Julian stood with his hands in his pockets looking at Casper, and something that was very like a smile came into his face.
"I know what you went in there with Mr. Wiggins for," said Casper; and having found his cap by that time, he jammed it spitefully on his head, "and I just waited until you came out so that I could ask you. I don't need to ask you. I tell you once for all——"
"Well, why don't you go on?" asked Julian. "You will tell me once for all—what?"
Casper had by this time turned and looked sternly at Julian, but there was something about him which told him that he had gone far enough.
"Go and get the police," said Julian. "Right here is where I do business. Lookhere, Casper: you came into our room and stole that box out of our closet."
"I never!" said Casper, evidently very much surprised. "So help me——"
"Don't swear, because you will only make a bad matter worse. I found the box in your trunk, just where you had left it. The way I have the matter arranged now, there's nobody knows that you took it; but you go to work and raise the police, and I will tell all I know. If you keep still, I won't say one word."
Casper backed toward the nearest chair and sat down. This conversation had been carried on in whispers, and there was nobody, among the dozen persons who were standing around, that had the least idea what they were talking about. If Casper supposed that he was going to scare Julian into giving up the box, he failed utterly.
"I won't give up that fortune," said he, to himself, when Julian turned away to go to his seat. "A hundred thousand dollars! I'll have it, or I'll never sleep easy again."
During the rest of the day Julian was as happy as he wanted to be. The box was nowsafe in the hands of Mr. Wiggins, and he would like to see anybody get hold of it. Furthermore, Mr. Wiggins had told him to put two more advertisements in the papers, and, if Mr. Haberstro did not show himself in answer to them, the money was his own.
"I do hope he won't come," said Julian. "I don't believe in giving up that fortune."
The boy was glad when the day was done, and the moment he was safe on the street he struck a trot which he never slackened until he ran up the stairs to his room. Jack was there, as he expected him to be, and he was going about his work of getting supper. He looked up as Julian came in, and he saw at a glance that he had been successful.
"I've got it!" shouted Julian; and, catching Jack by the arm, he whirled him around two or three times. "It was in the trunk, just as I told you it was. Mr. Wiggins has it now, and he will take care of it, too."
"That's the best news I have heard in a long time," said Jack, throwing his leg over the table. "Did you tell Mr. Wiggins about the way Casper acted?"
"No, I did not. Somehow, I couldn't bear to see the boy discharged. I simply told Mr. Wiggins that it wasn't safe in our room."
"Well, I don't know but that was the best way, after all," said Jack, looking reflectively at the floor. "But I tell you, if I had been in your place I would have let it all out. Now tell me the whole thing."
Julian pulled off his coat, and, while he assisted Jack in getting supper, told him all that passed between Mr. Wiggins and himself, not forgetting how the latter had promised to scold him at some future time for going to the express office and investing in "old horse."
"I hope he will tell you some words that will set," said Jack. "All I can say to you has no effect upon you."
"I will never go near that express office again—never!" said Julian, earnestly.
"I hope you will always bear that in mind."
"I've had my luck, and if I live until my head is as white as our president's I never shall have such good fortune again. I will get bricks the next time I buy."
"You had better sit down and write out that advertisement for two more insertions, and after supper we'll take it down and put it in. If Haberstro does not appear in answer to them the money is ours. That's a little better fortune than I dared to hope for."
Anybody could see that Jack was greatly excited over this news, but he tried not to show it. If he had gone wild over it, he would have got Julian so stimulated that he would not have known which end he stood on. He had to control himself and Julian, too. He ate his supper apparently as cool as he ever was, and after the room had been swept up and the dishes washed he put on his coat and was ready to accompany his friend to the newspaper offices.
"Remember now, Julian, we don't want any soda water to-night," said Jack. "If you want anything to drink, get it before you start."
Julian promised that he would bear it in mind, and during the three hours that they were gone never asked for soda water or anything else.
"Just wait until I get that fortune in my hands, and then I will have all the soda water I want," said Julian to himself. "But, after all, Jack's way is the best. I don't know what I should do without him."
In due time the boys were at home and in bed; and leaving them there to enjoy a good night's rest, we will go back to Casper Nevins and see what he thought and what he did when he found that he had lost the box he had risked so much to gain. He was about as mad as a boy could hold when he ran down the stairs after his interview with them in their room, and he straightway began to rack his brain to see if he could not get that box for himself.
"Of all the dunces I ever saw, those two fellows are the beat!" said he, as he took his way toward his room. "They have got the fortune in their own hands; no one will say a word if they use it as though it was their own; and yet they are going to advertise for the man to whom it was addressed. Did anybody ever hear of a fool notion like that? I was in hopes that I could get them to go partnerswith me, but under the circumstances I did not like to propose it. Why didn't I happen into that express office and bid on that box? Gee! What a fortune that would be!"
Casper was almost beside himself with the thought, and he reached his room and cooked and ate his supper, still revolving some plan for obtaining possession of that box. He had suddenly taken it into his head that he ought to go into partnership with the two boys in order to assist them in spending their money, although there was not the first thing that he could think of that induced the belief. Julian had always been friendly with him,—much more so than any of the other boys in the office,—although he confessed that he had not always been friendly with Julian.
"Of course I have little spats with him, but Julian isn't a fellow to remember that," said Casper to himself. "I've had spats with every boy, and some of them I don't want anything more to do with. But Julian ought to take me into partnership with him, and I believe I'll ask him. But first, can't I getthat box for my own? That is an idea worth thinking of."
It was an idea that had suddenly come into Casper's head, and he did not think any more about the partnership business just then. Of course their advertising for Haberstro knocked all that in the head; but then if he had the box he could do as he pleased with it. The next day, at the office, he did say something about partnership, but Julian laughed at him. He said that he and Jack could easily spend all that money, and more too, if they had it. It was made in a joking way, and Julian had not thought to speak to Jack about it.
"It is no use trying you on," said Casper to himself, getting mad in a minute. "You can spend all that money yourselves, can you? I'll bet you don't. There must be some keys in the city that will fit your door, and I am going to have one."
