"This safe, here, has been looted, and a small box that contained
sixty-four thousand dollars' worth of bonds is gone."

At this announcement the old janitor threw up both hands and faltered
back a step or two.

"Sixty-four thousand, dollars, did you be after sayin'?" he gasped,
thinking be had not heard aright.

"That is what I said. Now then, just put on your, thinking cap, and
see if you can remember anything unusual that happened around here two
or three days ago."

"Two or three days ago. Let me see," mused the janitor, scratching his
head. "I don't remember anything-- Oh, yes, I do!" he burst out.

"What was that?" queried all three of the Rovers, while the office boy
looked on with mouth wide open.

"'Twas one avenin' about siven or eight

o'clock. Me an' me family were up stairs, clanin' out an office that
has just been rinted. Kittie, me gurrel, wint down stairs for some
extra dustin' rags. Whin she came back, she said she saw a man
a-walkin' through the hallway outside. She said that as soon as he saw
her, he didn't wait for the illevator, but went down the stairs in a
big hurry."

"Did she know the man?"

"She did not. At least, she said she didn't recognize him, for, you
see, there was only one little light burnin' in the hallway, because
nearly all the tinnents had gone home. The illevator wouldn't have
been runnin', only we was goin' to take up the stuff to the office we
was cleanin' on the fifth floor."

"Your daughter saw that man in the hallway?" questioned Tom. "Did he
seem to come from these offices?"

"No, I axed her particular, and she said he seemed to be comin' from
the back av the hall."

"What is back there?" asked Sam.

"A winder wid a fire escape outside," answered the janitor. "Likewise,
I've a sink closet there, where I keep me brooms and me brushes and
such."

"And you have no idea who the man was?" questioned Dick.

"No, sur. I axed Kitty how he looked, but she said she hadn't seen his
face-- that he turned away from her and went down the stairs as fast
as he could."

"More than likely that was the thief!" exclaimed Tom. "The question
is: Who is he and where did he go?"

"Did your daughter say how the man was dressed?" asked Sam.

"Sure! She said he had on a dark suit of clothes and a dark, soft hat.
That's all she knew."

"Was he a big man?"

"Oh, she said he was about middlin' big."

This was all the old janitor could tell, and a little later he brought
in both his wife and his daughter to be interviewed. The girl was
almost scared to death, and could add nothing to what her father had
already told.

"Well, it's a clew, even if it is a slight one," was Tom's comment.
"Dick, I guess the best thing you can do is to call up police
headquarters."

"I'll do it. But please remember one thing," went on the oldest Rover
boy, turning to the janitor and his family and also the office boy.
"We want to keep this as quiet as possible for the present, so please
don't say anything about it." And all of them promised to keep silent.

It did not take long for Dick to get into communication with the
authorities, and after a short talk over the telephone, he was told
that a couple of detectives would be sent down to his once without
delay.

"Have you told Mr. Powell?" questioned Tom, suddenly.

"No, but I will call him up now," answered his older brother.

Of course the lawyer was astonished at the news, and asked what steps
had been taken to apprehend the thief. When told that the authorities
had been asked to take charge of the case, he wanted to know if he
could be of any assistance.

"I don't see how you can help us, Mr. Powell," answered Dick, over the
wire. "I suppose we will have to put the whole matter in the hands of
the police."

"Well, if I can do anything at all, let me know," answered Songbird's
uncle. "I am rather busy now, but as soon as I am at leisure, I will
call and talk the matter over with you."

Inside of half an hour the two detectives from headquarters arrived.
They were bright, sharp-eyed individuals, and they got down to
business without delay. They asked Dick innumerable questions, and
looked carefully at the safe, trying the combination several times,
and then inspected the offices and the hallway. After that they
subjected Kittie Donovan to a close examination, getting the girl to
tell everything she could possibly think of regarding the strange man
she had seen on the evening when the robbery had occurred.

"I think I know who did this job," said one of the detectives to the
other.

"Looks like the work of one of three men to me," returned the other
sleuth. "Baldy Jackson, Slim Martin, or Hank the Bluffer."

"You may be right, Joe, but I think it was Hank. If I've got the dope
right, those other two fellows you mention are not near New York just
now."

"Well, if Baldy and Slim can prove that they weren't around New York
at the time, then I'll agree with you that it was Hank who lifted that
box," returned the other detective.

"Who is this Hank the Bluffer?" questioned Dick, curiously.

"Oh, he's an old one at this sort of game," returned one of the
detectives. "He is a wonder at opening safes. Somebody told me once
that he made the assertion he could open any ordinary office safe
inside of fifteen minutes. He's got it all in his finger ends. They
are so sensitive that when he turns the safe knob, he can feel every
movement of the tumblers inside."

"And he is at liberty now?" asked Sam.

"He was the last I heard of him. He got out of a Massachusetts prison
about three months ago. Somebody told me he was in New York. I haven't
seen him, but if he is here I think we can round him up sooner or
later."

"Well, what we want are those bonds," declared Dick.

"Oh, sure! That's what we'll go after," declared the detective. "Even
if we locate our man, we won't arrest him until we can get him with
the goods."

Following this conversation, the detectives made a memorandum of all
the bonds that had been taken, along with the numbers thereon.

"If the thief is an old one at the game, it's not likely that he'll
try to use those registered bonds," said one of the detectives, "but
he'll find plenty of places where he can use the others, if he knows
the game."

"I'm inclined to agree with you on one point," said Dick. "And that is
that no ordinary person could have worked the combination of that
safe. It must have been some professional."

