_UNCLE NATHAN._
When Teddy reached the depot he was not obliged to hunt very long for
Sam, for that young gentleman crept out from behind a pile of baggage on
seeing his friend was alone, and asked, in a hoarse whisper:
"What did that feller do to you?"
"Nothing; but that don't prove we should get out of another scrape so
easily, and you must be careful, or we'll be in no end of trouble before
the fair is ended."
"I was only tryin' to catch your money."
"It surely wouldn't have done any harm if you had found out whether that
was the man or not before you started the whole crowd after him."
"That's right, rub it into a feller when he tries to do you a good
turn," Sam said, sarcastically, and then remembering an instant later
that he proposed to be this boy's guest, he added, "I was only lookin'
out for you, an' so long as there's been no harm done we needn't talk
about it. Do you still mean to walk home?"
"There's nothing else to be done, if we want to get to the Run to-night,
for the stage left while we were chasing that man."
This was exactly what he did not want to do; but, under the
circumstances, there was no help for it, and the young gentleman who
expected to form such a prominent portion of the fair set out by the
side of the friend whom he had injured while thinking to do him a favor.
At the end of a trifle less than three hours, when both were footsore,
hungry, and weary, the boys arrived at Teddy's home, and Mrs. Hargreaves
made the stranger welcome despite the inconvenience caused by his
coming.
Not until after Sam had retired did Teddy tell his mother of the theft,
and for several moments the widow was in great mental distress; but
finally she viewed the matter in a more cheerful light, and it was
resolved that Uncle Nathan should not be told of the mishap.
"It would only make him angry," Mrs. Hargreaves said, "and you must pay
him before the merchant who was so kind to you gets his money; but I am
terribly afraid, Teddy, that the whole scheme will be a failure."
The amateur fakir assured her as best he could, and when they retired
that night both Teddy and his mother were in a comparatively contented
frame of mind.
The following day was Sunday, on which not even the all engrossing topic
of cane-boards and knives was to be discussed; but before the family had
finished breakfast the arrival of a stranger forced them into worldly
topics.
The newcomer was none other than the man whom Sam had accused of being
the thief, and he explained the cause of his visit by saying:
"I have reason to believe that Long Jim, the fakir who got away with
your son's money, will be over here to-night, because the hotels at
Peach Bottom are crowded, and it is possible he may be forced to give up
the stuff." Although not exactly understanding what he meant, the widow
insisted on his coming into the house, and he laid the details of his
plan before Teddy and Sam.
"I'll hang around here for him," the stranger said, "and you shall say
if he is the man who did you up; after that I'll take a hand in the
business, and it'll be queer if between us all we can't make him do the
square thing, more especially since the rest of his gang haven't come
yet."
As might be expected, Teddy was excited by the prospect of recovering
the money which he had believed was lost beyond reclaim, and plans were
at once laid to trap the dishonest fakir.
While this conversation was being carried on Uncle Nathan came in to
learn how his nephew had succeeded in town, and the stranger introduced
himself as Frank Hazelton, a dealer in jewelry, which was to be on
exhibition during the coming week at the fair.
The old man was delighted to make the stranger's acquaintance, for he
fancied there would be an opportunity for him to take the agency of a
valuable line of goods without the outlay of any money, and in a very
few moments the two were fast friends.
Uncle Nathan not only monopolized nearly all the conversation, but
insisted on showing Mr. Hazelton around the village, and actually forced
the latter to accompany him, despite the fact that it was Sunday, when
an honest merchant is not supposed to so much as think of business.
On the following day it would be necessary for those who had purchased
the privilege of doing business on the fair grounds to be present, ready
to select their different sites for working, and very shortly after the
sun sank behind the hills Sam and Teddy retired in order to be ready for
an early start next morning, since the first stage left the Run at
half-past five.
It lacked fully an hour of that time when the boys were called to
breakfast by Mrs. Hargreaves, and in less than fifteen minutes they were
at the table eating a hearty breakfast, which was interrupted by the
appearance of Uncle Nathan, who looked as if he had not been in bed
since the evening previous.
"I've been robbed!" he cried, passionately, "and this is what comes of
trying to help my nephew enter a disreputable line of business. I
believe you induced that man to come here, explaining all about my
store, simply that he might act the burglar. And it wouldn't take much
to make me think you had agreed to divide with him the ill-gotten
gains," he added, shaking his fist in the direction of Teddy, who was so
astounded by the news as to be literally incapable of movement.
"What do you mean, Nathan?" Mrs. Hargreaves cried.
"Just what I said! My store was robbed last night, and your precious son
knows the thief better than I do!"
