Jr. Horatio Alger

“ Had Kirby known that Dr. Thorp had had an interview with Dean Dunham, his anxiety would have been excited.
"By the way, Doctor," said Kirby with apparent carelessness, "I have a little money to invest. Can you recommend any form of investment?"
"You might buy a house in the village and settle down. I believe the next estate is for sale."
"It would certainly be an inducement to become your neighbor," said Kirby politely, "but I am a rolling stone. I am always traveling. I couldn't content myself in any one place, not even in a large city." ”

“ It's rather refreshing to see a young chap like you. I've got a boy at home who is within a year or two as old as you."
"I am sixteen."
"So I thought. My boy is fourteen. What is your name?"
"Dean Dunham. I come from Waterford, New York."
"Then you are from my State. I am from Syracuse. My name is Rawson—Ben Rawson. My friend here is Ebenezer Jones, commonly called Eben, a Connecticut Yankee—Eben, shake with our young friend."
"I am glad to meet you, Mr. Jones," said Dean, extending his hand with a smile.
"You must look out for Eben," said Rawson jocosely. ”

“ Kirby drew from his pocket the gold watch which Dean had seen in the stateroom of the Pilgrim, and which he was sure had been stolen from the elderly gentleman who had complained of being robbed.
Dean started and flushed, as Kirby held the watch in his hand.
"Is that your watch?" he asked.
"No; it belongs to my wife. I shall redeem it before I return East. If the pawnbroker won't give you twenty-five dollars, get as much as you can. You look like a boy sharp at a bargain. Say that it belonged to your uncle." ”

“ Mother ain't one of the soft kind. Did she strike you as an agreeable old lady?"
"I only saw her for a few minutes," said Dean, evasively.
His companion laughed, and surveyed Dean quizzically.
"You must stretch your legs, youngster, or mother'll get tired waiting for me. She might take a notion not to give me any supper."
It was not long before they came in sight of the cabin. Here a surprise, and by no means an agreeable one, awaited Dean. On a bench in front of the cabin sat a man whom he had good reason to remember, and equal reason to fear—Peter Kirby. ”

“ I suppose you are going to Boston?"
"Yes, but not to stay."
"How long do you stay there?"
"I don't know yet. That depends upon my employer."
"The man you are traveling with?"
"Yes."
"I noticed him. He is a tall, sallow man, isn't he?"
"Yes."
"Have you been working for him long?"
"No, I've only just started."
"What do you do?"
"I am his private secretary—that's what he calls me, but I don't know yet what my duties will be."
"He don't look like a man likely to employ a private secretary," said Dan shrewdly.
"I don't know what sort of men do have secretaries," Dean said in a perplexed tone. ”

“ It had been built by Adin Dunham, the village carpenter, and excited the admiration of the other village boys, who did not aspire to such a luxury.
"Why don't you get your uncle to build you a boat-house, Dean?" asked Brandon, satirically.
Dean laughed good-naturedly.
"My old boat isn't likely to be injured by exposure to the weather," he answered.
"That's true. How would you like to have a boat like mine?"
"I should be delighted; so if you are thinking of giving me one, I hope you will go ahead and do it."
Brandon shrugged his shoulders.
"It is too expensive for a working boy," he said. ”

“ Dean has got to take his chances. I hope this Kirby's a likely man. What does he look like, Dean?"
"Well, I don't fancy his appearance much," Dean admitted. "He is very dark and sallow, and there's something queer about the eyes. But I suppose he can't help his looks."
"Handsome is that handsome does," replied Mrs. Dunham. "I've heard tell that villains is sometimes very scrumptious in appearance."
"I guess he's all right, aunt. He didn't make himself, you know."
"I wish you hadn't got to go to New York alone, Dean. Don't you think Mr. Kirby'd wait a day, and then you could go with him?" ”

“ I make no doubt, if you call that insulting you," said Rawson. "He tells us you shut him up in a cave."
"Yes, and I'll do it again."
"Will you indeed? You are at liberty to try."
"What have you got to do with the boy, any way?"
"A good deal. We have just admitted him as a partner in our mining firm. You'll find us in Gilpin County if you want to call, though on the whole I wouldn't advise it, as we miners make short shrift of such fellows as you are."
"The boy must come with us!" said Kirby, doggedly, unwilling to own himself beaten. ”

