"We have only one knife," said Mr. Sweet, to the amusement of the boys, "and it must serve for all hands."To the surprise of the boys he proceeded to convert the wagon into a "festal board" by first pulling it into the center of the tent, and then removing the sides. Over the floor of this newspapers were spread, and two plates, three forks, one knife, and four tin dippers were placed on the impromptu cloth."The provisions will be cut ready for eating," Mr. Sweet explained, "so one knife must serve for all hands, and it won't hurt any of the crowd if they're obliged to take turns using the dippers."The clown returned before the guests began to assemble. He brought cold sausage, sliced ham, cold fried potatoes, sweet crackers, cake, pie, and a quantity of lemons and sugar.Contrary to his expectations, Mr. Sweet did not think this assortment sufficient for the kind of a dinner he proposed to give, and the messenger was forced to return in search of cheese, pickled pig's feet, sardines, and milk for the coffee.Matters were in a decided state of confusion when the first of the guests arrived. Mr. Sweet, not troubled by the absence of dishes, had placed the various articles on the wagon-table in the brown paper coverings as they had been received, and it was upon his skill as a maker of coffee that he based his reputation as a host.Therefore everything was neglected for this one important thing, and the proprietor was standing over the oil stove with a look of grave responsibility on his face when the owner of the envelope game and his assistant arrived."The boys will take care of you," he said, hurriedly, bending over the huge pot to inhale the odor, in order to know exactly how the berries were adapting themselves to the infusion, and, much to his surprise, Teddy found himself the one especial feature of the party.All on the ground had evidently heard of his arrest, for each new arrival asked concerning the events of the evening, and, what was more to the purpose, so far as he was concerned, all seemed to think his troubles were only temporary."You'll come out of it all right," the manager of the largest sandwich booth said, confidently, as he entered with his hat on one side of his head and a cigar held in his mouth at an angle of forty-five degrees. "I heard of your uncle last year, when he tried to make trouble for a friend of mine in the spittoon game, an' you can bet your bottom dollar that the people here are not going to take much stock in what he says.""It seems they did, so far as to issue a warrant for my arrest," Teddy replied, with a mirthless smile."But that won't amount to anything. I hear youhave got John Reaves as a friend, an' he comes pretty near runnin' things to suit himself in Peach Bottom. He helped my friend out of the scrape your uncle put him into, an' folks say there's no love lost between him an' Nathan Hargreaves.""I want to get out of my trouble simply on the ground that I am not guilty," Teddy replied. "If I am charged with aiding burglars, there's precious little consolation in being set free simply because people do not like the man who made the charge.""Nobody believes you guilty, and for the matter of that I'm certain Hazelton had nothing to do with the job. His game ain't exactly square; but he don't go around breaking into stores."Teddy was on the point of telling that Long Jim had been arrested because of the burglaries committed; but he remembered in time that this fact was as yet a secret, and remained silent.The man who leased the only "Great African Dodger" was the next to arrive, and he also seemed to think it necessary to condole with the young fakir in his troubles, as did the remainder of the guests, and by the time all were assembled Teddy began to think his experience was only such as every other person in the tent had undergone at some time in his career."You see this is the way the matter stands," the whip man said, confidentially, while Mr. Sweet was bending all his energies to mixing the lemonade."People think fakirs are the worst class of men in the world, whereas, if the matter was sifted right down, they'd find the class as a whole was honest because they couldn't afford to be otherwise. I'm not talking now about those who run strong games, like Hazelton; but ourselves who do a legitimate business. You've got canes an' knives to sell, while I deal in whips; now all we want is a fair show to dispose of our goods, an' we know everything must be done on the square, or there's bound to be trouble sooner or later, consequently we keep straight, an' take all the abuse which those who have come to swindle the folks deserve. Why, what, I ask you, would the managers of these fairs do if they couldn't get us to come up with our money for privileges? They couldn't pay expenses, an' that's the whole amount of the story. They run after us, an' yet when we come there's the same old howl about swindlers."The man talked until he was literally forced to stop for lack of breath, and Teddy had not so much as spoken; but proved a good listener, which was all his condoler appeared to expect of him.When the clown returned with the last installment of eatables there was nothing to prevent the assembled crowd from partaking of Mr. Sweet's hospitality. The coffee was done to a turn; the lemonade was neither too sour nor too sweet, andthe proprietor of the museum summoned his guests to the feast by saying:"Now turn to an' fill yourselves up. It ain't often I do this sort of thing; but somehow or other I've got a reg'lar admiration for our cane-board fakir, an' after comin' out as he has to-night it seems only right we should kinder spread ourselves. There's no liquor in the tent, which is as it should be, for I'm a temperance man, an' them as wants it can make hogs of themselves somewhere else. Take hold hearty, an' remember that this layout is in honor of them as did a good turn to the whole gang by savin' the lives of the women what would likely have drowned if there hadn't been any fakirs in the country."This was an unusually long speech for the proprietor of the museum, and when it was ended he set an example to his guests by attacking the eatables as if he had not indulged in a square meal since the fair was opened.Each person present imitated him, and Tim whispered to Teddy, when his mouth was so full of cake that it was only with the greatest difficulty his words could be understood:"This is what I call a great snap, an' when I've been fakin' at the fairs long enough to get some money ahead I'll give fellers like us a good chance to fill up, the same as Mr. Sweet has done."Dan was equally enthusiastic. In all his experience,which extended over two years at the very least, he declared that he had never seen so much done for a boy, and concluded by saying:"There's no question, Teddy, but that you're a big gun here, an' I'll advise you to keep right on in this business.""I've had enough of it," was the reply. "Such times as these are very nice; but think of what may happen when I'm brought up for trial. Who knows but Uncle Nathan can succeed in makin' folks think I'm guilty of helpin' the burglars, an' then what'll be the consequences?""I know he can't do anything of the kind, an' that's enough," was the confident reply; but yet it failed to satisfy the boy who had been bound over to appear at court.The entire party appeared to be having the jolliest kind of a jolly time; but ever before Teddy's mental vision came the picture of himself in prison, and even the fact that Long Jim had been arrested failed to render him confident as to the final result.Again and again was he called upon to reply as one after another wished him good luck in the case, and the amount of lemonade which was consumed on each occasion caused the clown to make a third visit to the town in order to purchase the wherewithal to satisfy the demands of the guests.It was nearly midnight when the last of therevelers departed and the boys were called upon to help set the interior of the tent to rights."It hasn't been sich a bad time after all," Mr. Sweet said, musingly, as Teddy and Dan aided him in wheeling the wagon into place. "A man can remember an evening like this with pleasure, when liquor has been kept out of the bill of fare, an' who shall say that we're not better off than if our legs were so tangled as to make walking an impossibility?"The barker's red nose was slightly elevated, much as if its owner could explain why spirits were superior to lemon-juice and water; but Mr. Sweet's question remained unanswered, and the party set about making the final preparations for the night."Poor Sam ain't here to be troubled by the goat, so we can set him loose," the proprietor of the museum said as he unfastened the rope from the neck of his pet."He'll have a great time pickin' up odds an' ends between now an' daylight, an' then feel so lazy that it'll be hard work to make him do his tricks.""Do you suppose Uncle Nathan will be around in the morning?" Teddy asked as he lay down by the side of Dan and Tim."Not a bit of it; he got sich a dose to-night that I don't count on seem' him ag'in till this fair is ended, an' then I'm going to take a trip over to theRun for the express purpose of givin' him a piece of my mind.""But suppose he should come, what shall I say?""Pay no attention to the old fool, an' above all, don't let him trap you into talking. Mr. Harvey will be here to-morrow, an' he can post you better than ever I could.""Don't fuss about the thing at all," Dan replied, philosophically. "There's plenty here who know you hadn't anything to do with the burglaries, an' he won't have as much as a friend by the time the trial is ended.""Dan comes pretty nigh being right," Mr. Sweet added, "an' now I want all hands to go to sleep, for there's one more day of this fair, an' we need to be somewhere near fresh, because to-morrow the dollars won't tumble without a good deal of coaxing. Good-night."CHAPTER XXVII.IN HIDING.That the incidents may be related as nearly as possible in the order of their occurrence it is time to return to the spot where the burglars are in hiding.It will be remembered that we last saw Sam after Phil had fallen asleep, and he was feigning unconsciousness lest Long Jim, having nothing else to do, should take it into his ugly head to administer the promised flogging.Although Sam's eyes were apparently closed, he took good care to keep strict watch on the burglar; but for what seemed a very long time he saw nothing to cause any apprehensions, and was just on the point of going to sleep in reality when Jim asked, as he gave the boy a vicious kick on the side:"Where's the grub?""I don't know. You put it away after finishing your dinner.""Oh, I remember now," and the burglar, still considerably more than half stupefied by the amount of liquor he had drunk, arose to his feet sounsteadily that it seemed as if only the lightest touch would be necessary to send him headlong.After a short search the man found that which he wanted, and proceeded to make a hearty meal, regardless of the hungry glances which the boy bestowed upon him."Don't think I'm goin' to give you any," he said, with a leer, as he concluded the repast, "You're lucky to be alive, an' that's enough for sich a duffer. I'll put this stuff back, an' you'll have every bone in your body broken if you so much as smell of it."Sam made no reply. He had already learned that there are very many times when silence is indeed "golden.""I've made up my mind to see what can be done at the fair," Jim said, as he lighted his pipe with great deliberation. "Phil thinks he's the only smart man in the world, an' it's time to show him what a mistake he's been makin' all his life. Why don't you say something?" he cried, angrily, as Sam continued silent."I don't know what you want me to say. If you're goin' that settles it; I sha'n't be any better off.""You can stake your life on that, for while I'm a gentleman an' behave myself as such, Phil is a reg'lar brute, an' will make things mighty uncomfortable for a sneak like you."Sam thought, but was very careful not to say, that it was hardly possible for a boy to have a worse master than the alleged gentleman in front of him, and the burglar continued, as he arose to his feet:"I want to leave without wakin' Phil, but you must do it as soon as I push off from the shore, for we don't intend to give you a chance of slipping away. I shall watch mighty close, an' if he isn't on his feet before I'm a dozen yards out into the creek you'll get a reminder from this," and the man ostentatiously displayed a revolver."I don't count on runnin' off," Sam, replied, thoroughly frightened by the threat. "I can stay here till you get ready to let me go, because I've got to, an' I'm not sich a fool as to git into any worse scrape.""Now you're talkin' somethin' like sense, an' if you keep on in this way I'll see to it that you don't have any harder time than a detective oughter expect; Phil will be on his ear when he knows I've gone, an' you must tell me all he says. Remember that if he isn't on his feet before I've got beyond range, I'll use your head for a target."With this threat the burglar staggered out of the thicket, and Sam began to speculate as to whether he should make one supreme effort to escape before his other captor awakened.A second glance at the weapon decided him in thenegative, however, and he meekly stepped to the edge of the woods in order to obey the instructions given.Despite Jim's apparent intoxication he watched the boy closely, still holding the revolver ready for use, and after pushing the boat into the stream he cried:"Now go ahead, an' let me see him in about two minutes, or I'll fill you full of bullets."If Sam had been a brave boy he would have made a dash for liberty at this moment; but he was in nearly every sense of the word a coward, and obeyed the order literally."Who's there?" Phil asked, angrily, as the boy shook him vigorously."Jim told me to make you get up, or he'd shoot," Sam replied, meekly."Make me get up? What time is it?""I don't know; but it doesn't seem to be more than three o'clock.""Where's Jim?""Jest startin' for the fair grounds, an' if you don't show yourself pretty soon he's sure to shoot me.""There wouldn't be any particular harm in that, for you deserve it; but it can't be possible the fool is goin' to show himself in daylight when more than one is lookin' for him.""That's what he said," and Sam, fearing lest thehalf-drunken burglar would begin his pistol practice, seated himself behind the largest tree that might protect him from the bullets.Now that Phil was awake, he did not lose any further time in talking, but ran out to where he could command a view of the creek, and once more Sam had an opportunity for escape which he did not dare to embrace."Come back here, an' don't make a fool of yourself," Jim's partner cried, angrily, as he saw the man pulling leisurely from the bank."What's crawlin' on you? Don't I know my business?""Not if you count on goin' up there before dark.""That's jest what I intend to do, so don't screech so much.""Come back, I tell you, or it'll be all up for both of us!""I've been in this business long enough to know it," was the reply, as Jim continued to row, increasing each instant the distance between himself and the shore."Now, don't spoil a good thing," Phil said, pleadingly, and, understanding that this conversation might