From that time forward Casper had but just one object in view, and that was to get the box. He spent three days in trying the different keys which he had purchased to fitthe lock, and one time he came near getting himself into difficulty. He was out a great deal longer than he ought to have been with a message, and when he got to the office Mr. Wiggins took him to task for it.
"How is this, Casper?" said he. "You have been gone three-quarters of an hour longer than you ought to have been."
"I went just as soon as I could," replied Casper, who was not above telling a lie. "The man wasn't at his place of business, and so I went to his home."
"Then you are excusable. It seems strange that he should be at home at this hour."
Casper did not say anything, but he was satisfied that he was well out of that scrape. He had not been to the man's home at all. He was trying the lock on Julian's door.
Although he made two attempts without getting in, he succeeded on the third. The door came open for him, and after searching around the room in vain for the box, he looked into the closet.
"Aha! I've got you at last!" said he, as he drew the clothing aside and laid hold ofthe object of his search. "Now I wish I had my money that is due me from the telegraph office. To-morrow would see me on my way toward Denver."
Hurriedly locking the door, Casper made the best of his way down the stairs and to his room, and put the box into his trunk. Then he broke into another run and went to the office, where he arrived in time to avoid a second reprimand.
"Oh, you feel mighty well now," said Casper, watching Julian, who was talking and laughing with some of the boys, "but I bet you you will feel different in a little while. Now who am I going to get to hide that box for me? None of the boys in here will do it, so I must go elsewhere."
During the rest of the week Casper was as deeply interested in watching the persons who came there as Julian was. He did not advertise for Haberstro, because he did not want to give up the box. He was more than half inclined to go to Mr. Wiggins and tell him he was going to leave when his month was out, but some way or other he did not. Somethingcompelled him to wait, and in three days more he found out what it was. He was in the office waiting for a message to deliver, when Julian came in with a bundle wrapped up in a newspaper under his arm. Casper was thunderstruck, for something told him that Julian had played the same game that he had. He had been to his room and got the box. His face grew as pale as death when he saw Mr. Wiggins follow Julian into the back room, and his first thought was to leave the office before he came out.
"It is all up with me now," said he, rising to his feet and looking around for his cap, which, boy fashion, he had tossed somewhere, on entering the room. "He will tell Mr. Wiggins that I stole the box, and I will be discharged the first thing. I'll deny it," he added, growing desperate. "I haven't seen his box. He did not find it in my room, but got it somewhere else. I will make a fight on it as long as I can."
So saying, Casper sat down to await Julian's return; but the boy came out alone, and the antics he went through drove Casper frantic.
"I've got the box," said Julian, when Casper asked him what he meant by that pantomime.
The guilty boy was given plenty of opportunity to "deny it all," but he gave it up in despair when he found that Julian was not to be frightened into giving up the box. The latter was perfectly willing that the police should come there, but if they did, he would tell all Casper had done. He might get Julian in a scrape, but he would get into a worse one himself. He was glad when Julian moved off to his chair and left him alone.
"I guess it is the best way as it is," said Casper, getting upon his feet and looking out into the street. "If he sets the police onto me—good gracious, what should I do? So that plan has failed, and now the next thing is something else. I'll have that box, or die trying to get it."
All that day, while he was in the office or carrying his telegraphic dispatches around the street, Casper thought of but one thing, and that was, how was he going to get that box again? He did not have much to say to anybody, and when six o'clock came he lost notime in getting home. He had evidently determined upon something, for he ate a very scanty supper, changed his clothes, and hurried out again. His changing his uniform for a citizen's suit was something that would have brought him his instant discharge if his company officers had found him in that fix. He could mingle with loafers about the pool-rooms, and no one could have told that he was any different from anybody else. He could drink his beer, too, and no one would suspect that he was going back on the pledge he made to the company. But, then, Casper was used to such things, and he thought nothing of it. More than that, he had an object to gain, and he had already picked out the person whom he hoped to induce to enter into a scheme to possess that box.
"Claus is the fellow I am going to try," said he, as he hurried along toward a pool-room which he often frequented. "He is a German, he is well along in years, and I know he isn't above making a dime or two whenever he gets the chance. Now for it. It is make or break."
As Casper Nevins uttered these words he turned into an entry, ran up a flight of stairs, and opened the door of the pool-room. The apartment was always crowded at night, and the players were mostly young men who ought by rights to have been somewhere else. One end of the room was occupied with pool-tables, and the other was taken up by billiards, which were in full blast. Casper gave out among the players that he was a broker's clerk, and the story seemed to satisfy the young men, who asked no further questions. There was no chance for him in a pool game, and consequently he did not look for it. He looked all around, and finally discovered his man Claus, who was sitting near one of the tables, watching the game.
This man was one of the loafers about the pool-rooms. He always dressed very neatly,but he was never known to have any money. He was a German, and that fitted the name of the man to whom the box was addressed.
"I am living on the interest of my debts," said he, when some one asked what his occupation was. "I never have any money. I don't need it. I can get along without it. You fellows have to work every day, while I do nothing but sit around the pool-room and wait for some one to challenge me for a game."
"But you must make some money sometime, or else you couldn't play pool as often as you do."
"Oh, as to that, I make a dollar or two when I find the right man who can play a little, and sometimes I make more. If I could get a chance to make a hundred thousand dollars I would take it in a minute. After that, I would not be obliged to work."
These remarks were made in the presence of Casper Nevins, who remembered them. After he had stolen the box, and before Julian had got it back again, he thought it best to try him on a new tack.
"Supposing you didn't get a hundred thousand dollars the first time trying," said he. "Would not fifty thousand do you?"
"Well, I think I could live on that much. Fifty thousand would tempt me awfully. I wish I had a chance to try it."
"There is Claus, and I am going to speak to him the first thing I do," said Casper. "If there is anybody who can play the part of the missing Haberstro, he is the man."
"Ah! Good-evening, Casper," he exclaimed, as the boy approached him. "How is the brokerage business to-day? Have you made any money?"
"I don't make any. The boss does all that."
"Well, why don't you pick up some money and go in yourself? You will never be a man in the world as long as you stay in the background. Do you want to see me? Here I am, and all ready for business. Is there any money in this thing you have to propose?"