“ This had not occurred before to Dean as singular. Now it tended to confirm him in the thought that it might have been Squire Bates, and not some common thief, that had robbed his uncle. The plain silver watch, never very valuable, which Adin Dunham had carried for twenty-five years, might have presented a temptation to an ordinary tramp. A genteel highwayman would not have thought it worth his while to take it.
"Really that is very singular," said the squire. "Thieves generally take whatever they find, and are not very likely to leave a watch behind." ”

“ He is a better man than I gave him credit for," reflected Thomas Marks.
"I sympathize with the poor man heartily," continued the squire, following up the favorable impression which he could see that he had made. "A thousand dollars is a fortune to him. To us, Mr. Marks, it would not be so important."
"Speak for yourself, squire. I am by no means a millionaire."
"Nor I," rejoined Squire Bates, laughing. "The assessors of Waterford would be glad if I were." ”

“ He seems to think he is my equal."
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"I am afraid you are too proud, Brandon."
"Isn't father the richest man in Waterford, I'd like to know? Dean Dunham is the nephew of a poor carpenter, who keeps him out of charity."
"Ah, Brandon, you shouldn't value people for their money."
"Dean Dunham is no fit companion for me. If I were in the city, I should find plenty of associates." ”

“ Eben Jones shook his head.
"I'm going to buy a farm at home, and put the rest of the money in the savings bank," he said.
"How is it with you, Mr. Rawson?"
"No doubt your advice is good, but I want to let the folks at home see what I have brought in solid cash."
"And you?" continued the agent, turning to Dean.
"I will invest two thousand dollars in Denver lots," said Dean, promptly, "and take the rest home as a present to my uncle and aunt."
"You won't regret it. Denver is growing rapidly. I predict that the lots will double in your hands in a year." ”

“ THE MISSING SLEEVE BUTTON.
Squire Bates was as good as his word. He drew up a subscription paper, and headed it with a subscription of fifty dollars, and went through the village with it. At the end of three days he came again to Adin Dunham's plain home, and handed Mrs. Dunham a hundred and fifty dollars.
"It won't make up your husband's loss," he said, "but it is better than nothing. I wish I could afford to give more myself."
"How kind you are, Squire Bates!" said Mrs. Dunham, weeping softly. "God has indeed raised up a friend for us in our time of trouble." ”

“ Squire Bates repeated what he had heard from Dean, though he might have gone more into details from his own knowledge. This, of course, he could not venture upon.
"It seems extraordinary," said Thomas Marks, thoughtfully. "How could the robber have known that Adin Dunham had received any money?"
"He might have seen him at your office."
"I don't pay money to every one that calls upon me," said Marks, smiling. ”

“ This man Kirby who was now Dean's employer, was a friend and associate. Why under the circumstances should Squire Bates have been willing to send him off as Kirby's clerk or secretary? If there was anything to conceal, it was only giving him an opportunity to find it out.
"I must keep my eyes open," thought Dean. "I mean to find out who robbed my uncle, and whether Squire Bates had anything to do with it. If I could only recover the money I should be happy."
"What are you thinking about so intently?" asked Guy. ”

“ At about fifteen minutes to five o'clock Dean and his employer went down to the foot of Murray Street, and went on board the steamer Pilgrim of the famous Fall River line. Mr. Kirby succeeded in obtaining a stateroom, with two berths, and allowed Dean to occupy the upper one.
Our young hero surveyed with admiration the palatial accommodations of the great steamer; the grand saloon, the showy chandeliers, the handsome furniture and costly mirrors.
"You can amuse yourself as you please," said Kirby. "I shall be occupied till about ten o'clock, when I shall be ready to go to bed." ”

“ THE SQUIRE'S BOLD STROKE.
"That boy evidently suspects me," thought Renwick Bates, contracting his forehead. "He is altogether too smart. With the help of his uncle, whose suspicions are already excited, he may make me trouble. I must take a bold course, and make the accusations look ridiculous."
Squire Bates kept on his way till he reached Rockmount, and drove at once to the office of Thomas Marks. ”

“ DR. THORP'S CABINET.
Dr. Thorp had been pleased with Peter Kirby, who had laid himself out to be agreeable, and the doctor was far from suspecting his real character. When this was revealed to him by Dean, he quickly decided to test it for himself.
Some men, inclined to be nervous and timid, would have had their apprehensions excited, and dreaded an encounter with a professional criminal. But Dr. Thorp was cool, resolute and determined. He proposed to facilitate Kirby's designs, and catch him in a trap. ”

