A SURPRISE PARTY.
The words of the sallow-faced man dissipated any suspicions which Jed
may have entertained, and he clambered on board the yacht without much
difficulty, for he was active and agile.
"Good!" said his employer. "Now go into the cabin, and be quick about
it."
Jed did not understand why he should be quick about it. There was plenty
of time, he thought.
Another thing puzzled him, now that he had had a chance to think the
matter over. Why was the visit postponed till near midnight?
A city boy would not have had his suspicions so easily allayed; but Jed
was unused to city ways, and, it may be added, to city wickedness.
The cabin seemed to be dark. He felt his way down stairs, and struck a
match which he had in his pocket in order to see better the location of
the box. He had just picked up the latter, finding it to be heavy, when
he felt a hand laid on his arm, and looking up, met the stern gaze of a
young man about twenty-eight years of age.
"What are you about here, young fellow?" he asked abruptly.
Jed was a little startled, but, not being aware that he was doing
anything wrong, he replied composedly, "I was taking this box, sir."
"I see you were; but what business have you to take the box?"
"I was sent for it."
"Sent for it?" repeated the young man, looking puzzled. "Who sent you
for it?"
"The gentleman in the boat outside."
"Oh ho! So there is a gentleman in the boat outside?"
"Certainly, sir. Isn't it--all right?"
"Well, I should say not, unless you consider theft right."
"What!" exclaimed Jed aghast. "Is the man who employed me a thief?"
"It looks very much like it."
At this moment the sallow-faced man called in an impatient tone, "What
are you about there, you lazy young rascal? Don't be all night!"
"Is there more than one man in the boat?" asked the young man in the
cabin.
"Yes, sir; there are two."
"The harbor police ought to be somewhere about. I'll rouse them if I
can."
The young man went to the port-hole which served to light the cabin and
fired a pistol.
"Confusion! There's some one on the yacht!" exclaimed the sallow-faced
man. "We must get off."
Dipping his oars in the water, he rowed quickly away, leaving Jed to his
fate. But the shot had been heard on another boat not fifty rods
distant, and the piratical craft was pursued and eventually overhauled.
Meanwhile Jed remained on board the yacht, whether as a prisoner or not
he did not know.
"Your companions have taken alarm," said the young man. "I hear them
rowing away. They have deserted you."
"I am glad of it," said Jed. "I don't want anything more to do with
them. Will you tell me if that box contains anything valuable?"
"Probably the contents are worth five thousand dollars."
"Is it possible!" ejaculated Jed in amazement.
"You see you have lost quite a prize," said the young man, eyeing him
closely.
"Don't say that I have lost a prize," returned Jed half indignantly. "I
supposed the man who sent me for it was honest."
"What did he tell you?"
"He said that the box belonged to a friend, who had employed him to get
it."
"All a lie! I am the owner of the box, and the yacht also, and I have no
acquaintance with your principal. If I had not been here he would have
got a rich prize."
"I am glad you were here," said Jed earnestly.
"I don't understand your connection with such a man. How much were you
to be paid for your services?"
"Two dollars," answered Jed.
"Didn't it strike you as singular that you should have been employed on
such an errand?"
"Well, a little; but I am a stranger to the city, and I thought it might
be because I was inexperienced."
"Do you mind telling me how long you have known the person who employed
you?"
"I met him for the first time at five o'clock this afternoon on the
Battery. He asked me if I wanted a job, and that is how I came to be
engaged."
"That sounds plausible and I am inclined to believe you."
At this moment they were interrupted. There was a sound of oars, and
leaving the cabin, Jed and his companion saw the boat of the harbor
police under the side. It had in tow the boat in which Jed had come from
shore.
"Was there any attempt to rob the yacht?" asked the captain of police.
"Yes, sir," answered the owner.
"Have you one of the thieves aboard?"
"No, sir."
"That's not true!" said the sallow-faced man, now a prisoner. "That boy
came with us," and he pointed to Jed.
"Is that true?" asked the police captain.
"This boy was sent on board by the thieves, but he was quite ignorant of
the character of his employer. He is a country boy, and was an innocent
agent of the guilty parties."
"You are convinced then of his innocence?"
"Entirely so."
"We shall need his evidence against these men. Will you guarantee that
it shall be forthcoming?"
"Yes, captain. I will give my name and his, and will call at your office
to-morrow morning."
"That will answer."
The young man took out one of his cards, bearing the name of Schuyler
Roper, and wrote Jed's name, which he had ascertained, underneath.
"You will be responsible for the boy's appearance, Mr. Roper?" said the
officer respectfully, reading the name by the light of a lantern.
"Yes; he will stay with me."
This seemed satisfactory, and the boat rowed away.
"I am very much obliged to you for believing in my innocence, Mr.
Roper," said Jed earnestly.
"You have an innocent face," responded the young man kindly. "I am sure
you are a good boy."
"I hope you won't see any reason to doubt it. I am afraid I am putting
you to trouble," continued Jed, realizing that he could not leave the
yacht, and was thrown on the hospitality of the owner.
"Not at all. I can accommodate you easily. You must be tired, if you
have been about the city all day."
Jed admitted that he was. In fact he felt very tired, and found it hard
work to keep his eyes open.
"I have sleeping accommodations for six persons on board my yacht, so
that I can easily provide for you. So far from giving me trouble I
shall be glad of your company, though I don't expect any more visitors
to-night."
Mr. Roper pointed out a comfortable bunk, and Jed lost no time in taking
possession of it. He sank into a deep sleep, which was only broken by a
gentle shake from his young host. As he opened his eyes, and they met
the unusual surroundings, he was at first bewildered.
"Don't you know where you are?" asked Schuyler Roper, smiling. "Don't
you remember boarding my yacht with felonious intent last night?"
"Yes," answered Jed with an answering smile. "I remember that I was
taken prisoner."
"Then you are subject to my orders. When I am on a cruise we have meals
aboard the yacht, but I am not keeping house now. If you will assist me,
we'll direct our course to land and find breakfast somewhere."
Jed did not know much about a yacht, but he liked the water and proved
very quick in comprehension, so that in a comparatively short time they
had reached the Battery. Here Mr. Roper found two men whom he had
engaged to help man the yacht, and leaving the Juno in their charge he
walked up Broadway with Jed.
"We will take breakfast at the Astor House," he said.
"I dined there yesterday," replied Jed.
"You did!" exclaimed the other in a tone of surprise. "Yet you tell me
you are penniless?"
"Yes, sir, but I fell in with a gentleman whom I knew at Sea Spray, a
Mr. Foster."
"Not Howell Foster?"
"Yes."
"I know him very well. If he is a friend of yours, I shall feel that I
am justified in reposing confidence in you."
Just then Mr. Foster entered the room.
"Good morning, Jed," he said in a friendly tone. "So you like the Astor
well enough to come back?"
"I am here by invitation of Mr. Roper."
Mr. Foster, who was shortsighted, now for the first time observed Jed's
companion.
"So you know Roper, too?" he said. "Why, he's one of my closest
friends. When did you pick him up, Schuyler?"
"I caught him boarding my yacht on a marauding expedition last night,"
said Roper, smiling.
"Bless my soul! What do you mean?"
"Sit down and take breakfast with us, and I will explain."
"And what are you going to do with this desperate young man?" asked the
broker at the end of the story.
"I shall invite him to accompany me to Bar Harbor on my yacht. But first
we must call on the harbor police, as our testimony will be needed to
convict the rascals who came near robbing me of five thousand dollars'
worth of valuables."