be continued for a short time, Sam plucked up sufficient courage to make an attack upon the provisions.He took from the general store a large piece of cheese, some crackers and as much meat as he believedwould suffice to make a hearty meal, after which he hid the lot near the tree behind which he was hiding.Then he crept back to his former position, and listened to the conversation between his captors.Phil alternately coaxed and threatened his partner; but all to no purpose, as could be told by the tones of the latter's voice while he pulled up stream, and the baffled burglar returned to the camping place absolutely furious with rage."This comes of my bein' so foolish as to bring that fool liquor," he said half to himself. "It's mighty lucky he didn't know I had more than one bottle."Then he took from one of his pockets a second flask, refreshing himself with a portion of the contents before asking:"What did he say to you?""Nothin' except that he was goin' up to the fair," Sam replied, timidly."But what made him tell you to waken me?""I s'pose that was so I couldn't have a chance to run away.""What else did he say?""That I was to tell him jest how you took his leavin'.""Well, if he's lucky enough to get back, tell him I said he was the biggest fool that ever walked on two legs. Them chums of your'n are sure to spothim, an' it's ten to one he's pinched before sunset."Sam did not understand what the man meant by the term "pinched," but under the circumstances he hardly thought it safe to inquire, and the angry burglar continued:"We'll make ready to get out of this if he isn't back by daylight, an' while there's nothin' else to do you'd better put that stuff under ground, for there's no knowin' now when we'll be able to take it away."The spade was near at hand ready for use, and while Phil alternately smoked and drank from the bottle, Sam set about burying the plunder.This man was quite as hard a taskmaster as the one who had just departed, and the boy was forced to work as he had probably never done before, until sufficient of an excavation had been made to conceal the goods.Under the direction of the burglar Sam covered the different packages with earth; did his best to hide all traces of his work, and when it was so dark that he could no longer see to move about was allowed to rest.During this time Phil had been drinking and smoking, with the result that he could hardly speak plainly when the task was accomplished, and so intoxicated did he appear to be that Sam thought it safe to eat the food he had concealed."Keep on talkin' so's I'll know where you are, oron goes the ropes an' gag again," Phil cried, and the boy obeyed, repeating over and over the same words in order to satisfy his suspicious captor.After eating a hearty meal, Sam succeeded in mustering sufficient courage to admit of his thinking about attempting to escape.From the manner in which the burglar spoke he knew it could not be very much longer before the man would be so completely under the influence of liquor as to render him helpless, and he said to himself:"If I could get the rope around his hands an' legs I'd soon be out of this place.""What's that you are saying?" Phil cried, angrily."Nothin'; I was only doin' as you told me, talkin' so's you'd know where I was.""I'll save all that trouble," and the man lurched to his feet as he picked up the rope."Please don't tie me ag'in," Sam pleaded. "I won't try to git away.""I'll go bail that you don't after I'm through with you. Put out your hands."Phil was yet capable of mischief, even though his brain was clouded, and Sam did not dare to disobey.He suffered himself to be tied without making any remonstrance, and as the burglar staggered to his former resting place, the boy tested the bonds.Previously he had been lashed in such a manner that it was impossible to move hand or foot, but now he soon realized that he could do both, and the happy thought came that he might free himself with but little difficulty if a favorable opportunity for escape should present itself."Now you're fixed," Phil said, half to himself, "an' I may as well take things comfortable till we're certain that that fool of a Jim is settled.""Are you goin' to leave here to-night?" Sam asked, more for the purpose of learning how far the man was on the road to intoxication than for information."If he ain't here by twelve o'clock we'll know the jig is up, an' skip so's to be out of the way before any one can come sneakin' around for the stuff.""Then if Jim isn't back by that time, an' he keeps on drinkin', I'll take all the chances," Sam said to himself, and from that instant he strained every nerve to learn how nearly the burglar had succeeded in making a worse brute of himself than nature intended.CHAPTER XXVIII.A FAILURE.Tired though Teddy was, a long time elapsed after the conclusion of the fakirs' feast before he could close his eyes in slumber.Now that the excitement of the party had died away, the fact that he was a prisoner, suffered to remain outside the prison only because men of wealth were willing to guarantee he would respond to the call of the court, came into his mind even more vividly than at the time of the arrest, and despite all the words of cheer which had been spoken he really began to believe Uncle Nathan could show plausible proof of his guilt.Under almost any other circumstances he would have speculated upon what should be done with the large amount of money he had already earned, and rejoiced at the thought that he could supply his mother with what she might need for the present, at all events.The profits of the cane and knife boards were hardly thought of on this night while the one painfulfact stood before him so prominently and menacingly.His companions had been asleep many hours before slumber visited his eyelids, and so heavy was his heart even while in dreamland that he awoke with the first dawn of day, and aroused the others to the last day's work they would be called upon to do at the Peach Bottom fair during the present season."Why is it that you have turned out so early?" Mr. Sweet asked, in a sleepy tone, rising to his feet as the only effectual method of driving the drowsiness from his eyelids."I sha'n't feel much like sleeping till I know how the case is coming out," Teddy replied, sadly."There is no need to worry with such friends as you have got. Put it right out of your mind until business closes to-night, for there's a big pile of work to be done if you expect to make much money.""I wish I could," Teddy said, with a long-drawn sigh as he aroused Tim and Dan.Half an hour later the three boys were eating what it was believed would be their last meal in the very unsatisfactory boarding-house, and Teddy's place of business was the first opened on that morning.There were no more early visitors; but the fakirs who had been present at the feast on the eveningprevious gathered around, all appearing very eager to spend money, and trade was as lively as it had been on any other morning.The crowd bought rings and threw them recklessly until each man had spent considerably more than a dollar, when Teddy suddenly realized that this sudden passion for canes only arose from a desire to aid him. Then he said, decidedly:"There's no need of you fellows doin' this. I know you want to see me out of the scrape; but I've made a lot of money already, an' don't want to take yours.""You can't have too much, my boy," one of them said with a laugh, "and we want to see you go away with a pile. Trade has been boomin' for all hands, an' it would be kinder rough if we couldn't have a little fun now the fair is the same as over."This did not satisfy Teddy, and he continued to expostulate against the generosity; but all to no purpose. The fakirs played until a sufficient number of visitors had arrived to warrant their opening the other booths, and then Tim and Teddy were left alone, Dan having started for the exhibition building some time previous.Until ten o'clock there was no more than work enough to keep one boy moderately busy, and Teddy experienced a deep sense of relief as Mr. Harvey came up to the stand with a cheery "good morning.""I hear that your Uncle Nathan succeeded incarrying out his threat," the visitor said, as if speaking about what was a very trifling matter."Yes, sir; an' do you think he can send me to prison?""Not a bit of it. You are under bail, and I venture to predict that he will not carry it to court, for he has sufficient sense to know it may prove a very expensive job. We sent our men to the barn on the marshes last night.""What did you find?" Teddy asked, eagerly."More than I expected. There were no goods in the building, but some have evidently been buried there, and this fact, together with the evidence that boats have been drawn up on the shore recently, proves your story as to what was seen when you boys followed the two men to be correct.""The other fellow has run away, I suppose.""I think he is yet in the immediate vicinity, otherwise Jim would be willing to talk.""Have you seen him since he was arrested?""I have just come from the jail. I told him of the evidence we already had to connect him with the burglary, and that we should push him hard in the interest of you and Hazelton. He understands that there is an opportunity to turn State's witness, but he absolutely refuses to speak on any subject. Therefore I fancy his partner has not yet got away.""Then there has been no good done in arresting him," Teddy said, mournfully."That is where you are making a mistake. I have prepared an affidavit for you and Dan to swear to, and shall endeavor to have a warrant issued at once charging him with burglary, so he can't give us the slip in case he gets clear in the matter of swindling.""Do you want Dan an' I now?""Yes; go after him. I will only keep you ten or fifteen minutes."Teddy turned to go toward the exhibition buildings, but halted an instant to ask:"Have you seen my uncle this morning?""No, but I shall do so later in the day, and after we have a little conversation I do not think he will be so eager to see you in prison."The lawyer's confident manner had very much to do with taking the load of sorrow from Teddy's mind, and he looked almost cheerful as he asked of the manager of the Stevens exhibit that Dan be allowed to accompany him, explaining the reason for making the request."Of course he can go," the gentleman replied, readily. "Trade won't be so good to-day but that he can be spared as well as not, and even if it was rushing, he should have permission to leave."When the boys were at the cane-board once more Mr. Harvey hurried them away to the magistrate's office, and there a long document was read, which described in detail all they had seen on theday when Sam first gave an exhibition of his skill as a detective.They marveled not a little that the lawyer should have remembered so well every trifling incident. Nothing, however apparently unimportant, had escaped him, and, as Dan said:"It is written down better than if he had really been with us."This document was sworn to and signed by both, after which Mr. Harvey told them that they might return to work, adding as he turned to Teddy:"The man who has been arrested on your complaint will have a hearing to-morrow, and it is absolutely necessary you should be at this office as early as nine o'clock. I don't know whether Dan will be allowed to tell what he has heard Sam say regarding the matter, but he had better come with you.""I'll be on hand," the young fakir replied. "Do you know when I'm to be tried?""That case won't come up for some time in view of the evidence your lawyer is collecting," the 'Squire said."Don't worry about it, for I think the real burglars will soon be caught.""An' does Mr. Hazelton have to stay in jail all the time?""There is no other way out of it, since he hasn't got friends who can go bail for him."Teddy wanted very much to ask permission to see the prisoner, but inasmuch as he was accused of being equally guilty with the fakir it hardly seemed just the proper thing to make the request, and he left the office, followed by Dan, who said, as they gained the open air:"You ain't goin' to have half so much trouble as you think, Teddy. Anybody can see that even the 'Squire is on your side, although he did issue the warrant, an' the proof must be mighty strong to make any of 'em believe you did anything against the old miser. But this keeps us here on the grounds another day, doesn't it?""Yes, an' if Mr. Sweet packs up his tent to-night, we'll have to hunt for a place to sleep in the village.""That don't worry me very much. I've made a good week's work out of the fair, an' can afford to spend a little money.""I shall pay all the bills, of course," Teddy replied, quickly. "It wouldn't be any more'n right because you are goin' to stay to help me."Dan was quite positive he would pay his own bills, and his companion equally certain he should not; but there was little chance for discussion, since they had arrived opposite the grand stand by this time, and were hailed by Deacon Jones, who looked as if he considered himself the one important personage on the grounds as he said:"I want both of you boys to be here at exactly two o'clock. Don't fail to come, no matter how much business you may have on hand.""What's the matter?" Teddy asked, immediately thinking some new trouble threatened him."There will be plenty of time for explanation after you get here," was the mysterious reply, and then the deacon signified that the interview was at an end by turning to speak with some gentlemen who had been watching the boys closely."What do you suppose is up now?" Teddy asked with a sigh, and Dan replied, mournfully:"I'm sure I don't know," but in his own mind he was convinced that the deacon intended to surrender the boy whose surety he had appeared willing to become on the evening previous.Teddy was so disturbed by dismal forebodings that Dan was very careful to hide his suspicions, since it could do only harm to discuss them, and the two parted, feeling as if Uncle Nathan had outwitted Mr. Harvey.On retuning to his place of business Teddy did not have the heart to wait upon the customers, and after telling Tim what had been said to him, he added:"I can't work; it's no use to try. There must have been something new come up, an' I won't be able to show that I'm innocent of robbing the store."Dan could give him no consolation, for he also felt that matters were approaching a dangerous crisis, and he simply said:"Loaf around, old fellow, an' I'll look out for the work here. Try to put it out of your mind, for things won't be made better by worryin' over 'em."Just at this moment Teddy's mother arrived. She had heard all the particulars concerning the arrest and subsequent release, therefore began at once to sympathize with her son."Then you know what the deacon is goin' to do?" Teddy asked.This was something of which Mrs. Hargreaves was ignorant, but upon being told, appeared even more distressed than her son, thus increasing instead of lightening his troubles.CHAPTER XXIX.THE TESTIMONIAL.It was impossible for Teddy to follow Tim's advice to "loaf around."His heart was so full of sorrow that his greatest desire was to go where those who might believe he had been a partner of the burglars could not see him; but since that was impossible, if he intended to obey the deacon's injunctions and present himself at