Claus, following Casper's lead, occupied an arm-chair in a remote corner of the room,away from everybody, and Casper sat down alongside of him. It was not any work for him to begin the conversation, for Claus "had given himself away" every time the subject of money was introduced.
"Were you in earnest the other day when you said that if you had a chance to steal a hundred thousand dollars you would try it on?" said Casper. "I want you to deal fairly with me now. I want to know just how you feel about it."
"My dear boy, I was never more in earnest in my life," said Claus emphatically. "Just give me a chance, and you will see whether or not I meant what I said."
"Well, I have got a chance for you to make something," said Casper.
"You have? Let her rip. I am all attention. But hold on a bit. Let us get a cigar. Have you any money?"
"I have ten cents."
"That is enough. Anything to keep our jaws puffing. I can listen a great deal better with a cigar than I can without it."
The two arose from their seats and made atrip to the bar. They lighted their cigars, and Casper paid ten cents for them. It made no difference to Claus that Casper had paid out some of his hard earnings and wondered where his next morning's breakfast was coming from. As long as he got the cigar, it mattered little to him whether Casper had any more money or not.
"Now I am all ready to listen," said Claus, seating himself in his arm-chair once more. "Be explicit; go into all the minutiæ, so that I may know what I have to do."
There was no need that Claus should tell Casper this, and for the next fifteen minutes Claus never said a word, but listened intently. He told about Julian's habit of going to the express office on the day that "old horse" was offered for sale, until finally he bought the secret of a gold-mine which was hidden away in a box that came near being sold for twenty-five cents. The box was addressed to S. W. Haberstro, and the boys had put four advertisements in the papers asking that man to show himself; and, if he did not show up in reasonable time, the money was to be theirs.
"Here is a copy of theDemocrat, with a copy of the advertisement in it," said Casper. "I knew you would want to know everything, and so I brought it along. A hundred thousand dollars! Now, why couldn't I have bid on that box? That little snipe does not get any more money than I do, and yet he had to go and buy himself rich."
"Then it seems that you are not a broker's clerk after all," said Claus. "I don't know as I blame you."
"You see I would get discharged if any of the company officers should find me dressed up in citizen's rig," said Casper. "I can go among the boys, now, and have a good time."
"I don't know that I blame you," repeated Claus. "I will keep your secret. Well, go on. I begin to understand the matter now."
"I tell you I was mad when I found out that they were going to advertise for old man Haberstro," said Casper. "I called them everything but decent boys, and went to work to conjure up some plan for getting the box for my own. I got it, too——"
"You did? Then you are all right."
"Not so near right as you think I am. Julian got some keys that would fit my door, and went in and stole it."
"Whew! They are a desperate lot; ain't they?"
"That is just what they did; and, furthermore, Julian gave the box into the hands of Mr. Wiggins, our chief telegraph operator. Now, I want you to come down there, pass yourself off for Haberstro, and claim that box. Can you do it?"
Mr. Claus did not answer immediately. He stretched his legs out before him and slid down in his chair until his head rested on the back of it. He was thinking over the details of the plan. Casper did not interrupt him, but waited to see what he was going to say about it.
"And you are willing to give me half the contents of that box if I will get it for you?" said he. "You have given me the hardest part of the work. Where do you suppose that man Wiggins keeps the box?"
"In the bank, of course. He's pretty sharp,and you must look out for that. If we can get that box, I won't go near the mine. I am not going to handle a pick and shovel when I have fifty thousand dollars to fall back upon. I am not going to work every day when I am afraid that something will come up and scare me to death. I will take half the block of buildings described there, and you can take the other half. That is fair, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is fair enough, but I am afraid of that man Wiggins. What sort of a looking man is he?"
"The worst part about him is his eyes. They are steel-gray, and when he turns them on a culprit in the office you would think he was going to look him through. You will have to be pretty sharp to get around him."
"Well, suppose I go and see Julian first. If I can get around him, that will be so much gained."
This was the beginning of a long conversation between Casper and Claus, and when it was done the latter felt greatly encouraged, and told himself that he was nearer getting the box for his own than he ever was before.Casper told him everything he could think of that related to the matter, and when Claus got up, removed his hat and wiped his face with his handkerchief, Casper said that if he would just act that way in the presence of Mr. Wiggins, he would carry the day.
"You act more like a German than I ever saw you act before," said he. "If you will just do that way to-morrow, I will answer for your success."
"I can act the German all over, if that is what he wants," said Claus, with a laugh. "You haven't got another ten cents, have you? Well, let it go. I will go home and sleep upon it."
"But look here," said Casper, earnestly. "If you come to that telegraph office you must not know me. You never saw me before."
"Of course not. I won't give you away. That money is worth trying for. What is the reason that you and I have not some good friends to leave us that amount of money?"
"Because we are not honest enough," said Casper, bitterly.
"Honesty has nothing to do with it. We ain't sharp; that is what's the matter with us. Well, good-night. I will go and see Julian to-morrow night, and the next day I may be down to the telegraph office. I want to go easy, because I don't want to spoil the thing by being too brash."
As it was already late, Casper did not attempt to enter any game that night. He went home and tumbled into bed, and for a long time he lay thinking over what he had said to Claus. There was another thing that came into his mind every once in a while, and that was, where was his breakfast to come from?
"I was not going to get any cigars to-night, because ten cents was all I had left," said Casper. "But I could not well refuse Claus. No matter. If he succeeds in getting that box, I will have all the cigars I want."
The next morning Casper went to the office without any breakfast; but the first message he had to carry took him to a saloon where they set a free-lunch table. There he tookthe edge off his appetite and ate enough to last him until supper-time, when he was to get his pay. Julian was there, looking as happy as ever. Casper did not blame him for that. If he had a box with that amount of money in it, he would be happy, too.
"By George! It is six o'clock," said Casper, at length. "In two hours more I will know what Julian says to Claus. Till then, I must have patience."
