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Dick the Bank Boy
Or
A Missing Fortune
BY
FRANK V. WEBSTER
AUTHOR OF "ONLY A FARM BOY," "BOB THE CASTAWAY,"
"COMRADES OF THE SADDLE," "AIRSHIP ANDY," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED
NEW YORK
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
PUBLISHERS
BOOKS FOR BOYS
* * * * *
By FRANK V. WEBSTER
* * * * *
12mo. Cloth. Illustrated.
* * * * *
ONLY A FARM BOY
TOM, THE TELEPHONE BOY
THE BOY FROM THE RANCH
THE YOUNG TREASURE HUNTER
BOB, THE CASTAWAY
THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE
THE NEWSBOY PARTNERS
THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES
TWO BOY GOLD MINERS
JACK, THE RUNAWAY
COMRADES OF THE SADDLE
THE BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL
THE HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS
AIRSHIP ANDY
BOB CHESTER'S GRIT
BEN HARDY'S FLYING MACHINE
DICK, THE BANK BOY
DARRY, THE LIFE SAVER
Copyright, 1911, by
CUPPLES & LEON COMPANY
* * * * *
DICK, THE BANK BOY
[Illustration: TURNING TO DICK HE CONTINUED TO QUESTION HIM.
_Dick the Bank Boy_ _Page 137_]
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE MEETING ON THE ROAD 1
II. A MOTHER WORTH FIGHTING FOR 9
III. DICK'S FIRST WAGES 17
IV. IN SEARCH OF A JOB 24
V. MR. GRAYLOCK RECEIVES A SURPRISE 32
VI. BOUND FOR THE OLD FISHING HOLE 40
VII. DICK MAKES A GALLANT RESCUE 48
VIII. THE COMING OF A LETTER 57
IX. GREAT NEWS 66
X. THE MEETING IN THE BANK 74
XI. FRIENDLY ADVISE 83
XII. GATHERING CLOUDS 92
XIII. WANTED IN THE CASHIER'S OFFICE 100
XIV. UNDER SUSPICION 108
XV. MR. GRAYLOCK SEEMS DISAPPOINTED 117
XVI. FORTUNE'S FAVORS 125
XVII. THE INVESTIGATION 133
XVIII. THE RECEIVING TELLER FREES HIS MIND 142
XIX. NOT FOR SALE 149
XX. A RED LETTER DAY 157
XXI. GOOD WORDS ON EVERY SIDE 165
XXII. A REMARKABLE BIT OF INTELLIGENCE 173
XXIII. NEARING A CLIMAX 181
XXIV. MR. GRAYLOCK MEETS HIS WATERLOO 190
XXV. CONCLUSION 198
DICK, THE BANK BOY
CHAPTER I
THE MEETING ON THE ROAD
"Get out of my way, Dick Morrison!"
The boy who had been trudging along the narrow road looked up in
surprise at hearing himself spoken to so suddenly, though he recognized
the domineering voice even before catching sight of the speaker.
"You already have half of the road, Ferd Graylock; to give you more I'd
have to back down in the ditch, and I don't care to do that," he
replied, standing perfectly still and watching with some amusement the
zigzag movements of the other, now close upon him.
Ferd was mounted on a new motor-cycle, purchased with savings out of his
pocket money, and with which machine he had been of late scouring the
surrounding country.
Evidently the little motor had broken down while he was some distance
away from home, necessitating considerable walking up hill and hard
pedalling on the levels.
Weary, and over-heated by his exertions, he was naturally in an ugly
temper at the time he met Dick on the narrowest place along the entire
road, where a ditch on one side and a fence on the other, left only
enough room for a single vehicle at a time to pass.
Just then, judging from his erratic swinging from side to side, Ferd
needed the whole road, and seeing this, the other lad stood by, ready to
guard himself if the cumbersome machine headed his way.
His suspicions as to the intentions of Ferd to run him down seemed well
founded, for, pretending to be unable to control the heavy machine, the
rider came lunging directly at the standing boy, who would have been
struck only for a quick leap to one side, by means of which he avoided a
collision.
But alas! the edge of the road was closer than Ferd had calculated on
when maliciously endeavoring to give the pedestrian a scare, and as a
consequence the motor-cycle plunged down into the ditch.
Ferd managed through a quick effort to leap off his seat just in time to
avoid being overwhelmed in the disaster.
He scrambled to his feet choking with both dust and anger.
His beautiful machine lay with its front buried in the water of the
ditch, and the sight was so disagreeable that Ferd seemed to lose what
little discretion he generally boasted.
"There, see what you've done, Dick Morrison!" he exclaimed, fiercely.
"Well, now, I like that," answered the other, hardly knowing whether to
laugh or show indignation; "you try to run me down, and when I step out
of the way to avoid an upset you accuse me of having had a hand in the
mess. Why did you jump off when by a twist of the handlebars you could
have saved the machine? Suppose you blame yourself, not me."
"But you saw that I had lost control, and if you'd only wanted you could
have stopped its plunge; but you'd rather see me get into a peck of
trouble. How d'ye suppose I'm ever going to lug that heavy thing back up
to the road now?" demanded Ferd, spitefully.
"Oh! I don't mind giving you a hand at that. I hate to see such a fine
machine lying in the mud like a mired cow," declared Dick, cheerfully.
Ferd looked at him dubiously, as though his spirit urged him to decline
the generous offer of assistance made by one he chose to regard as his
enemy; but the road was lonely, no one might come along for some time to
help him, and the motor-cycle was too heavy for him to drag out of the
hole unassisted.
