The house was handsomely furnished. The room in which the tea table was spread was particularly cozy and comfortable, and when he took his seat at the table, Rupert could not help wishing that his mother could be with him.
"What are you thinking about, Rupert?" asked Frank Sylvester, who noticed his expression.
Rupert hesitated.
"Come, tell me. I am your friend."
"I couldn't help thinking of the very different supper my mother will have."
"To be sure. You are a good boy for thinking of her. Where do you live?"
[Pg 23]
"At 117 Elizabeth Street."
Frank Sylvester took out a note book and jotted down the address.
Rachel Clark waited upon the table. Sylvester saw that her curiosity was excited about Rupert, and he decided to gratify it.
"I suppose you are wondering where I met my new friend, Rachel?" he said.
"Yes, sir."
"He met me. I had been drinking too much, and I am afraid I should have got into trouble if he had not taken charge of me."
Rachel beamed upon Rupert.
"He was very kind," she said, "but oh, Mr. Frank——"
"I know just what you are going to say, Rachel," said Sylvester, good-humoredly. "I am going to have Rupert come and see me often, and he will help keep me straight. And by the way, Rachel, his mother is poor, and I want you to put up some cold meat and other nice things in a basket. I will send them to her."
"I shall be very glad to do so, Mr. Frank."
"You will stand high in Rachel's good[Pg 24] graces, Rupert," said Sylvester, as she left the room. "She thinks everything of me, and evidently believes I am safe in your company. Suppose I make you my guardian?"
"I am afraid you wouldn't look up to me with the proper respect, Mr. Sylvester."
"Then for respect we will substitute attachment. Now tell me a little about yourself. How does it happen that you are out of a place?"
"It's the dull times, Mr. Sylvester. I was in the employ of Tenney & Rhodes."
"I know the firm."
"And they would have retained me if business had been good, but I was laid off on Saturday."
"What wages did they pay you?"
"Five dollars a week."
"And you lived on that?"
"We tried to."
"While I have had and wasted large sums of money. If I were in business I would give you a place. As it is, I will see if any of my friends want a clerk."
When supper was over, Rupert said he must go.
[Pg 25]
"Won't you stay the evening?" asked his new friend. "At least wait a few minutes. Rachel is putting up a basket for you."
The servant presently appeared with a basket neatly covered with a napkin.
"Perhaps I had better send it by an expressman, Rupert."
"Oh, no, sir. I shall be glad to carry it myself. It will be very acceptable at home."
As Rupert lifted it, Sylvester took from his pocket the purse from which Rupert had paid the car fare and handed it to him.
"Accept it," he said, "in return for your friendly services."
"You are paying me too liberally, Mr. Sylvester."
"Let me judge of that."
In the street Rupert did not wait to examine the purse. It was growing late, and he was in haste to get home. He feared that his mother might feel anxious about him, and he made his way as quickly as possible to the nearest Elevated station.
The train was only partly full, and Rupert[Pg 26] found a seat near the door. He placed the basket on the floor in front of him.
Next to him sat a young woman rather showily dressed. Rupert casually took out the purse which had just been given him with the intention of examining the contents, but it occurred to him that he might find a more suitable place than an Elevated car, and he put it back again. His actions had, however, been noticed by the girl at his side.
At Fiftieth Street she rose to leave the car, but had not quite reached the door when she put her hand into her pocket and uttered a cry.
"I have been robbed," she exclaimed.
"Of what have you been robbed?" asked the guard.
"Of a purse."
"Where were you sitting?"
"Just here."
"Do you suspect anyone of taking your purse?"
"Yes, this boy took it. I am almost sure of it."
As she spoke she pointed to Rupert, who flushed with indignation.
[Pg 27]
"It is false," he said.
"If you don't believe me," said the girl, "search him. I am sure he has the purse in his pocket."
"What kind of a purse was it?" asked a quiet-looking man, sitting on the opposite side.
"It was a morocco purse," and the girl described the purse Rupert had in his pocket.
"Young man we will have to search you," said the guard. "If you have a purse in your pocket, produce it."
Rupert did so mechanically.
"There!" said the girl, triumphantly. "Didn't I tell you? Give it to me and I won't say anything more about it."
"I can't do that," said Rupert, sturdily, "for it belongs to me."
"What barefaced depravity!" groaned a severe-looking old lady opposite. "And so young, too."
"You're right, ma'am. It's shocking," said the girl. "I didn't think he'd go to do it, but you can't tell from appearances."
"Young man, you'd better give up the[Pg 28] purse," said the guard, who was quite deceived by the young woman's assurance.
"No, sir!" said Rupert, pale but resolute. "The purse is mine, and I will keep it."
"Did you ever hear the like!" said the girl. "You'd better call an officer. I did mean to get off here, but I'll stay till I get my purse."
"Stop a minute," said the quiet-looking man opposite. "How much money was there in the purse you say the boy took from you?"
"I can't rightly say," repeated the girl, hesitating.
"You can give some idea."
"Well, there was a little over two dollars in silver change."
"My boy," said the new actor in the scene, "will you trust me with the purse while I ascertain whether this young woman is correct."
"Yes, sir," answered Rupert, who felt confidence in the good will of his new acquaintance.
The lawyer, for he was one, opened the purse, and his eye lighted up, as he looked inside.
[Pg 29]
"Did you say there was as much as five dollars in the purse?" he asked.
"No, sir, there wasn't as much as that," answered the girl, positively.
The lawyer nodded as if a suspicion were verified.
"Then the purse isn't yours," he said.
"There may have been more," said the girl, finding she had made a mistake. "Yes, I remember now there was, for my sister paid me back some money she was owing me."
"That won't do," said the lawyer, quietly. "The purse isn't yours."
"If it isn't hers," said the old lady sharply, "how did she happen to describe it so exactly?" and she looked round triumphantly.
"I could have described it just as accurately," returned the lawyer.
"You're smart!" said the severe-looking old lady, with a sneer.
"Not at all. Soon after the boy got in the car he took out the purse, so that anyone could see it. The person who charges him with taking it from her saw it in his hands,[Pg 30] and scrutinized it closely. I understand now the object she had in doing so."
"It's a shame," said the girl, with a last desperate effort at imposition. "It's a shame that a poor girl should be robbed, and a gentleman like you," she added spitefully, "should try to protect the thief."
"So I say," put in the old lady, frowning severely at Rupert. "I don't know who you are, young woman, but I advise you to call an officer and have the young scamp arrested."
Rupert felt uneasy, for he knew that in an arrest like this he might not be able to clear himself.
"Why don't you ask the boy how much money there is in the purse?" continued the old lady.
"Well thought of. My boy, can you tell me what the purse contains?"
Rupert colored. He saw at once that he was in a tight place. He wished now that he had examined the purse when he left the house in Harlem.
"No," he answered. "I do not know."
[Pg 31]
"Didn't I tell you?" cried the old lady, venomously.
Even the lawyer looked surprised.
"How is it that you can't tell, if the purse is yours?" he asked.
"Because, sir, it was given me this evening by a gentleman in Harlem, and I have not yet had time to examine it."
"Your story may be true," said the lawyer, "but it does not seem probable."
"Oho!" the old lady said, "the boy owns up that he is a thief. If he didn't get it from this young woman he stole it from a man in Harlem."
Rupert glanced from one to the other, and he realized that things looked dark for him.