Casper received his money when the others did, and without saying a word to anybody set out for home. Julian was not in quite so big a hurry. He walked along with his hands in his pockets, and once, when passing by a baker's shop, he went in and bought some cakes with which to top off their supper. Jack Sheldon always reached home before he did, and Julian found him in his usual act of getting supper. In reply to his ordinary greetings, he answered that there had been nothing unusual going on in the telegraph office, and that no man who said his name was Haberstro had been there to see about the advertisement that had appeared in the papers.
"I tell you, Jack, that fortune in the box is ours," said Julian. "That man has had ample time to show up, and it won't be long before we will be on our way to Denver."
"Don't be too sure of that," said Jack. "Haberstro may be off on a vacation somewhere. I shall believe we are in Denver when we get there, and not before."
Almost as Jack said the words there was a sound of somebody coming up the stairs. He stopped in front of the door, and called out to somebody he left below,
"Does Mr. Julian Gray live here? Thank you;" and a moment afterward his rap sounded upon the door.
"What did I tell you?" whispered Jack. "That's Haberstro, as sure as you live."
For an honest boy, Julian's heart fell. His fortune was gone, and there were no two ways about it. He stepped to the door and opened it, and there stood Claus, more neatly dressed than ever.
"Good-evening," said he, while his eyes roved from one boy to the other. "Which one of you is Julian Gray?"
"I am, sir."
"I am delighted to meet you," said he; and he thrust out his hand, into which Julian put his own. Then he put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a card on which the name S. W. Haberstro was engraved. "I got belated in my hotel while waiting for the train, and I picked up this paper and saw this advertisement in it. As it happened to be my name, I read it through."
"Come in, sir," said Jack, placing a chair for him. "It is one of four advertisements that we put into the daily papers. Your name is Haberstro, I believe?"
"That is my name. You said you had something of great value to tell me. What is it?"
Julian could not have opened his mouth to save him. He was obliged to let Jack do all the talking.
Julian Gray took his stand in one corner of the room, with his hands in his pockets and his feet spread out, and looked at this man who called himself Haberstro. He was a German, there were no two ways about that; and he had a habit of taking out his handkerchief and wiping his face with it that nobody but a pompous and well-to-do German ever imitated.
"Do you know of a man of the name of Winkleman?" asked Jack.
"Know him?" exclaimed the German. "Of course I do. He was living here in St. Louis with me, but all on a sudden he took the gold fever and went out to Denver. I was engaged in pretty good business, and so I did not go with him. I never heard what he was doing out there. He—he isn't dead, is he?"
"Oh, no. He accumulated some property while he was out there. He got a notice that his father had died in Europe and left all his property to him, and he has gone home to take possession of it."
"Then that accounts for his not writing to me. He always said that his folks were immensely rich, and that some day he would have more than he wanted. What property did he collect out there?"
"He is worth several buildings which are worth a hundred thousand dollars. Furthermore, he has given them to you."
"To me?" cried the German, rising to his feet.
"Yes, to you. And, more than that, he has a mine out of which he took fifty thousand dollars, and you come into possession of that, also."
"Lord bless my soul!" exclaimed the German. "I don't remember that I ever did anything to him to give him so good an opinion of me."
"Did you not nurse him while he was sick?"
"Did you not care for your mother when she was sick?" returned the German. "Of course that did not amount to anything. He was my chum, and I had to stand by him."
"Well, he gave you the property for it, anyway. He sent you the deeds by express, and Julian bought them for thirty cents."
"Well, sir, that is a heap of money. I don't know anybody that needs it more than I do. Where is the box now?"
"It is safe in the hands of Mr. Wiggins. We were not going to have somebody come along here and claim to be Haberstro. Have you anybody here in St. Louis to whom you can recommend us? We want to know who you are before we give up the box."
"That is perfectly right and proper. You see, my home is in Chicago, and I know but few persons here. If you think this Mr——what do you call him?"
"Wiggins?" said Jack.
"Yes; if you think he will want somebody to vouch for me, I can give him the names of all the Germans in the city. Where does he hang out?"
"The Union Telegraph office. You know where that is?"
"I can easily find it, for I have a tongue in my head. I don't believe I will go near that mine at all. I will sell it."
"You had better not. The miners have a story around that it is haunted."
The German threw back his head and laughed heartily.
"I am not afraid of that. If he took fifty thousand dollars out of it, it is surely worth as much more. Well, if you have told me everything, I guess I had better go back to my hotel. I was going back to my home to-night, but now I am glad I did not go."
"I guess we have told you everything that pertains to the matter," said Jack. "Do you think of any questions you would like to ask us?"
"No; but I may think of some to-morrow. Good-night."
"By the way," said Jack, as if he had just thought of something. "Where were you when this man Winkleman was sick? You were out in the mines, I suppose?"
"Oh, no, we were not; we were here in St. Louis. If we had been out at the mines, where no doctor could have been reached, he would have gone up on my hands. Look here—I don't want you to do this for nothing. Make up your minds what you ought to have and I will give it to you. If it had not been for you I would never have seen the box. Good-night."
The German bowed himself out and closed the door behind him. The boys waited until he got to the street, and then Julian took possession of the chair he had just vacated.
"Well, sir, what do you think of that?" asked Jack, using companion's expression.
"I think our fortune is gone up," answered Julian; and then he leaned his elbows on his knees and looked down at the floor.
Jack laughed as loudly as the German did a few moments before. Julian straightened up and looked at him in surprise.
"What do you mean by that?" he exclaimed. "Is a hundred thousand dollars such a sum in your eyes that you can afford to be merry over it?"
"No; but you will never lose it through that man. His name is not Haberstro any more than mine is."
"Jack, what do you mean?"
"You were so busy with your own thoughts that you didn't see how I was pumping him, did you? In the first place he told us that Winkleman was sick in St. Louis; and yet Winkleman says in his letter that they were so poor that they could not raise enough to buy a halter for a mule. Now, he would not have used such an expression as that if he had been here in the city, would he?"
"No, I don't think he would," said Julian, reflectively. "He used the words of the country in which he lived."
"That is what I think. In the next place, he said that he was engaged in a paying business here, and consequently did not go with Winkleman to the mines; and then, almost in the same breath, he said he could not refer me to anybody here because his home was in Chicago. You didn't see those little errors, did you?"
Julian began to brighten up. He rememberedall the German had said to Jack, but somehow he did not think of it. The box was not lost, after all.
"Now, he must have had somebody to post him in regard to these matters," said Jack. "Who do you think it was?"
"Casper Nevins!" said Julian, who just then happened to think of the boy's name.
"That is what I think. He is bound to have that box, is he not? Don't you give that box up; do you hear me?"
"I am mighty sure I won't give it up," said Julian, emphatically. "I shan't give it up until you are on hand. I had better take Mr. Wiggins into my confidence to-morrow."
"Of course. Tell him the whole thing. Tell him about the mistakes this man made in his conversation with me, and let him draw his own conclusions. I never saw such a desperate fellow as that Casper Nevins is. Now let us go on and get supper."
"I feel a good deal better than I did a few minutes ago," said Julian, with something like a long-drawn sigh of relief. "I thought the box was lost to us, sure."
The boys were impatient to have to-morrow come because they wanted to see what the German—they did not know what his true name was—was going to do about it.
"I will tell you one thing, Jack," said Julian. "If that Dutchman goes to-morrow and sees Mr. Wiggins about it, he will get a look that will last him as long as he lives. I ought to know, for I have had those eyes turned on me two or three times. If that man stands against them I shall think he is a nervy fellow."
The night wore away at last, and at the usual hour the boys were at their posts. Casper was in the office, and he seemed to be uneasy about something. He could not sit still. He was continually getting up and going to the door, and then he would come back and walk around the room. When Mr. Wiggins came in and wished them all a good-morning, Julian followed him into the back room.
"Julian, have you some news about that box?" said he.
"Yes, sir; there was a man up to our room and handed us this card, and I thought——"
"Halloo," said Mr. Wiggins. "The box does not belong to you, after all."
"Hold on until I get through explaining things," said Julian.
With this Julian began, and told him of the conversation that had taken place between Jack and the German, not omitting the smallest thing. Mr. Wiggins listened intently, and when the story was done he said,
"Somebody has been posting that man in regard to that box. Now, who have you told about it except Jack Sheldon?"
"I don't know as that has anything to do with it," said Julian, who resolved that he would stand by Casper as long as he could.
"Yes, it has; it has a good deal to do with it. Does Casper Nevins know all about it?"
"What do you know about Casper?" said Julian in surprise. He wondered if there was any boy in the office who could do anything wrong without Mr. Wiggins finding it out.
"Because he has been uneasy for the past week. Does Casper know all about it?"
"Yes, sir, he does. He was there when we read the letter."
"That is all. I will see you again after a while."
Julian went out and sat down, and in a few minutes Mr. Wiggins came from the back room and spoke to the operator, who immediately sent off a dispatch. Nobody was called to carry this, for the message went straight to the office for which it was intended. Five minutes passed, and then a stout man, who was a stranger to all of them, strolled into the office. One of the boys got up to wait upon him, pushing some blanks toward him, but the stout man did not want to send any telegraphic dispatches.
"I just want to look around and see how you do things here," said he.
"Then take this chair, sir," said Mr. Wiggins. "I guess you will find that we do things about right."
The minutes passed, and all the boys who had congregated in the office had been sent off with messages—all except Casper. There did not seem to be any dispatches for him. The chief operator was busy at his desk, when suddenly the door opened, and the same Germanwho had called at Julian's room the night before, came in. Mr. Wiggins glanced toward him and then he looked toward Casper. The latter never could control himself when he was in difficulty, and his face grew white.
"Is this the Western Union Telegraph office?" said the German, wiping his forehead with his handkerchief. "Do I speak to Mr. Wiggins? Well, sir, I would like to see you about a box that one of your boys bought at a sale of 'old horse' in the express office. That box contains something that is off immense value to me—S. W. Haberstro." And he handed out his card with his name engraved on it.
"There is a box here addressed to a man of that name," said Mr. Wiggins, "but it is in the bank now. I suppose you have plenty of friends here to whom you can refer?"
"I am sorry to say that I have not," replied the German. "My home is in Chicago. I can refer you to all the Germans there."
"Then, would it not be worth while for you to write to some of your friends there andget some letters of recommendation? You see, we don't want to give the box to anybody unless we know who it is."
"That is all right, sir. I have some business on hand in Chicago, and I will go up there and get them."
"That will be sufficient. Good-day, sir."
The German, who appeared to be in a great hurry, closed the door and hastened up the street. As soon as he was gone, Mr. Wiggins beckoned to Casper and went into the back room.
"Who was that man who just went out?" said he, in a tone of voice which did not admit of argument. "Tell me the truth."
"His name is Claus, sir," said Casper.
"Where does he stay, principally?"
"He stays first in one pool-room, and then in another. Where he lives I don't know."
"That will do," said Mr. Wiggins.
"I never have been guilty of such a thing before," began Casper.
"I said that would do," interrupted Mr. Wiggins. "I may see you again after a while."
When Mr. Wiggins and Casper got out into the other room they found that the stout man had disappeared. He had gone out about the time that the German disappeared. In half an hour he came back, leaned over the desk, and spoke to the chief operator.
"That fellow is no more Haberstro than I am," he whispered. "His name is Solomon Claus. We have had him up a time or two for vagrancy, and I'll take him up for the same cause, if you say so."
"No; let him go, but keep your eyes on him. He has not done us any harm yet. If he comes here again I will send for you."
When the stout man reached the sidewalk he saw the German a short distance in advance of him, still hurrying along as though he had no time to waste. He turned several corners, and at last disappeared up the stairs that led to the pool-room. The detective, for that was what he was, did not seem to notice what had become of the German, but he marked the place where he had gone up and kept on to the station-house. There he changed his coat and hat, and picked up a huge walking-stick which stood in one corner. When he came out on the streets again, everybody noticed that he walked with difficulty, and there was an expression on his face which only those who were intimate with the detective would have thought belonged to him. It was very different from his ordinary appearance. Insteadof the frank, open look with which he regarded everybody, it was drawn up as though he was suffering intense pain, from which he could not get a moment's relief.
