spacious and handsomely furnished apartment at the West End of -London sat the lady who had placed Althea in charge of the Mordaunts. -She was deep in thought, and that not of an agreeable nature. - -"I fear," she said to herself, "that trouble awaits me. John Hartley, -whom I supposed to be in California, is certainly in London. I cannot be -mistaken in his face, and I certainly saw him in Hyde Park to-day. Did -he see me? I don't know, but I fear he did. If so, he will not long -delay in making his appearance. Then I shall be persecuted, but I must -be firm. He shall not learn through me where Althea is. He is her -father, it is true, but he has forfeited all claim to her guardianship. -A confirmed gambler and drunkard, he would soon waste her fortune, -bequeathed her by her poor mother. He can have no possible claim to it; -for, apart from his having had no hand in leaving it to her, he was -divorced from my poor sister before her death." - -At this point there was a knock at the door of the room. - -"Come in," said the lady. - -There entered a young servant-maid, who courtesied, and said: - -"Mrs. Vernon, there is a gentleman who wishes to see you." - -"Can it be Hartley?" thought the lady, with quick suspicion. - -"Did he give his name?" she asked. - -"Yes, mum; he said his name was Bancroft." - -"Bancroft! I know no one of that name," mused the lady. "Well, Margaret, -you may show him up, and you may remain in the anteroom within call." - -Her eyes were fixed upon the door with natural curiosity, when her -visitor entered. - -Instantly her face flushed, and her eyes sparkled with anger. - -"John Hartley!" she exclaimed. - -The visitor smiled mockingly. - -"I see you know me, Harriet Vernon," he said. "It is some time since we -met, is it not? I am charmed, I am sure, to see my sister-in-law looking -so well." - -He sank into a chair without waiting for an invitation. - -"When did you change your name to Bancroft?" demanded the lady, -abruptly. - -"Oh," he said, showing his teeth, "that was a little ruse. I feared you -would have no welcome for John Hartley, notwithstanding our near -relationship, and I was forced to sail under false colors." - -"It was quite in character," said Mrs. Vernon, coldly; "you were always -false. But you need not claim relationship. The slender tie that -connected us was broken when my sister obtained a divorce from you." - -"You think so, my lady," said the visitor, dropping his tone of mocking -badinage, and regarding her in a menacing manner, "but you were never -more mistaken. You may flatter yourself that you are rid of me, but you -flatter yourself in vain." - -"Do you come here to threaten me, John Hartley?" - -"I come here to ask for my child. Where is Althea?" - -"Where you cannot get at her," answered Mrs. Vernon, coldly. - -"Don't think to put me off in that way," he said, fiercely. "I will know -where she is." - -"Don't think to terrify me, John Hartley," said the lady, -contemptuously. "I am not so easily alarmed as your poor wife." - -Hartley looked at her as if he would have assaulted her had he dared, -but she knew very well that he did not dare. He was a bully, but he was -a coward. - -"You refuse, then, to tell me what you have done with my child?" he -demanded, at length. - -"I do." - -"Take care, madam! A father has some rights, and the law will not permit -his child to be kept from him." - -"Does your anxiety to see Althea arise from parental affection?" she -asked, in a sarcastic tone. - -"Never mind what it springs from. I have a right to the custody of my -child." - -"I suppose you have a right to waste her fortune also at the -gaming-table." - -"I have a right to act as my child's guardian," he retorted. - -"A fine guardian you would make!" she said, contemptuously. - -"Why should I not?" he asked, sulkily. - -"Why should you not, John Hartley? Do I need to answer the question? You -ill-treated and abused her mother. You wasted half her fortune. -Fortunately, she escaped from you before it was all gone. But you -shortened her life, and she did not long survive the separation. It was -her last request that I should care for her child--that I should, above -all, keep her out of your clutches. I made that promise, and I mean to -keep it." - -"You poisoned my wife's mind against me," he said. "But for your cursed -interference we should never have separated." - -"You are right, perhaps, in your last statement. I certainly did urge my -sister to leave you. I obtained her consent to the application for a -divorce, but as to poisoning her mind against you, there was no need of -that. By your conduct and your treatment you destroyed her love and -forfeited her respect, and she saw the propriety of the course which I -recommended." - -"I didn't come here to be lectured. You can spare your invectives, -Harriet Vernon. What is past is past. I was not a model husband, -perhaps, but I was as good as the average." - -"If that is the case, Heaven help the woman who marries!" - -"Or the man that marries a woman like you!" - -"You are welcome to your opinion of me. I am entirely indifferent to -your good or bad opinion. Have you any more to say?" - -"Any more to say! I have hardly begun. Is my daughter Althea with you?" - -"I don't recognize your right to question me on this subject, but I -will answer you. She is not with me." - -"Is she in London?" - -"I will even answer that question. She is not in London." - -"Is she in England?" - -"That I will not tell you. You have learned enough." - -John Hartley did not answer immediately. He appeared to be occupied with -some thought. When he spoke it was in a more conciliatory tone. - -"I don't doubt that she is in good hands," he said. "I am sure you will -treat her kindly. Perhaps you are a better guardian than I. I am willing -to leave her in your hands, but I ought to have some compensation." - -"What do you mean?" - -"Althea has a hundred thousand dollars, yielding at least five thousand -dollars income. Probably her expenses are little more than one-tenth of -this sum. While my child is rich I am poor. Give me half her income--say -three thousand dollars annually--and I will give you and her no further -trouble." - -"I thought that was the object of your visit," said Mrs. Vernon, coldly. -"I was right in giving you no credit for parental affection. In regard -to your proposition, I cannot entertain it. You had one half of my -sister's fortune, and you spent it. You have no further claim on her -money." - -"Is this your final answer?" he demanded, angrily. - -"It is." - -"Then I swear to you that I will be even with you. I will find the -child, and when I do you shall never see her again." - -Mrs. Vernon rang the bell. - -Margaret entered. - -"Margaret," she said, coldly, "will you show this gentleman out?" - -John Hartley rose and bowed ironically. - -"You are certainly very polite, Harriet Vernon," he said. "You are bold, -too, for you are defying me, and that is dangerous. You had better -reconsider your determination, before it is too late." - -"It will never be too late; I can at any time buy you off," she said, -contemptuously. "All you want is money." - -"We shall see," he hissed, eying her malignantly. - -"Margaret," said Mrs. Vernon, when her visitor had been shown out, -"never admit that person again; I am always out to him." - -"Yes, mum," said the girl. "I wonder who 'twas," she thought, curiously. - - - - -CHAPTER XXX. - -HOW HARTLEY GOT A CLEW. - - -John Hartley, when a young man, had wooed and won Althea's mother. Julia -Belmont was a beautiful and accomplished girl, an heiress in her own -right, and might have made her choice among at least a dozen suitors. -That she should have accepted the hand of John Hartley, a banker's -clerk, reputed "fast," was surprising, but a woman's taste in such a -case is often hard to explain or justify. Her sister--now Mrs. -Vernon--strenuously objected to the match, and by so doing gained the -hatred of her future brother-in-law. Opposition proved ineffectual, and -Julia Belmont became Mrs. Hartley. Her fortune amounted to two hundred -thousand dollars. The trustee and her sister succeeded in obtaining her -consent that half of this sum should be settled on herself, and her -issue, should she have any. - -This proved to be a wise precaution. John Hartley resigned his position -immediately after marriage, and declined to enter upon any business. - -"Why should I?" he said. "Julia and I have enough to live upon. If I am -out of business I can devote myself more entirely to her." - -This reasoning satisfied his young wife, and for a time all went well. -But Hartley joined a fashionable club, formed a taste for gambling, -indulged in copious libations, not unfrequently staggering home drunk, -to the acute sorrow of his wife, and then excesses soon led to -ill-treatment. The money, which he could spend in a few years, melted -away, and he tried to gain possession of the remainder of his wife's -property. But, meanwhile, Althea was born, and a consideration for her -child's welfare strengthened the wife in her firm refusal to accede to -this unreasonable demand. - -"You shall have the income, John," she said--"I will keep none back; but -the principal must be kept for Althea." - -"You care more for the brat than you do for me," he muttered. - -"I care for you both," she answered. "You know how the money would go, -John. We should all be left destitute." - -"That meddling sister of yours has put you up to this," he said, -angrily. - -"There was no need of that. It is right, and I have decided for myself." - -"Your first duty is to your husband." - -"I feel that in refusing I am doing my duty by you." - -"It is a strange way--to oppose your husband's wishes. Women ought never -to be trusted with money--they don't know how to take care of it." - -"You are not the person to say this, John. In five years you have wasted -one hundred thousand dollars." - -"It was bad luck in investments," he replied. - -"I am afraid you are right. Investing money at the gaming-table is not -very profitable." - -"Do you mean to insult me, madam?" exclaimed Hartley, furiously. - -"I am only telling the sad truth, John." - -He forgot himself and struck her. - -She withdrew, flushed and indignant, for she had spirit enough to resent -this outrage, and he left the house in a furious rage. - -When Hartley found that there was no hope of carrying his point, all -restraint seemed removed. He plunged into worse excesses, and his -treatment became so bad that Mrs. Hartley consented to institute -proceedings for divorce. It was granted, and the child was given to her. -Hartley disappeared for a time. When he returned his wife had died of -pneumonia, and her sister--Mrs. Vernon, now a widow--had assumed the -care of Althea. An attempt to gain possession of the child induced her -to find another guardian for the child. This was the way Althea had -come into the family of our young hero. - -Thus much, that the reader may understand the position of affairs, and -follow intelligently the future course of the story. - -When John Hartley left the presence of his sister-in-law, he muttered -maledictions upon her. - -"I'll have the child yet, if only to spite her," he muttered, between -his teeth. "I won't allow a jade to stand between me and my own flesh -and blood. I must think of some plan to circumvent her." - -This was not easy. He had absolutely no clew, and little money to assist -him in his quest. But Fortune, which does not always favor the brave, -but often helps the undeserving, came unexpectedly to his help. - -At an American banker's he ran across an old acquaintance--one who had -belonged to the same club as himself in years past. - -"What are you doing here, Hartley?" he asked. - -"Not much. Luck is against me." - -"Sorry to hear it. By the way, I was reminded of you not long since." - -"How is that?" - -"I saw your child in Union Square, in New York." - -"Are you sure of it?" asked Hartley, eagerly. "Are you sure it was my -child?" - -"Of course; I used to see it often, you know. She is a bright little -thing." - -"Do you know where she lives?" asked Hartley. "Did you follow her?" - -"Don't _you_ know where she lives?" - -"No; her aunt is keeping the child from me. I am very anxious to find -her." - -"That accounts for it. She was with a middle-aged lady, who evidently -was suspicious of me, for she did not bring out the child but once more, -and was clearly anxious when I took notice of her." - -"She was acting according to instructions, no doubt." - -"Very probably." - -"I wish you had learned more." - -"So do I. Why do they keep _you_ away from her?" - -"Because she has money, and they wish to keep it in their hands," said -Hartley, plausibly. "The aunt is a very mercenary woman. She is living -here in London, doubtless on my little girl's fortune." - -John Hartley knew that this was not true, for Mrs. Vernon was a rich -woman; but it suited his purpose to say so, and the statement was -believed by his acquaintance. - -"This is bad treatment, Hartley," he said, in a tone of sympathy. - -"Isn't it?" - -"What are you going to do about it?" - -"Try to find out where the child is placed, and get possession of her." - -"I wish you success." - -This information John Hartley felt to be of value. It narrowed his -search, and made success much less difficult. - -In order to obtain more definite information, he lay in wait for Mrs. -Vernon's servant. - -Margaret at first repulsed him, but a sovereign judiciously slipped into -her hand convinced her that Hartley was quite the gentleman, and he had -no difficulty, by the promise of a future douceur, in obtaining her -co-operation. - -"What is it you want, sir?" she asked. "If it's no harm you mean my -missus----" - -"Certainly not, but she is keeping my child from me. You can understand -a father's wish to see his child, my dear girl." - -"Indeed, I think it's cruel to keep her from you, sir." - -"Then look over your mistress' papers and try to obtain the street and -number where she is boarding in New York. I have a right to know that." - -"Of course you have, sir," said the girl, readily. - -So it came about that the girl obtained Dan's address, and communicated -it to John Hartley. - -As soon as possible afterward Hartley sailed for New York. - -"I'll secure the child," he said to himself, exultingly, "and then my -sweet sister-in-law must pay roundly for her if she wants her back." - -All which attested the devoted love of John Hartley for his child. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXI. - -ALTHEA'S ABDUCTION. - - -Arrived in New York, John Hartley lost no time in ascertaining where Dan -and his mother lived. In order the better to watch without incurring -suspicion, he engaged by the week a room in a house opposite, which, -luckily for his purpose, happened to be for rent. It was a front window, -and furnished him with a post of observation from which he could see who -went in and out of the house opposite. - -Hartley soon learned that it would not be so easy as he had anticipated -to gain possession of the little girl. She never went out alone, but -always accompanied either by Dan or his mother. - -Hartley was disappointed. If, now, Althea were attending school, there -would be an opportunity to kidnap her. As it was, he was at his wits' -end. - -At last, however, opportunity favored him. - -On the evening of the party Mrs. Mordaunt chanced to need some small -article necessary to the work upon which she was engaged. She might -indeed wait until the next day, but she was repairing a vest of Dan's, -which he would need to wear in the morning, and she did not like to -disappoint him. - -"My child," she said, "I find I must go out a little while." - -"What for, mamma?" - -"I want to buy some braid to bind Dan's vest. He will want to wear it in -the morning." - -"May I go with you, mamma?" - -"No, my child. You can be reading your picture-book till I come back. I -won't be long." - -So Mrs. Mordaunt put on her street dress, and left the house in the -direction of Eighth avenue, where there was a cheap store at which she -often traded. - -No sooner did Hartley see her leave the house, as he could readily do, -for the night was light, than he hurried to Union Square, scarcely five -minutes distant, and hailed a cab-driver. - -"Do you want a job, my man?" he asked. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Can you hold your tongue?" - -"Yes, sir, if necessary." - -"It is necessary." - -"There is nothing wrong, sir, I hope." - -"Certainly not. My child has been kidnapped during my absence in Europe. -With your help I mean to recover her." - -"All right, sir." - -"She is in the custody of some designing persons, who keep possession -of her on account of a fortune which she is to inherit. She does not -know me to be her father, we have been so long separated; but I feel -anxious to take her away from her treacherous guardians." - -"You are right, sir. I've got a little girl of my own, and I understand -your feelings. Where shall we go?" - -Hartley gave the proper address. Fifteen minutes afterward the cab drew -up before Mrs. Brown's door, and Hartley, springing from it, rang the -bell. It so happened that Mrs. Brown was out, and a servant answered the -bell. She looked inquiringly at the visitor. - -"A lady lives here with a little girl," he said, quickly. - -"Yes, sir; Mrs. Mordaunt." - -"Precisely; and the little girl is named Althea." - -"You are right, sir." - -"Mrs. Mordaunt has been run over by a street-car, and been carried into -my house. She wishes the little girl to come at once to her." - -"Is she much hurt?" asked Nancy, anxiously. - -"I am afraid her leg is broken; but I can't wait. Will you bring the -little girl down at once?" - -"Oh, yes, sir. I'll lose no time." - -Nancy went up stairs two steps at a time, and broke into Mrs. -Mordaunt's room breathless. - -"Put on your hat at once, Miss Althea," she said. - -"What for?" asked the child, in surprise. - -"Your ma has sent for you." - -"But she said she was coming right back." - -"She's hurt, and she can't come, and she has sent for you. Don't cry, my -dear." - -"But how shall I know where to go, Nancy?" - -"There's a kind gentleman at the door with a carriage. Your ma has been -taken to his home." - -The little girl began to cry once more. - -"Oh! I'm afraid mamma's been killed," she said. - -"No, she hasn't, or how could she send for you?" - -This argument tended to reassure Althea, and she put on her little shawl -and hat, and hurried down stairs. - -Hartley was waiting for her impatiently, fearing that Mrs. Mordaunt -would come back sooner than was anticipated, and so interfere with the -fulfillment of his plans. - -"Is mamma very much hurt?" asked Althea, anxiously. - -"So she calls this woman mamma," said Hartley to himself. - -"Not very badly, but she cannot come home to-night. Get into the -carriage, and I will tell you about it as we are riding to her." - -He hurried the little girl into the carriage, and taking a seat beside -her, ordered the cabman to drive on. - -He had before directed him to drive to the South Ferry. - -"How did mamma get hurt?" asked the child. - -"She was crossing the street," said Hartley, "when she got in the way of -a carriage and was thrown down and run over." - -The child began to cry. - -"Oh, she will die!" she exclaimed, sobbing. - -"No, she will not die. The carriage was not a heavy one, luckily, and -she is only badly bruised. She will be all right in a few days." - -John Hartley was a trifle inconsistent in his stories, having told the -servant that Mrs. Mordaunt had been run over by a street-car; but in -truth he had forgotten the details of his first narrative, and had -modified it in the second telling. However, Nancy had failed to tell the -child precisely how Mrs. Mordaunt had been hurt, and she was not old -enough to be suspicious. - -"Where is mamma?" was the little girl's next question. - -"She is at my house." - -"Where is your house?" - -"Not far from here," answered Hartley, evasively. - -"Then I shall soon see mamma." - -"Is she your mamma?" asked Hartley. - -"No, not my own mamma, but I call her so. I love her dearly." - -"Where is your own mamma?" - -"She is dead." - -"Do you remember her?" - -"A little." - -"Have you a papa?" - -"My papa is a very bad man. He treated poor mamma very badly." - -"Who told you this?" demanded Hartley, frowning. "Was it Mrs. Mordaunt?" - -"No; it was auntie." - -"I thought this was some of Harriet Vernon's work," said Hartley to -himself. "It seems like my amiable sister-in-law. She might have been in -better business than poisoning my child's mind against me." - -"Who else lives with you?" he asked, partly out of curiosity, but mainly -to occupy the child's mind, so that she might not be fully conscious of -the lapse of time. - -"My brother Dan." - -"How old is Dan?" - -"I don't know. He is a good deal bigger than me." - -"Do you like Dan?" - -"Oh, yes; Dan is a nice boy. He buys me candy. He has gone to a party -to-night." - -"Has he?" - -"And he won't be home till late. He told mamma so." - -"I am glad of that," thought Hartley. "It is the better for my purpose." - -"Dan is a smart boy. He earns lots of money." - -"What does he do?" - -"I don't know. He goes down town every morning, and he doesn't come home -till supper time." - -Hartley managed to continue his inquiries about Dan, but at last Althea -became restless. - -"Are we most there?" she asked. - -"Yes, we are almost there." - -"I don't see how mamma could have gone so far." - -John Hartley looked out. - -"I see how it is," he said. "The cab-driver lost the way, and that has -delayed us." - -This satisfied the child for a time. Meanwhile they reached the South -Ferry, and Hartley began to consider in what way he could explain their -crossing the water. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXII. - -DONOVAN'S. - - -After a moment's thought Hartley took a flask from his pocket, into -which he had dropped a sleeping potion, and offered it to the child. - -"Drink, my dear," he said; "it will do you good." - -It was a sweet wine and pleasant to the taste. Althea drank -considerable. - -"What is it? It tastes good," she said. - -"It is a cordial," answered Hartley. - -"I like it. I will ask mamma to get some. How long is it? Are we most -there?" - -"Almost." - -"I feel very sleepy," said Althea, drowsily, the potion having already -begun to attack her. - -"Lean back and shut your eyes. I will tell you when we have arrived." - -The innocent and unsuspecting child did as she was directed. Her little -head nodded. She struggled against the increasing drowsiness, but in -vain. In five minutes she was fast asleep. - -"There will be no further trouble," thought Hartley. "When she wakes up -it will be morning. My plan has been a complete success." - -It might have been supposed that some instinct of parental affection -would have made it disagreeable to this man to kidnap his own child by -such means, but John Hartley had never been troubled with a heart or -natural affections. He was supremely selfish, and surveyed the sleeping -child as coolly and indifferently as if he had never before set eyes -upon her. - -Two miles and a half beyond the South Ferry, in a thinly settled -outlying district of Brooklyn, stood a three-story brick house, shabby -and neglected in appearance, bearing upon a sign over the door the name - - - DONOVAN'S - - WINES AND LIQUORS. - - -It was the nightly resort of a set of rough and lawless men, many of -them thieves and social outlaws, who drank and smoked as they sat at -small tables in the sand-strewn bar-room. - -Hugh Donovan himself had served a term at Sing Sing for burglary, and -was suspected to be indirectly interested in the ventures of others -engaged in similar offenses, though he managed to avoid arrest. - -John Hartley ordered the hackman to stop. He sprang from the carriage, -and unceremoniously entered the bar-room. Donovan, a short, thickset man -with reddish whiskers, a beard of a week's growth, and but one -serviceable eye, sat in a wooden arm-chair, smoking a clay pipe. There -were two other men in the room, and a newsboy sat dozing on a settee. - -Donovan looked up, and his face assumed a look of surprise as he met the -glance of the visitor, whom he appeared to know. - -"Where did you come from, Mr. Hartley?" he asked, taking the pipe from -his mouth. - -"Hist! Come out here," said Hartley. - -Donovan obeyed directions. - -"Is your wife at home, Hugh?" asked Hartley. - -"Yes, Mr. Hartley. She's up stairs." - -"I have a job for her and for you." - -"What is it now?" - -"I have a child in that carriage. I want her taken care of for a few -days or weeks." - -"Shure, the old woman isn't a very good protector for a gal. She's drunk -half the time." - -"I can't help it. There are reasons--imperative reasons--why the girl -should be concealed for a time, and I can think of no other place than -this." - -"Who is the girl?" - -"It is my own child." - -Donovan whistled. - -"I see you are surprised. I have little time for explanation, but I may -tell you that she has been kept from me by my enemies, who wanted to get -hold of her money." - -"Has she got money?" asked Donovan, with curiosity. - -"She will have, sometime. She is her mother's heiress." - -"Did the old lady leave it all away from you, then? Shure, it's hard." - -"Of course it is. The least I can expect is to be made guardian of my -own child. But we are wasting time. Is there no way of getting up stairs -except by passing through the bar-room?" - -"Yes, Mr. Hartley, we can go up the back way. Just take the child and -follow me." - -Hartley did so. At the rear of the house was a stair-way, up which he -clambered, bearing the sleeping child in his arms. - -Donovan pushed the door open, and disclosed a dirty room, with his -better-half--a tall, gaunt woman--reclining in a rocking-chair, -evidently partially under the influence of liquor, as might be guessed -from a black bottle on a wooden table near by. - -She stared in astonishment at her husband's companions. - -"Shure, Hugh, who is it you're bringin' here?" - -"It's a child, old woman, that you're to have the care of." - -"Divil a bit do I want a child to worrit me." - -"You'll be well paid, Mrs. Donovan," said John Hartley. - -"Will I get the money, or Hugh?" asked the Celtic lady. - -"You shall have half, Bridget," said her husband. - -"Will you shwar it?" asked the lady, cautiously. - -"Yes, I'll swear it." - -"And how much will it be?" - -"I will pay ten dollars a week--half to you, and half to your husband," -said Hartley. "Here's a week's pay in advance," and he took out two -five-dollar bills, one of which was eagerly clutched by Mrs. Donovan. - -"I'll take care of her," said she, readily. "What's her name?" - -"Althea." - -"Shure that's a quare name. I niver heard the like." - -"You needn't call her that. You can call her any name you like," said -Hartley, indifferently. "Perhaps you had better call her Katy, as there -may be a hue and cry after her, and that may divert suspicion." - -"How old is the crathur?" - -"Five or six--I forget which. Where shall I put her?" - -"Put her in here," said Mrs. Donovan, and she opened the door of a small -room, in which was a single untidy bed. - -"She won't wake up till morning. I gave her a sleeping potion--otherwise -she might have made a fuss, for she doesn't know me to be her father." - -"Shure ye knew what to do." - -"Now, Mrs. Donovan, I depend upon your keeping her safe. It will not do -to let her escape, for she might find her way back to the people from -whom I have taken her." - -"I'll see to that, Mr. Hartley," said Donovan. - -"Say nothing about me in connection with the matter, Donovan. I will -communicate with you from time to time. If the police are put on the -track, I depend on your sending her away to some other place of -security." - -"All right, sir." - -"And now good-night. I shall go back to New York at once. I must leave -you to pacify her as well as you can when she awakes. She is sure to -make a fuss." - -"I'll trate her like my own child," said Mrs. Donovan. - -Had Hartley been a devoted father, this assurance from the coarse, -red-faced woman would have been satisfactory, but he cared only for the -child as a means of replenishing his pockets, and gave himself no -trouble. - -The hackman was still waiting at the door. - -"It's a queer place to leave a child," thought he, as his experienced -eye took in the features of the place. "It appears to be a liquor -saloon. The gentleman can't be very particular. However, it is none of -my business. I suppose it is all right." - -"Driver, I am ready," said Hartley. "I'll go back with you." - -"All right, sir." - -"Go over Fulton Ferry, and leave me at your stand in Union Square." - -The ride was a long one. Hartley threw himself back on the seat, and -gave himself up to pleasant self-congratulation. - -"I think this will bring Harriet Vernon to terms," he said. "She will -find that she can't stand between me and my child. If she will make it -worth my while, she shall have the child back, but I propose to see that -my interests are secured." - -The next morning Hartley stepped into an up-town hotel, and wrote a -letter to his sister-in-law in London, demanding that four thousand -dollars be sent him yearly, in quarterly payments, in consideration of -which he agreed to give up the child, and abstain from further -molestation. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIII. - -ALTHEA BECOMES KATY DONOVAN. - - -The sleeping potion which had been administered to Althea kept her in -sound sleep till eight o'clock the next morning. When her eyes opened, -and she became conscious of her surroundings, she looked about her in -surprise. Then she sat up in bed and gazed wildly at the torn wall paper -and dirty and shabby furniture. - -"Where am I?" she asked herself, in alarm. "Mamma, mamma!" - -The door opened, and the red and inflamed face of Mrs. Hugh Donovan -peered in. - -"What is it yer want?" she asked. - -"I want mamma," answered the child, still more frightened. - -"Shure I'm your ma, child." - -"No, you are not," said Althea. "I never saw you before." - -"Didn't you, now? Maybe you've forgotten. I sent you away to board, but -you've come home to live with your ma." - -"You are telling stories. You are a bad woman," returned the child, -ready to cry. - -"It's a purty thing for a child to tell her ma she's lyin'." - -"You're not my ma. You're an ugly woman. My ma hasn't got a red face." - -"Hear till her now!" exclaimed Mrs. Donovan, indignantly. "Don't you go -on talkin' that way, but get right up, or you sha'n't have any -breakfast." - -"Oh, send me back to my mother and Dan!" implored Althea. - -"Dress yourself, and I'll see about it," said Mrs. Donovan. - -Althea looked for her clothes, but could not find them. In their place -she found a faded calico dress and some ragged undergarments, which had -once belonged to a daughter of Mrs. Donovan, now at service. - -"Those clothes are not mine," said Althea. - -"Shure they are. What are yer talkin' about?" - -"I had a pretty pink dress and a nice new skirt. Oh, where are they?" - -"Shure you're dramin'. These was the clothes you took off last night," -said Mrs. Donovan, with unblushing falsehood. - -"I won't put this dress on," said the child, indignantly. - -"Then you'll have to lay abed all day, and won't get nothing to eat," -said the woman. "Maybe you'll like that now." - -"What is your name?" asked Althea. - -"Shure you're a quare child to ask your own mother's name. I'm Mrs. -Donovan, and you're my Katy." - -"I am not Katy. My name is Althea." - -"That's a quare name intirely. Who put it into your head. I'm afraid -you're gone crazy, Katy." - -Althea was bewildered. Was it possible that she could be Katy Donovan, -and that this red-faced woman was her mother? She began to doubt her own -identity. She could not remember this woman, but was it possible that -there was any connection between them? - -"Are we in New York?" she asked, timidly. - -"No, we are in Brooklyn." - -"I used to live in New York with Mamma Mordaunt." - -"Well, you're livin' in Brooklyn now with Mamma Donovan." - -"I never saw you before." - -"Shure I shouldn't have sent you away from me to have you come home and -deny your own mother." - -"Will you let me go to New York and see Mamma Mordaunt?" asked Althea, -after a pause. - -"If you're a good girl, perhaps I will. Now get up, and I'll give you -some breakfast." - -With a shudder of dislike Althea arrayed herself in the dirty garments -of the real Katy Donovan, and looked at her image in the cracked mirror -with a disgust which she could not repress. - -Hartley had suggested that her own garments should be taken away in -order to make her escape less feasible. - -She opened the door, and entered the room in which Mrs. Donovan had set -the table for breakfast. - -As she came in at one door, Hugh Donovan entered at another. - -"Come here, little gal," he said, with a grin. - -Althea looked at him with real terror. Certainly Hugh Donovan was not a -man to attract a child. - -Althea at once thought of an ogre whom Dan had described to her in a -fairy story, and half fancied that she was in the power of such a -creature. - -"I don't want to," said the child, trembling. - -"Go to your father, Katy," said Mrs. Donovan. "He won't hurt you." - -This her father! Althea shuddered at the idea, and she gazed as if -fascinated at his one eye. - -"Yes, come to your pa," said Donovan, jeeringly. "I like little -gals--'specially when they're my own." - -"I am not your child!" said Althea, alarmed. - -"Yes, you be, and don't you deny it. Come and give your father a kiss." - -The little girl began to cry in nervous terror, and Donovan laughed, -thinking it a good joke. - -"Well, it'll do after breakfast," he said. "Sit up, child, and we'll see -what the ould woman has got for us." - -Mrs. Donovan did not excel as a cook, but Althea managed to eat a little -bread and butter, for neither of which articles the lady of the house -was responsible. When the meal was over she said: - -"Now, will you take me back to New York?" - -"You are not going back at all," said Hugh. "You are our little girl, -and you are going to live with us." - -Althea looked from one to the other in terror. Was it possible they -could be in earnest? She was forced to believe it, and was overwhelmed -at the prospect. She burst into a tempest of sobs. - -Men are less tolerant of tears than women. - -Hugh Donovan's face darkened, and his anger was kindled. - -"Stop that howlin' now!" he said. - -Althea continued to cry hysterically. - -"Stop it now, if you know what's best for yourself!" - -Althea was terrified, but she could not at once control her emotion. - -"Old woman, get the whip!" said Hugh, hoarsely. - -From a drawer Mrs. Donovan drew out a riding whip. Her husband took it, -and brandished it menacingly. - -"Do you see that, now?" he said. - -"Yes," said Althea, trembling, stopping short, as if fascinated. - -"Then you'll feel it if you don't stop your howlin'." - -Althea gazed at him horror-stricken. - -"I thought you'd come to your senses," he said, in a tone of -satisfaction. "Kape her safe, old woman, till she knows how to behave." - -In silent misery the little girl sat down and watched Mrs. Donovan as -she cleared away the table, and washed the dishes. It was dull and -hopeless work for her. She thought sorrowfully of Mrs. Mordaunt and Dan, -and wished she could be with them again. Should she never, never see -them? The thought so saddened her that she burst into a low moan, which -at once drew the attention of Mrs. Donovan. - -"Are you at it again?" she said. - -"I can't help it," moaned Althea. - -"Ye can't, can't ye? See here, now," and the woman displayed the whip -with which her husband had threatened the child. "I'll give ye something -to cry for." - -"Oh, don't--don't beat me!" entreated Althea. - -"Then kape quiet!" - -"May I go out into the street?" asked the little girl. - -"Ye want to run away," said Mrs. Donovan, suspiciously. - -"No, I don't. I mean I won't unless you let me." - -"I won't trust ye." - -"Must I stay here all the time?" asked Althea, with her little heart -sinking at the thought. - -"No, Katy, you may go wid me when I go to the market," answered Mrs. -Donovan. "Shure, if you'll be a good gal, I'll give you all the pleasure -I can." - -Althea waited half an hour, and then was provided with a ragged -sun-bonnet, with which, concealing her sad face, she emerged from the -house, and walked to a small market, where Mrs. Donovan obtained her -supplies for dinner. - -Troubled as she was, Althea looked about her with a child's curiosity on -her way through the strange streets. It served to divert her from her -sorrow. - -"Who's that little girl, Mrs. Donovan?" asked an acquaintance. - -"Shure it's my little Katy," said the woman, with a significant wink -which prevented further questioning. - -Althea wished to deny this, but she did not dare to. She had become -afraid of her new guardians. Oh, if she could only see Dan! She felt -sure that he would take her away from these wicked people, but how was -Dan to know where she was. The poor child's lips quivered, and she could -hardly refrain from crying. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIV. - -ANOTHER LITTLE GAME. - - -It was so late when Dan heard of Althea's disappearance that he felt it -necessary to wait till morning before taking any steps toward her -recovery. - -"I'll find her, mother," he said, confidently. "Do not lie awake -thinking of her, for it won't do any good." - -"How can I help it, Dan? I didn't know how much I loved the dear child -till I lost her." - -"You have not lost her, mother." - -"I am not so hopeful as you, Dan. I fear that I shall never see her -again." - -"I am sure we shall. Now, mother, I am going to bed, but I shall be up -bright and early in the morning, and then to work." - -"You won't have any time, Dan. You must go to the store." - -"I shall take a week's vacation. I will write a note to Mr. Rogers, -telling him my reasons, and he will be sure not to object. If Althea is -to be found, I will find her within a week." - -Dan's confidence gave Mrs. Mordaunt some courage, but she could not -feel as sanguine of success as Dan. - -In the morning Dan sought out Nancy, and took down her account of how -the little girl had been spirited away. - -"So she went away in a carriage, Nancy?" - -"Yes, Master Dan." - -"Can you tell me what sort of a looking man it was that took her away?" - -"Shure I couldn't. I was struck dumb, you see, wid hearing how your -mother broke her leg, and I didn't think to look at him sharp." - -"You can tell if he was an old man or a young one." - -"He was naythur. He was betwixt and betwane." - -"Very tall or very short?" - -"Naythur. He was jist middlin'." - -"Well, that's something. Now, what kind of a carriage was it?" - -"Jist a hack like them at the square." - -"You wouldn't remember the driver?" - -"No; shure they all look alike to me." - -Dan made more inquiries, but elicited nothing further that was likely to -be of service to him. - -After a little reflection he decided to go to Union Square and -interview some of the drivers waiting for passengers there. - -He did so, but the driver who had actually been employed by Hartley was -absent, and he learned nothing. One driver, however, remembered carrying -a gentleman and child to a house on Twenty-seventh street, between -Eighth and Ninth avenues. - -Dan thought the clew of sufficient importance to be followed up. His -courage rose when, on inquiring at the house mentioned, he learned that -a child had actually been brought there. - -"May I see the child, madam?" he asked. - -"If you like," answered the lady, in surprise. - -She appeared in a short time with a boy of about Althea's age. - -Dan's countenance fell. - -"It is a little girl I am inquiring after," he said. - -"Then why didn't you say so?" demanded the woman, sharply. "You would -have saved me some trouble." - -"I beg your pardon, madam." - -"I begin to think I am not as good a detective as I thought," said Dan -to himself. "I am on a false scent, that is sure." - -So Dan returned to Union Square. - -When he had been asking questions of the cab-drivers he had not been -unobserved. John Hartley, who knew Dan by sight, laughed in his sleeve -as he noted our hero's inquiries. - -"You may be a smart boy, my lad," he said to himself, "but I don't think -you'll find the child. I have a great mind to give you a hint." - -He approached Dan, and observed, in a friendly way: - -"Are you in search of your little sister?" - -"Yes, sir," returned Dan, eagerly. "Can you tell me anything about her?" - -"I am not sure, but possibly I may. I occupy a room directly opposite -the house in which you board." - -"Did you see Althea carried away?" asked Dan, eagerly. - -"Yes; I was sitting at my window when I saw a hack stop at your door. -The door-bell was rung by a man who descended from the hack, and shortly -afterward your sister came out, and was put into the carriage." - -"What was the man's appearance, sir? The servant could not tell me." - -"So much the better," thought Hartley, with satisfaction. - -"He was a little taller than myself, I should say," he answered, "and I -believe his hair was brown"--Hartley's was black. "I am sorry I can't -remember more particularly." - -"That is something. Thank you, sir. I wish I knew where the cab went." - -"I think I can tell you that. I came down into the street before the cab -drove away, and I heard the gentleman referred to say, in a low voice, -'Drive to Harlem.'" - -"Thank you, sir," said Dan, gratefully. "That puts me on the right -track. I shall know where to search now." - -"I wish I could tell you more," said Hartley, with a queer smile. - -"Thank you, sir." - -"If you find your little sister, I should be glad if you would let me -know," continued Hartley, chuckling inwardly. - -"I will, sir, if you will let me know your name and address." - -"My name is John Franklin, and I live in the house directly opposite -yours, No. --." - -"All right, sir; I will note it down." - -John Hartley looked after Dan with a smile. - -"My dear young friend," he said to himself, "it goes to my heart to -deceive you, you are so innocent and confiding. I wish you much joy of -your search in Harlem. I think it will be some time before I receive -intelligence of your success. Still I will keep my room here, and look -after you a little. I am really afraid your business will suffer while -you are wandering about." - -John Hartley had already written to London, and he was prepared to wait -three weeks or more for an answer to his proposition. Meanwhile he had -one source of uneasiness. His funds were getting low, and unless Harriet -Vernon responded favorably to his proposal, he was liable to be -seriously embarrassed. He had on previous similar occasions had recourse -to the gaming-table, but Fortune did not always decide in his favor. He -did not dare to hazard the small sum he had on hand, lest want of -success should imperil the bold scheme for obtaining an income at his -child's expense. - -At this critical point in his fortunes he fell in with a Western -adventurer, who, by a sort of freemasonry, recognizing Hartley's want of -character, cautiously sounded him as to becoming a partner in a -hazardous but probably profitable enterprise. It was to procure some -genuine certificates of stock in a Western railway for a small number of -shares, say five or ten, and raise them ingeniously to fifty and a -hundred, and then pledge them as collateral in Wall street for a -corresponding sum of money. - -John Hartley, if an honest man, would have indignantly declined the -overtures; but he was not endowed with Roman virtue. He made a cautious -investigation to ascertain how great was the danger of detection, and -how well the enterprise would pay. The answer to the second question was -so satisfactory that he made up his mind to run the necessary risk. -Blake and he came to a definite understanding, and matters were put in -train. Certificates were readily obtained, and by the help of a skillful -accomplice, who did the work for a specified sum, were ingeniously -raised tenfold. - -Then Blake, assuming the dress and manners of a thriving business man -from Syracuse, negotiated a loan, pledging the raised certificate as -collateral. The private banker put it away among his securities without -a doubt or suspicion, and Blake and Hartley divided a thousand dollars -between them. - -John Hartley was very much elated by his success. The pecuniary -assistance came just in the nick of time, when his purse was very low. - -"It's a good thing to have more than one string to your bow," he -thought. "Not but that my little game in getting hold of the child is -likely to pay well. Harriet Vernon will find that I have the whip-hand -of her. She must come to my terms, sooner or later." - -At that very moment Harriet Vernon was embarking at Liverpool on a -Cunard steamer. She had received the letter of her brother-in-law, and -decided to answer it in person. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXV. - -DAN DISGUISES HIMSELF. - - -For several days Dan strolled about Harlem, using his eyes to good -advantage. As a pretext he carried with him a few morning papers for -sale. Armed with these he entered shops and saloons without exciting -surprise or suspicion. But he discovered not a trace of the lost girl. - -One day, as he was riding home in the Third avenue cars, there flashed -upon his mind a conviction that he was on a wrong scent. - -"Is it probable that the man who carried away Althea would give the -right direction so that it could be overheard by a third party? No; it -was probably meant as a blind, and I have been just fool enough to fall -into the trap." - -So Dan's eyes were partially opened. - -Before the day was over they were wholly opened. He met John Hartley on -Broadway toward the close of the afternoon. - -"Well, have you heard anything of your sister?" he asked, with an -appearance of interest. - -"Not yet," answered Dan. - -"That's a pity. Do you go up to Harlem every day?" - -"Yes." - -"Keep on, you will find her in time." - -After they parted, Dan, happening to look back, detected a mocking -glance in the face of his questioner, and a new discovery flashed upon -him. Hartley was making a fool of him. He had sent him to Harlem, -purposely misleading him. - -"What can be his object?" thought Dan. "Can he have had anything to do -with the abduction of Althea?" - -This was a question which he could not satisfactorily answer, but he -resolved to watch Hartley, and follow him wherever he went, in the hope -of obtaining some clew. Of course he must assume some disguise, as -Hartley must not recognize him. - -Finally Dan decided upon this plan. - -He hired a room on East Fourth street for a week, and then sought an -Italian boy to whom he had occasionally given a few pennies, and with -some difficulty (for Giovanni knew but little English, and he no -Italian) proposed that the Italian should teach him to sing and play -"Viva Garibaldi." Dan could play a little on the violin, and soon -qualified himself for his new business. - -At a second-hand shop on Chatham street he picked up a suit of tattered -velvet, obtained a liquid with which to stain his skin to a dark brown, -and then started out as an Italian street musician. His masquerade suit -he kept in his room at East Fourth street, changing therefrom his street -dress morning and evening. When in full masquerade he for the first time -sang and played, Giovanni clapped his hands with delight. - -"Will I do, Giovanni?" asked Dan. - -"Yes, you do very well. You look like my brother." - -"All right." - -Giovanni was puzzled to understand why Dan took so much pains to enter -upon a hard and unprofitable profession, but Dan did not enlighten him -as to his motive. - -He thought it most prudent to keep his secret, even from his mother. One -day he met her on the sidewalk, and began to sing "Viva Garibaldi." - -Mrs. Mordaunt listened without a suspicion that it was her own son, and -gave him two pennies, which he acknowledged by a low bow, and "Grazia, -signora." - -"Poor boy! Do you earn much money?" she asked. - -"I no understand English," said Dan. - -"I hope his padrone does not beat him," said Mrs. Mordaunt to herself. -"I hear these poor boys are much abused. I wonder if I can make him -understand? Have you a padrone?" she asked. - -"Si, signora, padrone," answered Dan. - -"Does he beat you?" - -"I no understand." - -"It is no use; he doesn't understand English. Here is some more money -for you," and she handed him a five-cent coin. - -"Its a wise mother that knows her own child," thought Dan. "Hallo! -there's Hartley. I'll follow him." - -Hartley boarded a University Place car, and Dan jumped on also. - -"I wonder where he's going?" thought our hero. - -Italian boys so seldom ride that the conductor eyed Dan with some -suspicion. - -"Five cents," he demanded. - -Dan produced the money. - -"I thought you might be expecting to ride for nothing," said the -conductor. "Seems to me you're flush for an Italian fiddler." - -"No understand English," said Dan. - -"And I don't understand your lingo." - -A charitable lady inside the car chanced to see Dan, and it occurred to -her that she would do him a service. - -"Can you sing, my boy?" she asked. - -"I sing a little," answered Dan. - -"If the conductor doesn't object, you may sing while we are on our way. -Here's ten cents for you." - -Dan bowed and took the money. - -"You can sing and play," said the conductor, good-naturedly. - -Dan was not at all desirous of doing this, for Hartley sat only three -feet from him, and he feared he might recognize him, but it would not be -in character to refuse, so he began, and sang his one air, playing an -accompaniment. Several of the passengers handed him small coins, among -them Hartley. - -"How well he sings!" said the charitable lady. - -"I can't agree with you, ma'am," said Hartley. "I would rather give him -money to stop." - -"His voice strikes me as very rich, and the Italian is such a beautiful -language." - -Hartley shrugged his shoulders. - -"I have heard a good deal better performers even among the street boys," -said Hartley. - -"So have I," said Dan to himself. "He doesn't suspect me; I am glad of -that." - -Hartley remained in the car till it reached the Astor House, and so, of -course, did Dan. In fact, Hartley was on his way to Brooklyn to pay -another installment to the guardians of the little girl whom he had -carried off. Dan, therefore, was in luck. - -Hartley kept on his way to Fulton Ferry, Dan following at a prudent -distance. - -Had Hartley looked back, he would have suspected nothing, for he had not -penetrated Dan's disguise, and would therefore have been quite at a loss -to understand any connection between the street musician and himself. - -They both boarded the same ferry-boat, and landed in Brooklyn together. - -At this moment Hartley turned round, and his glance fell upon Dan. - -"Hallo! you here?" he said, with surprise. - -"Si, signor," answered Dan, bowing deferentially. - -"What brings you to Brooklyn?" - -"I sing, I play," said our hero. - -"And you do both abominably." - -"I no understand English," said Dan. - -"It is lucky you don't, or you might not like my compliment." - -"Shall I sing 'Viva Garibaldi?'" asked our hero, innocently. - -"No--good heavens, no! I've had enough of your squeaking. Here, take -this money, and don't sing." - -"Si, signor," answered Dan, assuming a look of bewilderment. - -Hartley prepared to board a car, which was not yet ready to start. Dan -rapidly decided that it would not do for him to follow Hartley any -farther. It would certainly arouse his suspicions. But must he abandon -the pursuit? That would not do either. Looking about him, his eye fell -on a bright-looking newsboy of about twelve. - -"Do you want to make some money, Johnny?" he asked. - -The boy surveyed him with astonishment. - -"Did you speak to me, Garibaldi?" he asked, jocosely. - -"Yes, but I am no Italian," said Dan, rapidly. "I am on the track of -that man, but he suspects me. I will give you a dollar if you will jump -on the car and find out where he goes." - -"Where's the dollar?" asked the boy, cautiously. - -"Here. Pay your expenses out of it, and I will pay you back when you -report to me." - -"Where will I find you?" - -"Here. I will stay till you come back." - -"It's a bargain." - -"Hurry; the car is starting." - -The newsboy ran, jumped on the car, and it moved on. - -"It is the best thing I could do," thought Dan. "I hope the boy is -sharp, and won't lose sight of him. I feel sure that he had something -to do with carrying off poor little Althea." - -For two hours Dan lingered near the ferry, playing occasionally by way -of filling up the time. It seemed to be a good location, for he received -from fifty to sixty cents from passers-by. - -"When hard times come," thought Dan, "I shall know what to do. I will -become an Italian street singer." - -After two hours the newsboy jumped off an incoming car, and approached -Dan. - -"Did you find out where he went?" asked Dan, eagerly. - -"Yes," answered the boy. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVI. - -DAN MAKES A DISCOVERY. - - -Dan's eyes sparkled with joy at the success of his plan. - -"Now tell me," he said, drawing the newsboy aside to a place where they -would not be overheard. - -"First give me my car fare." - -"All right. Here's a quarter. Never mind the change." - -"You've made a fortun' by fiddling, you have," said the newsboy, in -surprise. - -"I am not a fiddler. I am a detective." - -The newsboy whistled. - -"You're a young one." - -"Never mind that. Go ahead with your story." - -The newsboy described his following Hartley to Donovan's. - -Hartley went in, and he directly afterward. - -"What sort of a place is it?" asked Dan. - -"It's a saloon." - -"Perhaps he only went in for a drink," suggested Dan, uneasily. - -"No, he didn't call for nothing to drink. I saw him take out some money -and give to the man and the woman." - -"What man and what woman?" - -"They was the Donovans." - -"How long did you stay?" - -"Ten minutes. I axed old Donovan to buy a paper, and he wouldn't. Then I -sat down for a minute, makin' believe I was tired. They looked at me, -but I didn't appear to be noticin' 'em, and they let me stay." - -"Did you see anything of a little girl?" asked Dan, eagerly. - -"Yes, there was a little gal came in. The woman called her Katy." - -Dan's spirits sank. It was Mrs. Donovan's daughter, he feared, not the -child he was seeking. - -"How did she look? How old was she?" - -"About five or six years old." - -He added a description of the little girl which quite revived Dan's -hopes, for it answered in every respect to Althea. - -"Did you hear the little girl say anything?" - -"Yes, she told her mother she wanted to see Dan." - -Dan's eyes glistened. It was Althea, after all. - -"It's all right," he said. "You needn't tell me any more. You're a -trump." - -"Have you found out what you want to know?" - -"Yes. Have you anything to do for the next two hours?" - -"No." - -"Then I'll pay you another dollar to go to the place with me. I think I -could find it myself, but I can't take any chances. And don't say a word -about what you have seen." - -"I won't. Is this little gal your sister?" - -"She is my adopted sister, and she has been stolen from us." - -"Then I'd be willing to help you for nothing. I've got a little sister -about her size. If anybody stole her, I'd mash him!" - -"Come along, then." - -The two boys boarded a car, and in forty minutes got out. - -"That's the place," said the newsboy, pointing out Donovan's, only a few -rods away. - -"All right. You'd better leave me now, or you may be remembered, and -that would lead them to suspect me. Here's your money, and thank you." - -"I hope you'll find your sister." - -"Thank you. If I do, it'll be through your help." - -Dan did not at once enter Donovan's. He stopped in the street, and began -to sing "Viva Garibaldi." - -Two or three boys gathered about him, and finally a couple of men. One -of them handed him a three-cent piece. - -"Grazio, signor," said Dan, pulling off his hat. - -"What part of Italy do you come from?" asked one of the men. - -"Si, signor, I come from Italy," answered Dan, not considering it -prudent to understand too well. - -"Oh, he don't understand you. Come along." - -"His hair doesn't look like that of most Italians." - -"Pooh! I'd know him for an Italian boy anywhere." - -At this moment the door of the saloon opened, and Dan, putting his -violin under his arm, entered. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVII. - -DAN IS DISCOVERED. - - -Donovan had two customers. One was an Irishman, the other a German. Both -had evidently drank more than was good for them. Dan looked in vain for -Althea. Mrs. Donovan had taken her up stairs. - -"Well, boy, what do you want?" asked Donovan, rather roughly. - -"Will you have yer musique?" asked Dan, uncertain whether he was talking -as an Italian boy might be expected to. - -"No; I don't want to hear any fiddle-scraping." - -"Shure, let him play a little, Mister Donovan," said the Irishman. - -"Just as you like," said Donovan, carelessly, "only I have no money for -him." - -"Faith, thin, I have. Here boy, play something." - -Dan struck up his one tune--Viva Garibaldi--but the Irishman did not -seem to care for that. - -"Oh, bother ould Garibaldi!" he said. "Can't you play something else?" - -"I wish I could," thought Dan. "Suppose I compose something." - -Accordingly he tried to play an air popular enough at the time, but -made bad work of it. - -"Stop him! stop him!" exclaimed the German, who had a better musical ear -than the Irishman. "Here, lend me your fiddle, boy." - -He took the violin, and in spite of his inebriety, managed to play a -German air upon it. - -"Shure you bate the boy at his own trade," said the Irishman. "You must -be dhry. What'll you have now?" - -The German indicated his preference, and the Irishman called for whisky. - -"What'll you have, Johnny?" he asked, addressing Dan. - -"I no drink," answered our hero, shaking his head. - -"Shure you're an Italian wonder, and it's Barnum ought to hire you." - -"I no understand English," said Dan. - -"Then you're a haythen," said Pat Moriarty. - -He gulped down the whisky, and finding it more convenient to sit than to -stand, fell back upon a settee. - -"I wish Althea would come in," thought Dan. - -At that moment a heavy fall was heard in the room overhead, and a -child's shrill scream directly afterward. - -"Something's happened to my wife," muttered Donovan. "She's drunk -again." - -He hurried up stairs, and the German followed. This gave Dan an excuse -for running up, too. - -Mrs. Donovan had been drinking more copiously than usual. While in this -condition she imprudently got upon a chair to reach a pitcher from an -upper shelf. Her footing was uncertain, and she fell over, pitcher in -hand, the chair sharing in the downfall. - -When her husband entered the room she was lying flat on her back, -grasping the handle of the pitcher, her eyes closed, and her breathing -stertorious. Althea, alarmed, stood over her, crying and screaming. - -"The old woman's taken too much," said Donovan. "Get up, you divil!" he -shouted, leaning over his matrimonial partner. "Ain't you ashamed of -yourself, now?" - -Mrs. Donovan opened her eyes, and stared at him vacantly. - -"Where am I?" she inquired. - -"On your back, you old fool, where you deserve to be." - -"It's the whisky," murmured the fallen lady. - -"Of course it is. Why can't you drink dacent like me? Shure it's a purty -example you're settin' to the child. Ain't you ashamed to lie here in a -hape before them gintlemen?" - -This called Althea's attention to the German and Dan. In spite of Dan's -disguise, she recognized him with a cry of joy. - -"Oh, Dan! have you come to take me away?" she exclaimed, dashing past -Donovan, and clasping her arms round the supposed Italian. - -[Illustration: "Oh, Dan! Have you come to take me away?" Althea -exclaimed.] - -"Hillo! what's up?" exclaimed Donovan, looking at the two in surprise. - -"Oh, it's my brother Dan," exclaimed Althea. "You'll take me away, won't -you, Dan? How funny you look! Where did you get your fiddle?" - -"So that's your game, my young chicken, is it?" demanded Donovan, -seizing our hero roughly by the shoulder. Then pulling off Dan's hat, he -added: "You're no more Italian than I am." - -Dan saw that it would be useless to keep up the deceit any longer. He -looked Donovan full in the face, and said, firmly: - -"You are right, Mr. Donovan, I have come here for my sister." - - - - -CHAPTER XXXVIII. - -UNPLEASANT QUARTERS. - - -Donovan's red face turned fairly purple with rage. - -"Well, I'll be blowed!" he said, adding an oath or two. "You're a bold -little pup! You dare to insult me! Why, I could crush you with my little -finger." - -"I have not insulted you," said Dan. "I have only come for my sister." - -"I don't know anything about your sister. So you can go about your -business." - -"That little girl is my adopted sister," said Dan, pointing to Althea. -"Ask her if she doesn't know me." - -"That is my daughter, Katy Donovan," said the saloon keeper. - -"No, I am not," said Althea, beginning to cry. "I want to go away with -my brother Dan." - -"Shut up, you little jade!" said Donovan, roughly. "Mrs. Donovan," (by -this time she was on her feet, looking on in a dazed sort of way), "is -not this our little Katy?" - -"Shure it is," she answered. - -"You see, young man, you're mistaken. You can leave," and Donovan waved -his hand triumphantly. - -"That's too thin, Mrs. Donovan!" said Dan, provoked. "That don't go -down. I can bring plenty of proof that Althea was until a week since -living with my mother." - -"That for your proof!" said Donovan, contemptuously snapping his -fingers. - -"I know who stole her, and who brought her to this house," continued -Dan. - -Donovan started. The boy knew more than he had expected. - -"The same man has been here to-day," added Dan. - -"You lie!" retorted Donovan, but he looked uneasy. - -"You know that I tell the truth. How much does he pay you for taking -care of the girl?" - -"Enough of this!" roared the saloon keeper. "I can't waste my time -talkin' wid you. Will you clear out now?" - -"No, I won't, unless Althea goes with me," said Dan, firmly. - -"You won't, then! We'll see about that," and Donovan, making a rush, -seized Dan in his arms, and carried him down stairs, despite our hero's -resistance. - -"I'll tache you to come here insultin' your betters!" he exclaimed. - -Dan struggled to get away, but though a strong boy, he was not a match -for a powerful man, and could not effect his deliverance. The Irishman -already referred to was still upon the settee. - -"What's up, Donovan?" he asked, as the saloon-keeper appeared with his -burden. "What's the lad been doin'?" - -"What's he been doin', is it? He's been insultin' me to my face--that's -what the Donovans won't stand. Open the trap-door, Barney." - -"What for?" - -"Don't trouble me wid your questions, but do as I tell you. You shall -know afterward." - -Not quite willingly, but reluctant to offend Donovan, who gave him -credit for the drinks, Barney raised a trap-door leading to the cellar -below. - -There was a ladder for the convenience of those wishing to ascend and -descend, but Donovan was not disposed to use much ceremony with the boy -who had offended him. He dropped him through the opening, Dan by good -luck falling on his feet. - -"That's the best place for you, you young meddler!" he said. "You'll -find it mighty comfortable, and I wish you much joy. I won't charge you -no rint, and that's an object in these hard times--eh, Barney?" - -"To be sure it is," said Barney; "but all the same, Donovan, I'd rather -pay rint up stairs, if I had my choice!" - -"He hasn't the choice," said Donovan triumphantly. "Good-by to you!" and -he let the trap fall. - -"What's it all about now, Donovan?" asked Barney. - -"He wanted to shtale my Katy," said Donovan. - -"What, right before your face?" asked Barney, puzzled. - -"Yes, shure! What'll you take to drink?" asked Donovan, not caring to go -into particulars. - -Barney indicated his choice with alacrity, and, after drinking, was -hardly in a condition to pursue his inquiries. - - - - -CHAPTER XXXIX. - -DAN DISCOMFITS THE DONOVANS. - - -Dan found himself at first bewildered and confused by his sudden descent -into the cellar. As his eyes became accustomed to the darkness, he was -able to get an idea of his surroundings. It was a common cellar with an -earthen floor. Ranged along one side was a row of kegs, some containing -whisky, others empty. Besides, there were a few boxes and odds and ends -which had been placed here to get them out of the way. - -"Not a very cheerful-looking place," thought Dan, "though I do get it -rent free." - -He sat down on a box, and began to consider his position. Was there any -way of escape? The walls were solid, and although there was a narrow -window, consisting of a row of single panes, it was at the top of the -cellar, and not easily accessible. He might indeed reach it by the -ladder, but he would have to break the glass and crawl through, a mode -of escape likely to be attended by personal risk. - -"No, that won't do," thought Dan. "At any rate, I won't try it till -other things fail." - -Meanwhile Donovan, in the bar-room above, was in high good humor. He -felt that he had done a sharp thing, and more than once chuckled as he -thought of his prisoner below. Indeed he could not forbear, after about -half an hour, lifting the trap and calling down stairs: - -"Hallo, there!" - -"Hallo!" said Dan, coolly. - -"What are you doin'?" - -"Sitting on a box." - -"How do you like it?" chuckled Donovan. - -"Come down and see." - -"You're an impudent jackanapes!" retorted Donovan, wrathfully. "You'll -get enough of it before you're through." - -"So will you," answered Dan, boldly. - -"I'll take the risk," chuckled Donovan. "Do you know what you remind me -of?" - -"Suppose you tell me." - -"You're like a rat in a trap." - -"Not exactly," answered Dan, as a bright thought dawned upon him. - -"Why not?" - -"Because a rat can do no harm, and I can." - -It occurred to Donovan that Dan might have some matches in his pocket, -and was momentarily alarmed at the thought that our hero might set the -house on fire. - -"Have you matches with you?" he asked. - -"No," answered Dan. - -"If you had," said the saloon-keeper, relieved, "it would do you no good -to set a fire. You would only burn yourself up." - -"I don't mean to set the house on fire," said Dan, composedly. - -"Then you may do your worst. You can't scare me." - -"Can't I?" returned Dan, rising from his seat on the box. - -"What are you going to do?" asked Donovan, following with his glance the -boy's motion. - -"I'll tell you," said Dan. "I'm going to take the spigot out of them -whisky-kegs, and let the whisky run out on the floor." - -"Don't you do it!" exclaimed the saloon-keeper, now thoroughly -frightened. - -"Then let me up." - -"I won't." - -"All right. You must take the consequences." - -As he spoke Dan dextrously pulled the spigot from a keg, and Donovan, to -his dismay, heard the precious liquid--precious in his eyes--pouring out -upon the floor. - -With an exertion he raised the trap-door, hastily descended the ladder, -and rushed to the keg to replace the spigot. - -Meanwhile Dan ran up the ladder, pulled it after him, and made his late -jailer a captive. - -"Put down the ladder, you young rascal!" roared Donovan, when, turning -from his work, he saw how the tables had been turned. - -"It wouldn't be convenient just yet," answered Dan, coolly. - -He shut the trap-door, hastily lugged the ladder to the rear of the -house (unobserved, for there were no customers present), then dashed up -stairs and beckoned to Althea to follow him. There was no obstacle, for -Mrs. Donovan was stupefied by liquor. - -Putting on her things, the little girl hastily and gladly obeyed. - -As they passed through the saloon, Donovan's execrations and shouts were -heard proceeding from the cellar. - -"What's that, Dan?" asked Althea, trembling. - -"Never you mind, Althea," said Dan. "I'll tell you later." - -The two children hurried to the nearest horse-car, which luckily came up -at the moment, and jumped on board. - -Dan looked back with a smile at the saloon, saying to himself: - -"I rather think, Mr. Donovan, you've found your match this time. I hope -you'll enjoy the cellar as much as I did." - -In about an hour and a half Dan, holding Althea by the hand, -triumphantly led her into his mother's presence. - -"I've brought her back, mother," he said. - -"Oh, my dear, dear little girl!" exclaimed Mrs. Mordaunt, joyfully. "I -thought I should never, never see you again. How did you find her, Dan?" - -But we will not wait to hear a twice-told tale. Rather let us return to -Donovan, where the unhappy proprietor is still a captive in his own -cellar. Here he remained till his cries attracted the attention of a -wondering customer, who finally lifted the trap-door. - -"What are you doin' down there?" he asked, amazed. - -"Put down the ladder and let me up first of all." - -"I don't see any ladder." - -"Look round, then. I suppose the cursed boy has hidden it." - -It was a considerable time before the ladder was found. Then the -saloon-keeper emerged from his prison in a very bad humor. - -"How did you get shut up there?" asked his liberator. - -"What business is it of yours?" demanded Donovan, irritably. - -"I wish I had left you there," said the customer, with justifiable -indignation. "This is your gratitude for my trouble, is it?" - -"Excuse me, but I'm so mad with that cursed boy. What'll you take? It's -my treat." - -"Come, that's talking," said the placated customer. "What boy do you -mean?" - -"Wait a minute," said Donovan, a sudden fear possessing him. - -He rushed up stairs and looked for Althea. - -His wife was lying on the floor, breathing heavily, but the little girl -was gone. - -"The boy's got her! What a cursed fool I have been!" exclaimed Donovan, -sinking into a chair. - -Then, in a blind fury with the wife who didn't prevent the little girl's -recapture, he seized a pail of water and emptied it over the face of the -prostrate woman. - -Mrs. Donovan came to, and berated her husband furiously. - -"Serves you right, you jade!" said the affectionate husband. - -He went down stairs feeling better. He had had revenge on somebody. - -It was certainly an unlucky day for the Donovans. - - - - -CHAPTER XL. - -HARTLEY SURPRISED. - - -After calling at Donovan's, on the day when Dan recovered Althea, John -Hartley crossed the Courtlandt street ferry, and took a train to -Philadelphia with Blake, his accomplice in the forged certificates. The -two confederates had raised some Pennsylvania railway certificates, -which they proposed to put on the Philadelphia market. - -They spent several days in the Quaker City, and thus Hartley heard -nothing of the child's escape. - -Donovan did not see fit to inform him, as this would stop the weekly -remittance for the child's board, and, moreover, draw Hartley's -indignation down upon his head. - -One day, in a copy of the _New York Herald_, which he purchased at the -news-stand in the Continental Hotel, Hartley observed the arrival of -Harriet Vernon at the Fifth Avenue Hotel. - -"I thought she would come," he said to himself, with a smile. "I have -her in my power at last. She must submit to my terms, or lose sight of -the child altogether." - -"Blake," he said, aloud, "I must take the first train to New York." - -"Why, what's up, partner?" asked Blake, in surprise. "Anything gone -wrong?" - -"On the contrary, I see a chance of making a good haul." - -"How?" - -"Not in our line. It's some private business of my own." - -"All right. I wish you success. When will you return?" - -"That I can't exactly say. I will write or telegraph you." - -In the evening of the same day Mrs. Vernon sat in her room at the Fifth -Avenue Hotel. A servant brought up a card bearing the name of John -Hartley. - -"He is prompt," she said to herself, with a smile. "Probably he has not -heard of Althea's escape from the den to which he carried her. I will -humor him, in that case, and draw him out." - -"I will see the gentleman in the parlor," she said. - -Five minutes later she entered the ladies' parlor. Hartley rose to -receive her with a smile of conscious power, which told Harriet Vernon -that he was ignorant of the miscarriage of his plans. - -"I heard of your _unexpected_ arrival, Mrs. Vernon," he commenced, "and -have called to pay my respects." - -"Your motive is appreciated, John Hartley," she said, coldly. "I -expected to see you." - -"That's pleasant," he said, mockingly. "May I beg to apologize for -constraining you to cross the Atlantic?" - -"Don't apologize; you have merely acted out your nature." - -"Probably that is not meant to be complimentary. However, it can't be -helped." - -"I suppose you have something to say to me, John Hartley," said Mrs. -Vernon, seating herself. "Pray proceed." - -"You are quite right. I wrote you that I had ferreted out your cunningly -devised place of concealment for my daughter." - -"You did." - -He looked at her a little puzzled. She seemed very cool and composed, -whereas he expected she would be angry and disturbed. - -"We may as well come to business at once," he said. "If you wish to -recover the charge of your ward, you must accede to my terms." - -"State them." - -"They are expressed in my letter to you. You must agree to pay me a -thousand dollars each quarter." - -"It strikes me you are exorbitant in your demands." - -"I don't think so. At any rate, the money won't come out of you. It will -come from my daughter's income." - -"So you would rob your daughter, John Hartley?" - -"Rob my daughter!" he exclaimed, angrily. "She will have enough left. Is -she to live in luxury, and with thousands to spare, while I, her only -living parent, wander penniless and homeless about the world." - -"I might sympathize with you, if I did not know how you have misused the -gifts of fortune, and embittered the existence of my poor sister. As it -is, it only disgusts me." - -"I don't want you sympathy, Harriet Vernon," he said, roughly. "I want -four thousand dollars a year." - -"Suppose I decline to let you have it?" - -"Then you must take the consequences," he said, quickly. - -"What are to be the consequences?" she asked, quietly. - -"That you and Althea will be forever separated. She shall never see you -again." - -He looked at her intently to see the effect of his threat. - -Harriet Vernon was as cool and imperturbable as ever. - -"Have you been in New York for a week past?" she asked, as he thought, -irrelevantly. - -"Why do you ask?" - -"I have a reason." - -"No, I have not." - -"So I thought." - -"Why did you think so?" - -"Because you don't appear to know what has happened." - -"What has happened?" he asked, uneasily. - -"Mr. Donovan can tell you. As for me, I bid you good-evening." - -A wild fear took possession of him. - -"What do you mean?" he demanded, hurriedly. - -"I mean, John Hartley, that you are not as shrewd as you imagine. I mean -that a boy has foiled you; and while you were doubtless laughing at his -simplicity, he has proved more than a match for you. You have no claim -upon me, and I must decline your disinterested proposal." - -She left the room, leaving him crest-fallen and stupefied. - -"Has Donovan betrayed me?" he muttered. "I will soon find out." - -He started for Brooklyn immediately, and toward eleven o'clock entered -the saloon at Donovan's. - -"Where is the child?" he demanded, sternly. - -The rubicund host turned pale. - -"She's gone," he cried, "but I couldn't help it, Mr. Hartley. On my -honor, I couldn't." - -"How did it happen? Tell me at once." - -The story was told, Donovan ending by invoking curses upon the boy who -had played such a trick upon him. - -"You're a fool!" said Hartley, roughly. "I am ashamed of you, for -allowing a boy to get the best of you." - -"That boy's a fox," said Donovan. "He's a match for the old one, he is. -I'd like to break his neck for him." - -"It's not too late. I may get hold of the girl again," mused Hartley, as -he rose to go. "If I do, I won't put her in charge of such a -dunderhead." - -He left Donovan's and returned to New York, but he had hardly left the -Fulton ferry-boat when he was tapped on the shoulder by an officer. - -"I want you," he said. - -"What for?" asked Hartley, nervously. - -"A little financial irregularity, as they call it in Wall street. You -may know something about some raised railroad certificates!" - -"Confusion!" muttered Hartley. "Luck is dead against me." - - - - -CHAPTER XLI. - -DAN IS ADOPTED. - - -The morning papers contained an account of John Hartley's arrest, and -the crime with which he was charged. - -Harriet Vernon read it at the breakfast-table with an interest which may -be imagined. - -"I don't like to rejoice in any man's misfortune," she said to herself, -"but now I can have a few years of peace. My precious brother-in-law -will doubtless pass the next few years in enforced seclusion, and I can -have a settled home." - -Directly after breakfast, she set out for the humble home of her niece. -She found all at home, for Dan was not to go back to business till -Monday. - -"Well, my good friend," she said, "I have news for you." - -"Good news, I hope," said Dan. - -"Yes, good news. Henceforth I can have Althea with me. The obstacle that -separated us is removed." - -Mrs. Mordaunt's countenance fell, and Dan looked sober. It was plain -that Althea was to be taken from them, and they had learned to love her. - -"I am very glad," faltered Mrs. Mordaunt. - -"You don't look glad," returned Mrs. Vernon. - -"You see we don't like to part with Althea," explained Dan, who -understood his mother's feelings. - -"Who said you were to part with the child?" asked Mrs. Vernon, bluntly. - -"I thought you meant to take her from us." - -"Oh, I see. Your mistake is a natural one, for I have not told you my -plans. I mean to take a house up town, install Mrs. Mordaunt as my -housekeeper and friend, and adopt this young man (indicating Dan), -provided he has no objection." - -"How kind you are, Mrs. Vernon," ejaculated Mrs. Mordaunt. - -"No, I am selfish. I have plenty of money, and no one to care for, or to -care for me. I have taken a fancy to you all, and I am quite sure that -we can all live happily together. Althea is my niece, and you, Dan, may -call me aunt, too, if you like. Is it a bargain?" - -Dan offered her his hand in a frank, cordial way, which she liked. - -"So it is settled, then," she said, in a pleased voice. "I ought to warn -you," she added, "that I have the reputation of being ill-tempered. You -may get tired of living with me." - -"We'll take the risk," said Dan, smiling. - -Mrs. Vernon, whose habit it was to act promptly, engaged a house on -Madison avenue, furnished it without regard to expense, and in less than -a fortnight, installed her friends in it. Then she had a talk with Dan -about his plans. - -"Do you wish to remain in your place," she asked, "or would you like to -obtain a better education first?" - -"To obtain an education," said Dan, promptly. - -"Then give notice to your employer of your intention." - -Dan did so. - -Mrs. Vernon in a second interview informed him that besides defraying -his school expenses, she should give him an allowance of fifty dollars a -month for his own personal needs. - -"May I give a part of it to my mother?" asked Dan. - -"No." - -His countenance fell, but Mrs. Vernon smiled. - -"You don't ask why I refuse," she said. - -"I suppose you have a good reason," said Dan, dubiously. - -"My reason is that I shall pay your mother double this sum. Unless she -is very extravagant it ought to be enough to defray her expenses." - -"How liberal you are, Mrs. Vernon!" exclaimed Dan, in fresh -astonishment. - -"Mrs. Vernon!" - -"Aunt Harriet, I mean." - -"That is better." - -All these important changes in the position of the Mordaunts were -unknown to their old friends, who, since their loss of property, had -given them the cold shoulder. - -One day Tom Carver, in passing the house, saw Dan coming down the steps -quite as handsomely dressed as himself. His surprise and curiosity were -aroused. - -"Are you running errands?" he asked. - -"No. What makes you think so?" returned Dan, smiling. - -"I didn't know what else could carry you to such a house." - -"Oh, that's easily explained," said Dan. "I live here." - -"You live there!" ejaculated Tom. - -"Yes." - -"Oh, I see. You are in the employ of the family." - -"Not exactly," said Dan. "I have nothing to do." - -"Does your mother live there?" - -"Yes." - -"You don't mean to say she boards there?" - -"We are living with my aunt." - -"Is your aunt rich?" asked Tom, in a more deferential tone. - -"I believe she is. At any rate she gives me a handsome allowance." - -"You don't say so! How much does she give you?" - -"Fifty dollars a month." - -"And you don't have anything to do?" - -"Only to study. I am going back to school." - -"What a lucky fellow!" exclaimed Tom, enviously. "Why, my father only -allows me three dollars a week." - -"I could get along on that. I don't need as much as my aunt allows me." - -"I say, Dan," said Tom, in the most friendly terms, "I'm awfully hard -up. Could you lend me five dollars?" - -"Yes," said Dan, secretly amused with the change in Tom's manner. - -"You always were a good fellow!" said Tom, linking his arm in Dan's. -"I'm very glad you're rich again. You must come to see me often." - -"Thank you," said Dan, smiling, "but I'm afraid you have forgotten -something." - -"What do you mean?" - -"You know I used to be a newsboy in front of the Astor House." - -"That don't matter." - -"And you might not care to associate with a newsboy." - -"Well, you are all right now," said Tom, magnanimously. - -"You didn't always think so, Tom." - -"I always thought you were a gentleman, Dan. I am coming to see you -soon. You must introduce me to your aunt." - -"I suppose it's the way of the world," thought Dan. "It is lucky that -there are some true friends who stick by us through thick and thin." - -Mrs. Mordaunt had an experience similar to Dan's. Her old acquaintances, -who, during her poverty never seemed to recognize her when they met, -gradually awoke to the consciousness of her continued existence, and -left cards. She received them politely, but rated their professions of -friendship at their true value. They had not been "friends in need," and -she could not count them "friends indeed." - - - - -CHAPTER XLII. - -CONCLUSION. - - -Six years rolled by, bringing with them many changes. The little family -on Madison avenue kept together. Mrs. Vernon was never happier than now. -She had a hearty love for young people, and enjoyed the growth and -development of her niece Althea, and Dan, whom she called her nephew and -loved no less. - -Dan is now a young man. He completed his preparation for college, and -graduated with high honors. He is no less frank, handsome, and -self-reliant than when as a boy he sold papers in front of the Astor -House for his mother's support. He looks forward to a business life, and -has accepted an invitation to go abroad to buy goods in London and Paris -for his old firm. He was, in fact, preparing to go when a mysterious -letter was put in his hands. It ran thus: - - - "MR. DANIEL MORDAUNT:--I shall take it as a great favor if you will - come to the St. Nicholas Hotel this evening, and inquire for me. I - am sick, or I would not trouble you. Do not fail. I have to speak - to you on a matter of great importance. - - "JOHN DAVIS." - - -"John Davis!" repeated Dan. "I don't know of any one of that name. Do -you, mother?" - -"I cannot think of any one," said Mrs. Mordaunt. "I hope you won't go, -Dan," she added, anxiously; "it may be a trap laid by a wicked and -designing man." - -"You forget that I am not a boy any longer, mother," said Dan, smiling. -"I think I can defend myself, even if Mr. Davis is a wicked and -designing person." - -Nevertheless Mrs. Mordaunt saw Dan depart with anxiety. To her he was -still a boy, though in the eyes of others an athletic young man. - -On inquiring for Mr. Davis at the hotel, Dan was ushered into a room on -the third floor. Seated in an arm-chair was an elderly man, weak and -wasted, apparently in the last stages of consumption. He eyed Dan -eagerly. - -"You are Daniel Mordaunt?" he asked. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Son of Lawrence Mordaunt?" - -"Yes. Did you know my father?" - -The old man sighed. - -"It would have been well if he had not known me, for I did him a great -wrong." - -"You!--John Davis!" said Dan, trying to connect the name with his -father. - -"That is not my real name. You see before you Robert Hunting, once your -father's book-keeper." - -Dan's handsome face darkened, and he said, bitterly: - -"You killed my father!" - -"Heaven help me, I fear I did!" sighed Davis--to call him by his later -name. - -"The money of which you robbed him caused him to fail, and failure led -to his death." - -"I have accused myself of this crime oftentimes," moaned Davis. "Don't -think that the money brought happiness, for it did not." - -"Where have you been all these years?" - -"First, I went to Europe. There I remained a year. From Europe I went to -Brazil, and engaged in business in Rio Janeiro. A year since I found my -health failing, and have come back to New York to die. But before I die -I want to make what reparation I can." - -"You cannot call my father back to me," said Dan, sadly. - -"No; but I can restore the money that I stole. That is the right -word--stole. I hope you and your mother have not suffered?" - -"We saw some hard times, but for years we have lived in comfort." - -"I am glad of that. Will you bring a lawyer to me to-morrow evening? I -want to make restitution. Then I shall die easier." - -"You might keep every dollar if you would bring my father back." - -"Would that I could! I must do what I can." - -The next evening Davis transferred to Dan and his mother property -amounting to fifty thousand dollars, in payment of what he had taken, -with interest, and in less than a month later he died, Dan taking upon -himself the charge of the funeral. His trip to Europe was deferred, and -having now capital to contribute, he was taken as junior partner into -the firm where he had once filled the position of office-boy. - -Tom Carver is down in the world. His father had failed disastrously, and -Tom is glad to accept a minor clerkship from the boy at whom he once -sneered. - -Julia Rogers has never lost her preference for Dan. It is whispered that -they are engaged, or likely soon to be, and Dan's assiduous attentions -to the young lady make the report a plausible one. - -John Hartley was sentenced to a term of years in prison. Harriet Vernon -dreaded the day of his release, being well convinced that he would seize -the earliest opportunity to renew his persecutions. She had about made -up her mind to buy him off, when she received intelligence that he was -carried off by fever, barely a month before the end of his term. It was -a sad end of a bad life, but she could not regret him. Althea was saved -the knowledge of her father's worthlessness. She was led to believe that -he had died when she was a little girl. - -And now the curtain must fall. Dan, the young detective, has entered -upon a career of influence and prosperity. The hardships of his earlier -years contributed to strengthen his character, and give him that -self-reliance of which the sons of rich men so often stand in need. A -similar experience might have benefited Tom Carver, whose lofty -anticipations have been succeeded by a very humble reality. Let those -boys who are now passing through the discipline of poverty and -privation, take courage and emulate the example of "Dan, the Detective." - - -THE END. - - - - -A. L. BURT'S PUBLICATIONS - -For Young People - -BY POPULAR WRITERS, - -97-99-101 Reade Street, New York. - - - +Bonnie Prince Charlie+: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden. By G. A. - HENTY. With 12 full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, - cloth, price $1.00. - -The adventures of the son of a Scotch officer in French service. The -boy, brought up by a Glasgow bailie, is arrested for aiding a Jacobite -agent, escapes, is wrecked on the French coast, reaches Paris, and -serves with the French army at Dettingen. He kills his father's foe in a -duel, and escaping to the coast, shares the adventures of Prince -Charlie, but finally settles happily in Scotland. - - "Ronald, the hero, is very like the hero of 'Quentin Durward.' The - lad's journey across France, and his hairbreadth escapes, make up - as good a narrative of the kind as we have ever read. For freshness - of treatment and variety of incident Mr. Henty has surpassed - himself."--_Spectator._ - - - +With Clive in India+; or, the Beginnings of an Empire. By G. A. - HENTY. With 12 full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, - cloth, price $1.00. - -The period between the landing of Clive as a young writer in India and -the close of his career was critical and eventful in the extreme. At its -commencement the English were traders existing on sufferance of the -native princes. At its close they were masters of Bengal and of the -greater part of Southern India. The author has given a full and accurate -account of the events of that stirring time, and battles and sieges -follow each other in rapid succession, while he combines with his -narrative a tale of daring and adventure, which gives a lifelike -interest to the volume. - - "He has taken a period of Indian history of the most vital - importance, and he has embroidered on the historical facts a story - which of itself is deeply interesting. Young people assuredly will - be delighted with the volume."--_Scotsman._ - - - +The Lion of the North+: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and the Wars of - Religion. By G. A. HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by JOHN - SCHÖNBERG. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -In this story Mr. Henty gives the history of the first part of the -Thirty Years' War. The issue had its importance, which has extended to -the present day, as it established religious freedom in Germany. The -army of the chivalrous king of Sweden was largely composed of Scotchmen, -and among these was the hero of the story. - - "The tale is a clever and instructive piece of history, and as boys - may be trusted to read it conscientiously, they can hardly fail to - be profited."