“ Why, Uncle Adin has been at work for forty years, and I don't believe the old place would fetch that."
"Money's easier to come at than in the old times. You'll astonish the old folks, lad."
"There'll be some others that'll be surprised," said Dean, smiling. "Squire Bates and Brandon among the rest."
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"It's better than going home like a tramp. It's strange how much more people think of you when you're worth a little property. And I don't know but they're right. To get money, I mean honestly, a man must have some brains, and he must be willing to work. ”

“ DEAN SPRANG INTO THE BOAT AND PUSHED OFF FROM THE SHORE.
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"I am afraid there is no hope of it now, Dean," said Adin Dunham, sighing, "unless I can get my lost money back."
"Uncle Adin, I want to help you pay the mortgage, and for that reason I want you to let me leave home."
"What have you got in your head, Dean? What good will it do to leave home?"
"I can earn some money. Here in Waterford there is no chance for a boy like me to get hold of any."
"It's a risky thing for a boy as young as you to start for himself, Dean. ”

“ Do you know how much this boat cost?"
"No."
"It cost fifty dollars," said Brandon, in an important tone.
"Is that a good deal of money?"
"I should say it was. It'll be years before Dean Dunham sees as much money as that."
"Dean is a nice boy!" said Tommy, surmising that his favorite was spoken of slightingly.
"Oh, he's well enough in his place, but he's a poor working boy."
"My mother says he's awful good to work," asserted Tommy.
"Well, that's what he's made for. But here we are at the island. Wouldn't you like to land, Tommy?" ”

“ Sarah Dunham put the fifty dollars carefully aside. It seemed strange to her to have so much money in her individual possession. She felt grateful to the squire, if Adin did not.
Weeks passed, and Adin Dunham was able to go about his work. But he seemed a changed man. All his ambition and energy seemed to be gone. He was no longer able to do as much work as formerly, and he went about the place in a listless manner, which made Dean and his aunt feel anxious. Whenever he caught sight of the squire he hurried away, apparently anxious to avoid him. ”

“ Squire Bates rose from his seat, locked the door, and then opening a small cabinet drew out a roll of bills—which he counted before his visitor.
"See," he said, "Here are twenty bills, amounting in all to a thousand dollars."
Peter Kirby's eyes brightened covetously as he eyed this large sum of money.
"It was a good haul for one man to make, in a quiet place like this," he said. ”

“ If they don't like each other they can keep apart."
"Dean is an excellent boy. I don't know how we should get along without him."
"I indorse all that, wife," said Adin Dunham heartily.
"He's always cheerful and willin'—always ready to do chores and give up his own pleasure. I remember last winter he'd set his heart on going with a skatin' party, but when I was taken sick, he stayed at home and tended me, without a word of complaint. He couldn't have done no more if he'd been a son instead of a nephew." ”

“ Any lingering doubts Dean might have were of course dissipated by the sight of the watch. It was evident that his employer was a professional thief and pickpocket. The question arose, ought he or ought he not to expose and denounce him?
Should he do so he would find himself adrift, without money or situation. Moreover, he would lose the chance of proving Kirby the accomplice of Squire Bates in the robbery of his uncle. On the whole, he decided to wait, and conceal from Kirby the knowledge that he had acquired concerning him. ”

“ When he has made his pile, he's going back to her."
"And how about you, Mr. Rawson?"
"Never mind about the handle to my name, youngster. Call me Ben."
"But you are so much older than I," objected Dean.
"We're free and easy out here—it's the best way. When we get back to the East you may call me Mr. Rawson if you want to. I say, Eben, if we take the boy into partnership, he ought to have some capital."
"I am sorry that I can't put in any capital," said Dean. "Besides this watch I haven't over five dollars about me." ”

“ We can tell better this time to-morrow. If you do, how can we tell but the rest may also come true?"
"If it were the violin or the banjo! But a little cheap harmonica!"
"Never mind what the instrument is if you know how to handle it. Now let me tell you one thing that will encourage you: I think we are going to have a big house."
"What makes you think so?"
"There hasn't been an entertainment in Granville for several weeks. The people are hungry to be amused. They patronize performances like ours much better in the West than at the East. There the people are more humdrum and steady going. ”

“ You're a pesky young spy. We don't propose to leave you at liberty to injure us."
"Was that why Squire Bates arranged for you to take me with you?" asked Dean, with a penetrating look.
"What motive could he have except to help you to a position?" answered Kirby, evasively.
"I don't know," answered Dean, emphasizing the last word.
"But you suspect something. Is that it?"
Dean nodded.
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"Boy, you are too candid for your own good. It is clear that you are too sharp to be kept at liberty."
"Do you mean to take me back to the cave?" ”