Chapter 7 -Dick and His Eldest Sister.

To say that Mr. Bacon and his clerks were both astonished and startled would be stating the case quite mildly.

"My gracious!" cried the merchant. "What does this mean?"

One of the clerks stepped forward and raised Dick up.

"Why, his hands are bound!" he ejaculated, in surprise.

That fact was apparent to the others.

"Great heavens! How came he to be in this state?" cried Mr. Bacon. "Cut him loose as quick as you can. Jones, run down to my office and fetch a glass of the cognac you'll find on a shelf in the closet. This is certainly a most singular occurrence. Somebody bound the boy and shut him up in the closet. Nobody connected with the store would do such a thing as that. And yet how could a stranger have got up here unnoticed? A thief would not attempt to carry anything away before the clerks in the store. I don't understand it at all."

Clerk Jones returned with a glass partly filled with cognac. When Dick's head was lifted the clerk noticed the marks of Bulger's fingers on the boy's throat. He pointed to them and said:

"Look there; he's been choked."

"My goodness! so he was," said the merchant. "This is a very strange affair. But we'll be able to learn all about it as soon as he recovers his senses."

The brandy was poured little by little into Dick's mouth, and as it trickled down his throat it revived him and brought on a coughing spell which ended in his opening his eyes. As soon as he was somewhat recovered, Mr. Bacon said:

"Now tell us what happened to you, my boy. We found you in the closet with your wrists tied together. It was by the merest accident that we discovered you there. Your body fell against the door and made a noise. But for that we should not have known you were there, and you would have been locked up in the building until Monday morning."

Dick instinctively put his hand to his throat, for he felt the after effects of the impress of Bulger's fingers. With some difficulty at first, which wore off as he proceeded, Dick told his story.

He explained that the man who attacked him and put him out was one of the two rascals he encountered down in New Jersey, and whom his testimony had materially helped to fasten the crime of the burglary of Mr. Mason's house upon. The men, he said, had escaped from the Carlin jail within a day or two of being locked up, and it was now clear that they had not been recaptured, but had made their escape to New York. It seemed strange, he thought, that Bulger should have the nerve to enter the store in quest of him, as his few words had indicated he had. It showed what a vindictive and desperate scoundrel he was. Dick wound up by asking if he had stolen anything, for it seemed likely that he would not go away without helping himself to some of the valuable articles that were within his easy reach.

That caused the clerks to examine the showcases, and they reported that some of the small samples in the case nearest the closet were missing from their place. Dick got up and confirmed their statement, for he knew exactly what was in the showcase at the time he was attacked. An inventory of the loss showed that it was not very considerable-probably not over $100. Mr. Bacon went downstairs to notify the police department over the telephone about the affair, acquaint them with the amount of the loss, and the fact that the rascal who was implicated in the job had escaped, with his pal, from the Carlin jail a few days before, and furnish Bulger's name and description. Dick got his pay envelope, and by that time felt all right again. The store was then locked up by the porter and all hands separated for their homes. Bulger and Parker were caught that night at a low resort frequented by men of their stamp, and Mr. Bacon was notified by a policeman who called at the store on Monday morning.

Dick was sent up to headquarters to identify the men, which he had no trouble in doing. The Carlin authorities were notified of their arrest, and of the charge made against Bulger of assault and grand larceny, on which the New York authorities proposed to hold him until the grand jury returned an indictment against him. The Carlin authorities at once started extradition proceedings in order to get the two men back to stand trial for the robbery of Mr. Mason's house. In the end when the papers were served on the New York police department, the indictment against Bulger was pigeonholed for future use, and the men were delivered to representatives of the Carlin police. They were tried for the burglary almost immediately, and Dick appeared as a witness against them. They were convicted, Bulger, on account of his record, getting ten years, while Parker, as it was his first offence, was let off with five years. Dick was given a vacation of two weeks at the time, as he had received a pressing invitation to stay with the Mason family.

He would have got a week's vacation, anyway, as it was the month of August. The Masons treated him as an honored guest, and he spent most of his time in the company of Madge Mason, who was a very pretty and companionable girl.

As an evidence of his appreciation of Dick's services, Mr. Mason deeded to Mrs. Darling, in trust for Dick, a five-acre piece of ground, worth about $250, which had come to him some years before as part of a deal he made, and which he had no use for. Dick visited the place, which was fenced in and was rented as a pasture to a farmer whose property adjoined it. Mr. Mason told Dick that some day he might be able to sell it to a small farmer for twice its present value. At any rate, he could easily hold it as long as he chose, for the taxes on it were light, and it could be kept rented at a profit over all expenses.