"You are right, Mr. Rover-- unless somebody got the figures of the
combination on the sly," answered the sleuth; and a few minutes later
he and his fellow-officer left, promising to make a report as soon as
anything worth while was brought to light.

Having gotten rid of the detectives and also of the janitor and his
family, the Rover boys shut themselves in the inner office to discuss
the situation. They had requested the authorities to keep the whole
matter quiet for the present, and this the detectives had agreed to
do.

"Now, first of all, Dick, tell us: Will this loss affect any of our
other investments?" asked Tom.

"Not for the present, Tom, but how we shall stand later on if the
securities are not recovered, I am not prepared to say." Dick's face
clouded. "You see, it is this way: We have our investments in the West
as well as those we went into in Boston some time ago. We-- that is,
dad-- was going to take a loan on that mining proposition. That would
involve our putting up some of those bonds-- say forty or fifty
thousand dollars' worth-- as collateral security with the banks. Now,
if we don't get the bonds back, dad will either have to cancel that
loan or, otherwise, put up something else as security-- and what else
we can put up just now, I don't know. It's a bad state of affairs."

"Oh, we've just got to get those bonds back!" cried Sam, impulsively.
"We've just got to!"

"Easy enough to say, Sam, but wishing them back isn't going to bring
them back," came from Tom, grimly.

"If we only had a little more of a clew to work on, we, ourselves,
might try to get those bonds back instead of relying on the
detectives," said Dick. "But when you haven't any clews, how are you
going to strike out?"

"We might try to find that strange man, whoever he is," suggested Tom.
"Although looking for him would be a good deal like looking for the
proverbial pin in the haystack. I would rather dig up the whole of the
Atlantic seacoast looking for Captain Kidd's treasure;" and he smiled
grimly.

  CHAPTER XX

 BARTON PELTER AGAIN

"Well, Dick, any news?"

"No, Tom. It's the same old story."

"Haven't the detectives been able to locate that fellow they thought
might be guilty?" put in Sam.

"No, Sam. They told me up at headquarters that all of the three former
criminals one of the detectives mentioned, were nowhere near New York,
so far as they could learn."

"Then if they haven't been near this city, that supposition of theirs
falls through," was Tom's comment. "What do they propose to do next?"

"I don't think they know. Anyway, they didn't give me any
satisfaction;" and, hanging up his hat, Dick sank into an office
chair, looking much downcast.

Several days had passed, and during that time the Rover boys had done
their best to get further clews concerning the robbery. From an old
man who kept an apple stand near the entrance of the building, they
had learned that the strange fellow who had been seen by Kittie
Donovan was a man of perhaps forty years of age, with a clean-shaven
face. But more than that the street merchant was unable to say.

"And there are thousands of men in New York City who are about that
age and who have clean-shaven faces," had been Sam's comment on
learning this. "That clew won't get us anywhere. Now, if the fellow
had limped, or had a crooked nose----"

"Sure! And a false tooth with two spots of gold and a diamond in it,
and all that sort of thing," Tom had broken in. "Say, Sam, what do you
want, some clews made to order?" and he had laughed grimly.

"I must confess, I am at my wits' end," said Dick.

"What did Mr. Powell have to say about it?" questioned Tom, for he and
Sam had been out hunting for clews when the lawyer had called.

"What could he say? He wasn't here when the bonds were taken. He asked
me about our other investments; and he said if we got into any
financial difficulties through this loss, he would aid us all he
could."

"Bully for Songbird's uncle!" cried Sam. "He's as generous as Songbird
himself."

"What's bothering me is this," continued the oldest Rover boy. "Sooner
or later, if we don't recover those bonds, we have got to let dad know
about the loss; and how he is going to take it, I don't know."

"Oh, let us keep it from him just as long as possible," broke in Sam,
entreatingly. "Why, Dick, you haven't any idea how run down he is, and
how nervous!"

"Oh, yes, I have, Sam. And that is what is worrying me. I don't know
if we are doing right to keep this from him."

"Before we tell him anything, let us consult Uncle Randolph and Aunt
Martha," said Tom. "If they know the truth, that will lift a little of
the responsibility from our shoulders."

"I am not going to tell any of them-- at least, not for a week or so
longer," returned Dick. "I am living in hope every day that we'll get
some kind of a clew."

It had rained hard the day previous, but now the sky was clear. With
but little to do in the offices that afternoon after three o'clock,
the Rover boys took a walk up Broadway from Wall Street to where the
Outlook Hotel was located.

"It certainly is a busy city," was Tom's comment, as they came to a
temporary halt in front of the post-office. "Just look at the stream
of humanity and the cars and wagons, not to speak of the automobiles."

"What takes my eye, is the size of so many of these buildings,"
declared Sam. "Say, maybe an earthquake around here wouldn't do some
damage!"

"And to think of the way the people travel!" broke in Dick. "They are
down in the ground, on the street, and up in the air," and he smiled a
little at the thought.

Walking past the post-office, the three youths entered City Hall Park,
crossing the same to look at some of the bulletin boards put out by
the newspapers located on Park Row.

"Hello!" cried Tom, suddenly; and caught each of his brothers by the
arm.

"What now, Tom?" asked Dick, quickly.

"See that fellow over there, leaning against the fence, reading a
newspaper?"

"Why, I declare! It is Barton Pelter!" ejaculated Sam.

"You mean Jesse Pelter's nephew-- the chap you hauled out of the
river?" questioned Dick.

"The same," returned Tom. "Say, I think I'll go over and talk to him,"
he added, quickly.

"He may not want to talk to you, Tom," interposed his younger brother.