the grand stand at the specified time, the next best thing was to remain behind the booth where his mother tried her best to cheer him."It can't be possible that anything to your disadvantage has occurred, Teddy," she said as she held his hand for mutual sympathy. "Mr. Reaves would have sent me word at once if that had happened.""Perhaps he doesn't know about it. Uncle Nathan may have been talking with the deacon again, an' turned him against me.""I don't believe it would be possible for him to do such a thing. His reputation is not so good thatpeople could put faith in all he says, more especially in regard to this case.""Then if he didn't do it some one else has, an' that makes it all the worse," Teddy replied, as he tried to force back the tears.At this moment the sorrowing ones were startled by hearing the voice of the man whom they had every reason to call their enemy, and an instant later Uncle Nathan stood before them."Well," he said in what sounded more like a snarl than anything else, "you see the old skinflint did jest what he promised, an' he'll see to it that the deacon don't stay on your bail very long unless I get my rights.""What do you mean by your rights?" Mrs. Hargreaves asked."I lent this ungrateful boy the money to start him in a business where he's made more in a week than I ever could in a year. Then he helped people to rob me, an' after all that I made what any man must call a fair offer. See how much I've lost by him, an' then think of my offerin' to straighten everything out by goin' in as his partner.""Why didn't you do this before the fair opened?""I couldn't tell how it would turn out," the old man began, and then realizing that he was admitting something to his discredit, he added, quickly, "I mean I hadn't lost my money then, an' never suspected how he would wrong me."It seemed as if these last words drove Teddy to desperation, and he no longer-remembered the respect due to age."Look here," he cried, angrily, rising, and standing directly in front of Uncle Nathan, "if you believe I'm a burglar, you can't want to be my partner. It was only after the fact of my having made considerable money was known that you offered any trade. If the venture had been a losing one you are the last person who would have taken hold of it. Now I'm under arrest on a charge made by you, who know I am innocent, an' we'll put an end to all this talk. Don't come where my mother and I am; do the very worst you can, an' some day I'll have my innings.""You threaten, eh?""That's exactly what I'm doing. I have leased this piece of ground until to-morrow, and warn you that it'll be mighty uncomfortable if you show your nose here again. Go now an' go quick!""That's right, Teddy," Tim shouted in a tone of delight from the opposite side of the booth. "Give it to him hot, an' I'll do my share. If you don't want to tackle the job till after the trial, say the word an' I'll sail in, for it gives me a pain to see him around."Teddy made no reply to this generous offer; but Uncle Nathan stepped back very quickly as if fearing an immediate attack."You won't be so bold to-morrow," he snarled, shaking his fist in impotent rage, and then he disappeared from view amid the crowd that had begun to gather.Both Teddy and his clerk thought it very singular that business should be so good on this day, when the majority of the other fakirs were comparatively idle, and also in view of what had been said against the proprietor of the cane-board.Yet the people gathered around by scores, all intent on patronizing the boys, and at the same time embracing every opportunity to display their good will.Teddy and his mother remained partially screened from the gaze of the curious until nearly two o'clock, when Dan, looking decidedly troubled, arrived."I suppose we've got to go to the grand stand an' find out what the deacon wants," he said, mournfully. "My boss told me that we must be there on time, an' we might as well start.""I want to have it over as soon as possible," Teddy replied. "Nothin' that comes can be any worse than waitin' here thinkin' of what may happen."The two boys walked either side of Mrs. Hargreaves as they went to meet the deacon, and it seemed very much as if the majority of the people present knew what was about to occur, for the sad-visagedparty was followed by crowds of the visitors as they walked steadily onward.It was exactly two o'clock when they arrived at the stairway leading to the grand stand, and there they were met by the leader of the band from the Run, who said with a mysterious manner as he opened a gate leading to the track in front of the judges' stand:"You are to come this way.""Where's the deacon?" Teddy asked."Waiting for you."Without further explanation the musician led the three to a spot where all could see them, and to the intense surprise of the sorrowful-looking party, the throng assembled on the benches greeted them with the most hearty applause."You are to come with me, Mrs. Hargreaves," the conductor said, as he escorted her to one of the front seats, and Teddy and Dan stood as if stupefied, gazing in dismay at the sea of faces in front of them.Before the boys had sufficiently recovered from their bewilderment to be able to speculate upon what was to happen Deacon Jones came down the steps until he reached a place where all could see him and there began a speech which caused at least two of that assemblage to gaze at him in open-mouthed astonishment.The manager of the fair did not intend to neglectany opportunity of making himself conspicuous, and he delivered an eloquent address, looking first at the boys and then at the audience, which cannot be given here because of lack of space.He first explained to the spectators that Teddy had taken upon himself the business of fakir simply that he might aid his widowed mother. Then he detailed the loss of the fifteen dollars, and finally broached the one important matter, that of the scene on the creek, when the three women were rescued from drowning.By this time the cheeks of Teddy and Dan were flaming red, and if he had been charging them with the most atrocious crimes they could not have looked more guilty or uncomfortable."As you all know," he said, in conclusion, "we have met here to see bravery and a spirit of self-sacrifice rewarded. On behalf of the ladies whose lives were saved by these little heroes I am about to present Edward Hargreaves and Daniel Summers with one hundred dollars each. In addition to that amount the managers of the fair and several gentlemen who do not care to have their names made public, have made up a purse of one hundred and eighty dollars to be divided equally between them. It is most gratifying to me that I have been selected as the instrument through whom this testimonial is presented, and in behalf of my brother officers as well as myself I will state that these brave boyshave the freedom of the grounds whenever the Peach Bottom fair is open."As he concluded, the deacon walked with a majestic bearing down to the bewildered boys, presented each with a well-filled pocketbook and then waved his hand as a signal for the band, every member of which did his best to make the music heard above the rounds of applause intended for the blushing fakirs.In the meantime the people came down from the benches to congratulate the life-savers, and for fully an hour the two were forced to remain there listening to words of praise which they felt were not warranted by their exploit on the creek.Among the most welcome of these enthusiastic visitors was Jacob Sweet, and he said, heartily:"I heard of this little performance jest in time to get here before that long-winded speech was begun; but what pleases me the most is that I was ahead of the whole gang, an' started our little blow-out when it wasn't known you had so many friends. I'll see you to-night, of course, an' I must go now, for the bouncer has been around tellin' that you've been sleepin' in my tent, an' I count on a good payin' crowd this afternoon."It was considerably past three o'clock when the boys and Mrs. Hargreaves returned to the cane-board, looking very much different than when they left it, and Tim cried as they came up:"I've heard all about it, an' what I want to know is, where was old Nathan while that speechifyin' was goin' on?""I saw him when we first arrived," Mrs. Hargreaves replied, "but he left a few moments later, although I have no doubt that he remained where he could hear all that was said without being seen.""That's where he was wise. It wouldn't be very pleasant for him to show himself now, 'cause everybody is down on him after what the deacon said."Dan was obliged to return to his duties, and he whispered to Teddy before leaving:"I tell you what it is, old feller, this has been a reg'lar puddin' for us, an' I'd give a good deal to see another jest like it.""You're all right, but I expect after this Uncle Nathan will be so mad he'll make me a pile of trouble.""Don't worry about that; his claws are cut now. I'll be back in time to go to supper."When he departed Teddy had an opportunity to say a few words to his mother before she returned home on the stage, which was advertised to leave at four o'clock, and while he did this all thought of being under arrest was put far from his mind because of the joy at what he was now able to perform."Never mind what happens to me," he whispered. "I've now got nearly money enough to pay off allwe owe, an' it has been earned honestly, too, although I believe they paid a big price for what Dan an' I did on the creek.""I'm thinking more of the praise you earned than the money, Teddy. It was very sweet to hear the deacon say so much to you before all those people.""Then both of us will be awfully jolly to-night, an' to-morrow I'll be home, an' bring Dan with me.""Invite him to stay just as long as he wishes, and I will have a nice supper ready when the last stage arrives."Teddy gave his mother nearly all the money he had, including the "testimonial," and as she walked away he said to Tim:"I'm willin' to be arrested, an' put into jail a good many days for the sake of being able to help her as I can do now."CHAPTER XXX.THE TRIAL.It was only natural that both Teddy and Dan should feel highly elated after this public expression of admiration which culminated in the presentation of the purse, but they immediately returned to attend to their several duties when the ceremonies were finished.Dan went back to the exhibition as if he had done nothing worth remembering, and in less than half an hour from the time the deacon concluded his flowery speech it would have required a very ardent student of humanity to discover that anything out of the natural course of events had taken place.At the cane-board Teddy waited upon his customers as before, and without the slightest sign of having been honored by the magnates of the fair, while Dan fired at the target as if he had been a boy with no other claim upon the public's attention than his ability to hit a mark.Yet it must be confessed that both experienced a very pleasing sense of having satisfied the public,and each, in his own peculiar way, knew he had risen a little above the average boy.There can be no question that any one placed in the same position must have felt gratified by the many expressions of friendship and good-will with which these two were literally overwhelmed, and it would have been more than could be expected of human nature had they remained unmoved under the extravagant flattery which was showered upon them immediately after the close of Deacon Jones' speech.Although there was not quite as much money flowing into the box as on the day previous, Teddy was more than pleased with the receipts, because every penny seemed to express just such an amount of good-will.Until nearly nightfall he remained at the booth, answering questions upon the same subject till it seemed to have been worn threadbare, and then, however great his desire to earn money, he felt a positive sense of relief that his connection with the Peach Bottom fair had finally come to an end."This is the last time you an' I will pack up the stuff," he said to Tim as they put into condition for removal the cane and knife boards. "I promised to give you all that was left, and you're more than welcome to it.""But you surely don't mean to give me the whole lot," Tim cried in surprise."That's exactly what I'm going to do, and I sincerely hope when you make a stand you'll meet with the same good friends I have here.""I can't take these things unless you'll allow me to pay something toward what they cost.""Look here, Tim," Teddy said, earnestly, "you have shown yourself to be a friend of mine, an' every cent that has come in here you've accounted for. Now, whatever may happen, I'm through bein' a fakir; but if you want to follow the business, I can only hope you'll come out all right. We'll carry this to Mr. Sweet's tent, an' I'll only be so much the better pleased, and in case you don't, I'm bound to help you in every way. Besides, I promised to pay a certain percentage on the profits; that is yet to be settled.""It never will be," Tim replied in the most decided tone. "If I take these goods I've got more than a fair share, an' won't listen to anything else.""Very well, we'll leave it that way. You now own everything, an' I owe you lots of good-will."On this basis the remnants of the two boards were packed up for removal, and when they were about to take the goods to Mr. Sweet's tent Dan arrived."How much business did you do to-day?" he asked.Teddy delayed sufficiently long to count the receipts, and then replied:"Forty-one dollars and fifteen cents. That gives Tim four-eleven, an' I get more than would have been the case but for the testimonial this afternoon. The folks crowded around to see me, rather than to get the canes, an' so business has picked up better than any one expected.""It don't make any difference how the money came in so long as you have got it," Dan replied, philosophically, "an' now the question is what are we to do for supper, since we paid our bill at the boarding-house this afternoon?""Have you got any idea?""Of course, or else I wouldn't have asked the question. Let's invite Mr. Sweet, the bouncer, and the clown to some restaurant down town, an' try to give them as good a time as we had last night."This proposition met with Teddy's approval, and the party was made up as he suggested, the cost being divided between the two boys who had been the recipients of the public testimonial.Not until a late hour in the evening did these festivities come to an end, and then the party retired to the museum tent, where they remained undisturbed until the present season of the Peach Bottom fair had come to an end.It was an unusually late hour for fakirs to arise when Mr. Sweet awakened the boys as he said:"Turn out now, lads, an' get your stuff ready for removal. I'm sorry to part company, but we can'tstay here forever, an' the museum must be forty miles the other side of Waterville by Monday morning."Dan had completed and been paid for his work with the Stevens Company, therefore he had nothing to do; Teddy no longer claimed any interest in the canes and knives left over from the week's work; consequently he was free to go where he pleased, and Tim had his goods in such a condition that they could be removed at any moment, which prevented him from feeling any anxiety regarding