The Adventures of a Country Boy at a Country Fair Part 4

"Where is he?" the stranger asked, advancing threateningly.

"I don't know. He ran away when he saw it was a mistake."

The crowd immediately began to disperse. The policeman called down quite the reverse of blessings on Sam's head, and then walked away, leaving Teddy and the stranger comparatively alone.

"I don't know as it does any harm to have a lot of fools chasing a man,"

the latter said, "but it might give him a bad name in his work."

"I'm very sorry, sir, but you see----"

"I'm not blaming you, my boy, since it was the other fellow who did the mischief. Tell me how you lost your stuff."

"My what?"

"Your stuff--money."

"Oh!" and Teddy at once gave the stranger a detailed account of all that had happened, the latter saying, as the story was concluded:

"I wouldn't be afraid to bet my head that Long Jim was the duck who played the trick. I know he came here, headed for the fair grounds, and it's jest about his style of working."

"Do you think there's any chance I'll get it back?"

"He shall give up if I see him. I'll be at the fair myself, working a neat little game, and will see you there."

With this remark the stranger walked away, and Teddy went toward the depot once more, feeling quite certain he had made a friend who would aid him in his new venture.

CHAPTER IV.

_UNCLE NATHAN._

When Teddy reached the depot he was not obliged to hunt very long for Sam, for that young gentleman crept out from behind a pile of baggage on seeing his friend was alone, and asked, in a hoa.r.s.e whisper:

"What did that feller do to you?"

"Nothing; but that don't prove we should get out of another sc.r.a.pe so easily, and you must be careful, or we'll be in no end of trouble before the fair is ended."

"I was only tryin' to catch your money."

"It surely wouldn't have done any harm if you had found out whether that was the man or not before you started the whole crowd after him."

"That's right, rub it into a feller when he tries to do you a good turn," Sam said, sarcastically, and then remembering an instant later that he proposed to be this boy's guest, he added, "I was only lookin'

out for you, an' so long as there's been no harm done we needn't talk about it. Do you still mean to walk home?"

"There's nothing else to be done, if we want to get to the Run to-night, for the stage left while we were chasing that man."

This was exactly what he did not want to do; but, under the circ.u.mstances, there was no help for it, and the young gentleman who expected to form such a prominent portion of the fair set out by the side of the friend whom he had injured while thinking to do him a favor.

At the end of a trifle less than three hours, when both were footsore, hungry, and weary, the boys arrived at Teddy's home, and Mrs. Hargreaves made the stranger welcome despite the inconvenience caused by his coming.

Not until after Sam had retired did Teddy tell his mother of the theft, and for several moments the widow was in great mental distress; but finally she viewed the matter in a more cheerful light, and it was resolved that Uncle Nathan should not be told of the mishap.

"It would only make him angry," Mrs. Hargreaves said, "and you must pay him before the merchant who was so kind to you gets his money; but I am terribly afraid, Teddy, that the whole scheme will be a failure."

The amateur fakir a.s.sured her as best he could, and when they retired that night both Teddy and his mother were in a comparatively contented frame of mind.

The following day was Sunday, on which not even the all engrossing topic of cane-boards and knives was to be discussed; but before the family had finished breakfast the arrival of a stranger forced them into worldly topics.

The newcomer was none other than the man whom Sam had accused of being the thief, and he explained the cause of his visit by saying:

"I have reason to believe that Long Jim, the fakir who got away with your son's money, will be over here to-night, because the hotels at Peach Bottom are crowded, and it is possible he may be forced to give up the stuff." Although not exactly understanding what he meant, the widow insisted on his coming into the house, and he laid the details of his plan before Teddy and Sam.

"I'll hang around here for him," the stranger said, "and you shall say if he is the man who did you up; after that I'll take a hand in the business, and it'll be queer if between us all we can't make him do the square thing, more especially since the rest of his gang haven't come yet."

As might be expected, Teddy was excited by the prospect of recovering the money which he had believed was lost beyond reclaim, and plans were at once laid to trap the dishonest fakir.

While this conversation was being carried on Uncle Nathan came in to learn how his nephew had succeeded in town, and the stranger introduced himself as Frank Hazelton, a dealer in jewelry, which was to be on exhibition during the coming week at the fair.

The old man was delighted to make the stranger's acquaintance, for he fancied there would be an opportunity for him to take the agency of a valuable line of goods without the outlay of any money, and in a very few moments the two were fast friends.

Uncle Nathan not only monopolized nearly all the conversation, but insisted on showing Mr. Hazelton around the village, and actually forced the latter to accompany him, despite the fact that it was Sunday, when an honest merchant is not supposed to so much as think of business.

On the following day it would be necessary for those who had purchased the privilege of doing business on the fair grounds to be present, ready to select their different sites for working, and very shortly after the sun sank behind the hills Sam and Teddy retired in order to be ready for an early start next morning, since the first stage left the Run at half-past five.

It lacked fully an hour of that time when the boys were called to breakfast by Mrs. Hargreaves, and in less than fifteen minutes they were at the table eating a hearty breakfast, which was interrupted by the appearance of Uncle Nathan, who looked as if he had not been in bed since the evening previous.

"I've been robbed!" he cried, pa.s.sionately, "and this is what comes of trying to help my nephew enter a disreputable line of business. I believe you induced that man to come here, explaining all about my store, simply that he might act the burglar. And it wouldn't take much to make me think you had agreed to divide with him the ill-gotten gains," he added, shaking his fist in the direction of Teddy, who was so astounded by the news as to be literally incapable of movement.

"What do you mean, Nathan?" Mrs. Hargreaves cried.

"Just what I said! My store was robbed last night, and your precious son knows the thief better than I do!"

"You mean the man who came here yesterday?" the widow asked, while Teddy and Sam gazed at the old man in open-mouthed astonishment.

"Of course I do; who else could it be? Didn't I take him over there yesterday, and didn't I explain just how difficult it was to deposit money in a bank, because a man would have to pay a dollar to go to Waterville an' back, or trust the stage driver to do the business?"

By this time Teddy had recovered something like composure, and he said, gravely:

"We have no means of knowing what you said to Mr. Hazelton, but if you told him all your business, that is no concern of ours. You insisted on his going away with you, and we haven't seen him since."

"But you lied to me about my money."

"In what way?"

"You never said a word about its being stolen."