"You mean the man who came here yesterday?" the widow asked, while Teddy
and Sam gazed at the old man in open-mouthed astonishment.
"Of course I do; who else could it be? Didn't I take him over there
yesterday, and didn't I explain just how difficult it was to deposit
money in a bank, because a man would have to pay a dollar to go to
Waterville an' back, or trust the stage driver to do the business?"
By this time Teddy had recovered something like composure, and he said,
gravely:
"We have no means of knowing what you said to Mr. Hazelton, but if you
told him all your business, that is no concern of ours. You insisted on
his going away with you, and we haven't seen him since."
"But you lied to me about my money."
"In what way?"
"You never said a word about its being stolen."
"If I never said a word I couldn't have told a lie. He has evidently
given the whole story; but what happened in Waterville has nothing to do
with the robbery of your store."
"Oh, it hasn't, eh? Well, I'm beginning to think it was a job cooked up
by all hands to get the best of me."
"If it had been," and now Teddy was on his feet, looking the angry old
man squarely in the face, "why wouldn't I have said something about it
in order to make the story seem straighter? A merchant in Waterville
trusted me for the goods I wanted after he heard the money was gone, and
I count on paying you before I do him."
"Oh, you do, eh? Well, it's mighty doubtful whether you or this precious
friend of yours will ever see the fair, for I'm going to get out a
warrant for the whole lot before I'm done with this thing."
"Would you arrest Teddy when he has been in this house ever since you
left here yesterday morning?" Mrs. Hargreaves cried.
"I'll have my money back, and the sooner your smart son tells me where
it is, the sooner he can go about his business; but he must first pay me
back my eighteen dollars."
"I only borrowed fifteen, Uncle Nathan, and that you will get before
next Wednesday. If you want to arrest me, go ahead; but I promise that
you'll be sorry for it."
"So you threaten, do you? That's what comes of trying to help an
ungrateful boy! I knew he was going to the bad from the first minute he
talked about having a cane-board," the old man added, as he turned to
the widow, "and I predict that he'll come to no good even if he manages
to get out of this scrape."
"You thought it was a good idea for me to do as I proposed," Teddy
replied, standing his ground bravely, "and was willing to loan me the
money, provided I would pay you three dollars for the use of fifteen for
one week."
"That's right; throw in my teeth what I wanted to do in order to help
you along, and call me an old skinflint. I am old enough to expect such
things from such as you."
"I haven't called you any names, nor do I intend to do so; I only wanted
mother to know the truth of the business between us. Do you really
believe I had any hand in breaking into your store?"
"If you didn't your friends did, and that amounts to the same thing, as
you'll soon find out. I'll have a warrant issued for the arrest of the
whole crowd, if you don't tell me the truth this very minute."
"But I don't know anything, Uncle Nathan."
"I'll have the truth out of you before the day is ended," the old man
cried, angrily, and without saying or doing anything save to shake his
fist in the direction of his nephew and Sam he left the house.
As yet none of the little party knew the full extent of what had
happened, but before Uncle Nathan was fairly out of the yard a neighbor
came around to tell Mrs. Hargreaves that the old man's store had been
entered by burglars on the night previous, and a large amount of money,
together with the most valuable goods, had been carried away.
It is not difficult to imagine the consternation which seized upon the
little party after Uncle Nathan's departure. Teddy was so overwhelmed
that it was literally impossible for him to say a word, and Sam shook
like one in an ague fit at the thought that he might be carried off to
jail before it was possible for him to astonish the people by his skill
as an oarsman.
"You must not think of leaving here until we know what your uncle
proposes to do," Mrs. Hargreaves said, as she returned to the
dining-room after talking with the neighbor. "Of course I know that
neither of you two boys had anything to do with the robbery; but you
must not run away."
"I've got to leave, no matter what the old fool says," Sam replied. "I
don't know how the folks would get along if I didn't show up, an' it
won't do to disappoint them."
"Are you going?" Teddy asked, and Sam replied in a voice which trembled
despite all his efforts to make it sound firm:
"Of course I am. You don't allow I'm such an idiot as to stay till he
can have me arrested, an' if you're sensible, both of us will go."
"I must stay here, an' lose all my chances of making money," Teddy said,
gloomily.
"All right, then I'm off, an' after I once get on the fair grounds I'll
bet that old duffer won't get hold of me."
Sam did not propose to lose any time. He had no baggage, and in a very
few moments after so deciding he was walking up the road over which the
stage would pass, while Teddy, with a heavier heart than he had ever
known before, waited for his uncle to send the officers of the law to
carry him to prison.