the future.Thus it was that all three of the boys were at liberty to assist the proprietor of the museum, and this they did with a will until the arrival of Lawyer Harvey caused them to think of what had almost been forgotten in the bustle and confusion of breaking camp."We are due at the 'Squire's office at nine o'clock, and it is time you boys were getting over that way," he said, briskly; "our case won't come up to-day, but it has been decided to give Hazelton a hearing, and I am very much afraid he's going to get the worst of it.""What do you mean?" Teddy asked, anxiously."Well, you see I have not been able to get any information in addition to what you boys furnished, and there seems little doubt that the 'Squire must perforce bind him over for trial. The factthat he has deliberately swindled so many people will work against him, and we can do very little to save him.""What will be the result of his being bound over?" Teddy asked."He must remain in jail, unless he can get bail, until next fall.""But that in itself will be a terrible punishment.""True; yet it cannot be avoided. If he had worked honestly the case would be different; but now he will be fortunate even to get out in the fall.""Yet Uncle Nathan says I am equally guilty.""We can easily show you had nothing to do with the robbery, and that is our only care this morning.""What about Long Jim?""He remains silent, refusing to answer the simplest questions, and unless he speaks Hazelton must be bound over; the 'Squire can pursue no other course."Believing as they did that Hazelton was innocent of the charge upon which he had been arrested, both Teddy and Dan felt it was a great hardship for the fakir to remain so long in prison; but since it was beyond their power to give him any relief, neither expressed an opinion other than has been recorded.Mr. Harvey had come for them to accompany him to the Squire's office, and since there was nothingto detain them they set out, after first bidding Mr. Sweet a cordial 'goodby, for he had announced his intention of leaving Peach Bottom on the noon train."I shall see one or both of you at some time in the future," he said, with considerable feeling, "an' there'll be no complaint to make if I never fall in with worse boys."The bouncer and the clown also had something to say in the form of an adieu, and when the boys left the proprietor of the alleged wonderful museum it was like parting with an old friend, for he had shown himself to be a "very present help in time of trouble."Tim did not propose to start for the Run until his companions had concluded their business; his goods were packed ready for removal, and there was nothing better for him to do than accompany them to the court-room where it seemed as if all they might say would result only in a long term of imprisonment for Hazelton before he could be tried on the baseless charge brought against him, simply because of the disreputable business in which he was engaged.Mr. Harvey had little or nothing to say during the walk to the 'Squire's office, and arriving there the jewelry fakir was seen looking thoroughly despondent."Can I speak with him?" Teddy asked the lawyer."What do you want to say?""Nothing in particular, except to tell him how bad I feel because we could do nothing to clear him.""Very well; but do not talk long, for it may prejudice your own case. The people whom he has swindled are here to see that some form of punishment is meted out to him, and it can do you no good to be seen acting as a consoler."This possibility troubled Teddy very little since he was confident of his own innocence, and he approached the prisoner as he said:"I wish I could do something, Mr. Hazelton, to prove you as innocent as I believe you to be.""There's no need of that, my boy. I've put you in a hole already, and you've done more for me than some others who call themselves friends.""I know it was Long Jim who committed the burglary; but how can it be proven now?""There was only one way, and that was to catch the real thieves with their plunder. Mr. Harvey tells me his attempt was a failure, an' it wouldn't surprise me if I was not only remanded for trial, but received a sentence for something of which I am absolutely innocent. I don't profess to be very good, my boy, as you may understand after seeing me work on the fair grounds; but I never yet descended to do such things as I am charged with now.""I am certain of that," and Teddy pressed the prisoner's hand in token of friendship, "and only wish it was possible to aid you.""You have already done more than my partners did," was the grateful reply, and then further conversation was prevented as the 'Squire called the assembly to order.It was not a regular court of law; but one would have thought it the most dignified judicial body in the country had he seen the air with which the 'Squire took his seat at the head of the long table as he called the case."That settles Hazelton," Dan whispered as Teddy left the prisoner and rejoined his friends. "Somebody has got to suffer in order to make the law come out square, an' he's the feller what'll have to stand the brunt of everything."CHAPTER XXXI.AN ARRIVAL.Lawyer Harvey did not neglect anything which might work to the advantage of his client; but in the face of the evidence his efforts appeared to be in vain.Uncle Nathan, who arrived just as the case was called, swore to the fact that Hazelton had been in his store on the Sunday afternoon prior to the robbery, and that he had told the prisoner of his keeping large amounts of money in the building, because of the difficulty and expense of sending the cash to the Waterville bank.He also testified that Hazelton seemed unusually interested in everything pertaining to the store, and asked many questions relative to his (the witness') habits, such as the time when business usually began, how late he remained in the building at night, as well as several other things which now seemed as if the information had been sought simply for the purpose of knowing when would be the safest time to commit the crime."How much did you lose?" Mr. Harvey asked."I don't know for certain; but I stand willin' to give fifty dollars if the goods can be recovered, an' if my nephew would tell all he knows——""That will do, Mr. Hargreaves," the lawyer said, sharply. "Teddy is not under examination, and until he is we do not care to hear your opinion concerning him.""I reckon I can tell what I want to, can't I, 'Squire?""You must confine yourself to this particular case. As to whether there is sufficient evidence to bind the prisoner over does not concern the charge against your nephew, at least not to the extent of your telling what you think.""I thought, perhaps, if he heard me say I'd give fifty dollars to know where the goods were, an' knew I'd swear to it, he might confess, for he has shown himself to be powerful fond of a dollar.""That appears to be a peculiarity of some of his relatives," Mr. Harvey said, dryly, and at this remark the spectators laughed heartily, while the old man growled:"I didn't come here to be told that I was a miser; but it seems even men who call themselves gentlemen think sich things are all right.""If you have no other evidence to give we will not detain you," the lawyer said, sharply; and as Uncle Nathan returned to his chair near the doorthe proprietor of the hotel at the Run was called upon to testify.What he said was in favor of the prisoner rather than otherwise.He swore to the fact that the prisoner spent the night on which the burglary was committed at his house; that he pretended to retire at an early hour, and started for Peach Bottom on the first stage.Under Mr. Harvey's skillful cross-examination the landlord admitted that unless a man got out of the window he could not have left the house without the knowledge of the watchman, who kept the keys and remained in the office all night. It was also shown that Hazelton brought and carried away with him, so far as was known at the hotel, nothing but a small traveling satchel.Then several people from the Run were called to prove that the fakir was really in the town on this particular Sunday, and the driver of the stage testified that the prisoner rode with him the entire distance to Peach Bottom. The landlord of the hotel where Hazelton boarded during the fair week, or so much of it as he was at liberty, swore to the fact that the prisoner had never brought any quantity of baggage to his house, and appeared to be very regular in his habits. So far as he (the landlord) knew, the fakir remained in his room nearly all the time, except while on the exhibition grounds.This ended the testimony, and Mr. Harvey arguedthat there was really no evidence to connect the prisoner with the crime."That he conducted a game which could hardly be called honest is admitted," he said; "but it has nothing to do with the case. Prejudice should not be allowed to take the place of facts, and I insist that my client be released.""I reckon there's sufficient ground for suspicion," the 'Squire replied, "an' I don't see any other way out of it. A jury must decide, an' I shall hold him in the sum of three thousand——"At this moment the dignity of the court received a severe shock, as a most unseemly disturbance suddenly occurred at the door, and the 'Squire paused to learn who was so bold as to disturb the representative of the law at the very instant when he was delivering an opinion."It's nobody but a boy," Uncle Nathan replied as he held the door firmly closed, while the would-be visitor kicked so vigorously as to threaten the destruction of the panels."Bring him in here, an' we'll see whether such a row can be kicked up in a court of law with impunity.""Better let me throw him into the street," Uncle Nathan snarled."Mr. Constable, bring that boy before me," the 'Squire said, sternly, and an instant later, to the consternation of all those who had seen him, theboy who was supposed to have been drowned two days before entered, looking decidedly the worse for having existed so long without water and soap."Why, it's Sam, an' he ain't dead!" Teddy cried as he rose to his feet."Of course I ain't; but it wouldn't been many days before I turned into a corpse if I hadn't got away from them thieves," the amateur detective replied."Who are you, an' what do you want here?" the 'Squire asked, sternly, as he rapped on the table for the spectators to remain silent."Why, I'm Sam Balderston, the feller who come to the fair to work for the Davis Boat an' Oar Company of Detroit, an' if what Long Jim told me was true, folks have been tryin' to find me in the creek.""This is the boy who was reported to have been drowned on the day when those lads," here the lawyer pointed to Teddy and Dan, "claim to have seen two men carrying goods into an old barn on the marshes. I fancy he can give us information relative to the true burglars.""You bet I can," and now that he was the central figure in the scene, all Sam's old assurance returned. "If you mean the fellers what broke into Teddy's uncle's store, I can flash one of them up. The other come to the fair an' didn't get back, so Phil thought he was arrested.""Who do you mean by the other fellow?" Mr. Harvey asked."Why, Long Jim, the same man what swindled Teddy out of his fifteen dollars at Waterville.""Have you been with him since your disappearance?""Most of the time he hung around, an' then ag'in Phil was there.""Who is Phil?""Long Jim's partner. They've got a slat of stuff what has been stole 'round here, an' I know where all of it is.""Tell the 'Squire the whole story."This was Sam's opportunity, and, in order to cover himself with glory, he slaughtered the truth in the most shocking manner."Well," he said, in a consequential way, "when Dan an' me an' Teddy saw the thieves carryin' stuff down to that old barn I wanted to rush in an' arrest both; but the other fellows was scared an' come ashore to talk with Hazelton so's he'd tell 'em what to do. Then I jes' made up my mind to carry on the job myself, an' went back.""Where?" the 'Squire asked."To the barn to get the stuff. While I was diggin' it up the men come back, an' the minute they saw who was on their trail they got frightened.""And who was on their trail?" the 'Squire interrupted."Why, me, of course. They rushed in, an' I had the awfullest row; but it was two to one, an' so I got the worst of it. They had to work mighty hard before gettin' me tired, an' then all the stuff was dug up an' put in the boat. My craft was upset an' sent adrift, so's to make it look as if I was dead, an' we went down the creek six or seven miles, where we hid in the woods. Phil came back here after more goods what had been stolen, an' they was goin' to skip the country, when there was a big row, an' Long Jim allowed he'd come to the fair once more. Phil was mad, an' got pretty drunk, an' after that I had my innings. I turned to an' lashed him up same's I'd been; but we had an' awful fight. It takes more'n one man to git away with me.""Where is this fellow now?" the 'Squire interrupted again."Down the creek, tied up so's he can't hardly breathe, an' he must be pretty near sober by this time.""If he was very drunk I do not understand how he could have fought so hard.""Well, he did; but I got the best of him, an' what's more, I know where all the stuff that's been stolen is hid.""Mr. Constable, bring into court the prisoner who is charged with swindling, and let us see if this extraordinary boy can identify him," the 'Squire said, with an unusual amount of dignity."If it's Long Jim, you bet I can," Sam said, as he turned toward the spectators that they might have a good opportunity of seeing such a wonderful detective as he claimed to be.Teddy and Dan could hardly control their impatience to speak privately with Sam. As a matter of course, they understood that he was embellishing the story, and both were eager to make him tell the exact truth.Just at that moment, however, Sam had no time to spend on ordinary boys. He had come out of a bad scrape with apparently flying colors, and intended to enjoy his triumph to the utmost before sinking back to his rightful plane.The jail was near at hand, and Sam had not exhibited himself as much as he desired when Long Jim was brought in.On seeing the boy the burglar gave a start of surprise, and allowed the incriminating question to escape his lips:"Has Phil been pinched, too?""I took care of that business, an' we'll bring him in some time to-day. Say, what about that awful lickin' you was goin' to give me?""I'll cut your throat before this job is finished," was the angry reply, and there was no longer any necessity of asking Sam if he recognized the prisoner."You say you can show us the stolen goods, andthe other burglar is where the officers can get him?" Mr. Harvey asked.
"We have only one knife," said Mr. Sweet, to the amusement of the boys, "and it must serve for all hands."
To the surprise of the boys he proceeded to convert the wagon into a "festal board" by first pulling it into the center of the tent, and then removing the sides. Over the floor of this newspapers were spread, and two plates, three forks, one knife, and four tin dippers were placed on the impromptu cloth.
"The provisions will be cut ready for eating," Mr. Sweet explained, "so one knife must serve for all hands, and it won't hurt any of the crowd if they're obliged to take turns using the dippers."