--_Times._ - - - +The Dragon and the Raven+; or, The Days of King Alfred. By G. A. - HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by C. J. STANILAND, R.I. 12mo, - cloth, price $1.00. - -In this story the author gives an account of the fierce struggle between -Saxon and Dane for supremacy in England, and presents a vivid picture of -the misery and ruin to which the country was reduced by the ravages of -the sea-wolves. The hero, a young Saxon thane, takes part in all the -battles fought by King Alfred. He is driven from his home, takes to the -sea and resists the Danes on their own element, and being pursued by -them up the Seine, is present at the long and desperate siege of Paris. - - "Treated in a manner most attractive to the boyish - reader."--_Athenæum._ - - - +The Young Carthaginian+: A Story of the Times of Hannibal. By G. A. - HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by C. J. STANILAND, R.I. 12mo, - cloth, price $1.00. - -Boys reading the history of the Punic Wars have seldom a keen -appreciation of the merits of the contest. That it was at first a -struggle for empire, and afterward for existence on the part of -Carthage, that Hannibal was a great and skillful general, that he -defeated the Romans at Trebia, Lake Trasimenus, and Cannæ, and all but -took Rome, represents pretty nearly the sum total of their knowledge. To -let them know more about this momentous struggle for the empire of the -world Mr. Henty has written this story, which not only gives in graphic -style a brilliant description of a most interesting period of history, -but is a tale of exciting adventure sure to secure the interest of the -reader. - - "Well constructed and vividly told. From first to last nothing - stays the interest of the narrative. It bears us along as on a - stream whose current varies in direction, but never loses its - force."--_Saturday Review._ - - - +In Freedom's Cause+: A Story of Wallace and Bruce. By G. A. HENTY. - With full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, price - $1.00. - -In this story the author relates the stirring tale of the Scottish War -of Independence. The extraordinary valor and personal prowess of Wallace -and Bruce rival the deeds of the mythical heroes of chivalry, and indeed -at one time Wallace was ranked with these legendary personages. The -researches of modern historians have shown, however, that he was a -living, breathing man--and a valiant champion. The hero of the tale -fought under both Wallace and Bruce, and while the strictest historical -accuracy has been maintained with respect to public events, the work is -full of "hairbreadth 'scapes" and wild adventure. - - "It is written in the author's best style. Full of the wildest and - most remarkable achievements, it is a tale of great interest, which - a boy, once he has begun it, will not willingly put on one - side."--_The Schoolmaster._ - - - +With Lee in Virginia+: A Story of the American Civil War. By G. A. - HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, - price $1.00. - -The story of a young Virginian planter, who, after bravely proving his -sympathy with the slaves of brutal masters, serves with no less courage -and enthusiasm under Lee and Jackson through the most exciting events of -the struggle. He has many hairbreadth escapes, is several times wounded -and twice taken prisoner; but his courage and readiness and, in two -cases, the devotion of a black servant and of a runaway slave whom he -had assisted, bring him safely through all difficulties. - - "One of the best stories for lads which Mr. Henty has yet written. - The picture is full of life and color, and the stirring and - romantic incidents are skillfully blended with the personal - interest and charm of the story."--_Standard._ - - - +By England's Aid+; or, The Freeing of the Netherlands (1585-1604). - By G. A. HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by ALFRED PEARSE, and - Maps. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -The story of two English lads who go to Holland as pages in the service -of one of "the fighting Veres." After many adventures by sea and land, -one of the lads finds himself on board a Spanish ship at the time of the -defeat of the Armada, and escapes only to fall into the hands of the -Corsairs. He is successful in getting back to Spain under the protection -of a wealthy merchant, and regains his native country after the capture -of Cadiz. - - "It is an admirable book for youngsters. It overflows with stirring - incident and exciting adventure, and the color of the era and of - the scene are finely reproduced. The illustrations add to its - attractiveness."--_Boston Gazette._ - - - +By Right of Conquest+; or, With Cortez in Mexico. By G. A. HENTY. - With full-page Illustrations by W. S. STACEY, and Two Maps. 12mo, - cloth, price $1.50. - -The conquest of Mexico by a small band of resolute men under the -magnificent leadership of Cortez is always rightly ranked among the most -romantic and daring exploits in history. With this as the groundwork of -his story Mr. Henty has interwoven the adventures of an English youth, -Roger Hawkshaw, the sole survivor of the good ship Swan, which had -sailed from a Devon port to challenge the mercantile supremacy of the -Spaniards in the New World. He is beset by many perils among the -natives, but is saved by his own judgment and strength, and by the -devotion of an Aztec princess. At last by a ruse he obtains the -protection of the Spaniards, and after the fall of Mexico he succeeds in -regaining his native shore, with a fortune and a charming Aztec bride. - - "'By Right of Conquest' is the nearest approach to a perfectly - successful historical tale that Mr. Henty has yet - published."--_Academy._ - - - +In the Reign of Terror+: The Adventures of a Westminster Boy. By G. - A. HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by J. SCHÖNBERG. 12mo, - cloth, price $1.00. - -Harry Sandwith, a Westminster boy, becomes a resident at the chateau of -a French marquis, and after various adventures accompanies the family to -Paris at the crisis of the Revolution. Imprisonment and death reduce -their number, and the hero finds himself beset by perils with the three -young daughters of the house in his charge. After hairbreadth escapes -they reach Nantes. There the girls are condemned to death in the -coffin-ships, but are saved by the unfailing courage of their boy -protector. - - "Harry Sandwith, the Westminster boy, may fairly be said to beat - Mr. Henty's record. His adventures will delight boys by the - audacity and peril they depict.... The story is one of Mr. Henty's - best."--_Saturday Review._ - - - +With Wolfe in Canada+; or, The Winning of a Continent. By G. A. - HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, - price $1.00. - -In the present volume Mr. Henty gives an account of the struggle between -Britain and France for supremacy in the North American continent. On the -issue of this war depended not only the destinies of North America, but -to a large extent those of the mother countries themselves. The fall of -Quebec decided that the Anglo-Saxon race should predominate in the New -World; that Britain, and not France, should take the lead among the -nations of Europe; and that English and American commerce, the English -language, and English literature, should spread right round the globe. - - "It is not only a lesson in history as instructively as it is - graphically told, but also a deeply interesting and often thrilling - tale of adventure and peril by flood and field."--_Illustrated - London News._ - - - +True to the Old Flag+: A Tale of the American War of Independence. - By G. A. HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. - 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -In this story the author has gone to the accounts of officers who took -part in the conflict, and lads will find that in no war in which -American and British soldiers have been engaged did they behave with -greater courage and good conduct. The historical portion of the book -being accompanied with numerous thrilling adventures with the redskins -on the shores of Lake Huron, a story of exciting interest is interwoven -with the general narrative and carried through the book. - - "Does justice to the pluck and determination of the British - soldiers during the unfortunate struggle against American - emancipation. The son of an American loyalist, who remains true to - our flag, falls among the hostile redskins in that very Huron - country which has been endeared to us by the exploits of Hawkeye - and Chingachgook."--_The Times._ - - - +The Lion of St. Mark+: A Tale of Venice in the Fourteenth Century. - By G. A. HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. - 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -A story of Venice at a period when her strength and splendor were put to -the severest tests. The hero displays a fine sense and manliness which -carry him safely through an atmosphere of intrigue, crime, and -bloodshed. He contributes largely to the victories of the Venetians at -Porto d'Anzo and Chioggia, and finally wins the hand of the daughter of -one of the chief men of Venice. - - "Every boy should read 'The Lion of St. Mark.' Mr. Henty has never - produced a story more delightful, more wholesome, or more - vivacious."--_Saturday Review._ - - - +A Final Reckoning+: A Tale of Bush Life in Australia. By G. A. - HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by W. B. WOLLEN. 12mo, cloth, - price $1.00. - -The hero, a young English lad, after rather a stormy boyhood, emigrates -to Australia, and gets employment as an officer in the mounted police. A -few years of active work on the frontier, where he has many a brush with -both natives and bushrangers, gain him promotion to a captaincy, and he -eventually settles down to the peaceful life of a squatter. - - "Mr. Henty has never published a more readable, a more carefully - constructed, or a better written story than this."--_Spectator._ - - - +Under Drake's Flag+: A Tale of the Spanish Main. By G. A. HENTY. - With full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, price - $1.00. - -A story of the days when England and Spain struggled for the supremacy -of the sea. The heroes sail as lads with Drake in the Pacific -expedition, and in his great voyage of circumnavigation. The historical -portion of the story is absolutely to be relied upon, but this will -perhaps be less attractive than the great variety of exciting adventure -through which the young heroes pass in the course of their voyages. - - "A book of adventure, where the hero meets with experience enough, - one would think, to turn his hair gray."--_Harper's Monthly - Magazine._ - - - +By Sheer Pluck+: A Tale of the Ashanti War. By G. A. HENTY. With - full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -The author has woven, in a tale of thrilling interest, all the details -of the Ashanti campaign, of which he was himself a witness. His hero, -after many exciting adventures in the interior, is detained a prisoner -by the king just before the outbreak of the war, but escapes, and -accompanies the English expedition on their march to Coomassie. - - "Mr. Henty keeps up his reputation as a writer of boys' stories. - 'By Sheer Pluck' will be eagerly read."--_Athenæum._ - - - +By Pike and Dyke+: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic. By G. - A. HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by MAYNARD BROWN, and 4 - Maps. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -In this story Mr. Henty traces the adventures and brave deeds of an -English boy in the household of the ablest man of his age--William the -Silent. Edward Martin, the son of an English sea-captain, enters the -service of the Prince as a volunteer, and is employed by him in many -dangerous and responsible missions, in the discharge of which he passes -through the great sieges of the time. He ultimately settles down as Sir -Edward Martin. - - "Boys with a turn for historical research will be enchanted with - the book, while the rest who only care for adventure will be - students in spite of themselves."--_St. James' Gazette._ - - - +St. George for England+: A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. By G. A. - HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, - price $1.00. - -No portion of English history is more crowded with great events than -that of the reign of Edward III. Cressy and Poitiers; the destruction of -the Spanish fleet; the plague of the Black Death; the Jacquerie rising; -these are treated by the author in "St. George for England." The hero of -the story, although of good family, begins life as a London apprentice, -but after countless adventures and perils becomes by valor and good -conduct the squire, and at last the trusted friend of the Black Prince. - - "Mr. Henty has developed for himself a type of historical novel for - boys which bids fair to supplement, on their behalf, the historical - labors of Sir Walter Scott in the land of fiction."--_The - Standard._ - - - +Captain Kidd's Gold+: The True Story of an Adventurous Sailor Boy. - By JAMES FRANKLIN FITTS. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -There is something fascinating to the average youth in the very idea of -buried treasure. A vision arises before his eyes of swarthy Portuguese -and Spanish rascals, with black beards and gleaming -eyes--sinister-looking fellows who once on a time haunted the Spanish -Main, sneaking out from some hidden creek in their long, low schooner, -of picaroonish rake and sheer, to attack an unsuspecting trading craft. -There were many famous sea rovers in their day, but none more celebrated -than Capt. Kidd. Perhaps the most fascinating tale of all is Mr. Fitts' -true story of an adventurous American boy, who receives from his dying -father an ancient bit of vellum, which the latter obtained in a curious -way. The document bears obscure directions purporting to locate a -certain island in the Bahama group, and a considerable treasure buried -there by two of Kidd's crew. The hero of this book, Paul Jones Garry, is -an ambitious, persevering lad, of salt-water New England ancestry, and -his efforts to reach the island and secure the money form one of the -most absorbing tales for our youth that has come from the press. - - - +Captain Bayley's Heir+: A Tale of the Gold Fields of California. By - G. A. HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by H. M. PAGET. 12mo, - cloth, price $1.00. - -A frank, manly lad and his cousin are rivals in the heirship of a -considerable property. The former falls into a trap laid by the latter, -and while under a false accusation of theft foolishly leaves England for -America. He works his passage before the mast, joins a small band of -hunters, crosses a tract of country infested with Indians to the -Californian gold diggings, and is successful both as digger and trader. - - "Mr. Henty is careful to mingle instruction with entertainment; and - the humorous touches, especially in the sketch of John Holl, the - Westminster dustman, Dickens himself could hardly have - excelled."--_Christian Leader._ - - - +For Name and Fame+; or, Through Afghan Passes. By G. A. HENTY. With - full-page Illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -An interesting story of the last war in Afghanistan. The hero, after -being wrecked and going through many stirring adventures among the -Malays, finds his way to Calcutta and enlists in a regiment proceeding -to join the army at the Afghan passes. He accompanies the force under -General Roberts to the Peiwar Kotal, is wounded, taken prisoner, carried -to Cabul, whence he is transferred to Candahar, and takes part in the -final defeat of the army of Ayoub Khan. - - "The best feature of the book--apart from the interest of its - scenes of adventure--is its honest effort to do justice to the - patriotism of the Afghan people."--_Daily News._ - - - +Captured by Apes+: The Wonderful Adventures of a Young Animal - Trainer. By HARRY PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, $1.00. - -The scene of this tale is laid on an island in the Malay Archipelago. -Philip Garland, a young animal collector and trainer, of New York, sets -sail for Eastern seas in quest of a new stock of living curiosities. The -vessel is wrecked off the coast of Borneo and young Garland, the sole -survivor of the disaster, is cast ashore on a small island, and captured -by the apes that overrun the place. The lad discovers that the ruling -spirit of the monkey tribe is a gigantic and vicious baboon, whom he -identifies as Goliah, an animal at one time in his possession and with -whose instruction he had been especially diligent. The brute recognizes -him, and with a kind of malignant satisfaction puts his former master -through the same course of training he had himself experienced with a -faithfulness of detail which shows how astonishing is monkey -recollection. Very novel indeed is the way by which the young man -escapes death. Mr. Prentice has certainly worked a new vein on juvenile -fiction, and the ability with which he handles a difficult subject -stamps him as a writer of undoubted skill. - - - +The Bravest of the Brave+; or, With Peterborough in Spain. By G. A. - HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by H. M. PAGET. 12mo, cloth, - price $1.00. - -There are few great leaders whose lives and actions have so completely -fallen into oblivion as those of the Earl of Peterborough. This is -largely due to the fact that they were overshadowed by the glory and -successes of Marlborough. His career as general extended over little -more than a year, and yet, in that time, he showed a genius for warfare -which has never been surpassed. - - "Mr. Henty never loses sight of the moral purpose of his work--to - enforce the doctrine of courage and truth. Lads will read 'The - Bravest of the Brave' with pleasure and profit; of that we are - quite sure."--_Daily Telegraph._ - - - +The Cat of Bubastes+: A Story of Ancient Egypt. By G. A. HENTY. With - full-page Illustrations. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -A story which will give young readers an unsurpassed insight into the -customs of the Egyptian people. Amuba, a prince of the Rebu nation, is -carried with his charioteer Jethro into slavery. They become inmates of -the house of Ameres, the Egyptian high-priest, and are happy in his -service until the priest's son accidentally kills the sacred cat of -Bubastes. In an outburst of popular fury Ameres is killed, and it rests -with Jethro and Amuba to secure the escape of the high-priest's son and -daughter. - - "The story, from the critical moment of the killing of the sacred - cat to the perilous exodus into Asia with which it closes, is very - skillfully constructed and full of exciting adventures. It is - admirably illustrated."--_Saturday Review._ - - - +With Washington at Monmouth+: A Story of Three Philadelphia Boys. By - JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -Three Philadelphia boys, Seth Graydon "whose mother conducted a -boarding-house which was patronized by the British officers;" Enoch -Ball, "son of that Mrs. Ball whose dancing school was situated on -Letitia Street," and little Jacob, son of "Chris, the Baker," serve as -the principal characters. The story is laid during the winter when Lord -Howe held possession of the city, and the lads aid the cause by -assisting the American spies who make regular and frequent visits from -Valley Forge. One reads here of home-life in the captive city when bread -was scarce among the people of the lower classes, and a reckless -prodigality shown by the British officers, who passed the winter in -feasting and merry-making while the members of the patriot army but a -few miles away were suffering from both cold and hunger. The story -abounds with pictures of Colonial life skillfully drawn, and the -glimpses of Washington's soldiers which are given show that the work has -not been hastily done, or without considerable study. - - - +For the Temple+: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. By G. A. HENTY. - With full-page Illustrations by S. J. SOLOMON. 12mo, cloth, price - $1.00. - -Mr. Henty here weaves into the record of Josephus an admirable and -attractive story. The troubles in the district of Tiberias, the march of -the legions, the sieges of Jotapata, of Gamala, and of Jerusalem, form -the impressive and carefully studied historic setting to the figure of -the lad who passes from the vineyard to the service of Josephus, becomes -the leader of a guerrilla band of patriots, fights bravely for the -Temple, and after a brief term of slavery at Alexandria, returns to his -Galilean home with the favor of Titus. - - "Mr. Henty's graphic prose pictures of the hopeless Jewish - resistance to Roman sway add another leaf to his record of the - famous wars of the world."--_Graphic._ - - - +Facing Death+; or, The Hero of the Vaughan Pit. A Tale of the Coal - Mines. By G. A. HENTY. With full-page Illustrations by GORDON - BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -"Facing Death" is a story with a purpose. It is intended to show that a -lad who makes up his mind firmly and resolutely that he will rise in -life, and who is prepared to face toil and ridicule and hardship to -carry out his determination, is sure to succeed. The hero of the story -is a typical British boy, dogged, earnest, generous, and though -"shamefaced" to a degree, is ready to face death in the discharge of -duty. - - "The tale is well written and well illustrated and there is much - reality in the characters. If any father, clergyman, or - schoolmaster is on the lookout for a good book to give as a present - to a boy who is worth his salt, this is the book we would - recommend."--_Standard._ - - - +Tom Temple's Career.+ By HORATIO ALGER. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -Tom Temple, a bright, self-reliant lad, by the death of his father -becomes a boarder at the home of Nathan Middleton, a penurious insurance -agent. Though well paid for keeping the boy, Nathan and his wife -endeavor to bring Master Tom in line with their parsimonious habits. The -lad ingeniously evades their efforts and revolutionizes the household. -As Tom is heir to $40,000, he is regarded as a person of some importance -until by an unfortunate combination of circumstances his fortune shrinks -to a few hundreds. He leaves Plympton village to seek work in New York, -whence he undertakes an important mission to California, around which -center the most exciting incidents of his young career. Some of his -adventures in the far west are so startling that the reader will -scarcely close the book until the last page shall have been reached. The -tale is written in Mr. Alger's most fascinating style, and is bound to -please the very large class of boys who regard this popular author as a -prime favorite. - - - +Maori and Settler+: A Story of the New Zealand War. By G. A. HENTY. - With full-page Illustrations by ALFRED PEARSE. 12mo, cloth, price - $1.00. - -The Renshaws emigrate to New Zealand during the period of the war with -the natives. Wilfrid, a strong, self-reliant, courageous lad, is the -mainstay of the household. He has for his friend Mr. Atherton, a -botanist and naturalist of herculean strength and unfailing nerve and -humor. In the adventures among the Maoris, there are many breathless -moments in which the odds seem hopelessly against the party, but they -succeed in establishing themselves happily in one of the pleasant New -Zealand valleys. - - "Brimful of adventure, of humorous and interesting conversation, - and vivid pictures of colonial life."--_Schoolmaster._ - - - +Julian Mortimer+: A Brave Boy's Struggle for Home and Fortune. By - HARRY CASTLEMON. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -Here is a story that will warm every boy's heart. There is mystery -enough to keep any lad's imagination wound up to the highest pitch. The -scene of the story lies west of the Mississippi River, in the days when -emigrants made their perilous way across the great plains to the land of -gold. One of the startling features of the book is the attack upon the -wagon train by a large party of Indians. Our hero is a lad of uncommon -nerve and pluck, a brave young American in every sense of the word. He -enlists and holds the reader's sympathy from the outset. Surrounded by -an unknown and constant peril, and assisted by the unswerving fidelity -of a stalwart trapper, a real rough diamond, our hero achieves the most -happy results. Harry Castlemon has written many entertaining stories for -boys, and it would seem almost superfluous to say anything in his -praise, for the youth of America regard him as a favorite author. - - - "+Carrots+:" Just a Little Boy. By MRS. MOLESWORTH. With - Illustrations by WALTER CRANE. 12mo, cloth, price 75 cents. - - "One of the cleverest and most pleasing stories it has been our - good fortune to meet with for some time. Carrots and his sister are - delightful little beings, whom to read about is at once to become - very fond of."--_Examiner._ - - "A genuine children's book; we've seen 'em seize it, and read it - greedily. Children are first-rate critics, and thoroughly - appreciate Walter Crane's illustrations."--_Punch._ - - - +Mopsa the Fairy.+ By JEAN INGELOW. With Eight page Illustrations. - 12mo, cloth, price 75 cents. - - "Mrs. Ingelow is, to our mind, the most charming of all living - writers for children, and 'Mopsa' alone ought to give her a kind of - pre-emptive right to the love and gratitude of our young folks. It - requires genius to conceive a purely imaginary work which must of - necessity deal with the supernatural, without running into a mere - riot of fantastic absurdity; but genius Miss Ingelow has and the - story of 'Jack' is as careless and joyous, but as delicate, as a - picture of childhood."--_Eclectic._ - - - +A Jaunt Through Java+: The Story of a Journey to the Sacred - Mountain. By EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -The central interest of this story is found in the thrilling adventures -of two cousins, Hermon and Eustace Hadley, on their trip across the -island of Java, from Samarang to the Sacred Mountain. In a land where -the Royal Bengal tiger runs at large; where the rhinoceros and other -fierce beasts are to be met with at unexpected moments; it is but -natural that the heroes of this book should have a lively experience. -Hermon not only distinguishes himself by killing a full-grown tiger at -short range, but meets with the most startling adventure of the journey. -There is much in this narrative to instruct as well as entertain the -reader, and so deftly has Mr. Ellis used his material that there is not -a dull page in the book. The two heroes are brave, manly young fellows, -bubbling over with boyish independence. They cope with the many -difficulties that arise during the trip in a fearless way that is bound -to win the admiration of every lad who is so fortunate as to read their -adventures. - - - +Wrecked on Spider Island+; or, How Ned Rogers Found the Treasure. By - JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -A "down-east" plucky lad who ships as cabin boy, not from love of -adventure, but because it is the only course remaining by which he can -gain a livelihood. While in his bunk, seasick, Ned Rogers hears the -captain and mate discussing their plans for the willful wreck of the -brig in order to gain the insurance. Once it is known he is in -possession of the secret the captain maroons him on Spider Island, -explaining to the crew that the boy is afflicted with leprosy. While -thus involuntarily playing the part of a Crusoe, Ned discovers a wreck -submerged in the sand, and overhauling the timbers for the purpose of -gathering material with which to build a hut finds a considerable amount -of treasure. Raising the wreck; a voyage to Havana under sail; shipping -there a crew and running for Savannah; the attempt of the crew to seize -the little craft after learning of the treasure on board, and, as a -matter of course, the successful ending of the journey, all serve to -make as entertaining a story of sea-life as the most captious boy could -desire. - - - +Geoff and Jim+: A Story of School Life. By ISMAY THORN. Illustrated - by A. G. WALKER. 12mo, cloth, price 75 cents. - - "This is a prettily told story of the life spent by two motherless - bairns at a small preparatory school. Both Geoff and Jim are very - lovable characters, only Jim is the more so; and the scrapes he - gets into and the trials he endures will no doubt, interest a large - circle of young readers."--_Church Times._ - - "This is a capital children's story, the characters well portrayed, - and the book tastefully bound and well - illustrated."--_Schoolmaster._ - - "The story can be heartily recommended as a present for - boys."--_Standard._ - - - +The Castaways+; or, On the Florida Reefs, By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, - cloth, price $1.00. - -This tale smacks of the salt sea. It is just the kind of story that the -majority of boys yearn for. From the moment that the Sea Queen dispenses -with the services of the tug in lower New York bay till the breeze -leaves her becalmed off the coast of Florida, one can almost hear the -whistle of the wind through her rigging, the creak of her straining -cordage as she heels to the leeward, and feel her rise to the -snow-capped waves which her sharp bow cuts into twin streaks of foam. -Off Marquesas Keys she floats in a dead calm. Ben Clark, the hero of the -story, and Jake, the cook, spy a turtle asleep upon the glassy surface -of the water. They determine to capture him, and take a boat for that -purpose, and just as they succeed in catching him a thick fog cuts them -off from the vessel, and then their troubles begin. They take refuge on -board a drifting hulk, a storm arises and they are cast ashore upon a -low sandy key. Their adventures from this point cannot fail to charm the -reader. As a writer for young people Mr. Otis is a prime favorite. His -style is captivating, and never for a moment does he allow the interest -to flag. In "The Castaways" he is at his best. - - - +Tom Thatcher's Fortune.+ By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, price - $1.00. - -Like all of Mr. Alger's heroes, Tom Thatcher is a brave, ambitious, -unselfish boy. He supports his mother and sister on meager wages earned -as a shoe-pegger in John Simpson's factory. The story begins with Tom's -discharge from the factory, because Mr. Simpson felt annoyed with the -lad for interrogating him too closely about his missing father. A few -days afterward Tom learns that which induces him to start overland for -California with the view of probing the family mystery. He meets with -many adventures. Ultimately he returns to his native village, bringing -consternation to the soul of John Simpson, who only escapes the -consequences of his villainy by making full restitution to the man whose -friendship he had betrayed. The story is told in that entertaining way -which has made Mr. Alger's name a household word in so many homes. - - - +Birdie+: A Tale of Child Life. By H. L. CHILDE-PEMBERTON. - Illustrated by H. W. RAINEY. 12mo, cloth, price 75 cents. - - "The story is quaint and simple, but there is a freshness about it - that makes one hear again the ringing laugh and the cheery shout of - children at play which charmed his earlier years."--_New York - Express._ - - - +Popular Fairy Tales.+ By the BROTHERS GRIMM. Profusely Illustrated, - 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - - "From first to last, almost without exception, these stories are - delightful."--_Athenæum._ - - - +With Lafayette at Yorktown+: A Story of How Two Boys Joined the - Continental Army. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -The two boys are from Portsmouth, N. H., and are introduced in August, -1781, when on the point of leaving home to enlist in Col. Scammell's -regiment, then stationed near New York City. Their method of traveling -is on horseback, and the author has given an interesting account of what -was expected from boys in the Colonial days. The lads, after no slight -amount of adventure, are sent as messengers--not soldiers--into the -south to find the troops under Lafayette. Once with that youthful -general they are given employment as spies, and enter the British camp, -bringing away valuable information. The pictures of camp-life are -carefully drawn, and the portrayal of Lafayette's character is -thoroughly well done. The story is wholesome in tone, as are all of Mr. -Otis' works. There is no lack of exciting incident which the youthful -reader craves, but it is healthful excitement brimming with facts which -every boy should be familiar with, and while the reader is following the -adventures of Ben Jaffreys and Ned Allen he is acquiring a fund of -historical lore which will remain in his memory long after that which he -has memorized from text-books has been forgotten. - - - +Lost in the Caņon+: Sam Willett's Adventures on the Great Colorado. - By ALFRED R. CALHOUN. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -This story hinges on a fortune left to Sam Willett, the hero, and the -fact that it will pass to a disreputable relative if the lad dies before -he shall have reached his majority. The Vigilance Committee of Hurley's -Gulch arrest Sam's father and an associate for the crime of murder. -Their lives depend on the production of the receipt given for money -paid. This is in Sam's possession at the camp on the other side of the -caņon. A messenger is dispatched to get it. He reaches the lad in the -midst of a fearful storm which floods the caņon. His father's peril -urges Sam to action. A raft is built on which the boy and his friends -essay to cross the torrent. They fail to do so, and a desperate trip -down the stream ensues. How the party finally escape from the horrors of -their situation and Sam reaches Hurley's Gulch in the very nick of time, -is described in a graphic style that stamps Mr. Calhoun as a master of -his art. - - - +Jack+: A Topsy Turvy Story. By C. M. CRAWLEY-BOEVEY. With upward of - Thirty Illustrations by H. J. A. MILES. 12mo, cloth, price 75 - cents. - - "The illustrations deserve particular mention, as they add largely - to the interest of this amusing volume for children. Jack falls - asleep with his mind full of the subject of the fishpond, and is - very much surprised presently to find himself an inhabitant of - Waterworld, where he goes though wonderful and edifying adventures. - A handsome and pleasant book."--_Literary World._ - - - +Search for the Silver City+: A Tale of Adventure in Yucatan. By - JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -Two American lads, Teddy Wright and Neal Emery, embark on the steam -yacht Day Dream for a short summer cruise to the tropics. Homeward bound -the yacht is destroyed by fire. All hands take to the boats, but during -the night the boat is cast upon the coast of Yucatan. They come across a -young American named Cummings, who entertains them with the story of the -wonderful Silver City of the Chan Santa Cruz Indians. Cummings proposes -with the aid of a faithful Indian ally to brave the perils of the swamp -and carry off a number of the golden images from the temples. Pursued -with relentless vigor for days their situation is desperate. At last -their escape is effected in an astonishing manner. Mr. Otis has built -his story on an historical foundation. It is so full of exciting -incidents that the reader is quite carried away with the novelty and -realism of the narrative. - - - +Frank Fowler, the Cash Boy.