"I'll risk it;" and so speaking, Tom stepped forward and advanced to
where the other youth was busy looking over the sporting edition of
one of the afternoon sheets.

"What is it? I don't seem to remember you," said Barton Pelter, when
Tom touched his arm.

"I am Tom Rover," was the reply. "This is my brother Sam, and this my
brother Dick;" and Tom pointed to the others, who were coming up.

"Oh, is that so!" returned Barton Pelter, and put out his hand. "I am
glad to see you," he continued, somewhat hesitatingly. "Is this the
one who helped to pull me out of the river?" and he nodded towards
Sam.

"Yes."

"I am certainly very much obliged to both of you," continued the young
man, and his face showed that he meant what he said. "If it hadn't
been for you, I might have been drowned. I suppose you-- er-- you--
er-- got my letter?"

"Oh, yes, and we understood it, perfectly," returned Tom, hastily.
"It's all right. We didn't do so much, after all."

"I think you did a good deal," and Barton Pelter laughed nervously.
"You-- you are now in business where my uncle used to be, are you
not?"

"We are," answered Dick. "By the way,

what has become of your uncle?" he questioned, curiously.

"I don't know, exactly. I think though he is going East. Perhaps to
Boston. How is business with you?" the young man continued, hastily,
as if he wanted to change the subject.

"Oh, business is all right enough," answered Dick. And then he looked
meaningly at his brothers.

"The trouble with us is, we've been very unfortunate," broke in Tom,
before the others could stop him. "We've just suffered a tremendous
loss."

"Is that so? In what way?"

Before answering, Tom looked at Dick. "Shall I tell him?" he
questioned, in a low tone.

"You might as well, since you have gone so far," was the reply. "In
fact, I don't know that it will do much good to keep still any
longer."

"We've been robbed."

"You don't say so! Did you lose much?"

"We lost sixty-four thousand dollars' worth of bonds," answered Sam.

"Oh, a bad business deal, I presume." And Barton Pelter smiled grimly.
"That's the way it is in Wall Street. You are up one day, and down the
next. That's the way it was with my uncle."

"No, we didn't lose the bonds that way," answered Dick. "They were
stolen."

"Stolen! From where?"

"From our office."

"Why, that's the worst I ever heard!" declared Barton Pelter, with
interest. "Who was it? Did some fellow sneak into your offices and
take them?"

"We don't know how the robbery took place," answered Tom. "My brother
put the bonds in a japanned box that was locked, and put the box in
the once safe one afternoon. The next morning when he opened the safe,
the box with the bonds was gone."

"What's that!" exclaimed the listener, excitedly. "You had them in a
box, and put the box in your safe? Do you mean the safe that was in
the offices when my uncle and Mr. Japson had it?"

"Sure! it's the same safe," answered Dick.

"Well, what do you know about that!" gasped Barton Pelter. His face
showed increasing interest. "When was all this?"

"Just about a week ago."

"Haven't you any clews to the robbery?"

"Nothing very much," answered Dick, before either of his brothers
could speak. "A girl saw a man leaving the building the evening of the
robbery, but who he was, she did not know."

"And you say the box was put in the safe my uncle used to own?" went
on the young man. "Of course it was locked?"

"Yes."

"Was it-- er-- er-- was it-- er-- that is, did you have the same
combination on it that the lock used to have?" stammered the other.

"No. I had the combination changed."

"And you haven't got the least idea then who took the bonds?"
questioned Barton Pelter.

"Not so far."

"It's strange. Say, that's a fierce loss! I couldn't lose that much;"
and the young man laughed nervously.

"Are you working in New York?" asked Tom, following an awkward pause.

"I haven't anything to do just now, but I am hoping to get a situation
soon," answered Barton Pelter. "I've got to be going now," he added,
and after a few words more, he made his way to the elevated station at
the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge.

"Evidently a pretty decent sort of a fellow," was Dick's comment, as
the three brothers walked over to look at the newspaper bulletin
boards. "It's too bad he has Jesse Pelter for an uncle."

"That news about our robbery seemed to astonish him," said Sam. "Did
you hear him ask about the combination on the safe? He must have been
wondering whether we suspected his uncle or Japson."

"That isn't strange," was Tom's comment, "when one knows what kind of
rascals those two men are."

With the shadow of the loss hanging over them the Rover boys were in
no mood to amuse themselves. Had it been otherwise, they might have
gone to the theater or some concert, or possibly to some moving
picture show. But, as it was, they spent most of their time at the
offices and the hotel, and in looking around for clews.

"I received two nice letters to-day," said Dora that evening, when her
husband and the others appeared, and she held up the missives. "One is
from mamma, and she sends her best love to all of you. The other is
from your Aunt Martha."

"And what does she say about dad?" asked Dick, quickly.

"She says there is no change in his general condition, but that he
continues to worry about business matters. He wants to make sure that
everything here, in New York City, is going along all right."

"Poor, old dad!" murmured Tom, and his voice was full of sympathy. "We
certainly can't let him know the truth."

"Oh, not for the world, Tom!" cried Dora.

"But what are we going to do if the bonds are not found?" questioned
Dick. "He has got to know it some time."

"Well, put it off as long as you can," returned his wife.

"Oh, if we could only find those bonds!" exclaimed Sam. "We've just
got to do it! We've got to!"

  CHAPTER XXI

 DAYS OF ANXIOUS WAITING

Another week passed without bringing anything new to light concerning
the missing bonds. During that time the Rover boys received two visits
from the headquarters' detectives, and were again subjected to
innumerable questions.

"We're on a new tack," said one of the sleuths. "I think we'll be able
to report something to you in a few days."

"You can't do it too quickly," returned Dick.

"Oh, I know that," answered the detective, with a short laugh; and
then he and his companion backed themselves out.

"Say, Dick, I don't take much stock in those fellows," was Tom's
comment. "They are good at talking, but it looks to me as if they
didn't know where they were at."

"Exactly the way I look at it!" broke in Sam.

During that time the boys also received visits from several private
detectives, all anxious to take hold of the case, but none of them
willing to do so without first receiving a generous retainer.

"I am not going to pay out anything in advance," Dick told one of
these fellows-- a shabby looking chap. "You locate the bonds, and
you'll be well paid for it."

"I don't work unless I'm paid for it," snapped the detective, and left
the offices quite indignant.

"I suppose we could get a thousand detectives on this case if we were
willing to put up the money," said Tom.

"It might pay to hire some first-class man," ventured Sam, "but not
that sort."

"I'll call up Mr. Powell and see what he thinks of it," answered Dick.
And a little later he was in communication with Songbird's uncle over
the telephone.

"It wouldn't do any harm to put some first-class man on the case,"
said the lawyer. "If you wish me to do so, I'll put you in touch with
the best detective agency in the city."

As a result of this talk, the Rovers obtained the address of a
detective whose name is well-known in every large city of the United
States. This man called on them the following day, and went over the
case very carefully with the youths. He examined the safe and the
combination lock, and then had a long talk with Kitty Donovan and her
father and her mother, and also a talk with the old man who kept the
little fruit stand downstairs.

"I'll do all I can, Mr. Rover," he said, when he re-entered the
offices, "but you mustn't expect too much. This is certainly a
mystery."

"Mr. Bronson is the most intelligent detective I've seen yet," said
Sam, after the man had departed. "He handles the case as if it was a
strict business proposition."

"That's what I like to see," declared Tom. "The other kind of
detective is good enough for a dime or a half-dime story book, but he
never makes any success of it in real life."

It must not be supposed that now they were in New York, Tom and Sam
had forgotten the Laning girls. They had written to Nellie and Grace,
forwarding the letters to Cedarville because Hope Seminary was on the
point of closing for the season.

"Letters for both of you!" cried Dora, when they and Dick appeared at
the hotel one evening after a rather strenuous day in the offices,
where all had been busy forming their plans for further investments.

"Good for you, Dora!" answered Tom, and held out his hand eagerly.

"Now wouldn't you like to have it?" she answered mischievously,
holding a letter just out of his reach.

"Where is mine?" demanded Sam.

"Oh, I thought you wouldn't want that so I tore it up," she answered,
with a twinkle in her eyes.

"If you don't give me that letter, Dora, something is going to happen
to you," went on Tom; and now he caught her by the wrist. "You know
the forfeit-- a kiss!"

"All right, take your letter, Mr. Can't-Wait," she returned, and
handed him the missive.

"But you said you had one for me!" broke in Sam. "Come now, Dora,
don't be mean."

"Oh, Sam, it's only a bill."

"A bill! You are fooling!" And then as his face fell, she did not have
the heart to tease him longer, and brought the letter forth from her
handbag.

As the lads had anticipated, the communications were from Grace and
Nellie. In them the girls said that the session at the seminary was
over, and that the day previous they had returned to their home on the
outskirts of Cedarville. Both had passed in their examinations, for
which they were exceedingly thankful.

"But they haven't found that four-hundred-dollar diamond ring yet,"
said Sam, after he had finished his letter. "It certainly is a shame!"

"It's as great a mystery as the disappearance of our bonds," was
Dick's comment.

"What has Nellie to say about it, Tom?" questioned Dora, anxiously;
for even though she was married and away from them, her two cousins
were as dear to her as ever.

"She doesn't say very much," answered Tom. "No one has seen or heard
anything about the ring."

"But what of Miss Harrow? How has she treated Nellie since the fire?"

"She says Miss Harrow has not been very well, and consequently did not
take part in the final examinations. Now the teacher has gone to
Asbury Park, on the New Jersey coast, to spend the summer."

"Perhaps that mystery never will be solved," said Sam. "It's a jolly
shame, that's all I've got to say about it!"

After dinner that evening, as it was exceedingly warm, none of the
young folks felt like staying in the hotel. Dick proposed that they
take a stroll up Broadway.

"We can walk till we get tired," he said, "and then if you feel like
it, we can jump into a taxi and take a ride around Central Park before
we retire."

"That will be nice," returned Dora; and Tom and Sam said it would suit
them, too.

As usual, upper Broadway-- commonly called The Great White Way-- was
ablaze with electric lights. As the young folks strolled along, the
great, flaring advertising signs perched on the tops of many of the
buildings interested them greatly.

"I heard yesterday that some of those signs cost ten thousand dollars
and more," observed Sam. "What a lot of money to put into them!"

"So it is, Sam. But think of all the money some firms spend in
newspaper and magazine advertising," answered Dick.

"Some day we'll have to do some advertising ourselves," put in Tom.
"That is, after we get our business in first-class running order."

"And get our bonds back," added Dick.

"Oh, say, let's forget those bonds for just one night!" entreated Sam.
"I haven't been able to get a good night's sleep since I came here
because of them."

The portion of Broadway where they were walking, is lined with
innumerable theaters and moving picture places. They had passed on
less than three blocks further, when Sam suddenly caught Tom by the
arm.

"Here we are, Tom!" he exclaimed, somewhat excitedly. "Here's that
moving picture."

"So it is!" returned Tom, and immediately became as interested as his
younger brother. They had come to a halt before a gorgeous moving
picture establishment, and on one of the billboards they saw exhibited
a flashy lithograph, depicting two men struggling in a rowboat with a
third man on the shore aiming a gun at one of the others. Over the
picture were the words: "His Last Chance. A Thrilling Rural Drama in
Two Reels."

"What is it, Tom?" questioned Dora.

"Why, that's the moving picture play we told you about-- the one that
we got into at the Oak Run railroad station," explained the youth.
"That picture you see there was taken along the river bank back of our
farm. Another picture shows the railroad station at Oak Run, with old
Ricks in it, and still another ought to show the railroad train with
Sam and me on the back platform. Let us go in and see it."

"Why, yes, I want to see that by all means!" declared Dick's wife.
"Won't it be funny to see you boys in a moving picture!"

"Well, I don't know about this," returned Dick, hesitatingly; and he
looked rather quickly at Tom. "Are you quite sure, Tom, that you want
to go into a moving picture show?" he went on. He had not forgotten
how Tom had once gone to a moving picture exhibition, and been
completely carried away by a scene of gold digging in faraway Alaska,
nor how his poor brother had for a time lost his mind and wandered off
to the faraway territory, as related in detail in "The Rover Boys in
Alaska."

"Oh, don't you fear for me, Dick!" cried Tom, hastily. "My head is
just as good as it ever was and able to stand a hundred moving picture
shows. Come on in, I'll get the tickets;" and without waiting for an
answer, Tom stepped up to the little ticket booth and secured the
necessary pasteboards.

  CHAPTER XXII

 THE MOVING PICTURE AGAIN

The moving picture theater was fairly well filled, but the four
managed to obtain seats close to the middle of the auditorium. They
had entered while a slap-dash comedy was being depicted-- something
that set the audience laughing heartily. Then followed a parlor drama,
which was more notable for its exhibition of fashions than it was for
plot or acting.

"This sort of thing makes me tired!" was Tom's comment. "I like to see
outdoor life much better."

Another one-reel comedy of life on the canal followed the parlor
drama, and then there was flashed on the screen the words: "His Last
Chance."

"Here we are!" murmured Sam, and sat bolt upright with renewed
interest, while Tom did likewise. The first scene of the drama showed
the interior of a farmhouse sitting-room and kitchen, and the boys
easily recognized several of the men they had seen at the river and
the railroad station. There followed quite a plot and a number of
other scenes around the farm, and also at a stone quarry which all of
the lads recognized as being located at Dexter's Corners. Then came a
pretty love scene at the farmhouse, followed by a quarrel between some
of the men in an apple orchard.

"Say, that's Blinks' apple orchard, just as sure as fate!" exclaimed
Dick, in a low voice.

"So it is!" answered Sam. "Many's the time we've got apples there!"

The quarrel in the apple orchard was followed by a fishing scene on
the river not far from Humpback Falls, where Sam once upon a time had
had such a strenuous adventure. Then of a sudden came the quarrel in
the boat followed by the shooting.

"Say, that looks just as it did when we saw it taken!" exclaimed Sam,
enthusiastically. "This moving picture business is a great thing,
isn't it?"

"It isn't just as we saw it," chuckled Tom. "They didn't show how that
fellow who went overboard came up again and swam ashore."

"Oh, that would spoil the plot of the play," answered his younger
brother.

Other scenes in the drama were shown, one in a barnyard full of cows
being especially realistic. Then came the scene inside the railroad
station at Oak Run, and all of the boys and Dora laughed heartily when
they saw the look of astonishment on old Ricks' face as he peered
through his ticket window at the actor who had come in for a ticket.

"I'd give a dollar to have old Ricks here looking at himself,"
whispered Tom. "Wouldn't he be surprised?"

"Oh, look! look!" exclaimed Dora, in a low tone. "Sam and Tom, I do
declare!"

The scene had shifted suddenly, as do all scenes in moving pictures.
Now was shown the platform of the Oak Run railroad station. The train
was coming in, and there were Sam and Tom as natural as life,
dresssuit cases in hand, ready to get aboard. The train stopped and
some passengers alighted, and Tom and Sam climbed the steps of the
last car.

"And look! Tom is waving his hand to some one," went on Dick's wife.
"Isn't it great!"

As the train began to move away, one of the leading actors in the
drama was seen to rush across the platform and grasp the rail of the
last car. As he was holding himself up, another of the persons in the
drama rushed after the train, shaking his fist wildly; then the train,
with Tom and Sam and the moving picture actor on the back platform,
disappeared from view, and in a twinkling the scene shifted back to
the farmhouse once more.

"Well, we're movies' actors sure enough!" was Tom's comment, after
they had seen the last of the little drama and were out on Broadway
once more. "What do you think of us, Dora?"

"Oh, it was fine, Tom!" she answered. "I'd like to see it again."

"Well, they advertise it for to-morrow, too," said her husband, "so
you can go in the afternoon when we are at the offices."

"I'll certainly do it!"

"I shouldn't mind seeing this picture again myself," said Sam. "If
they have it to-morrow night, let's come up, Tom."

"All right, I'm willing. I suppose they are showing the thing all over
the country."

The next day proved a very busy one for the three Rover boys, and for
the time being the moving picture was completely forgotten. About ten
o'clock, Mr. Powell came to see them regarding an investment which
Anderson Rover had made during the time that Pelter, Japson & Company
were his brokers. This investment now called for a further outlay of a
little over seven thousand dollars, and the boys had to find some
means of raising that amount.

"Now you see if we had those bonds handy, it would be an easy matter
to put some of them up as collateral with some of the banks; but, as
it is, it is going to squeeze us," said Dick.

"And you have got to take care of that other matter of twelve thousand
dollars the middle of next month; don't forget that," broke in the
lawyer. And then he added: "Of course, if you want money to help you
out----"

"Thank you very much, Mr. Powell, but I think I can manage it,"
returned Dick.

He and his brothers had talked their plans over carefully, and had
reached the conclusion that they would not ask for outside assistance
unless it became absolutely necessary. They wanted to show both their
family and their friends that they could "stand on their own bottom,"
as Dick expressed it.

"You have no word in regard to the bonds?" questioned Mr. Powell, when
he was ready to leave.

"Not a word. We hired that detective you recommended, but he said it
was a difficult case to handle, and that we must not expect too much."

When the Rover boys returned late that afternoon to the Outlook Hotel,
they found that Dora had gone out and had not yet returned. She had
left a note on her table stating that she was going to look again at
the moving picture in which Sam and Tom had taken part.

"Oh, yes, we mustn't forget to go there to-night, Sam!" cried Tom.
"It's better than looking at yourself in the looking-glass, isn't it?"
and he grinned.

Six o'clock came, and then half-past, and still Dora did not show
herself. As the time went by, Dick began to get a little worried.

"That show ought to be out by this time," he said to his brothers.
"Generally those moving picture places kind of run down between six
and seven o'clock. If they are continuous they throw in some old stuff
or a lot of advertising matter just to fill in the time."

"Well, maybe she stopped on the way to do some shopping," suggested
Sam. "The stores must prove a great attraction to her."

"She told me yesterday that she was rather tired of shopping,"
answered the young husband. "You see, she went at it pretty strong at
the start, so there isn't so very much left in the way of novelty. I
think I'll go down and look for her;" and a minute later Dick left the
apartment.

"It doesn't take much to worry him when it concerns Dora," remarked
Tom, dryly.

"Well, it wouldn't take much to worry you if it concerned Nellie,"
retorted his younger brother.

"That's true, Sam; and the same would hold good with you if it were
Grace." And then Tom dodged as Sam picked up a sofa pillow and threw,
it at him.

The little French clock belonging to Dora was just chiming out the
hour of seven when the two boys heard Dick and his wife coming through
the hallway. They were talking earnestly, and evidently the young wife
was quite excited.

"Oh, such an experience as I've had!" cried Dora, as she came in and
sank down into an easy chair.

"Well now, try to calm yourself," said Dick, soothingly. "It's all
over now."

"What was it about?" demanded Tom. "Did somebody hold you up, or try
to steal your, purse?"

"Maybe an auto tried to run over you," suggested Sam.

"No, it was none of those things," answered the young wife. "I've just
had the strangest experience!"

"She met that gardener you spoke about-- the fellow who lost his job
at the seminary," explained Dick. "That chap named Andy Royce."

"Why, where did you meet him?" exclaimed Sam. "Did he know you?"

"Yes, he knew me quite well. When I was at Hope he used to do errands
for me now and then and I tipped him quite liberally, so he remembered
me," answered Dora.

"But I met him in the strangest way. He was at the subway station
arguing with the ticket man, who insisted upon it that Royce had not
put a ticket in the box. He wanted the gardener to put another ticket
in, and Royce said he wouldn't do it. They had a very warm dispute,
and a policeman came up to see what it was all about. Then, thinking
that perhaps Royce didn't have any more money with him-- he looked
terribly shabby-- I told him I would get another ticket. Then he
suddenly broke down and I thought he was going to cry. I paid for
another ticket, then the train came along and we both got on board."

  CHAPTER XXIII

 ON THE EAST SIDE

If Royce began to cry there must have been something radically wrong
with him," declared Tom. "Dora, do you think he had been drinking?
Sometimes when men drink they break down and cry, you know."

"I don't know anything about that, Tom; but I do know that he acted
the strangest. I asked him if he was working, and he said no-- that he
had been unable to get a job of any kind. Then I questioned him about
why he had left Hope, and he said it was because he could not get
along with some of the hired help and with Miss Harrow."

"Say!" cried Sam. "Did he say anything about that four-hundred-dollar
diamond ring that was missing?"

"Why, no, Sam. I didn't mention it, and he didn't say anything about
it either. Perhaps he didn't know it was missing."

"Oh, he must know about it," broke in Tom. "It was talked about all
over the place."

"Well, what happened next?" questioned Dick.

"I talked to him for awhile, and I found out that he was out of work
and also out of money. I felt sorry for him, and I offered to lend him
ten dollars," answered Dora. "I hope you don't think I did wrong," she
went on, anxiously.

"You meant well, Dora, I'm sure of that," was Dick's quick reply, "but
whether the money will do this fellow Royce any good or not, is a
question. If he is a drinking man, he'll drink it up very quickly and
that will be the end of it."

"Did he tell you where he was staying?" asked Tom.

"Why, yes, he gave me a slip of paper with his name and address
written on it," answered Dora. "You see, I asked him to do that
because I felt so sorry for him, and I thought that possibly you might
be able to get him something to do;" and she handed the slip of paper
over to her husband.

"'The Golden Oak House,'" read Dick from the slip. "I suppose it is
one of those cheap lodging houses on the East Side," he added. "I'll
keep this, although I don't see how we can help Royce. And besides
that I am not certain that he deserves help. If he had remained
strictly sober he might have kept his job at the seminary. But I'll
think it over," he added, hastily, as he saw that Dora was much
distressed.

"Did you see the moving picture again?" questioned Tom, as all
prepared to go downstairs for dinner.