The clown returned before the guests began to assemble. He brought cold sausage, sliced ham, cold fried potatoes, sweet crackers, cake, pie, and a quantity of lemons and sugar.
Contrary to his expectations, Mr. Sweet did not think this assortment sufficient for the kind of a dinner he proposed to give, and the messenger was forced to return in search of cheese, pickled pig's feet, sardines, and milk for the coffee.
Matters were in a decided state of confusion when the first of the guests arrived. Mr. Sweet, not troubled by the absence of dishes, had placed the various articles on the wagon-table in the brown paper coverings as they had been received, and it was upon his skill as a maker of coffee that he based his reputation as a host.
Therefore everything was neglected for this one important thing, and the proprietor was standing over the oil stove with a look of grave responsibility on his face when the owner of the envelope game and his assistant arrived.
"The boys will take care of you," he said, hurriedly, bending over the huge pot to inhale the odor, in order to know exactly how the berries were adapting themselves to the infusion, and, much to his surprise, Teddy found himself the one especial feature of the party.
All on the ground had evidently heard of his arrest, for each new arrival asked concerning the events of the evening, and, what was more to the purpose, so far as he was concerned, all seemed to think his troubles were only temporary.
"You'll come out of it all right," the manager of the largest sandwich booth said, confidently, as he entered with his hat on one side of his head and a cigar held in his mouth at an angle of forty-five degrees. "I heard of your uncle last year, when he tried to make trouble for a friend of mine in the spittoon game, an' you can bet your bottom dollar that the people here are not going to take much stock in what he says."
"It seems they did, so far as to issue a warrant for my arrest," Teddy replied, with a mirthless smile.
"But that won't amount to anything. I hear youhave got John Reaves as a friend, an' he comes pretty near runnin' things to suit himself in Peach Bottom. He helped my friend out of the scrape your uncle put him into, an' folks say there's no love lost between him an' Nathan Hargreaves."
"I want to get out of my trouble simply on the ground that I am not guilty," Teddy replied. "If I am charged with aiding burglars, there's precious little consolation in being set free simply because people do not like the man who made the charge."
"Nobody believes you guilty, and for the matter of that I'm certain Hazelton had nothing to do with the job. His game ain't exactly square; but he don't go around breaking into stores."
Teddy was on the point of telling that Long Jim had been arrested because of the burglaries committed; but he remembered in time that this fact was as yet a secret, and remained silent.
The man who leased the only "Great African Dodger" was the next to arrive, and he also seemed to think it necessary to condole with the young fakir in his troubles, as did the remainder of the guests, and by the time all were assembled Teddy began to think his experience was only such as every other person in the tent had undergone at some time in his career.
"You see this is the way the matter stands," the whip man said, confidentially, while Mr. Sweet was bending all his energies to mixing the lemonade."People think fakirs are the worst class of men in the world, whereas, if the matter was sifted right down, they'd find the class as a whole was honest because they couldn't afford to be otherwise. I'm not talking now about those who run strong games, like Hazelton; but ourselves who do a legitimate business. You've got canes an' knives to sell, while I deal in whips; now all we want is a fair show to dispose of our goods, an' we know everything must be done on the square, or there's bound to be trouble sooner or later, consequently we keep straight, an' take all the abuse which those who have come to swindle the folks deserve. Why, what, I ask you, would the managers of these fairs do if they couldn't get us to come up with our money for privileges? They couldn't pay expenses, an' that's the whole amount of the story. They run after us, an' yet when we come there's the same old howl about swindlers."
The man talked until he was literally forced to stop for lack of breath, and Teddy had not so much as spoken; but proved a good listener, which was all his condoler appeared to expect of him.
When the clown returned with the last installment of eatables there was nothing to prevent the assembled crowd from partaking of Mr. Sweet's hospitality. The coffee was done to a turn; the lemonade was neither too sour nor too sweet, andthe proprietor of the museum summoned his guests to the feast by saying:
"Now turn to an' fill yourselves up. It ain't often I do this sort of thing; but somehow or other I've got a reg'lar admiration for our cane-board fakir, an' after comin' out as he has to-night it seems only right we should kinder spread ourselves. There's no liquor in the tent, which is as it should be, for I'm a temperance man, an' them as wants it can make hogs of themselves somewhere else. Take hold hearty, an' remember that this layout is in honor of them as did a good turn to the whole gang by savin' the lives of the women what would likely have drowned if there hadn't been any fakirs in the country."
This was an unusually long speech for the proprietor of the museum, and when it was ended he set an example to his guests by attacking the eatables as if he had not indulged in a square meal since the fair was opened.
Each person present imitated him, and Tim whispered to Teddy, when his mouth was so full of cake that it was only with the greatest difficulty his words could be understood:
"This is what I call a great snap, an' when I've been fakin' at the fairs long enough to get some money ahead I'll give fellers like us a good chance to fill up, the same as Mr. Sweet has done."
Dan was equally enthusiastic. In all his experience,which extended over two years at the very least, he declared that he had never seen so much done for a boy, and concluded by saying:
"There's no question, Teddy, but that you're a big gun here, an' I'll advise you to keep right on in this business."
"I've had enough of it," was the reply. "Such times as these are very nice; but think of what may happen when I'm brought up for trial. Who knows but Uncle Nathan can succeed in makin' folks think I'm guilty of helpin' the burglars, an' then what'll be the consequences?"
"I know he can't do anything of the kind, an' that's enough," was the confident reply; but yet it failed to satisfy the boy who had been bound over to appear at court.
The entire party appeared to be having the jolliest kind of a jolly time; but ever before Teddy's mental vision came the picture of himself in prison, and even the fact that Long Jim had been arrested failed to render him confident as to the final result.
Again and again was he called upon to reply as one after another wished him good luck in the case, and the amount of lemonade which was consumed on each occasion caused the clown to make a third visit to the town in order to purchase the wherewithal to satisfy the demands of the guests.
It was nearly midnight when the last of therevelers departed and the boys were called upon to help set the interior of the tent to rights.
"It hasn't been sich a bad time after all," Mr. Sweet said, musingly, as Teddy and Dan aided him in wheeling the wagon into place. "A man can remember an evening like this with pleasure, when liquor has been kept out of the bill of fare, an' who shall say that we're not better off than if our legs were so tangled as to make walking an impossibility?"
The barker's red nose was slightly elevated, much as if its owner could explain why spirits were superior to lemon-juice and water; but Mr. Sweet's question remained unanswered, and the party set about making the final preparations for the night.
"Poor Sam ain't here to be troubled by the goat, so we can set him loose," the proprietor of the museum said as he unfastened the rope from the neck of his pet.
"He'll have a great time pickin' up odds an' ends between now an' daylight, an' then feel so lazy that it'll be hard work to make him do his tricks."
"Do you suppose Uncle Nathan will be around in the morning?" Teddy asked as he lay down by the side of Dan and Tim.
"Not a bit of it; he got sich a dose to-night that I don't count on seem' him ag'in till this fair is ended, an' then I'm going to take a trip over to theRun for the express purpose of givin' him a piece of my mind."
"But suppose he should come, what shall I say?"
"Pay no attention to the old fool, an' above all, don't let him trap you into talking. Mr. Harvey will be here to-morrow, an' he can post you better than ever I could."
"Don't fuss about the thing at all," Dan replied, philosophically. "There's plenty here who know you hadn't anything to do with the burglaries, an' he won't have as much as a friend by the time the trial is ended."
"Dan comes pretty nigh being right," Mr. Sweet added, "an' now I want all hands to go to sleep, for there's one more day of this fair, an' we need to be somewhere near fresh, because to-morrow the dollars won't tumble without a good deal of coaxing. Good-night."
IN HIDING.
That the incidents may be related as nearly as possible in the order of their occurrence it is time to return to the spot where the burglars are in hiding.
It will be remembered that we last saw Sam after Phil had fallen asleep, and he was feigning unconsciousness lest Long Jim, having nothing else to do, should take it into his ugly head to administer the promised flogging.
Although Sam's eyes were apparently closed, he took good care to keep strict watch on the burglar; but for what seemed a very long time he saw nothing to cause any apprehensions, and was just on the point of going to sleep in reality when Jim asked, as he gave the boy a vicious kick on the side:
"Where's the grub?"
"I don't know. You put it away after finishing your dinner."
"Oh, I remember now," and the burglar, still considerably more than half stupefied by the amount of liquor he had drunk, arose to his feet sounsteadily that it seemed as if only the lightest touch would be necessary to send him headlong.
After a short search the man found that which he wanted, and proceeded to make a hearty meal, regardless of the hungry glances which the boy bestowed upon him.
"Don't think I'm goin' to give you any," he said, with a leer, as he concluded the repast, "You're lucky to be alive, an' that's enough for sich a duffer. I'll put this stuff back, an' you'll have every bone in your body broken if you so much as smell of it."
Sam made no reply. He had already learned that there are very many times when silence is indeed "golden."
"I've made up my mind to see what can be done at the fair," Jim said, as he lighted his pipe with great deliberation. "Phil thinks he's the only smart man in the world, an' it's time to show him what a mistake he's been makin' all his life. Why don't you say something?" he cried, angrily, as Sam continued silent.
"I don't know what you want me to say. If you're goin' that settles it; I sha'n't be any better off."
"You can stake your life on that, for while I'm a gentleman an' behave myself as such, Phil is a reg'lar brute, an' will make things mighty uncomfortable for a sneak like you."
Sam thought, but was very careful not to say, that it was hardly possible for a boy to have a worse master than the alleged gentleman in front of him, and the burglar continued, as he arose to his feet:
"I want to leave without wakin' Phil, but you must do it as soon as I push off from the shore, for we don't intend to give you a chance of slipping away. I shall watch mighty close, an' if he isn't on his feet before I'm a dozen yards out into the creek you'll get a reminder from this," and the man ostentatiously displayed a revolver.
"I don't count on runnin' off," Sam, replied, thoroughly frightened by the threat. "I can stay here till you get ready to let me go, because I've got to, an' I'm not sich a fool as to git into any worse scrape."
"Now you're talkin' somethin' like sense, an' if you keep on in this way I'll see to it that you don't have any harder time than a detective oughter expect; Phil will be on his ear when he knows I've gone, an' you must tell me all he says. Remember that if he isn't on his feet before I've got beyond range, I'll use your head for a target."
With this threat the burglar staggered out of the thicket, and Sam began to speculate as to whether he should make one supreme effort to escape before his other captor awakened.
A second glance at the weapon decided him in thenegative, however, and he meekly stepped to the edge of the woods in order to obey the instructions given.
Despite Jim's apparent intoxication he watched the boy closely, still holding the revolver ready for use, and after pushing the boat into the stream he cried:
"Now go ahead, an' let me see him in about two minutes, or I'll fill you full of bullets."
If Sam had been a brave boy he would have made a dash for liberty at this moment; but he was in nearly every sense of the word a coward, and obeyed the order literally.
"Who's there?" Phil asked, angrily, as the boy shook him vigorously.
"Jim told me to make you get up, or he'd shoot," Sam replied, meekly.
"Make me get up? What time is it?"
"I don't know; but it doesn't seem to be more than three o'clock."
"Where's Jim?"
"Jest startin' for the fair grounds, an' if you don't show yourself pretty soon he's sure to shoot me."
"There wouldn't be any particular harm in that, for you deserve it; but it can't be possible the fool is goin' to show himself in daylight when more than one is lookin' for him."
"That's what he said," and Sam, fearing lest thehalf-drunken burglar would begin his pistol practice, seated himself behind the largest tree that might protect him from the bullets.
Now that Phil was awake, he did not lose any further time in talking, but ran out to where he could command a view of the creek, and once more Sam had an opportunity for escape which he did not dare to embrace.
"Come back here, an' don't make a fool of yourself," Jim's partner cried, angrily, as he saw the man pulling leisurely from the bank.
"What's crawlin' on you? Don't I know my business?"
"Not if you count on goin' up there before dark."
"That's jest what I intend to do, so don't screech so much."
"Come back, I tell you, or it'll be all up for both of us!"
"I've been in this business long enough to know it," was the reply, as Jim continued to row, increasing each instant the distance between himself and the shore.
"Now, don't spoil a good thing," Phil said, pleadingly, and, understanding that this conversation might be continued for a short time, Sam plucked up sufficient courage to make an attack upon the provisions.
