CHAPTER IV.
WHERE THE BOX WAS.
This startling piece of information seemed to strike Jack Sheldonmotionless and speechless with astonishment. His under jaw droppeddown, and he even clutched the back of a chair, as if seekingsomething with which to support himself. The two boys stood atopposite sides of the room looking at each other, and then Jackrecovered himself.
"Gone!" he repeated. "You are mistaken; you have overlooked it. I sawit night before last myself."
"I don't care," said Julian, emphatically; "I have taken the clothesall out, and the box is gone. Look and see for yourself."
Julian stepped down from the chair and Jack took his place. He peeredinto every nook and corner of the dark shelf, passed his hands overit, and then, with something like a sigh, got down and began to hangthe clothes up in their proper places. Then he closed the door of thecloset, took a chair, and gazed earnestly at the floor.
"Well, sir, what do you think of that?" said Julian.
"Didn't I tell you that if anybody came in here to look for that boxwhile we were not here it would be Casper Nevins, and nobody else?"said Jack.
"You surely don't suspect him!" exclaimed Julian.
"I _do_ suspect him; if you could get inside his room to-night youwould find the box."
"Why, then he is a thief!" said Julian, jumping up from his chair andwalking the floor. "Shall we go down to No. 8 Station and ask thepolice to send a man up there and search him?"
"I don't know whether that would be the best way or not," said Jack,reflectively. "Has Casper got many friends among the boys of youroffice?"
"I don't believe he's got one friend there who treats him any betterthan I do. The boys are all shy of him."
"And well they may be. That boy got a key somewhere that will fit ourdoor, and came in here and took that box. You say he has not anyfriends on whom he can depend in the office?"
"Not one. If he has any friends, none of us know who they are."
"Then he must be alone in stealing the box from us. He has it there inhis room, for he has no other place to hide it. Do you know what sortof a key he has to fit his door?"
"Of course I do. I was with him when he got it. It is a combinationkey; one that he folds up when he puts it into his pocket."
"Do you believe you can buy another like it?"
"By George! That's an idea. Let us go down and find out. Thento-morrow, if I can get away, I will come up here and go through hisroom."
That was Jack's notion entirely. He wanted to see "the biter bit"--toknow that he would feel, when he awoke some fine morning and found hisfortune gone, just how they were feeling now. They put on their coatsand locked the door,--it seemed a mockery to them now to lock thedoor when their fortune was gone,--and, after walking briskly for afew minutes, turned into the store where Casper had purchased his key.When Julian told the clerk that he wanted to see some combinationkeys, he threw out upon the counter a box which was filled tooverflowing.
"Do you remember a telegraph boy who was in here several months agoand bought a combination lock to fit his door?" asked Julian. "I wasin here at the time, and I know he bought the lock of you."
"Seems to me that I _do_ remember something about that," said theclerk, turning around to the shelves behind him and taking downanother box, "and we have got just one lock of that sort left."
"Are you sure this key will open his door?" asked Julian.
"I am sure of it. If it don't open his door, you can bring it back andexchange it for another."
Julian told him that he would take the lock, and while the clerk wasgone to another part of the store to do it up he whispered to Jack,
"I have just thought of something. He has not any closet in his roomthat I know of, and who knows but that he may have put that box in histrunk? I had better get some keys to his trunk while I am about it."
"Do you remember how the key looked?" asked Jack.
"I guess I can come pretty close to it," answered Julian.
The work of selecting a key to the trunk was not so easy; but Julianmanaged to satisfy himself at last, and the boys left the store.Julian did not say anything, but he was certain that the box would bein his own possession before that time to-morrow. That would be betterthan calling the police to search his room. In the latter case, Casperwould be held for trial, and Julian did not want to disgrace himbefore all the boys in the office.
"I will give Mr. Wiggins the box as soon as I get my hands on it, butI shan't say anything to him about Casper's stealing it," said he."Would you?"
"You are mighty right I _would_," exclaimed Jack, who looked at hisfriend in utter surprise. "He stole it, didn't he? He was going tocheat Haberstro out of it if he showed up, and, failing that, he wouldleave us here to work all our lives while he lived on the fat of theland. No, sir; if you get the box you must tell Mr Wiggins about it."
For the first time in a long while the boys did not sleep much thatnight. Jack was thinking about Casper's atrocity,--for he consideredthat was about the term to apply to him for stealing their box,--andJulian was wondering if he was going to get into Casper's room andrecover the fortune which he was attempting to deprive them of.
"I tell you, that boy is coming to some bad end," said Jack. "I wouldnot be in his boots for all the money he will ever be worth."
"I don't care what end he comes to," said Julian, "but I was justthinking what would happen to us if this key did not open his door. Wewould then have to get the police, sure enough."
Morning came at length, and at the usual hour Julian was on hand inthe telegraph office, waiting to see what his duties were going to be.As usual, he found Casper Nevins there. He looked closely at Julianwhen he came in, but could not see anything in the expression of hisface that led him to believe there was anything wrong.
"Good-morning, Julian," said he.
"Good-morning," said Julian. "How do you feel this morning?"
"Right as a trivet. I feel much better than you will when you findthat that box is gone," added Casper to himself. "He hasn't found itout yet, and I hope he will not until I get my pay. I have waited andwatched for this a long time, and, thank heaven! I have found it atlast. I wish I knew somebody who would take that box and hide it forme; but I can't think of a living soul."