So he swallowed his pride, and grudgingly allowed Dick to take hold on
one side while he dragged at the other, and in this fashion the machine
was speedily placed once more on dry land.
Of course it was pretty well soiled, and did not look very much like the
spick-and-span new wheel that a few days back had been the envy of every
boy in Riverview.
Dick, who could not bear to see anything abused, immediately snatched up
a handful of grass from the side of the road under the fence, and
commenced to wipe the worst of the muck away.
"Never mind bothering yourself about that; I guess I can attend to it
when I get home. It wouldn't have happened anyway if I hadn't met you on
the road," said Ferd, with a return of his bitterness.
Dick looked at him queerly, and then threw down the rough wiper he had
been using.
"I guess you're right. And as I didn't do anything to trouble you it
looks as if you just wanted to knock me into the ditch. It's a case of
the biter bitten, Ferd. When you see me helping you pull your old
machine out of the ditch again you'll know it."
Filled with indignation he turned and walked rapidly away, leaving the
other looking after him, still angry and yet perhaps somewhat ashamed in
the bargain.
This was not the first time these two lads found themselves facing one
another with fire in their eyes.
In school they seemed to be constantly ranged on opposite sides, and
the rivalry had extended into many of the natural pastimes indulged in
by growing boys, from baseball in the summer to football in the autumn
and skating and hockey in the winter.
The rivalry seemed unequal from one point of view, since Ferd was the
only son of Archibald Graylock, proprietor of the big department store
in the town, and known as a wealthy man; while Dick lived in an humble
cottage with his mother, a widow, and their circumstances had been
growing more and more straightened during the last year, so that our
hero was seriously contemplating giving up all hope of attending school
again in the fall, and seeking a position.
Dick's father had been a carpenter known for his many good qualities; he
had by frugality and prudence saved a sum which had been invested as he
thought judiciously, and would serve as a means of support to his little
family in case anything happened to him.
Seriously injured in an accident he had lingered for nearly a year and
then been taken, leaving the mother and son to face the world. For
several years things went along smoothly, for Mrs. Morrison was an
excellent housekeeper, and could make a dollar go a great ways without
appearing to be niggardly; but unexpected misfortune overtook them, and
the company in which most of the carpenter's savings had been invested
struck a reef, so that not only did the little income cease from this
source but there was danger that the principal might also be lost.
This was the serious condition of affairs in Dick's home at the time he
met his bitter rival on the road; he had been buried in thought, trying
to see what his duty might be, and as he continued on after leaving Ferd
he endeavored to forget the unpleasant incident, and resume his
planning.
Chances for work were not very abundant in and around Riverview.
Dick knew little about farming, and besides, even though he should
secure a job in that line he was aware that most farmers insisted upon
their help being on the ground all the time, as they had to get out long
before daylight to feed the stock, and since he could not leave his
mother alone he had to pass any such opportunity by.
There was the bank of which Mr. Gibbs was president; he had always
yearned to do something along that line; but having no experience he had
never dared apply for a position there, though envying Charles Doty, who
ran messages and made himself generally useful in the bank, "learning
the ropes, so that in time he could step into Mr. Gibbs' shoes," as he
used often to say with pride.
For a lad with business ambitions there remained only the two grocery
stores, and the grand emporium conducted by Mr. Graylock, an institution
he chose to call a department store, and which covered quite a large
space of ground.
Strange to say Dick had just been making up his mind to call on this
latter enterprising merchant and solicit an opening, at the time he met
the hopeful son on the road, and had another disagreeable experience
with Ferd; indeed, it seemed as though they could never come together
without some trouble arising, though Dick had resolved time and again
that he would not be the first to pick a quarrel.
Now he reflected that it was almost useless approaching Mr. Graylock,
for he felt sure that the gentleman must have heard about the time when
he and Ferd engaged in a rough and tumble fight on the baseball field,
after the other had deliberately struck him, and called him a coward
because he was so slow to take off his coat and engage in a combat that
proved to be rather gory for Ferd--yes, he _knew_ this must be the case,
for his mother had looked serious for some little time, and he heard
that the rich man was seen leaving their humble cottage one afternoon
while he was away.
So he felt undecided as to what he should attempt, and all the way home
he pondered over the situation, determined to do something to chase away
the look of concern which every now and then he saw gathering on his
mother's gentle face, when she did not dream that he was observing her.
"She doesn't want me to know how hard things are growing," he mused.
"She thinks of me all the time, and is the dearest little mother in the
world. I'd give up anything for her, and I'm going to find a position
somewhere, somehow. That's settled. There's got to be more money coming
in through the door of the Morrisons, and it's up to Richard to set the
stream in motion."
His resolution was all very well, but it was not so easy to decide where
this fountain could be tapped that was to pour its tiny golden stream
into their almost empty reservoir.
Again and again he shook his head resolutely as he trudged along, and
the expression on his face was that of one who has made up his mind and
will not allow himself to be turned aside by any obstacle; it was the
look of a _winner_, and when his mates saw Dick Morrison set his teeth
in that determined way they knew he was bound to lead his side to
victory, no matter what the opposition.
Dick presently drew near the little cottage in which he and his mother
had lived ever since he could remember, and which, with its flower
garden, was as pretty a spot as one could find along the river road just
outside the town.
Thinking only of showing a cheery face to the one who had ever been his
best friend and counsellor on earth he tried to forget his worries, and
starting to whistle merrily opened the gate and passed up the walk.