+ By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, - price $1.00. - -Thrown upon his own resources Frank Fowler, a poor boy, bravely -determines to make a living for himself and his foster-sister Grace. -Going to New York he obtains a situation as cash boy in a dry goods -store. He renders a service to a wealthy old gentleman named Wharton, -who takes a fancy to the lad. Frank, after losing his place as cash boy, -is enticed by an enemy to a lonesome part of New Jersey and held a -prisoner. This move recoils upon the plotter, for it leads to a clue -that enables the lad to establish his real identity. Mr. Alger's stories -are not only unusually interesting, but they convey a useful lesson of -pluck and manly independence. - - - +Budd Boyd's Triumph+; or, the Boy Firm of Fox Island. By WILLIAM P. - CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -The scene of this story is laid on the upper part of Narragansett Bay, -and the leading incidents have a strong salt-water flavor. Owing to the -conviction of his father for forgery and theft, Budd Boyd is compelled -to leave his home and strike out for himself. Chance brings Budd in -contact with Judd Floyd. The two boys, being ambitious and clear -sighted, form a partnership to catch and sell fish. The scheme is -successfully launched, but the unexpected appearance on the scene of -Thomas Bagsley, the man whom Budd believes guilty of the crimes -attributed to his father, leads to several disagreeable complications -that nearly caused the lad's ruin. His pluck and good sense, however, -carry him through his troubles. In following the career of the boy firm -of Boyd & Floyd, the youthful reader will find a useful lesson--that -industry and perseverance are bound to lead to ultimate success. - - - +The Errand Boy+; or, How Phil Brent Won Success. By HORATIO ALGER, - JR. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -The career of "The Errand Boy" embraces the city adventures of a smart -country lad who at an early age was abandoned by his father. Philip was -brought up by a kind-hearted innkeeper named Brent. The death of Mrs. -Brent paved the way for the hero's subsequent troubles. Accident -introduces him to the notice of a retired merchant in New York, who not -only secures him the situation of errand boy but thereafter stands as -his friend. An unexpected turn of fortune's wheel, however, brings -Philip and his father together. In "The Errand Boy" Philip Brent is -possessed of the same sterling qualities so conspicuous in all of the -previous creations of this delightful writer for our youth. - - - +The Slate Picker+: The Story of a Boy's Life in the Coal Mines. By - HARRY PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -This is a story of a boy's life in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. There -are many thrilling situations, notably that of Ben Burton's leap into -the "lion's mouth"--the yawning shute in the breakers--to escape a -beating at the hands of the savage Spilkins, the overseer. Gracie Gordon -is a little angel in rags, Terence O'Dowd is a manly, sympathetic lad, -and Enoch Evans, the miner-poet, is a big-hearted, honest fellow, a true -friend to all whose burdens seem too heavy for them to bear. Ben Burton, -the hero, had a hard road to travel, but by grit and energy he advanced -step by step until he found himself called upon to fill the position of -chief engineer of the Kohinoor Coal Company. - - - +A Runaway Brig+; or, An Accidental Cruise. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, - cloth, price $1.00. - -"A Runaway Brig" is a sea tale, pure and simple, and that's where it -strikes a boy's fancy. The reader can look out upon the wide shimmering -sea as it flashes back the sunlight, and imagine himself afloat with -Harry Vandyne, Walter Morse, Jim Libby and that old shell-back, Bob -Brace, on the brig Bonita, which lands on one of the Bahama keys. -Finally three strangers steal the craft, leaving the rightful owners to -shift for themselves aboard a broken-down tug. The boys discover a -mysterious document which enables them to find a buried treasure, then a -storm comes on and the tug is stranded. At last a yacht comes in sight -and the party with the treasure is taken off the lonely key. The most -exacting youth is sure to be fascinated with this entertaining story. - - - +Fairy Tales and Stories.+ By HANS CHRISTIAN ANDERSEN. Profusely - Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - - "If I were asked to select a child's library I should name these - three volumes 'English,' 'Celtic,' and 'Indian Fairy Tales,' with - Grimm and Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales."--_Independent._ - - - +The Island Treasure+; or, Harry Darrel's Fortune. By FRANK H. - CONVERSE. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -Harry Darrel, an orphan, having received a nautical training on a -school-ship, is bent on going to sea with a boyish acquaintance named -Dan Plunket. A runaway horse changes his prospects. Harry saves Dr. -Gregg from drowning and the doctor presents his preserver with a bit of -property known as Gregg's Island, and makes the lad sailing-master of -his sloop yacht. A piratical hoard is supposed to be hidden somewhere on -the island. After much search and many thwarted plans, at last Dan -discovers the treasure and is the means of finding Harry's father. Mr. -Converse's stories possess a charm of their own which is appreciated by -lads who delight in good healthy tales that smack of salt water. - - - +The Boy Explorers+: The Adventures of Two Boys in Alaska. By HARRY - PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -Two boys, Raymond and Spencer Manning, travel from San Francisco to -Alaska to join their father in search of their uncle, who, it is -believed, was captured and detained by the inhabitants of a place called -the "Heart of Alaska." On their arrival at Sitka the boys with an Indian -guide set off across the mountains. The trip is fraught with perils that -test the lads' courage to the utmost. Reaching the Yukon River they -build a raft and float down the stream, entering the Mysterious River, -from which they barely escape with their lives, only to be captured by -natives of the Heart of Alaska. All through their exciting adventures -the lads demonstrate what can be accomplished by pluck and resolution, -and their experience makes one of the most interesting tales ever -written. - - - +The Treasure Finders+: A Boy's Adventures in Nicaragua. By JAMES - OTIS. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -Roy and Dean Coloney, with their guide Tongla, leave their father's -indigo plantation to visit the wonderful ruins of an ancient city. The -boys eagerly explore the dismantled temples of an extinct race and -discover three golden images cunningly hidden away. They escape with the -greatest difficulty; by taking advantage of a festive gathering they -seize a canoe and fly down the river. Eventually they reach safety with -their golden prizes. Mr. Otis is the prince of story tellers, for he -handles his material with consummate skill. We doubt if he has ever -written a more entertaining story than "The Treasure Finders." - - - +Household Fairy Tales.+ By the BROTHERS GRIMM. Profusely - Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - - "As a collection of fairy tales to delight children of all ages - this work ranks second to none."--_Daily Graphic._ - - - +Dan the Newsboy.+ By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -The reader is introduced to Dan Mordaunt and his mother living in a poor -tenement, and the lad is pluckily trying to make ends meet by selling -papers in the streets of New York. A little heiress of six years is -confided to the care of the Mordaunts. At the same time the lad obtains -a position in a wholesale house. He soon demonstrates how valuable he is -to the firm by detecting the bookkeeper in a bold attempt to rob his -employers. The child is kidnaped and Dan tracks the child to the house -where she it hidden, and rescues her. The wealthy aunt of the little -heiress is so delighted with Dan's courage and many good qualities that -she adopts him as her heir, and the conclusion of the book leaves the -hero on the high road to every earthly desire. - - - +Tony the Hero+: A Brave Boy's Adventure with a Tramp. By HORATIO - ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -Tony, a sturdy bright-eyed boy of fourteen, is under the control of -Rudolph Rugg, a thorough rascal, shiftless and lazy, spending his time -tramping about the country. After much abuse Tony runs away and gets a -job as stable boy in a country hotel. Tony is heir to a large estate in -England, and certain persons find it necessary to produce proof of the -lad's death. Rudolph for a consideration hunts up Tony and throws him -down a deep well. Of course Tony escapes from the fate provided for him, -and by a brave act makes a rich friend, with whom he goes to England, -where he secures his rights and is prosperous. The fact that Mr. Alger -is the author of this entertaining book will at once recommend it to all -juvenile readers. - - - +A Young Hero+; or, Fighting to Win. By EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, - price $1.00. - -This story tells how a valuable solid silver service was stolen from the -Misses Perkinpine, two very old and simple minded ladies. Fred Sheldon, -the hero of this story and a friend of the old ladies, undertakes to -discover the thieves and have them arrested. After much time spent in -detective work, he succeeds in discovering the silver plate and winning -the reward for its restoration. During the narrative a circus comes to -town and a thrilling account of the escape of the lion from its cage, -with its recapture, is told in Mr. Ellis' most fascinating style. Every -boy will be glad to read this delightful book. - - - +The Days of Bruce+: A Story from Scottish History. By GRACE AGUILAR. - Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - - "There is a delightful freshness, sincerity and vivacity about all - of Grace Aguilar's stories which cannot fail to win the interest - and admiration of every lover of good reading."--_Boston Beacon._ - - - +Tom the Bootblack+; or, The Road to Success. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. - 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -A bright, enterprising lad was Tom the bootblack. He was not at all -ashamed of his humble calling, though always on the lookout to better -himself. His guardian, old Jacob Morton, died, leaving him a small sum -of money and a written confession that Tom, instead of being of humble -origin, was the son and heir of a deceased Western merchant, and had -been defrauded out of his just rights by an unscrupulous uncle. The lad -started for Cincinnati to look up his heritage. But three years passed -away before he obtained his first clue. Mr. Grey, the uncle, did not -hesitate to employ a ruffian to kill the lad. The plan failed, and -Gilbert Grey, once Tom the bootblack, came into a comfortable fortune. -This is one of Mr. Alger's best stories. - - - +Captured by Zulus+: A story of Trapping in Africa. By HARRY - PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -This story details the adventures of two lads, Dick Elsworth and Bob -Harvey, in the wilds of South Africa, for the purpose of obtaining a -supply of zoological curiosities. By stratagem the Zulus capture Dick -and Bob and take them to their principal kraal or village. The lads -escape death by digging their way out of the prison hut by night. They -are pursued, and after a rough experience the boys eventually rejoin the -expedition and take part in several wild animal hunts. The Zulus finally -give up pursuit and the expedition arrives at the coast without further -trouble. Mr. Prentice has a delightful method of blending fact with -fiction. He tells exactly how wild-beast collectors secure specimens on -their native stamping grounds, and these descriptions make very -entertaining reading. - - - +Tom the Ready+; or, Up from the Lowest. By RANDOLPH HILL. 12mo, - cloth, price $1.00. - -This is a dramatic narrative of the unaided rise of a fearless, -ambitious boy from the lowest round of fortune's ladder--the gate of the -poorhouse--to wealth and the governorship of his native State. Thomas -Seacomb begins life with a purpose. While yet a schoolboy he conceives -and presents to the world the germ of the Overland Express Co. At the -very outset of his career jealousy and craft seek to blast his promising -future. Later he sets out to obtain a charter for a railroad line in -connection with the express business. Now he realizes what it is to -match himself against capital. Yet he wins and the railroad is built. -Only an uncommon nature like Tom's could successfully oppose such a -combine. How he manages to win the battle is told by Mr. Hill in a -masterful way that thrills the reader and holds his attention and -sympathy to the end. - - - +Roy Gilbert's Search+: A Tale of the Great Lakes. By WM. P. - CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -A deep mystery hangs over the parentage of Roy Gilbert. He arranges with -two schoolmates to make a tour of the Great Lakes on a steam launch. The -three boys leave Erie on the launch and visit many points of interest on -the lakes. Soon afterward the lad is conspicuous in the rescue of an -elderly gentleman and a lady from a sinking yacht. Later on the cruise -of the launch is brought to a disastrous termination and the boys -narrowly escape with their lives. The hero is a manly, self-reliant boy, -whose adventures will be followed with interest. - - - +The Young Scout+; The Story of a West Point Lieutenant. By EDWARD S. - ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -The crafty Apache chief Geronimo but a few years ago was the most -terrible scourge of the southwest border. The author has woven, in a -tale of thrilling interest, all the incidents of Geronimo's last raid. -The hero is Lieutenant James Decker, a recent graduate of West Point. -Ambitious to distinguish himself so as to win well-deserved promotion, -the young man takes many a desperate chance against the enemy and on -more than one occasion narrowly escapes with his life. The story -naturally abounds in thrilling situations, and being historically -correct, it is reasonable to believe it will find great favor with the -boys. In our opinion Mr. Ellis is the best writer of Indian stories now -before the public. - - - +Adrift in the Wilds+: The Adventures of Two Shipwrecked Boys. By - EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, price, $1.00. - -Elwood Brandon and Howard Lawrence, cousins and schoolmates, accompanied -by a lively Irishman called O'Rooney, are en route for San Francisco. -Off the coast of California the steamer takes fire. The two boys and -their companion reach the shore with several of the passengers. While -O'Rooney and the lads are absent inspecting the neighborhood O'Rooney -has an exciting experience and young Brandon becomes separated from his -party. He is captured by hostile Indians, but is rescued by an Indian -whom the lads had assisted. This is a very entertaining narrative of -Southern California in the days immediately preceding the construction -of the Pacific railroads. Mr. Ellis seems to be particularly happy in -this line of fiction, and the present story is fully as entertaining as -anything he has ever written. - - - +The Red Fairy Book.+ Edited by ANDREW LANG. Profusely Illustrated, - 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - - "A gift-book that will charm any child, and all older folk who have - been fortunate enough to retain their taste for the old nursery - stories."--_Literary World._ - - - +The Boy Cruisers+; or, Paddling in Florida. By ST. GEORGE - RATHBORNE. 12mo, cloth, price, $1.00. - -Boys who like an admixture of sport and adventure will find this book -just to their taste. We promise them that they will not go to sleep over -the rattling experiences of Andrew George and Roland Carter, who start -on a canoe trip along the Gulf coast, from Key West to Tampa, Florida. -Their first adventure is with a pair of rascals who steal their boats. -Next they run into a gale in the Gulf and have a lively experience while -it lasts. After that they have a lively time with alligators and divers -varieties of the finny tribe. Andrew gets into trouble with a band of -Seminole Indians and gets away without having his scalp raised. After -this there is no lack of fun till they reach their destination. That Mr. -Rathborne knows just how to interest the boys is apparent at a glance, -and lads who are in search of a rare treat will do well to read this -entertaining story. - - - +Guy Harris+: The Runaway. By HARRY CASTLEMON. 12mo, cloth, price - $1.00. - -Guy Harris lived in a small city on the shore of one of the Great Lakes. -His head became filled with quixotic notions of going West to hunt -grizzlies, in fact, Indians. He is persuaded to go to sea, and gets a -glimpse of the rough side of life in a sailor's boarding house. He ships -on a vessel and for five months leads a hard life. He deserts his ship -at San Francisco and starts out to become a backwoodsman, but rough -experiences soon cure him of all desire to be a hunter. At St. Louis he -becomes a clerk and for a time he yields to the temptations of a great -city. The book will not only interest boys generally on account of its -graphic style, but will put many facts before their eyes in a new light. -This is one of Castlemon's most attractive stories. - - - +The Train Boy.+ By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, price $1.00. - -Paul Palmer was a wide-awake boy of sixteen who supported his mother and -sister by selling books and papers on one of the trains running between -Chicago and Milwaukee. He detects a young man named Luke Denton in the -act of picking the pocket of a young lady, and also incurs the enmity of -his brother Stephen, a worthless fellow. Luke and Stephen plot to ruin -Paul, but their plans are frustrated. In a railway accident many -passengers are killed, but Paul is fortunate enough to assist a Chicago -merchant, who out of gratitude takes him into his employ. Paul is sent -to manage a mine in Custer City and executes his commission with tact -and judgment and is well started on the road to business prominence. -This is one of Mr. Alger's most attractive stories and is sure to please -all readers. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Dan, The Newsboy, by Horatio Alger Jr. - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK DAN, THE NEWSBOY *** - -***** This file should be named 53345-8.txt or 53345-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/3/3/4/53345/ - -Produced by David Edwards, Martin Pettit and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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