CHAPTER XL.

GATHERING UP THE SWINDLERS.

Later in the morning the partners and clerks of the store came. A thorough examination of the establishment was made, and it was found that none of the goods had been carried away. Some of the watches in the bag which had been conveyed to the street were somewhat injured, probably by the descent of Wade upon the robber, who was at work on the bag at the time; but a few hundred dollars would repair all the damage. The two robbers and Steeples had been ironed and taken away by the police, who came back as soon as they had committed their prisoners, to continue the examination.

Wade Brooks was questioned by Mr. Maynard and his partners till he was exhausted from the want of food and sleep. The excitement had subsided, and he felt the effect of his long vigil. He began to feel faint and sick.

“I can’t say any thing more,” replied he, sinking into a chair in the private office of Mr. Maynard.

“Why, what is the matter, my lad?” asked the senior partner of the firm, who saw that the brave boy was pale and faint.

“I am about used up,” said Wade wearily. “I haven’t had any thing to eat since yesterday noon, and I didn’t sleep more than two or three hours in that box last night; and I worked hard from the time I got up till you came in the morning. I had to watch those fellows all the time, for once one of them nearly got loose.”

“It was very thoughtless of me not to think that we were keeping you till after ten o’clock in the morning without your breakfast,” said Mr. Maynard, hastily seizing his hat.

“I shouldn’t mind it if I had had any supper last night,” added Wade, trying to laugh.

“I shall not forgive myself for not thinking of your wants. Now come with me, and we will make it right as soon as possible,” said the senior.

Mr. Maynard conducted him to Delmonico’s, where he ordered the best that could be had even at that famous place, and three times as much as the famished boy could eat. The wealthy jeweller watched him with genuine interest, as he consumed his beefsteak and potatoes and omelet; and Wade came to himself before he had half finished the meal.

“I have to go down to Flinker’s restaurant some time this forenoon,” said Wade, when he began to feel like himself. “A man robbed me of a hundred dollars yesterday; and it was every cent of money I had in the world.”

Mr. Maynard wanted to know about it; and Wade told his story from the hour he had left Midhampton down to the time he had made his bed in the boxes in the rear of the store. The jeweller was interested; and Wade gave all the names, keeping back nothing. He was musing all the time upon the story to which he was listening, or something else.

“I have had a hard time of it since I came to New York, and I don’t think I am equal to these swindlers you have here. They clean me out every time.”

“An officer of the police shall go with you, to the restaurant and the employment office, and see what can be done; but I don’t think you will ever see your money again,” added Mr. Maynard.

“I don’t like to have to sleep in boxes and barrels in the street; and I shouldn’t have to if I could get something to do. I am willing to work, and do hard work too.”

“Don’t trouble yourself any more about that matter, for I shall see that you have a place,” added Mr. Maynard, in the kindest of tones.

“Thank you, sir: I shall be very glad to get a place on the smallest wages; and I will do my best for the man that hires me.”

When they returned to the store, the senior called the officer of police, who was still about the premises, looking up the facts in the case, and told him of Wade’s experience in the employment office.

“Now, Barnett, I want you to go with the young man, and do what you can to set him right,” said Mr. Maynard.

“It is a hard case to find these fellows,” said the officer, “but I will do the best I can.”

Mr. Barnett and Wade left the private office together. They walked along by the counter for some distance, where customers were looking at the goods. Suddenly Wade pulled the coat of the officer, and turned square around, evidently so that somebody should not see his face.

“What’s the matter?” asked the policeman.

“Do you see the man that is looking into the glass case?” added Wade greatly excited,--“the man in a frock coat?”

“I see him.”

“That is Mr. Flinker!”

“Do you mean that he is the one who keeps the restaurant?”

“He is the one that pretended to keep it.”

“Are you very sure?” inquired the careful officer.

“He has changed his clothes, and is fixed up more than he was yesterday; but I know he is the one.”

Mr. Barnett had so much confidence in the boy, that he immediately arrested the man, and, in spite of his energetic protest, put the handcuffs upon him. He was looking at some gold rings when he was taken; and Wade concluded that he was spending his money upon these trinkets.

“You are utterly mistaken in your man, Mr. Officer,” said Mr. Flinker.

“If you will give me your name and residence, I will try to find out the truth of what you say,” replied Mr. Barnett.

“I live in Buffalo,” added the thief.

“Street and number; and I will telegraph to the police of Buffalo,” said the business-like officer.

“I don’t care to frighten my family with any inquiries of the sort you propose,” replied Mr. Flinker, who evidently did not like the plan mentioned.