He took from the general store a large piece of cheese, some crackers and as much meat as he believedwould suffice to make a hearty meal, after which he hid the lot near the tree behind which he was hiding.
Then he crept back to his former position, and listened to the conversation between his captors.
Phil alternately coaxed and threatened his partner; but all to no purpose, as could be told by the tones of the latter's voice while he pulled up stream, and the baffled burglar returned to the camping place absolutely furious with rage.
"This comes of my bein' so foolish as to bring that fool liquor," he said half to himself. "It's mighty lucky he didn't know I had more than one bottle."
Then he took from one of his pockets a second flask, refreshing himself with a portion of the contents before asking:
"What did he say to you?"
"Nothin' except that he was goin' up to the fair," Sam replied, timidly.
"But what made him tell you to waken me?"
"I s'pose that was so I couldn't have a chance to run away."
"What else did he say?"
"That I was to tell him jest how you took his leavin'."
"Well, if he's lucky enough to get back, tell him I said he was the biggest fool that ever walked on two legs. Them chums of your'n are sure to spothim, an' it's ten to one he's pinched before sunset."
Sam did not understand what the man meant by the term "pinched," but under the circumstances he hardly thought it safe to inquire, and the angry burglar continued:
"We'll make ready to get out of this if he isn't back by daylight, an' while there's nothin' else to do you'd better put that stuff under ground, for there's no knowin' now when we'll be able to take it away."
The spade was near at hand ready for use, and while Phil alternately smoked and drank from the bottle, Sam set about burying the plunder.
This man was quite as hard a taskmaster as the one who had just departed, and the boy was forced to work as he had probably never done before, until sufficient of an excavation had been made to conceal the goods.
Under the direction of the burglar Sam covered the different packages with earth; did his best to hide all traces of his work, and when it was so dark that he could no longer see to move about was allowed to rest.
During this time Phil had been drinking and smoking, with the result that he could hardly speak plainly when the task was accomplished, and so intoxicated did he appear to be that Sam thought it safe to eat the food he had concealed.
"Keep on talkin' so's I'll know where you are, oron goes the ropes an' gag again," Phil cried, and the boy obeyed, repeating over and over the same words in order to satisfy his suspicious captor.
After eating a hearty meal, Sam succeeded in mustering sufficient courage to admit of his thinking about attempting to escape.
From the manner in which the burglar spoke he knew it could not be very much longer before the man would be so completely under the influence of liquor as to render him helpless, and he said to himself:
"If I could get the rope around his hands an' legs I'd soon be out of this place."
"What's that you are saying?" Phil cried, angrily.
"Nothin'; I was only doin' as you told me, talkin' so's you'd know where I was."
"I'll save all that trouble," and the man lurched to his feet as he picked up the rope.
"Please don't tie me ag'in," Sam pleaded. "I won't try to git away."
"I'll go bail that you don't after I'm through with you. Put out your hands."
Phil was yet capable of mischief, even though his brain was clouded, and Sam did not dare to disobey.
He suffered himself to be tied without making any remonstrance, and as the burglar staggered to his former resting place, the boy tested the bonds.
Previously he had been lashed in such a manner that it was impossible to move hand or foot, but now he soon realized that he could do both, and the happy thought came that he might free himself with but little difficulty if a favorable opportunity for escape should present itself.
"Now you're fixed," Phil said, half to himself, "an' I may as well take things comfortable till we're certain that that fool of a Jim is settled."
"Are you goin' to leave here to-night?" Sam asked, more for the purpose of learning how far the man was on the road to intoxication than for information.
"If he ain't here by twelve o'clock we'll know the jig is up, an' skip so's to be out of the way before any one can come sneakin' around for the stuff."
"Then if Jim isn't back by that time, an' he keeps on drinkin', I'll take all the chances," Sam said to himself, and from that instant he strained every nerve to learn how nearly the burglar had succeeded in making a worse brute of himself than nature intended.
A FAILURE.
Tired though Teddy was, a long time elapsed after the conclusion of the fakirs' feast before he could close his eyes in slumber.
Now that the excitement of the party had died away, the fact that he was a prisoner, suffered to remain outside the prison only because men of wealth were willing to guarantee he would respond to the call of the court, came into his mind even more vividly than at the time of the arrest, and despite all the words of cheer which had been spoken he really began to believe Uncle Nathan could show plausible proof of his guilt.
Under almost any other circumstances he would have speculated upon what should be done with the large amount of money he had already earned, and rejoiced at the thought that he could supply his mother with what she might need for the present, at all events.
The profits of the cane and knife boards were hardly thought of on this night while the one painfulfact stood before him so prominently and menacingly.
His companions had been asleep many hours before slumber visited his eyelids, and so heavy was his heart even while in dreamland that he awoke with the first dawn of day, and aroused the others to the last day's work they would be called upon to do at the Peach Bottom fair during the present season.
"Why is it that you have turned out so early?" Mr. Sweet asked, in a sleepy tone, rising to his feet as the only effectual method of driving the drowsiness from his eyelids.
"I sha'n't feel much like sleeping till I know how the case is coming out," Teddy replied, sadly.
"There is no need to worry with such friends as you have got. Put it right out of your mind until business closes to-night, for there's a big pile of work to be done if you expect to make much money."
"I wish I could," Teddy said, with a long-drawn sigh as he aroused Tim and Dan.
Half an hour later the three boys were eating what it was believed would be their last meal in the very unsatisfactory boarding-house, and Teddy's place of business was the first opened on that morning.
There were no more early visitors; but the fakirs who had been present at the feast on the eveningprevious gathered around, all appearing very eager to spend money, and trade was as lively as it had been on any other morning.
The crowd bought rings and threw them recklessly until each man had spent considerably more than a dollar, when Teddy suddenly realized that this sudden passion for canes only arose from a desire to aid him. Then he said, decidedly:
"There's no need of you fellows doin' this. I know you want to see me out of the scrape; but I've made a lot of money already, an' don't want to take yours."
"You can't have too much, my boy," one of them said with a laugh, "and we want to see you go away with a pile. Trade has been boomin' for all hands, an' it would be kinder rough if we couldn't have a little fun now the fair is the same as over."
This did not satisfy Teddy, and he continued to expostulate against the generosity; but all to no purpose. The fakirs played until a sufficient number of visitors had arrived to warrant their opening the other booths, and then Tim and Teddy were left alone, Dan having started for the exhibition building some time previous.
Until ten o'clock there was no more than work enough to keep one boy moderately busy, and Teddy experienced a deep sense of relief as Mr. Harvey came up to the stand with a cheery "good morning."
"I hear that your Uncle Nathan succeeded incarrying out his threat," the visitor said, as if speaking about what was a very trifling matter.
"Yes, sir; an' do you think he can send me to prison?"
"Not a bit of it. You are under bail, and I venture to predict that he will not carry it to court, for he has sufficient sense to know it may prove a very expensive job. We sent our men to the barn on the marshes last night."
"What did you find?" Teddy asked, eagerly.
"More than I expected. There were no goods in the building, but some have evidently been buried there, and this fact, together with the evidence that boats have been drawn up on the shore recently, proves your story as to what was seen when you boys followed the two men to be correct."
"The other fellow has run away, I suppose."
"I think he is yet in the immediate vicinity, otherwise Jim would be willing to talk."
"Have you seen him since he was arrested?"
"I have just come from the jail. I told him of the evidence we already had to connect him with the burglary, and that we should push him hard in the interest of you and Hazelton. He understands that there is an opportunity to turn State's witness, but he absolutely refuses to speak on any subject. Therefore I fancy his partner has not yet got away."
"Then there has been no good done in arresting him," Teddy said, mournfully.
"That is where you are making a mistake. I have prepared an affidavit for you and Dan to swear to, and shall endeavor to have a warrant issued at once charging him with burglary, so he can't give us the slip in case he gets clear in the matter of swindling."
"Do you want Dan an' I now?"
"Yes; go after him. I will only keep you ten or fifteen minutes."
Teddy turned to go toward the exhibition buildings, but halted an instant to ask:
"Have you seen my uncle this morning?"
"No, but I shall do so later in the day, and after we have a little conversation I do not think he will be so eager to see you in prison."
The lawyer's confident manner had very much to do with taking the load of sorrow from Teddy's mind, and he looked almost cheerful as he asked of the manager of the Stevens exhibit that Dan be allowed to accompany him, explaining the reason for making the request.
"Of course he can go," the gentleman replied, readily. "Trade won't be so good to-day but that he can be spared as well as not, and even if it was rushing, he should have permission to leave."
When the boys were at the cane-board once more Mr. Harvey hurried them away to the magistrate's office, and there a long document was read, which described in detail all they had seen on theday when Sam first gave an exhibition of his skill as a detective.
They marveled not a little that the lawyer should have remembered so well every trifling incident. Nothing, however apparently unimportant, had escaped him, and, as Dan said:
"It is written down better than if he had really been with us."
This document was sworn to and signed by both, after which Mr. Harvey told them that they might return to work, adding as he turned to Teddy:
"The man who has been arrested on your complaint will have a hearing to-morrow, and it is absolutely necessary you should be at this office as early as nine o'clock. I don't know whether Dan will be allowed to tell what he has heard Sam say regarding the matter, but he had better come with you."
"I'll be on hand," the young fakir replied. "Do you know when I'm to be tried?"
"That case won't come up for some time in view of the evidence your lawyer is collecting," the 'Squire said.
"Don't worry about it, for I think the real burglars will soon be caught."
"An' does Mr. Hazelton have to stay in jail all the time?"
"There is no other way out of it, since he hasn't got friends who can go bail for him."
Teddy wanted very much to ask permission to see the prisoner, but inasmuch as he was accused of being equally guilty with the fakir it hardly seemed just the proper thing to make the request, and he left the office, followed by Dan, who said, as they gained the open air:
"You ain't goin' to have half so much trouble as you think, Teddy. Anybody can see that even the 'Squire is on your side, although he did issue the warrant, an' the proof must be mighty strong to make any of 'em believe you did anything against the old miser. But this keeps us here on the grounds another day, doesn't it?"
"Yes, an' if Mr. Sweet packs up his tent to-night, we'll have to hunt for a place to sleep in the village."
"That don't worry me very much. I've made a good week's work out of the fair, an' can afford to spend a little money."
"I shall pay all the bills, of course," Teddy replied, quickly. "It wouldn't be any more'n right because you are goin' to stay to help me."
Dan was quite positive he would pay his own bills, and his companion equally certain he should not; but there was little chance for discussion, since they had arrived opposite the grand stand by this time, and were hailed by Deacon Jones, who looked as if he considered himself the one important personage on the grounds as he said:
"I want both of you boys to be here at exactly two o'clock. Don't fail to come, no matter how much business you may have on hand."
"What's the matter?" Teddy asked, immediately thinking some new trouble threatened him.
"There will be plenty of time for explanation after you get here," was the mysterious reply, and then the deacon signified that the interview was at an end by turning to speak with some gentlemen who had been watching the boys closely.
"What do you suppose is up now?" Teddy asked with a sigh, and Dan replied, mournfully:
"I'm sure I don't know," but in his own mind he was convinced that the deacon intended to surrender the boy whose surety he had appeared willing to become on the evening previous.
Teddy was so disturbed by dismal forebodings that Dan was very careful to hide his suspicions, since it could do only harm to discuss them, and the two parted, feeling as if Uncle Nathan had outwitted Mr. Harvey.
On retuning to his place of business Teddy did not have the heart to wait upon the customers, and after telling Tim what had been said to him, he added:
"I can't work; it's no use to try. There must have been something new come up, an' I won't be able to show that I'm innocent of robbing the store."
Dan could give him no consolation, for he also felt that matters were approaching a dangerous crisis, and he simply said:
"Loaf around, old fellow, an' I'll look out for the work here. Try to put it out of your mind, for things won't be made better by worryin' over 'em."
Just at this moment Teddy's mother arrived. She had heard all the particulars concerning the arrest and subsequent release, therefore began at once to sympathize with her son.
"Then you know what the deacon is goin' to do?" Teddy asked.
This was something of which Mrs. Hargreaves was ignorant, but upon being told, appeared even more distressed than her son, thus increasing instead of lightening his troubles.
THE TESTIMONIAL.
It was impossible for Teddy to follow Tim's advice to "loaf around."
His heart was so full of sorrow that his greatest desire was to go where those who might believe he had been a partner of the burglars could not see him; but since that was impossible, if he intended to obey the deacon's injunctions and present himself at the grand stand at the specified time, the next best thing was to remain behind the booth where his mother tried her best to cheer him.
"It can't be possible that anything to your disadvantage has occurred, Teddy," she said as she held his hand for mutual sympathy. "Mr. Reaves would have sent me word at once if that had happened."
"Perhaps he doesn't know about it. Uncle Nathan may have been talking with the deacon again, an' turned him against me."
"I don't believe it would be possible for him to do such a thing. His reputation is not so good thatpeople could put faith in all he says, more especially in regard to this case."
"Then if he didn't do it some one else has, an' that makes it all the worse," Teddy replied, as he tried to force back the tears.
At this moment the sorrowing ones were startled by hearing the voice of the man whom they had every reason to call their enemy, and an instant later Uncle Nathan stood before them.
"Well," he said in what sounded more like a snarl than anything else, "you see the old skinflint did jest what he promised, an' he'll see to it that the deacon don't stay on your bail very long unless I get my rights."
"What do you mean by your rights?" Mrs. Hargreaves asked.
"I lent this ungrateful boy the money to start him in a business where he's made more in a week than I ever could in a year. Then he helped people to rob me, an' after all that I made what any man must call a fair offer. See how much I've lost by him, an' then think of my offerin' to straighten everything out by goin' in as his partner."
"Why didn't you do this before the fair opened?"
"I couldn't tell how it would turn out," the old man began, and then realizing that he was admitting something to his discredit, he added, quickly, "I mean I hadn't lost my money then, an' never suspected how he would wrong me."
It seemed as if these last words drove Teddy to desperation, and he no longer-remembered the respect due to age.
"Look here," he cried, angrily, rising, and standing directly in front of Uncle Nathan, "if you believe I'm a burglar, you can't want to be my partner. It was only after the fact of my having made considerable money was known that you offered any trade. If the venture had been a losing one you are the last person who would have taken hold of it. Now I'm under arrest on a charge made by you, who know I am innocent, an' we'll put an end to all this talk. Don't come where my mother and I am; do the very worst you can, an' some day I'll have my innings."
"You threaten, eh?"
"That's exactly what I'm doing. I have leased this piece of ground until to-morrow, and warn you that it'll be mighty uncomfortable if you show your nose here again. Go now an' go quick!"
"That's right, Teddy," Tim shouted in a tone of delight from the opposite side of the booth. "Give it to him hot, an' I'll do my share. If you don't want to tackle the job till after the trial, say the word an' I'll sail in, for it gives me a pain to see him around."
Teddy made no reply to this generous offer; but Uncle Nathan stepped back very quickly as if fearing an immediate attack.
"You won't be so bold to-morrow," he snarled, shaking his fist in impotent rage, and then he disappeared from view amid the crowd that had begun to gather.
Both Teddy and his clerk thought it very singular that business should be so good on this day, when the majority of the other fakirs were comparatively idle, and also in view of what had been said against the proprietor of the cane-board.
Yet the people gathered around by scores, all intent on patronizing the boys, and at the same time embracing every opportunity to display their good will.
Teddy and his mother remained partially screened from the gaze of the curious until nearly two o'clock, when Dan, looking decidedly troubled, arrived.
"I suppose we've got to go to the grand stand an' find out what the deacon wants," he said, mournfully. "My boss told me that we must be there on time, an' we might as well start."
"I want to have it over as soon as possible," Teddy replied. "Nothin' that comes can be any worse than waitin' here thinkin' of what may happen."
The two boys walked either side of Mrs. Hargreaves as they went to meet the deacon, and it seemed very much as if the majority of the people present knew what was about to occur, for the sad-visagedparty was followed by crowds of the visitors as they walked steadily onward.
It was exactly two o'clock when they arrived at the stairway leading to the grand stand, and there they were met by the leader of the band from the Run, who said with a mysterious manner as he opened a gate leading to the track in front of the judges' stand:
"You are to come this way."
"Where's the deacon?" Teddy asked.
"Waiting for you."
Without further explanation the musician led the three to a spot where all could see them, and to the intense surprise of the sorrowful-looking party, the throng assembled on the benches greeted them with the most hearty applause.
"You are to come with me, Mrs. Hargreaves," the conductor said, as he escorted her to one of the front seats, and Teddy and Dan stood as if stupefied, gazing in dismay at the sea of faces in front of them.
Before the boys had sufficiently recovered from their bewilderment to be able to speculate upon what was to happen Deacon Jones came down the steps until he reached a place where all could see him and there began a speech which caused at least two of that assemblage to gaze at him in open-mouthed astonishment.
The manager of the fair did not intend to neglectany opportunity of making himself conspicuous, and he delivered an eloquent address, looking first at the boys and then at the audience, which cannot be given here because of lack of space.
He first explained to the spectators that Teddy had taken upon himself the business of fakir simply that he might aid his widowed mother. Then he detailed the loss of the fifteen dollars, and finally broached the one important matter, that of the scene on the creek, when the three women were rescued from drowning.
By this time the cheeks of Teddy and Dan were flaming red, and if he had been charging them with the most atrocious crimes they could not have looked more guilty or uncomfortable.
"As you all know," he said, in conclusion, "we have met here to see bravery and a spirit of self-sacrifice rewarded. On behalf of the ladies whose lives were saved by these little heroes I am about to present Edward Hargreaves and Daniel Summers with one hundred dollars each. In addition to that amount the managers of the fair and several gentlemen who do not care to have their names made public, have made up a purse of one hundred and eighty dollars to be divided equally between them. It is most gratifying to me that I have been selected as the instrument through whom this testimonial is presented, and in behalf of my brother officers as well as myself I will state that these brave boyshave the freedom of the grounds whenever the Peach Bottom fair is open."
As he concluded, the deacon walked with a majestic bearing down to the bewildered boys, presented each with a well-filled pocketbook and then waved his hand as a signal for the band, every member of which did his best to make the music heard above the rounds of applause intended for the blushing fakirs.
In the meantime the people came down from the benches to congratulate the life-savers, and for fully an hour the two were forced to remain there listening to words of praise which they felt were not warranted by their exploit on the creek.
Among the most welcome of these enthusiastic visitors was Jacob Sweet, and he said, heartily:
"I heard of this little performance jest in time to get here before that long-winded speech was begun; but what pleases me the most is that I was ahead of the whole gang, an' started our little blow-out when it wasn't known you had so many friends. I'll see you to-night, of course, an' I must go now, for the bouncer has been around tellin' that you've been sleepin' in my tent, an' I count on a good payin' crowd this afternoon."
It was considerably past three o'clock when the boys and Mrs. Hargreaves returned to the cane-board, looking very much different than when they left it, and Tim cried as they came up:
"I've heard all about it, an' what I want to know is, where was old Nathan while that speechifyin' was goin' on?"
"I saw him when we first arrived," Mrs. Hargreaves replied, "but he left a few moments later, although I have no doubt that he remained where he could hear all that was said without being seen."
"That's where he was wise. It wouldn't be very pleasant for him to show himself now, 'cause everybody is down on him after what the deacon said."
Dan was obliged to return to his duties, and he whispered to Teddy before leaving:
"I tell you what it is, old feller, this has been a reg'lar puddin' for us, an' I'd give a good deal to see another jest like it."
"You're all right, but I expect after this Uncle Nathan will be so mad he'll make me a pile of trouble."
"Don't worry about that; his claws are cut now. I'll be back in time to go to supper."
When he departed Teddy had an opportunity to say a few words to his mother before she returned home on the stage, which was advertised to leave at four o'clock, and while he did this all thought of being under arrest was put far from his mind because of the joy at what he was now able to perform.
"Never mind what happens to me," he whispered. "I've now got nearly money enough to pay off allwe owe, an' it has been earned honestly, too, although I believe they paid a big price for what Dan an' I did on the creek."
"I'm thinking more of the praise you earned than the money, Teddy. It was very sweet to hear the deacon say so much to you before all those people."
"Then both of us will be awfully jolly to-night, an' to-morrow I'll be home, an' bring Dan with me."
"Invite him to stay just as long as he wishes, and I will have a nice supper ready when the last stage arrives."
Teddy gave his mother nearly all the money he had, including the "testimonial," and as she walked away he said to Tim:
"I'm willin' to be arrested, an' put into jail a good many days for the sake of being able to help her as I can do now."
THE TRIAL.
It was only natural that both Teddy and Dan should feel highly elated after this public expression of admiration which culminated in the presentation of the purse, but they immediately returned to attend to their several duties when the ceremonies were finished.
Dan went back to the exhibition as if he had done nothing worth remembering, and in less than half an hour from the time the deacon concluded his flowery speech it would have required a very ardent student of humanity to discover that anything out of the natural course of events had taken place.
At the cane-board Teddy waited upon his customers as before, and without the slightest sign of having been honored by the magnates of the fair, while Dan fired at the target as if he had been a boy with no other claim upon the public's attention than his ability to hit a mark.
Yet it must be confessed that both experienced a very pleasing sense of having satisfied the public,and each, in his own peculiar way, knew he had risen a little above the average boy.
There can be no question that any one placed in the same position must have felt gratified by the many expressions of friendship and good-will with which these two were literally overwhelmed, and it would have been more than could be expected of human nature had they remained unmoved under the extravagant flattery which was showered upon them immediately after the close of Deacon Jones' speech.
Although there was not quite as much money flowing into the box as on the day previous, Teddy was more than pleased with the receipts, because every penny seemed to express just such an amount of good-will.
Until nearly nightfall he remained at the booth, answering questions upon the same subject till it seemed to have been worn threadbare, and then, however great his desire to earn money, he felt a positive sense of relief that his connection with the Peach Bottom fair had finally come to an end.
"This is the last time you an' I will pack up the stuff," he said to Tim as they put into condition for removal the cane and knife boards. "I promised to give you all that was left, and you're more than welcome to it."
"But you surely don't mean to give me the whole lot," Tim cried in surprise.
"That's exactly what I'm going to do, and I sincerely hope when you make a stand you'll meet with the same good friends I have here."
"I can't take these things unless you'll allow me to pay something toward what they cost."
"Look here, Tim," Teddy said, earnestly, "you have shown yourself to be a friend of mine, an' every cent that has come in here you've accounted for. Now, whatever may happen, I'm through bein' a fakir; but if you want to follow the business, I can only hope you'll come out all right. We'll carry this to Mr. Sweet's tent, an' I'll only be so much the better pleased, and in case you don't, I'm bound to help you in every way. Besides, I promised to pay a certain percentage on the profits; that is yet to be settled."
"It never will be," Tim replied in the most decided tone. "If I take these goods I've got more than a fair share, an' won't listen to anything else."
"Very well, we'll leave it that way. You now own everything, an' I owe you lots of good-will."
On this basis the remnants of the two boards were packed up for removal, and when they were about to take the goods to Mr. Sweet's tent Dan arrived.
"How much business did you do to-day?" he asked.
Teddy delayed sufficiently long to count the receipts, and then replied:
"Forty-one dollars and fifteen cents. That gives Tim four-eleven, an' I get more than would have been the case but for the testimonial this afternoon. The folks crowded around to see me, rather than to get the canes, an' so business has picked up better than any one expected."
"It don't make any difference how the money came in so long as you have got it," Dan replied, philosophically, "an' now the question is what are we to do for supper, since we paid our bill at the boarding-house this afternoon?"
"Have you got any idea?"
"Of course, or else I wouldn't have asked the question. Let's invite Mr. Sweet, the bouncer, and the clown to some restaurant down town, an' try to give them as good a time as we had last night."
This proposition met with Teddy's approval, and the party was made up as he suggested, the cost being divided between the two boys who had been the recipients of the public testimonial.
Not until a late hour in the evening did these festivities come to an end, and then the party retired to the museum tent, where they remained undisturbed until the present season of the Peach Bottom fair had come to an end.
It was an unusually late hour for fakirs to arise when Mr. Sweet awakened the boys as he said:
"Turn out now, lads, an' get your stuff ready for removal. I'm sorry to part company, but we can'tstay here forever, an' the museum must be forty miles the other side of Waterville by Monday morning."
Dan had completed and been paid for his work with the Stevens Company, therefore he had nothing to do; Teddy no longer claimed any interest in the canes and knives left over from the week's work; consequently he was free to go where he pleased, and Tim had his goods in such a condition that they could be removed at any moment, which prevented him from feeling any anxiety regarding the future.