The detective speedily found the place where the German had disappeared, walked wearily up the stairs, opened the door, and sank into the nearest chair. Then he pulled a pair of eye-glasses from his pocket and became interested in a paper. But he used his eyes to some advantage, and quickly discovered the man he wanted seated off by himself, with his legs outstretched before him and his chin resting on his breast.
"I guess he found some difficulty in getting that box," said the detective, who knew what Mr. Wiggins wanted of him before he came to the office. "You want to go easy, my friend, or I'll have you up for vagrancy again."
There were not so many in the pool-room as there were the night before, and nobody seemed to bother the German; but presently, while he was thinking about it, another party came in. He took off his coat, seized a cue,and looked all around the room for an antagonist, until he discovered the German sitting there doing nothing.
"Halloo, Claus!" he shouted, "come on, and let us have a game of billiards."
"No, you must excuse me," was the reply; "I don't feel in the humor for billiards or anything else."
"Have you anybody on a string that you are trying to make some money out of?" asked his friend. "Come on, and perhaps a game will brighten you up."
"'Claus,'" muttered the detective. "I know you now. I was told to find out what his name was, so I will go back. So this is where you hang out. I will remember you."
The detective hobbled out the door and down the stairs; but by the time he got down to the street his lameness had all disappeared, and he walked as briskly as anybody. He went to the Western Union Telegraph office, told Mr. Wiggins he had discovered that the man's name was Claus, and not Haberstro, and then went back to the station. Casper Nevins was called into the back room a momentafterward, but he was not there more than long enough to receive his discharge.
"I have never done anything like this before," said Casper, trying to beg off. "If you will overlook this——"
"I can't do it," said Mr. Wiggins. "You are a boy that I can't trust. Why, Casper, do you know what will become of you if you do not mend your ways? You will get into the State's prison before you are five years older. I paid you up yesterday, and you have not done anything to-day, and so you can go."
"It would not be of any use for me to ask for a letter of recommendation, would it?" asked Casper. He always had a good deal of audacity about him, but this made Mr. Wiggins open his eyes in surprise.
"Not from me, you can't," he answered. "You will have to go somewhere else to get it."
Casper put on his cap and left the office, and on the way to the pool-room, where he expected to find Claus, he blamed everybody but himself for the disgrace he had got into.He blamed Claus, although it is hard to see what that man had done, for he worked as hard as anybody could to get that box; but he reproached Julian Gray more than all for his interference in the matter.
"Come to think of it, I don't know but I am to blame a little myself," said he, after he had thought the affair all over. "Why did I not dig out the moment I got that box? I would have been in Denver by this time, and enjoying my wealth. It beats the world what luck some people do have."
But Claus was not in the pool-room. He wanted to be alone, so that he could think over the matter, and he had gone out where he would be by himself. The barkeeper did not know where he had gone, and Casper went home to change his clothes. As he pulled his uniform off he told himself that it would be a long time before he ever wore it again. Then he threw himself into a chair and tried to determine what he should do next.
"I have just ten dollars," he mused, taking the bill from his pocket, "and what I shall dowhen that is gone is another and a deeper question. I'll bet that Claus don't get any cigars out of me to-night."
Meanwhile Julian Gray came in from delivering his message. His face was flushed, and he acted as though he had been running. He made his report, and then went into the back room in obedience to a sign from Mr. Wiggins.
"Well, Julian, your box is still safe," said the latter.
"Has that Dutchman been around here?" asked Julian.
Mr. Wiggins said he had, and then went on to give the boy a complete history of what Claus had done to secure the box.
"I got rid of him very easily," said Mr. Wiggins. "I told him that it would be well for him to write to some German friends in Chicago, where he said he lived, and he said he was going up there on business and would bring the letters back with him. I found out that his name is Claus, and that he hangs out in a pool-room. You don't know him, do you?"
No, Julian could not say that he had ever heard of him before.
"Well, don't you let the box go without seeing me about it."
"Nobody shall have it. Mr. Wiggins, I don't know how to thank you for what you have done."
"You are a good boy, Julian, and the only thing I have against you is that you will hang around that express office so much. Some day I am going to give you a good scolding for that."
"You will never hear of my being there again. I am done going there forever."
"I don't think you will have to do it any more. You have your fortune, easy enough."
"Oh, Mr. Wiggins! Do you think it is ours sure enough?"
"Well, perhaps I ought not to speak so positively; it is hard to tell at this stage of the game. Ihopeyou have."
Julian was delighted to hear Mr. Wiggins talk in this way, but before he could ask him any more questions that gentleman had gone back into the office. He then went out andlooked around for Casper. One of the boys told him he believed Casper had got the "sack," for he put on his cap and left the office.
"I don't know what he has been doing," said the boy; "do you?"
"Mr. Wiggins knows, and he will not tell," replied Julian. "I wonder what the poor fellow will do now?"
Julian was impatient for night to come, so that he could go home and see Jack about it. It came at last, and Julian never broke a trot until he ran up the stairs and burst into his room.
"Well?" said Jack. "You look happy. Tell us all about that Dutchman."
"There is not much to tell. His name is Claus, and he lives in a pool-room."
"I knew I was not mistaken in him," said Jack, taking his usual seat by throwing his leg over the table. "That man had better go somewhere else."
But that he did not feel inclined to go somewhere else just then was evident, for just as Jack pronounced his name the boys heardhis step coming up the stairs. He had a peculiar step, which, once heard, could not be forgotten.
"Well, he is coming again," said Julian. "Now, what are you going to say to him?"
"That depends upon what he has to say to me," said Jack. "Go to the door, let him in, and put out a chair for him."
He rapped on the door the minute he got there, and Julian opened it for him. He looked closely from one to the other of the boys, but did not see anything in their faces to make him hide what he had on his mind. He had a new plan, but it did not promise as well as the one which had been defeated by Mr. Wiggins. He wanted to induce one of them to get the box for him and let him read the papers that were in it. If he could prevail upon them to bring the box out of the bank, he was certain that in some way he could get an opportunity to steal it. He did not intend to go about it slyly; he intended to take it, open and above-board, and let Jack and Julian help themselves if they could. He was certain that a revolver, presented attheir heads and cocked, would surely keep them quiet until he had locked the door and got into the street. Where he would go after that he neither knew nor cared. What he wanted was to get possession of the box.