All the fore part of that day Julian was kept busy running to thelower part of the city with messages, and not a chance did he get togo up past Casper's room. Two or three times he was on the point ofasking Mr. Wiggins to excuse him for a few minutes, but he alwaysshrunk from it for fear of the questions that gentleman would ask him."Where did he want to go?" "What did he want to go after?" "What washe going to do when he got there?" and Julian was quite certain thathe could not answer these questions without telling a lie. While hewas thinking it over he heard his name called, and found that he mustgo right by Casper's room in order to take the message where it was togo. He seemed to be treading on air when he walked up to take thetelegraphic dispatch.
"Do you know where that man lives?" asked the operator.
"I know pretty nearly where he lives," answered Julian.
"Well, take it there, and be back as soon as you can, for I shall wantto send you somewhere else. What's the matter with you, Julian? Youseem to be gay about something."
"I don't know that I feel any different from what I always do,"replied Julian. "I will go there as soon as I can."
When Julian got into the street, his first care was to find his keys.They were all there; and, to gain the time that he would occupy inlooking about the room, Julian broke into a trot, knowing that thepolice would not trouble him while he had that uniform on. At the endof an hour he began to draw close to Casper's room, and there heslackened his pace to a walk.
"Ten minutes more and the matter will be decided," said Julian, hisheart beating with a sound that frightened him. "That boy has the box,and I am going to have it."
A few steps more brought him to the stairs that led up to Casper'sroom. It was over a grocery store, an
d the steps ran up beside it. Heturned in there without anybody seeing him, and stopped in front ofthe door. The combination key was produced, and to Julian's immensedelight the door came open the very first try.
"I guess I won't lock it," muttered Julian. "I might lock myself in.He does not keep his room as neat as we do ours."
Julian took one glance about the apartment, taking in the tumbledbedclothes, and the dishes from which Casper had eaten his breakfaststill unwashed on the table, and then turned his attention to what hadbrought him there. There was no closet in the room, and the box wasnot under the bed; it must therefore be in his trunk. One afteranother of the keys was tried without avail, and Julian was about togive it up in despair, when the last key--the one on Jack'sbunch--opened the trunk, which he found in the greatest confusion. Helifted off the tray, and there was the box, sure enough. Julian tookit, and hugged it as though it was a friend from whom he had long beenseparated.
"Now the next question is, are the papers all here?" thought he."There were seven of them besides the letter, and who knows but thathe has taken a block of buildings away from us."
But the papers were all there. However much Casper might have beentempted to realize on some of the numerous "blocks of buildings" whichthe box called for, he dared not attempt the sale of any of them. Itwas as much as he could do to steal the papers. Julian placed the trayback and carefully locked the trunk, and then looking around, found apaper with which to do up his box. Then he locked the door, came down,and went on to deliver his message.
"That boy called us foolish because we advertised for Mr. Haberstro,"said Julian, as he carefully adjusted the box under his arm. "I wouldlike to know if we were bigger fools than he was. We could have foundthe police last night as easy as not, and it would have been notrouble for them to find the box. He ought not to have left it therein his trunk. He didn't think that we could play the same game on himthat he played upon us."
Julian conveyed his message and returned to his office in less timethan he usually did, and, after reporting, told Mr. Wiggins in awhisper that he would like to see him in the back room.
"I know what you want," said Mr. Wiggins, as he went in. "You havebeen up to the express office, buying some more of that 'old horse.'Some day I am going to give you fits for that. It is the only thing Ihave stored up against you."
"Can you tell when I did it?" asked Julian, slowly unfolding the boxwhich he carried under his arm. "Haven't I carried my telegraphicdispatches in as little time as anybody? Now, I have something herethat is worth having. Read that letter, and see if it isn't."
Mr. Wiggins seated himself on the table and slowly read the letterwhich Julian placed in his hands, and it was not long before he becamedeeply interested in it. When he had got through he looked at the boywith astonishment.
"I declare, Julian, you're lucky," said he. "Now, the next thing foryou to do is to advertise for Haberstro."
"We have already advertised for him. We have put four insertions inthe papers."
"And he doesn't come forward to claim his money? Put two otheradvertisements in, and if he don't show up the money is yours."
"That is what I wanted to get at," said Julian, with a sigh of relief."Now, Mr. Wiggins, I wish you would take this and lock it upsomewhere. I don't think it safe in our house."
"Certainly I'll do it. By George! Who would think you were worth ahundred thousand dollars!"
"It isn't ours yet," said Julian, with a smile. "About the time we getready to use it, here will come Mr. Haberstro, and we will have togive it up to him."
"Well, you are honest, at any rate, or you would not have advertisedfor him. This beats me, I declare. I won't scold you this time, butdon't let it happen again."
"I'll never go into that express office again while I live," saidJulian, earnestly. "I have had my luck once, and I don't believe itwill come again."
When Julian went out into the office he saw Casper there, and he wasas white as a sheet. Julian could not resist the temptation to pat animaginary box under his arm and wink at Casper.
"What do you mean by that pantomime?" said he.
"It means that you can't get the start of two fellows who have theireyes open," said Julian. "I've got the box."
"You have?" gasped Casper. "You've been into my room when I was notthere? I'll have the police after you before I am five minutes older!"
Casper jumped to his feet and began to look around for his hat.