Thus it was that all three of the boys were at liberty to assist the proprietor of the museum, and this they did with a will until the arrival of Lawyer Harvey caused them to think of what had almost been forgotten in the bustle and confusion of breaking camp.
"We are due at the 'Squire's office at nine o'clock, and it is time you boys were getting over that way," he said, briskly; "our case won't come up to-day, but it has been decided to give Hazelton a hearing, and I am very much afraid he's going to get the worst of it."
"What do you mean?" Teddy asked, anxiously.
"Well, you see I have not been able to get any information in addition to what you boys furnished, and there seems little doubt that the 'Squire must perforce bind him over for trial. The factthat he has deliberately swindled so many people will work against him, and we can do very little to save him."
"What will be the result of his being bound over?" Teddy asked.
"He must remain in jail, unless he can get bail, until next fall."
"But that in itself will be a terrible punishment."
"True; yet it cannot be avoided. If he had worked honestly the case would be different; but now he will be fortunate even to get out in the fall."
"Yet Uncle Nathan says I am equally guilty."
"We can easily show you had nothing to do with the robbery, and that is our only care this morning."
"What about Long Jim?"
"He remains silent, refusing to answer the simplest questions, and unless he speaks Hazelton must be bound over; the 'Squire can pursue no other course."
Believing as they did that Hazelton was innocent of the charge upon which he had been arrested, both Teddy and Dan felt it was a great hardship for the fakir to remain so long in prison; but since it was beyond their power to give him any relief, neither expressed an opinion other than has been recorded.
Mr. Harvey had come for them to accompany him to the Squire's office, and since there was nothingto detain them they set out, after first bidding Mr. Sweet a cordial 'goodby, for he had announced his intention of leaving Peach Bottom on the noon train.
"I shall see one or both of you at some time in the future," he said, with considerable feeling, "an' there'll be no complaint to make if I never fall in with worse boys."
The bouncer and the clown also had something to say in the form of an adieu, and when the boys left the proprietor of the alleged wonderful museum it was like parting with an old friend, for he had shown himself to be a "very present help in time of trouble."
Tim did not propose to start for the Run until his companions had concluded their business; his goods were packed ready for removal, and there was nothing better for him to do than accompany them to the court-room where it seemed as if all they might say would result only in a long term of imprisonment for Hazelton before he could be tried on the baseless charge brought against him, simply because of the disreputable business in which he was engaged.
Mr. Harvey had little or nothing to say during the walk to the 'Squire's office, and arriving there the jewelry fakir was seen looking thoroughly despondent.
"Can I speak with him?" Teddy asked the lawyer."What do you want to say?"
"Nothing in particular, except to tell him how bad I feel because we could do nothing to clear him."
"Very well; but do not talk long, for it may prejudice your own case. The people whom he has swindled are here to see that some form of punishment is meted out to him, and it can do you no good to be seen acting as a consoler."
This possibility troubled Teddy very little since he was confident of his own innocence, and he approached the prisoner as he said:
"I wish I could do something, Mr. Hazelton, to prove you as innocent as I believe you to be."
"There's no need of that, my boy. I've put you in a hole already, and you've done more for me than some others who call themselves friends."
"I know it was Long Jim who committed the burglary; but how can it be proven now?"
"There was only one way, and that was to catch the real thieves with their plunder. Mr. Harvey tells me his attempt was a failure, an' it wouldn't surprise me if I was not only remanded for trial, but received a sentence for something of which I am absolutely innocent. I don't profess to be very good, my boy, as you may understand after seeing me work on the fair grounds; but I never yet descended to do such things as I am charged with now."
"I am certain of that," and Teddy pressed the prisoner's hand in token of friendship, "and only wish it was possible to aid you."
"You have already done more than my partners did," was the grateful reply, and then further conversation was prevented as the 'Squire called the assembly to order.
It was not a regular court of law; but one would have thought it the most dignified judicial body in the country had he seen the air with which the 'Squire took his seat at the head of the long table as he called the case.
"That settles Hazelton," Dan whispered as Teddy left the prisoner and rejoined his friends. "Somebody has got to suffer in order to make the law come out square, an' he's the feller what'll have to stand the brunt of everything."
AN ARRIVAL.
Lawyer Harvey did not neglect anything which might work to the advantage of his client; but in the face of the evidence his efforts appeared to be in vain.
Uncle Nathan, who arrived just as the case was called, swore to the fact that Hazelton had been in his store on the Sunday afternoon prior to the robbery, and that he had told the prisoner of his keeping large amounts of money in the building, because of the difficulty and expense of sending the cash to the Waterville bank.
He also testified that Hazelton seemed unusually interested in everything pertaining to the store, and asked many questions relative to his (the witness') habits, such as the time when business usually began, how late he remained in the building at night, as well as several other things which now seemed as if the information had been sought simply for the purpose of knowing when would be the safest time to commit the crime.
"How much did you lose?" Mr. Harvey asked.
"I don't know for certain; but I stand willin' to give fifty dollars if the goods can be recovered, an' if my nephew would tell all he knows——"
"That will do, Mr. Hargreaves," the lawyer said, sharply. "Teddy is not under examination, and until he is we do not care to hear your opinion concerning him."
"I reckon I can tell what I want to, can't I, 'Squire?"
"You must confine yourself to this particular case. As to whether there is sufficient evidence to bind the prisoner over does not concern the charge against your nephew, at least not to the extent of your telling what you think."
"I thought, perhaps, if he heard me say I'd give fifty dollars to know where the goods were, an' knew I'd swear to it, he might confess, for he has shown himself to be powerful fond of a dollar."
"That appears to be a peculiarity of some of his relatives," Mr. Harvey said, dryly, and at this remark the spectators laughed heartily, while the old man growled:
"I didn't come here to be told that I was a miser; but it seems even men who call themselves gentlemen think sich things are all right."
"If you have no other evidence to give we will not detain you," the lawyer said, sharply; and as Uncle Nathan returned to his chair near the doorthe proprietor of the hotel at the Run was called upon to testify.
What he said was in favor of the prisoner rather than otherwise.
He swore to the fact that the prisoner spent the night on which the burglary was committed at his house; that he pretended to retire at an early hour, and started for Peach Bottom on the first stage.
Under Mr. Harvey's skillful cross-examination the landlord admitted that unless a man got out of the window he could not have left the house without the knowledge of the watchman, who kept the keys and remained in the office all night. It was also shown that Hazelton brought and carried away with him, so far as was known at the hotel, nothing but a small traveling satchel.
Then several people from the Run were called to prove that the fakir was really in the town on this particular Sunday, and the driver of the stage testified that the prisoner rode with him the entire distance to Peach Bottom. The landlord of the hotel where Hazelton boarded during the fair week, or so much of it as he was at liberty, swore to the fact that the prisoner had never brought any quantity of baggage to his house, and appeared to be very regular in his habits. So far as he (the landlord) knew, the fakir remained in his room nearly all the time, except while on the exhibition grounds.
This ended the testimony, and Mr. Harvey arguedthat there was really no evidence to connect the prisoner with the crime.
"That he conducted a game which could hardly be called honest is admitted," he said; "but it has nothing to do with the case. Prejudice should not be allowed to take the place of facts, and I insist that my client be released."
"I reckon there's sufficient ground for suspicion," the 'Squire replied, "an' I don't see any other way out of it. A jury must decide, an' I shall hold him in the sum of three thousand——"
At this moment the dignity of the court received a severe shock, as a most unseemly disturbance suddenly occurred at the door, and the 'Squire paused to learn who was so bold as to disturb the representative of the law at the very instant when he was delivering an opinion.
"It's nobody but a boy," Uncle Nathan replied as he held the door firmly closed, while the would-be visitor kicked so vigorously as to threaten the destruction of the panels.
"Bring him in here, an' we'll see whether such a row can be kicked up in a court of law with impunity."
"Better let me throw him into the street," Uncle Nathan snarled.
"Mr. Constable, bring that boy before me," the 'Squire said, sternly, and an instant later, to the consternation of all those who had seen him, theboy who was supposed to have been drowned two days before entered, looking decidedly the worse for having existed so long without water and soap.
"Why, it's Sam, an' he ain't dead!" Teddy cried as he rose to his feet.
"Of course I ain't; but it wouldn't been many days before I turned into a corpse if I hadn't got away from them thieves," the amateur detective replied.
"Who are you, an' what do you want here?" the 'Squire asked, sternly, as he rapped on the table for the spectators to remain silent.
"Why, I'm Sam Balderston, the feller who come to the fair to work for the Davis Boat an' Oar Company of Detroit, an' if what Long Jim told me was true, folks have been tryin' to find me in the creek."
"This is the boy who was reported to have been drowned on the day when those lads," here the lawyer pointed to Teddy and Dan, "claim to have seen two men carrying goods into an old barn on the marshes. I fancy he can give us information relative to the true burglars."
"You bet I can," and now that he was the central figure in the scene, all Sam's old assurance returned. "If you mean the fellers what broke into Teddy's uncle's store, I can flash one of them up. The other come to the fair an' didn't get back, so Phil thought he was arrested."
"Who do you mean by the other fellow?" Mr. Harvey asked.
"Why, Long Jim, the same man what swindled Teddy out of his fifteen dollars at Waterville."
"Have you been with him since your disappearance?"
"Most of the time he hung around, an' then ag'in Phil was there."
"Who is Phil?"
"Long Jim's partner. They've got a slat of stuff what has been stole 'round here, an' I know where all of it is."
"Tell the 'Squire the whole story."
This was Sam's opportunity, and, in order to cover himself with glory, he slaughtered the truth in the most shocking manner.
"Well," he said, in a consequential way, "when Dan an' me an' Teddy saw the thieves carryin' stuff down to that old barn I wanted to rush in an' arrest both; but the other fellows was scared an' come ashore to talk with Hazelton so's he'd tell 'em what to do. Then I jes' made up my mind to carry on the job myself, an' went back."
"Where?" the 'Squire asked.
"To the barn to get the stuff. While I was diggin' it up the men come back, an' the minute they saw who was on their trail they got frightened."
"And who was on their trail?" the 'Squire interrupted.
"Why, me, of course. They rushed in, an' I had the awfullest row; but it was two to one, an' so I got the worst of it. They had to work mighty hard before gettin' me tired, an' then all the stuff was dug up an' put in the boat. My craft was upset an' sent adrift, so's to make it look as if I was dead, an' we went down the creek six or seven miles, where we hid in the woods. Phil came back here after more goods what had been stolen, an' they was goin' to skip the country, when there was a big row, an' Long Jim allowed he'd come to the fair once more. Phil was mad, an' got pretty drunk, an' after that I had my innings. I turned to an' lashed him up same's I'd been; but we had an' awful fight. It takes more'n one man to git away with me."
"Where is this fellow now?" the 'Squire interrupted again.
"Down the creek, tied up so's he can't hardly breathe, an' he must be pretty near sober by this time."
"If he was very drunk I do not understand how he could have fought so hard."
"Well, he did; but I got the best of him, an' what's more, I know where all the stuff that's been stolen is hid."
"Mr. Constable, bring into court the prisoner who is charged with swindling, and let us see if this extraordinary boy can identify him," the 'Squire said, with an unusual amount of dignity.
"If it's Long Jim, you bet I can," Sam said, as he turned toward the spectators that they might have a good opportunity of seeing such a wonderful detective as he claimed to be.
Teddy and Dan could hardly control their impatience to speak privately with Sam. As a matter of course, they understood that he was embellishing the story, and both were eager to make him tell the exact truth.
Just at that moment, however, Sam had no time to spend on ordinary boys. He had come out of a bad scrape with apparently flying colors, and intended to enjoy his triumph to the utmost before sinking back to his rightful plane.
The jail was near at hand, and Sam had not exhibited himself as much as he desired when Long Jim was brought in.
On seeing the boy the burglar gave a start of surprise, and allowed the incriminating question to escape his lips:
"Has Phil been pinched, too?"
"I took care of that business, an' we'll bring him in some time to-day. Say, what about that awful lickin' you was goin' to give me?"
"I'll cut your throat before this job is finished," was the angry reply, and there was no longer any necessity of asking Sam if he recognized the prisoner.
"You say you can show us the stolen goods, andthe other burglar is where the officers can get him?" Mr. Harvey asked.