Randy of the River Part 43

"I presume I shall have to stand for what I have done," he answered, meekly. "Of one thing I am certain, Mrs. Bangs. Your husband has those papers, or else he has destroyed them."

"You can say what you please, Mr. Bangs is an honest man and a gentleman," retorted the fashionable woman.

At last there was nothing left to do but to leave the mansion, which Mr. Bartlett did with reluctance.

"I am afraid I have made a mess of it," he said to his lawyer. "I was certain we would find those papers."

"I am afraid you have hurt your case, Mr. Bartlett," answered the legal light, bluntly. "Bangs will now be on his guard and will take good care to keep those papers away from you."

"Perhaps he has destroyed them."

"That is not unlikely, since it would do him small good to keep them."

"What do you advise me to do next?"

"You had better wait and see what develops," said the lawyer.

The safe opener and the constable were paid off and Philip Bartlett returned to Albany in anything but a happy frame of mind. A day or two later he called upon Randy, when the steamboat tied up at the dock for the night.

"My fat is in the fire," he said to our hero, and told of his failure to locate the missing doc.u.ments.

"Mr. Bartlett, I am sure Mr. Bangs said the papers were in his safe!"

cried Randy. "He must have taken them out when he returned home."

"You can be a witness if the matter is brought into court?"

"Of course. I remember very well all I heard."

"Well, that is something," answered Philip Bartlett, hopefully.

He went home and the next day received a strong letter from Amos Bangs denouncing him for the action he had taken. Part of the letter ran as follows:

"I should sue you for damages, only I do not wish to drag you into court on account of your wife and family. In the future you need expect no favors from me. I am done with you. If you want to sell your stock in the iron company I will give you the market price, not a cent more. Remember, I shall be on my guard against you in the future, and if you dare to molest me again you shall take the consequences."

"He will do what he can to ruin us," said Mrs. Bartlett when her husband read the letter to her.

"I suppose so."

"What is the market price of the stock?"

"It has no regular market value now. Bangs will buy it for about ten cents on the dollar."

"Oh, Philip, that is so little!"

"I'll not sell the stock," said Mr. Bartlett. "I'd rather lose every cent than play into Amos Bangs's hands!"

CHAPTER XXV

A VICTORY FOR RANDY

One day Randy was out in Albany buying a new pair of shoes when he met Rose Clare, who was also doing some shopping for her mother.

"Oh, Randy, how do you do!" cried the girl, running up and shaking hands.

"Very well, Rose," he answered. "You look well."

"Oh, I am feeling splendid."

"It did you good to get out of New York."

"Indeed it did, and mamma is ever so much better too."

"I am glad to hear that. Do you like it at Captain Hadley's home?"

"Yes, mamma and Mrs. Hadley have become great friends."

"Do you go to school?"

"Yes. And, oh, I 'most forgot to tell you. I got a letter from New York to-day. It was from another girl, one who lived in the house with us.

She says Bill Hosker has come back to that neighborhood."

"To stay?"

"She says he is around every night."

"Then I am going to hunt him up."

"Oh, Randy, please don't get into any more trouble," pleaded Rose.

"He has got to give back my money, or take the consequences."

"You know what a ruffian he is!"

"I will be on my guard this time, Rose, and maybe I'll take a friend along," added our hero.

When he returned to the steamboat he told Jones about what he had heard. Jones was now feeling very well once again, and he readily volunteered to go with Randy and hunt up Hosker as soon as the boat got to the metropolis. Then Pat Malloy got wind of what was up and said he would go too.

"It's no use of going to the police wid such a mather," said the head deckhand. "We'll bring the rascal to terms ourselves."

It was a clear, cool night when the landing was made at New York. The deckhands hurried through their labors and then made off for the neighborhood where Randy had been attacked.

"Here is the spot where I was first robbed," said our hero, and pointed it out.

They walked around the neighborhood for nearly an hour, and were growing somewhat disheartened when Randy gave a cry: