"It is you who have brought this happy change in our circumstances, Rupert," she said. "I tremble to think what would have been our condition but for you."
"In return you give me a pleasant home," said Rupert.
At the hotel things went on pleasantly. Rupert's services were appreciated, and this was pleasant, though his salary had not been increased.
[Pg 165]
Clarence Clayton never entered the hotel now. Rupert wondered what had become of him. But one Thursday afternoon—his afternoon off—he strayed down to the Battery.
Seated on one of the benches, looking out towards Governor's Island, Rupert's attention was drawn after a while to two men who occupied a neighboring bench. One of those he recognized at once as Clayton. The other he also recognized as a guest at the Somerset Hotel, a new arrival. He was a man of middle age who had the appearance of a Westerner. Rupert now remembered that he had entered himself on the hotel register as from Colorado.
"I wonder what mischief Clayton is up to now?" Rupert asked himself.
The benches were so near that he was able to hear the conversation between the two men. Clayton had a showy gold watch in his hand which he was endeavoring to sell to his new acquaintance.
"The fact is, my friend," Rupert heard him say, "I am awfully hard up. I need money badly, and that is why I offer you such a bargain. This watch is nearly new[Pg 166] and cost me one hundred and fifty dollars in cold cash. I offer it to you for fifty."
"How did you get so hard up?" asked the stranger.
"I took a flyer in Wall Street. I have a friend who is a broker, and he gave me a pointer. I don't blame him, for he believed it, and invested himself. However, things didn't turn out as we expected, and I was cleaned out."
"How about him?"
"He lost a good deal more than I did, but he could stand it and I couldn't."
The Western man took the watch in his hand.
"It seems a good watch," he said. "I suppose it is solid gold?"
"Undoubtedly."
"I don't know much about watches myself, though I come from a mineral producing State. We have plenty of miners there, but I am a cattleman."
"Indeed! Is that a paying business?"
"Well, I've made a little money at it," said the other in a complacent tone.
[Pg 167]
"I am looking for a paying business myself."
The stranger laughed.
"You are a city man," he said. "You wouldn't do for the West. You wouldn't make much of a cowboy."
"I don't suppose I should."
"You couldn't wear patent-leather shoes in Colorado."
"Then I'll give it up if you say so. To tell the truth, I am better fixed than you would suppose. I have an income of a thousand dollars a year, paid me quarterly by the trustees of my late uncle's estate, but the next payment won't come due for a month. I must tide over till then. That is why I offer you this watch for fifty dollars."
"I shouldn't think you would like to make such a sacrifice."
"Oh, well, I need the money. Besides, what is my loss is your gain."
"You seem to take matters philosophically."
"That's my way. Seriously, though, it will be a great favor to me if you take the[Pg 168] watch. Fifty dollars isn't much, but with economy it will carry me through till my next payment."
"Well, if you put it on that ground, I don't know but I will oblige you."
The Colorado man took from his pocket a large wallet, evidently stuffed with bills, and was about to consummate the bargain when Rupert rose from his seat hastily. He felt that it was about time for him to take a hand in the transaction.
"Mr. Packard," he said, "you'll excuse my interfering, but I advise you not to buy that watch."
Clarence Clayton looked up quickly. He recognized Rupert only too well, and would liked to have pitched him into the bay. What was to be done? He determined to brazen it out.
"Young man," he said sharply, "you'd better mind your own business."
"How do you know my name?" asked the man from Colorado, not recognizing Rupert.
"I am one of the bell-boys at the Somerset Hotel, where you are boarding."
[Pg 169]
"Why do you give this warning? Can you judge of the value of the watch?"
"No, sir; but I know this man."
"That is false," asserted Clayton; "I never saw you before to my knowledge."
"I don't know what to think," said the cattleman, looking puzzled. "You say you know this man?"
"Yes. He came near cheating one of our guests not long since by offering to give his son a place in an office in Wall Street for a hundred and fifty dollars."
"The boy lies," exclaimed Clayton. "I have a good mind to give you in charge, you young rascal."
"You are quite welcome to do it," said Rupert, coolly.
"I hope my word is as good as this boy's," continued Clayton.
"Don't take either, Mr. Packard. I am no judge of watches. Suppose you go to a jeweler's and ask him the value of it. If it is worth even a hundred dollars, you can venture to give this man what he asks, that is, supposing he has come by it honestly."
[Pg 170]
"That is a sensible proposal. I accept it."
"But I don't!" said Clayton. "I feel that I have been insulted, and I decline to sell the watch. As for you, you young rascal, I shall remember your interference with me in my business."
He rose and went off with his head very high in the air.
"Sit down and tell me all about this fellow," said the cattleman. "I suspect you have saved me from being imposed upon."
Rupert told the story, and the stranger thanked him heartily.
"I have always been told that I must look out for myself in New York, and I begin to realize it. How does it happen you are so far away from the hotel?"
"It is my afternoon off."
They sat and chatted of Colorado, about which Rupert felt considerable curiosity. At the end of fifteen minutes their attention was drawn to a man of prosperous appearance who seemed in trouble. He paused as he reached their bench, and asked anxiously, "Has either of you seen a young man, nicely[Pg 171] dressed and carrying a cane?" and he went on to describe Clarence Clayton.
"Yes," answered Packard and Rupert, simultaneously, "the fellow was sitting here less than half an hour since."
"He has stolen my gold watch," said the new acquaintance.
"He tried to sell it to me. He said it cost a hundred and fifty dollars."
"So it did, and more, too."
"He offered it for fifty dollars."
"How did it happen that you did not buy it?"
"I was about to do so, but this boy told me he was a confidence man."
"Then you knew him?" asked the stranger.
"Yes," answered Rupert.
"Can you suggest any way in which I can recover my property?"
"Yes, sir. Report the matter to the police, and ask to have Richard Darke, a well-known detective, put on the case. I will give you a line to him. He will know at once who it is."
"I will do so. Where can I find you again?"
[Pg 172]
"At the Somerset Hotel, on Broadway."
"Thank you. If I receive it I will gladly compensate you for your suggestion."
"I thank you, but do not wish any compensation. If I can defeat this man's dishonest scheme I shall feel well repaid."
"Our cunning friend will soon be overhauled, I suspect," said the cattleman. "Did you say you were off this afternoon?"
"Yes, sir."
"I am new to the city and want a guide. Are you open to an engagement?"
"Yes, sir," answered Rupert, with a smile. "But I don't care for pay."
"Then we don't go. Business is business, and there is no reason why I should take up your time without paying you a fair sum."
"Just as you like, sir."
The two spent the next three or four hours in visiting different objects of interest in New York. The Colorado man seemed much pleased with his young companion.
"You must come out to Colorado some time, Rupert," he said. "You are a boy who would succeed there, or indeed anywhere. We[Pg 173] have some men come out there who are failures at the East, and they are surprised that they don't succeed in the West. But I tell you that it takes as much brains to win success in Colorado as in New York."
"Is that always the case? I have heard of men getting rich in the West who were poor at home."
"That is true. Perhaps they were in the wrong business. I don't mind saying that was the case with me. I was in the insurance business in Hartford, but I wasn't particularly well adapted for it. I couldn't talk. Out in Colorado I have learned to understand cattle, and they have made me rich."
"Mr. Clayton can talk."
"Yes, a little too well. Unfortunately he is not honest, and a dishonest man ought not to thrive anywhere. In Colorado he wouldn't live wrong. Thieves are summarily dealt with."
About seven o'clock Mr. Packard invited Rupert to dine with him at Delmonico's.
Rupert had heard a great deal about this celebrated restaurant, and was glad to accept the invitation.