"Ah! Good-evening," said Claus, bowing very politely. "I came back to see you about that box."
"Take a chair," said Jack. "What about the box?"
"Mr. Wiggins said it was in the bank," said Claus, "and I want to know if you could get it out of there and let me read the letter and the papers. You see, the thing may not be for me, and I don't want to go home and bother my friends about it until I know what the box contains."
"Oh! your friends won't care anything about that," said Jack. "You tell them that the box is for you, and they will give you all the letters you want. Besides, I don't think Mr. Wiggins would agree to what you ask."
The German did not like the way Julian was acting. He had kept his eyes roaming from one to the other; but, although the boyoccupied his favorite position, with his hands buried in his pockets and his feet spread out, his expression was different from what it had been the night before. There was a smile on his face, and it would not have taken very much to set him to laughing outright. Claus began to think there was something up.
"Why, the box is your own, ain't it?" asked Claus. "You can do what you please with it."
"Not now, we can't. We have told Mr. Wiggins that we wanted him to watch over it for us, and he will have to be present when you read the papers."
"Then you can't get it for me?"
"No, I don't believe I could, Mr. Claus. You don't need anybody to give you a recommend. Go to some of your friends here——"
"Claus! Claus! That is not my name. My name is Haberstro."
Julian grinned broadly, and even Jack did not appear to be above merriment.
"What do you mean by applying that name to me?" exclaimed Claus. "There is my card."
"I don't want to see it. I have one already. Your name is Claus, you live in a billiard saloon, and you got a full history of this box from Casper Nevins."
"Young man, I will have you arrested before you are an hour older!" said Claus, getting upon his feet. "I come here and ask a civil question of you, and you insult me!"
"Do so, and we will have Casper arrested for burglary and you for trying to obtain money under false pretenses. The sooner you get about it the better it will suit us."
"Very well—I will have a policeman here in less than ten minutes!"
Mr. Claus went out, and this time he did not bow himself through the door as he had done the night before. The boys heard him going downstairs, and then turned and looked at each other.
"Somebody has been posting those fellows," said Claus, as he hurried away toward Casper's room. "I wonder if there was a detective in there while I was at the office? Two attempts have failed, but the third is always successful."
Claus was almost beside himself with fury, but he retained his wits sufficiently to guide him on the road to Casper's room. He found the boy in, seated in a chair, with his elbows on his knees, trying his best to make up his mind what he was going to do, now that he had been discharged from the telegraph office. He had sat that way ever since eleven o'clock in the forenoon, and had not been able to determine upon anything. The first intimation he had that anybody was coming was when the door was thrown open and Claus came in, muttering something under his breath that sounded a good deal like oaths.
"There is no need that you should say anything," said Casper. "You have failed."
"Yes, sir, I have; failed utterly and plump," said Claus.
"And I have been discharged."
"Whew!" whistled Claus. "You are in a fix, aren't you?"
"Yes, and I don't know what I shall do now. Tell me your story, and I will tell you mine."
"Have you a cigar handy?"
"No; and I have no money."
"How long before you will be paid?"
"Oh, it will be two weeks yet."
"Then I will have to go down and get some cigars myself. I can think more clearly while my jaws are puffing than I can without."
"You got your last cigar out of me, old fellow," said Casper to himself, when Claus had left the room. "I have but little money, and I am going to keep it."
"Well, sir, what do you think of that?" said Julian, when he was certain that Claus had gone down the stairs and out on the street. "He had better try some other way of getting that box."
"He has failed," said Jack, putting a frying-pan filled with bacon on the stove. "Casper Nevins is at the bottom of that. I tell you, that money is safe yet."
"Do you know that I looked upon it as gone when he first came here and handed out his card?" said Julian. "I thought he was Haberstro, sure enough."
"I confess that I thought so, too. Now let us go on and get supper. The next time we save that money, somebody else will have a hand in it."
"Why, will we have to fight for it?"
"It looks that way to me now. We don'tknow anything about business, and the first thing we know we'll get tripped up."
"I did not think of that," said Julian, drawing a long breath. "I wish Mr. Wiggins were going out to Denver with us. I will get advice from him before we start."
"We have not got out there yet," said Jack, with a laugh. "If we do get there, we will go to the lawyer who drew up those deeds. He must be an honest man."
The boys continued to talk in this way until the room was swept up and the dishes washed, and when bedtime came they went to sleep. The next morning found them on duty again. Casper was not there to greet him and make inquiries concerning the box, but there were other boys there who wanted to know why Casper had been discharged. They appealed to Julian, for he was in the back room shortly before; but he thought the best thing he could do was to keep a still tongue in his head.
"Mr. Wiggins knows why he discharged Casper, and if he won't tell you, I don't know where else you can apply."
"You had a hand in it and I know it," said one boy who was enough like Casper to have been his brother. "Maybe you are a spy on us."
"You come out in the back yard and I'll show you who is a spy!" said Julian, rising to his feet. "No one ever accused me of that before. If I am a spy, you want to do your duty right up to the handle."
This was something new on Julian, for we know how hard he worked to keep the police off from Casper's track. Some of the other boys turned away as if they were quite willing to believe that Julian was seeking for promotion, while some others stood up close to him, as if to assure him of their protection.
"If you will stay by me when Mr. Wiggins comes here, I will ask him before you if I had anything to do with Casper's discharge. He will tell you the truth."
But the boys wisely appealed to him not to do that. Since Casper had been discharged, they wanted their skirts clear of him, and the best way to do that would be to say nothing about it.
"But, Julian, you want to keep clear of that fellow who called you a spy," said one of the boys. "He has been jealous of you for a long time, in fact ever since the day you came into the office, and just as soon as he gets a good chance he is going to split on you."
"Thank you; I did not suppose I had an enemy in this city. Let him keep watch, if he wants to. My conduct will bear investigation."