“Very well, Mr. Flinker: I can tell whether or not you are the man I want, without disturbing your family in Buffalo,” added Mr. Barnett.

He called a carriage; and the trio drove to the restaurant.

“You think the real Mr. Flinker will know this gentleman, don’t you, Wade?” asked the officer.

“I am sure he will; for he was talking with him for some time,” answered Wade.

And so it proved. The old gentleman was confident he was the man who had come in with the boy the day before; and he was willing to swear to his identity.

“But where have you been all the morning, my lad?” asked the genuine Mr. Flinker. “The officer who was to look up your case waited two hours for you; and then we concluded that you were a fraud, and that you had been making fools of us all.”

“He has been well employed; and he is no fraud,” interposed Mr. Barnett. “In my opinion, he is the smartest boy in New York City.”

“Is that so?” exclaimed the elder Mr. Flinker. “If that is the case, I don’t know but I can find something for him to do. He wanted to get a place.”

“I think he will get a better place than you will be able to give him,” added the officer.

“I can’t give him ten dollars a week, and his board; but I will give him a job, and pay him all he is worth to me.”

“I am much obliged to you, Mr. Flinker; and, if I find I want a place, I will come down and hire out with you,” added Wade, who was certainly very grateful for the offer.

“I think he will get his ten dollars a week,” said Mr. Barnett. “Now we will try to find the employment office. You have no idea where it is, you say.”

“I only know that it is farther from Broadway than this place is, and it is over this way,” replied Wade, pointing in the direction he had come the day before.

“Perhaps you can tell us where it is, Mr. Flinker,” said the officer, turning to his prisoner.

“I know nothing at all about it. You have got hold of the wrong man, and you will find it so,” replied the swindler.

“When I do, I will let you know,” laughed Mr. Barnett. “Never mind, Wade: I know where the place is, from your description.”

This proved to be the case; for he conducted his party to the employment office which Wade had visited the preceding day. But the oily-tongued fellow who had been in attendance was not there. One with all his qualifications was behind the counter, however; and the officer opened upon him at once. He knew of no such man as Wade described. He was the keeper of the office, and he had no person in his employ.

“It must have been some other place,” suggested the man behind the counter.

Wade was willing to make oath that this was the right place. At this point in the interview, two officers on this beat, who had been told by the captain to come to the office, made their appearance. They insisted that the office was a swindling-shop, and they had looked it up. They knew the other man, and were sure they could find him in the course of a day or two. The man in charge and Mr. Flinker were arrested, and sent to the Tombs.

The next day the other man was discovered, and the trio were tried for the swindle, and sent to Sing Sing for a term of years. On Mr. Flinker was found a roll of bills, which on counting them contained one hundred dollars. They were on the Walnut National Bank, and Wade was sure they were the ones taken from him. They were given back to him, and the boy from the country was rich again. Wade proved to be a good witness in this case and in the one against the robbers of the jewelry-store. There were plenty of witnesses to confirm about all his statements; and he stood the test of the lawyers that defended the burglars very well indeed, for he told the truth, and only the truth, hit where it might.

After the arrest of the employment swindlers, Wade went back to the store of Maynard & Co. As the poor boy went into the private office, it was plain enough to all that he was used up. The excitement had been tremendous. He gaped fearfully.

“I see, my lad, that you are tired out and very sleepy,” said the senior partner. “Come with me, and I will try to do something for you.”

Wade followed him out into the store. The ceiling was at least eighteen feet from the floor. On one side, beginning in the middle and extending to the rear, was a kind of gallery, ten feet above the floor. Part of this was partitioned off so as to contain rooms used for various purposes. Wade followed Mr. Maynard up a flight of stairs that led to this gallery. In the rear, which was lighted by windows opening into the back street, were several work-shops for the repair of articles of jewelry. Passing through these, they came to a room which was fitted up as a sleeping-apartment. It contained two beds; and every thing about it was almost as nice as the upper chambers of the hotel Wade had visited.

“This was John Steeples’s room,” said Mr. Maynard. “Another clerk used to sleep in the other bed; but he has been sick for the last week. You can go to bed here, and sleep till you are rested. If you do not wake, I will have you called about six o’clock.”

Mr. Maynard left him, and Wade was soon in bed and fast asleep. He hardly noticed the apartment, he was so tired.

At the time stated, Mr. Maynard called him. The store had been closed, and most of the clerks had left; but the partners were all there. Wade was conducted to the private office, where the firm were assembled. Wade wondered “what was up.”