The boy was delighted to come into possession of a piece of real estate. His ambition had always been to own property when he grew up. He thanked Mr. Mason for his gift, and took the deed home with him when he returned to New York. He handed it to his mother, as the property stood in her name, and was so recorded at Carlin, but the deed contained the trust clause which practically settled the ownership of the ground on her son. The trial of Jack Hurley came on about the time Dick got back to the city. The woman, who proved to be no relation of the thief, had been found and held in the House of Detention for Witnesses, as she agreed to appear against the man in consideration of the charge as a confederate being withdrawn. The result of the trial was that Hurley got three years up the river. After the conviction of the rascal, Mr. Bacon presented Dick with $100. With that sum he started a bank account in his own name.

"You'll be wealthy some day, Dick," said his eldest sister, Gertie.

"How?" he asked.

"Why, you have $100 and a piece of property estimated to be worth $250, and which is likely to increase in value as you grow older."

"Suppose it's worth $500 when I get to be twenty-one, that won't make me wealthy, even with the $100 and the interest on top of it."

"No, but it'll start you on the road to wealth."

"Maybe it will, and maybe it won't," laughed Dick. "You may become wealthy long before I get within hailing distance of big money."

"Nonsense! I haven't got a cent."

"I know. You girls never have a cent left out of your princely wages, for you spend it all on glad rags in the hope of capturing a husband who will consider it an honor to pay all your bills, furnish you with a fine house, an auto to ride about in, and other et ceteras too numerous to mention."

"Aren't you the horrid boy to say such a thing!"

"Isn't it the truth?"

"Indeed, it isn't. I never expect to get married."

"You don't? Oh, come now, don't get off such whoppers or the bogie man will get you when you aren't looking."

"One must have a beau first, and you know I haven't acquired such a luxury yet."

"What's the matter with the gent in the tall dicer and lavender kids who calls on you regularly every week, and takes you out to the theater and entertainments? Mr. Clarence Peck. He's clerk in a broker's office, with prospects of advancement, and expectations from two maiden aunts."

His sister blushed vividly, and looked a bit confused.

"Mr. Peck is merely a friend," she said.

"Well, he thinks a lot of you."

"How do you know?" said his sister, with another blush.

"He didn't tell me so, I admit, but actions speak louder even than his lavender kids."

"I wish you wouldn't make fun of his gloves. I think they are the proper thing for him to wear."

Dick chuckled.

"He seems to be rather bashful, though. If I visited a girl as long as he has been coming here to see you, I would propose and have it over with."

"Don't be too sure that you would. Mr. Peck is not bashful; he is only a little diffident. He is very clever, but I sometimes fear that he lets his light shine under a bushel."

"What has a bushel got to do with him? It takes two pecks to make one, and he's only one Peck."

"Aren't you smart! I think we'd better change the subject."

"Sure I'm smart. I've proved that by helping to catch three crooks and send them to State prison. I think it's about time I shook these knickerbockers and got into trousers. I'm getting tired of being taken for a twelve-year-old kid."

"Why, the idea! You look real cute in knee pants. Mr. Peck says--"

"Cut out what Mr. Half Bushel says. I'm the party to be pleased. I've got a girl now, so it's time--"

"A girl!" exclaimed his sister, evidently astonished.

"Why not? Got any objection?" asked Dick aggressively.

"When did this happen? Who is she?"

"She's an heiress. You don't suppose I would consider any girl who hadn't prospects, do you?" grinned Dick.

"Tell me her name," asked his sister, with an air of inquisitive interest.

"Sorry, but I couldn't think of giving away such a valuable secret."

"Oh, I know-I know!" cried his sister, clapping her hands. "If you aren't the sly rogue! It's Madge Mason, the girl you've been talking so much about since you got home from your visit to her parents' home."

"Well, keep it dark, sis," said Dick, with a flush.

"Oh, I couldn't think of it. I must tell Nell and May and mother."

"You tell them and I'll get square with you. The next time Mr. Peck calls I'll tell him how much you're stuck on him, and then maybe he'll get up spunk enough to propose to you."

"You wouldn't dare, Richard Darling!" cried his sister, with a burning face.

"I wouldn't? Well, say, you don't know me! It's up to you. Keep mum about Miss Mason and I'll be good; otherwise-you know what'll happen."

Then Dick walked out of the room, satisfied that his sister would be as mute as a mop stick.

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