"Oh, yes!" and the young wife brightened a little. "It certainly is
splendid, Tom! All of you ought to go and see it before they take it
away."

"All right, we'll do it!" said Tom. "That is, Sam and I will go. How
about it, Dick?"

"Oh, I don't know," hesitated the older brother, with a look at Dora.

"You just go, Dick," she cried, quickly. am going to stay here and
write some letters. You go with Tom and Sam and enjoy yourself;" and
so it was arranged.

The boys found the moving picture theater pretty well crowded, and
they had to take seats almost in the rear. Tom and Sam were once more
enjoying the spectacle of looking at themselves when they suddenly
heard a young man behind them utter an exclamation.

"Hello, I know those two fellows!"

They looked around and saw sitting there Barton Pelter. He was gazing
at the play on the screen with great interest.

"Come to see us in the movies, did you?" questioned Tom, as he leaned
back and touched Barton Pelter on the arm. "What do you think of it?"

"Oh, so you are here!" was the reply. "Say, I didn't know you were
movies' actors."

"We are not. We got into that picture quite accidentally," explained
Tom. And then, as the scenes of the drama progressed, he and his
brothers turned their attention to what was going on.

At the end of the photo drama there was a short intermission, during
which a number of persons went out and an even larger number came in.
There was a seat vacated beside the Rovers, and Barton Pelter took
this.

"How are you fellows making out at your offices?" asked the young man.

"Oh, we are doing as well as can be expected," answered Dick. "You
know this sort of thing is rather new to us."

"How about those missing bonds; have you located them yet?"

"No."

"That's too bad," and the young man's face showed his concern. "Have
you any idea where they went to?"

"Not the slightest in the world, Pelter. It is a complete mystery,"
answered Tom.

"The loss of such an amount must hurt you a whole lot," ventured
Barton Pelter, after a slight pause. "It would ruin some folks."

"It does hurt us a whole lot," broke in Sam. "Unless we get those
bonds back-- or at least a part of them-- we are going to have pretty
hard sledding to pull through."

"It's a shame! I wish I could do something to help you, for what you
did for me," returned Barton Pelter; and his voice had a rather
wistful ring in it. Then the theater was darkened and the next photo
drama began.

"Are you doing anything as yet?" questioned Tom, when, at the end of
this play, he saw Jesse Pelter's nephew prepare to leave.

"I've got something of an offer to go on the road as a traveling
salesman for the Consolidated Cream Cracker Company," was the answer.
"It won't pay very much, but it will be better than nothing;" and then
the young man left.

Several days went by and the Rover boys put in all their time at
business. There was a great deal to do in the way of protecting a
number of rather uncertain investments which Pelter, Japson & Company
had made for Mr. Anderson Rover while they were his brokers.

"It's a mighty good thing that we got after Pelter, Japson & Company
when we did," was Erick's comment. "If we hadn't, they would have put
us in the worst kind of a hole, even if they had remained honest. They
had no more conception of what constitutes a good business risk than
has a baby."

"I do hope, Dick, that we make a success of this," returned Tom.

"Oh, don't say we're going to make a fizzle of, it!" cried Sam. "We've
just got to win out, that is all there is to it!"

"Right you are!"

On the following Monday afternoon there was but little for Tom and Sam
to do at the offices, and the former suggested to his younger brother
that they walk over to the East Side and visit The Golden Oak House.

"I've always wanted to see how things look over in that part of New
York," declared Tom, "and if we run into that Andy Royce I'm going to
question him and see if he knows anything about that diamond ring."

"How would he know anything about that, Tom? He wasn't near the house
when the ring was lost. And besides, if he had taken the ring, he
wouldn't be so poverty-stricken. He could pawn a four-hundred-dollar
ring for quite some money."

"I didn't say that he might have taken the ring, Sam. But he was
around the place, and he might have heard something said that would
give us a clew."

"Oh, that might be possible. Anyway, we can question him, just as you
said."

The walk to the East Side was quite a revelation to the Rover boys.
Never had they seen such a congestion of humanity. The stores, the
houses and the sidewalks seemed to be overflowing with people, while
the streets were a jumble of wagons, trucks and push-carts. Every
conceivable sort of a thing seemed to be on sale, and they were
solicited to buy at almost every step.

"They seem to be mostly foreigners over here," was Sam's comment. "I
don't know as I would care to come through here alone at night, Tom."

"Oh, you'd be as safe here as on Broadway," was the reply. "These
people are poor, but you'll find them just as honest as anybody."

The boys had with them the card that Andy Royce had given to Dora, and
it did not take them long to find The Golden Oak House. It was an
old-fashioned, frame building located on the corner of a narrow and
exceedingly dirty alleyway. Downstairs there were a saloon and a
pawnshop. The so-styled office and the sleeping apartments were on the
three floors above.

"Not a very inviting place," were Sam's words, as he looked the resort
over. "Tom, do you think we had better go in?"

"Oh, I don't think it will hurt us," was the answer. "Come ahead!"

Ascending the narrow and exceedingly dirty stairs, the boys passed
through a dingy hall to where a glass door was marked "Office." Inside
they found a small counter and rail, behind which a man in
shirt-sleeves sat smoking a cigar and reading a sporting paper.

"Is there a man stopping here named Andy Royce?" asked Tom, as the man
dropped his paper to look up at the newcomers.

"I think there is, but I don't believe he's in now," was the answer.
"Want to leave any word for him?"

Tom thought for a moment. "Yes," he answered. "I will leave a
message." And taking out one of his cards, he wrote on it: "I'll call
here Tuesday afternoon at about five o'clock to see you."

"Hope you've got work for that fellow. He needs a job the worst way,"
said the hotel man, as he took the card.

"I don't know about a job for him, but perhaps I can help him,"
answered Tom. And then he and Sam left the place.

They had just reached the sidewalk when they beheld Andy Royce coming
towards them. The former gardener of Hope Seminary was partly under
the influence of liquor, and several children were annoying him by
pulling at his coat and calling him names.

"You go 'way an' leave me alone," mumbled the man. And then, as he
caught sight of the Rovers, he tried to brace up.

"Hello, you here!" he exclaimed.

"Yes, we want to talk to you, Royce," answered Tom. Then he motioned
the children away, and led the former gardener of the seminary towards
the alleyway beside the hotel.

  CHAPTER XXIV

 ANDY ROYCE'S CONFESSION

"Want to talk to me, eh?" mumbled Andy Royce. "What you want, anyhow?"

"See here, Royce! what is the use of your drinking like this?" broke
in Sam. "Is that the way to use the money my brother's wife loaned
you?"

"I ain't been drinkin'," mumbled the man. "That is, I ain't had much."

"You've had more than is good for you," put in Tom. "A man like you
ought to leave liquor alone entirely."

"Maybe I would-- if I had a job," growled the former gardener. "But
when a man ain't got no work an' no friends it's pretty hard on him;"
and he showed signs of bursting into tears.

"See here, Royce, you brace up and be a man!" cried Tom. "Because you
haven't any position is no reason at all why you should drink. You
ought to save every cent of your money and make it last as long as
possible."

"All right, just as you say, Mr. Rover," mumbled the man.

It was evident to the youths that the man was in no condition to think
clearly. Evidently he had been drinking more or less for a long while,
for his face showed the signs of this dissipation. His clothing was
ragged, and he was much in need of a shave and a bath. Certainly he
did not look at all like the gardener he had been when he had first
come to Hope.

"See here, Royce, I want to ask you a few questions," said Tom. "Do
you remember about that diamond ring that disappeared at Hope while
you were there?"

"Eh? What?" stammered the former gardener. "Who said I knew anything
about that ring?" and he showed confusion.

"Did you hear anything about it at all?" asked Sam.

"Say, is this a trap?" mumbled the man. "If it is, you ain't goin' to
ketch me in it. Not much you ain't!"

"Look here! If you know anything about this, Royce, you tell us,"
declared Tom, struck by the man's manner.

"I ain't goin' to say nothin'! I didn't steal the ring!" cried Andy
Royce.

"But you know something about it, don't you!" declared Tom, sharply;
and caught the former gardener by the arm.

"Say, you lemme go! I ain't goin' to tell you a thing!" cried the man,
in alarm. "You ain't goin' to trap me like this. I know wot I'm doin'.
Lemme go, I say!" and he tried to break away.

"You're not going a step, Royce, until you tell us the truth,"
declared Tom, now quite satisfied in his own mind that the former
gardener was holding something back.

"If you took that ring you had better confess," broke in Sam.

"I didn't take it, I tell you," muttered Andy Royce. "You ain't goin'
to get nothin' out o' me! This is a put-up job! I won't stand for it!"
And once again he tried to break away. But each of the boys held him
fast.

"I guess the best we can do is to call a policeman and have him locked
up," declared Tom, with a knowing look at his brother. He had no
intention of having the former gardener arrested, but thought the
threat would frighten the fellow. And this was just what it did. At
the mention of being locked up, Andy Royce's courage seemed to leave
him.

"No! No! Don't you do it! Please, gents, don't have me locked up!" be
whined. "I didn't take the ring!"

"But you know what became of it," declared Tom, sternly. "So if you
didn't take it, who did?"

"No-- nobuddy took it," stammered Andy Royce.

"But it's gone," came quickly from Sam.

"Well, if you've got to know the truth, I'll tell you," growled the
man, staring unsteadily at the boys. "It's in Miss Harrow's inkwell."

"Miss Harrow's inkwell!" repeated Tom, incredulously.

"Did you put it there?" questioned Sam.

"I did."

"Well, why in the world did you do that?" asked Tom, and made no
effort to conceal his wonder.

"Why did I do it?" mumbled the man, unsteadily. "I did it to git Miss
Harrow into trouble. I knowed she was responsible for the ring."

"Then you were in the office," declared Sam.

"Sure, I was there! If I wasn't, how would I a-seen that ring? I was
told that Miss Harrow wanted to see me, an' I went to the office just
at the same time when she came down to the stables where me and two of
the other men had had a quarrel. It wasn't my fault, that quarrel
wasn't, but them other fellers put it off on me and said 'twas because
I had been drinkin'," continued Andy Royce, with a whine. "When I got
to the office there wasn't nobuddy around. I saw that diamond ring
layin' on the desk, and I picked it up----"

"You were going to steal it?" broke in Tom.

"No, I wasn't, Mr. Rover. I may drink a little now an' then, but I
ain't no thief," went on Andy Royce. "I never stole anything in my
life. I knowed that ring, because I saw Miss Parsons wear it more than
once. I was mad at Miss Harrow for the way she treated me, an' just
out of mischief I took the ring an' opened the inkwell an' dropped it
in. It was in the inkwell that had red ink in it, an' the ring went
plumb out o' sight."

"And you left the ring in the inkwell?" queried Tom.

"Sure I did! Then, not to be seen in the office, I slipped out in a
hurry, an' left the seminary by the back door an' ran to the stables.
Miss Harrow was there. She had told me that she was goin' to discharge
me if there was any more trouble, so I knowed wot was comin'. Then I
quit, an' come away," concluded Andy Royce.