Julian did not do his work with his usual energy that day, for he could not bear to think that one boy was acting as a spy upon him. He carried his dispatches as well as he could, never stopping to gaze in at the prize windows or to make one of a crowd who gathered around some show that had stopped for a moment on a corner, and that was as well as anybody could do. Jack laughed loudly when he saw what a gloomy face Julian had on when he told him of the matter.
"What do you care for spies?" said Jack. "Do your duty faithfully, and then you will be all right. In our place we don't have any such things. The boys are always glad tosee me promoted, for they think they have a new mechanic to assist them when they get into trouble."
For another month things moved along in their usual way, and nothing was heard from Mr. Haberstro. Julian did not meet Casper or Claus, for they had disappeared completely. He held frequent and earnest consultations with Mr. Wiggins on the subject of the box, put other advertisements in the papers, and finally Mr. Wiggins took Julian down to the bank and talked to the president. It excited Julian wonderfully to know that the box was theirs.
"I should not wait any longer, if I were in your place," said the president. "You have done all that you can to find the owner, and he does not make his appearance. You can go out there and lay claim to the property, and enjoy it; and if at any time this Mr. Haberstro turns up, you can give the property over to him. But I want you to be careful in what you are doing. There are plenty of Haberstros in the world who would like nothing better than to get that box."
"By George, Jack," said Julian, when he went home that night, "did I not tell you that that box was ours? I have talked with the president of the bank about it, and he says we can go out there and enjoy that property."
Jack took his usual seat, with his leg thrown over the table, and looked at Julian without speaking. He had never laid great stress on having that box. He supposed that Haberstro would show himself in due time, and all they would have to do would be to give up the money and go on with their work. His good fortune was a little too much for him to take in all at once. A dollar a day was pretty big wages for him, and he supposed that it would last till he learned his trade, and that then he would receive more money. But a hundred thousand dollars, to say nothing of the gold-mine! Why, that mine had already yielded its owner fifty thousand dollars!
"Jack, why don't you say something?" exclaimed Julian. "You don't act as though you were a bit pleased. I wish, now, that Ihad been a mile away when that box was put up for sale."
Jack roared. He was always ready to laugh when Julian talked in this way.
"I am very glad youwerethere when it was sold," said he; "but the idea of owning so much money rather takes my breath away. I was just wondering what we would do if some more Haberstros came up and demanded the money. I suppose there are some men like that in Denver, as well as there are here."
"The president cautioned me about that. He told me to be careful in what we did. Now, Jack, when will we start?"
"I don't know. I shall have to see the master mechanic about that. You know that I am as deeply indebted to him as you are to Mr. Wiggins."
"Does he know about the box?"
"Not a thing. I thought I had better see you about that before I broached the subject to him."
"Well, then, tell it to him to-morrow. We don't want to be any longer in getting out there than we can help. We want to bethere before the snow flies, or the first thing we know we'll be snowed up."
"Are you going to see Mr. Wiggins about it?"
"I am. Let us go out to Denver at once."
"I tell you it comes hard to say good-bye to those fellows; I have been with them so long that I hate to do it. If I get in trouble in any way, they will always help me out."
The next day Julian talked to Mr. Wiggins about going out to Denver, and the latter's face grew grave at once. He could not bear to let Julian go out there among strangers. He had always had him under his eye, was waiting for a chance to promote him, and now he was going away.
"I will go down and get the box," said he. "And remember one thing, Julian: You may get into a hard row of stumps out there, and I want you to write to me fully and plainly of what you are doing. If you want some money, say so; and if you want to come back here in the office, say that also, and I will try and make room for you."
Julian's eyes filled with tears when he sawMr. Wiggins go out on the street and turn toward the bank. He found, with Jack, that it was going to be hard work to say good-bye. When he went out into the other room, the boys noticed at once that he had been crying.
"Aha!" said the boy who had once accused him of being a spy, "you have come up with a round turn, have you?"
"Yes," said Julian, "I've got it at last."
"It serves you right!" said the boy. "If Wiggins gave it to you in pretty good order I shall be satisfied. You know now how Casper felt when he was discharged."
"Are you discharged, Julian?" whispered another of the boys.
"I guess I have got something like it," was the reply; "you won't see me here to-morrow."
Julian walked to the window and looked out on the street, and in a few minutes Mr. Wiggins came up with the box. The boy followed him into the back room, all the boys, of whom there were half a dozen in the office, looking on with surprise. Mr. Wiggins'sface was grave, but he was not angry, and they did not know what to make of it.
"I think I would do this up and send it by express—wouldn't you?" said he. "If this is put in your trunk, and the cars run off the track and get smashed, your trunk might get smashed, too, and the box with it. Before I put the cover on I will write a letter to our agent in Denver. I have never seen him, but that won't matter; and then, if you want any good advice, go to him. Come in in the course of half an hour—"
"No, sir!" said Julian, emphatically; "I am going to do my duty as long as I stay in the office."
"Well, go ahead; I will give you the box, sealed and addressed to yourself, to-night."
Julian went out and took his seat among the boys, and about half of them felt a little bit sorry for him, but the other half did not. Here was one favorite out of the way, and consequently there was a chance for somebody else. Presently his name was called, and then Julian went away to deliver his dispatch.
When six o'clock came, Julian went into the back room and received the package.
"You will be around here before you go?" said Mr. Wiggins, extending his hand. "Then I won't bid you good-bye. Take this box to the express office and send it off. Have you any money?"
Yes, Julian had plenty of money. Did Mr. Wiggins suppose that he was going to spend all his month's wages in two days? He took the box and went out, and took his way toward the express office, wondering what the clerk would say if he knew what was in that package. The clerk turned out to be the same one who had given him the box, but he said nothing about it; and when Julian had paid the express charges on it he came out and started for home. As he was going up the stairs he heard the sound of voices in the room, and opened the door to find a man there, dressed in his best, and with a very smiling face, which he turned toward Julian.
"So this is the boy who bought himself rich," said he, getting on his feet "I know you from the description I have received ofyour uniform. I congratulate you heartily, but I am sorry you are going to take Jack away from me. When you are awful home-sick, and are short of money, you can write to me, and I will send you something to come home on."