"Good!" said his employer. "Now go into the cabin, and be quick about it."
Jed did not understand why he should be quick about it. There was plenty of time, he thought.
Another thing puzzled him, now that he had had a chance to think the matter over. Why was the visit postponed2 till near midnight?
A city boy would not have had his suspicions so easily allayed3; but Jed was unused to city ways, and, it may be added, to city wickedness.
The cabin seemed to be dark. He felt his[Pg 261] way down stairs, and struck a match which he had in his pocket in order to see better the location of the box. He had just picked up the latter, finding it to be heavy, when he felt a hand laid on his arm, and looking up, met the stern gaze of a young man about twenty-eight years of age.
Jed was a little startled, but, not being aware that he was doing anything wrong, he replied composedly, "I was taking this box, sir."
"I see you were; but what business have you to take the box?"
"I was sent for it."
"Sent for it?" repeated the young man, looking puzzled. "Who sent you for it?"
"The gentleman in the boat outside."
"Oh ho! So there is a gentleman in the boat outside?"
"Certainly, sir. Isn't it—all right?"
"Well, I should say not, unless you consider theft right."
"What!" exclaimed Jed aghast. "Is the man who employed me a thief?"
[Pg 262]
"It looks very much like it."
At this moment the sallow-faced man called in an impatient tone, "What are you about there, you lazy young rascal5? Don't be all night!"
"Is there more than one man in the boat?" asked the young man in the cabin.
"Yes, sir; there are two."
"The harbor police ought to be somewhere about. I'll rouse them if I can."
The young man went to the port-hole which served to light the cabin and fired a pistol.
"Confusion! There's some one on the yacht!" exclaimed the sallow-faced man. "We must get off."
Dipping his oars6 in the water, he rowed quickly away, leaving Jed to his fate. But the shot had been heard on another boat not fifty rods distant, and the piratical craft was pursued and eventually overhauled7. Meanwhile Jed remained on board the yacht, whether as a prisoner or not he did not know.
"Your companions have taken alarm," said the young man. "I hear them rowing away. They have deserted8 you."
[Pg 263]
"I am glad of it," said Jed. "I don't want anything more to do with them. Will you tell me if that box contains anything valuable?"
"Probably the contents are worth five thousand dollars."
"You see you have lost quite a prize," said the young man, eyeing him closely.
"Don't say that I have lost a prize," returned Jed half indignantly. "I supposed the man who sent me for it was honest."
"What did he tell you?"
"He said that the box belonged to a friend, who had employed him to get it."
"All a lie! I am the owner of the box, and the yacht also, and I have no acquaintance with your principal. If I had not been here he would have got a rich prize."
"I am glad you were here," said Jed earnestly.
"I don't understand your connection with such a man. How much were you to be paid for your services?"
[Pg 264]
"Two dollars," answered Jed.
"Didn't it strike you as singular that you should have been employed on such an errand?"
"Well, a little; but I am a stranger to the city, and I thought it might be because I was inexperienced."
"Do you mind telling me how long you have known the person who employed you?"
"I met him for the first time at five o'clock this afternoon on the Battery. He asked me if I wanted a job, and that is how I came to be engaged."
At this moment they were interrupted. There was a sound of oars, and leaving the cabin, Jed and his companion saw the boat of the harbor police under the side. It had in tow the boat in which Jed had come from shore.
"Was there any attempt to rob the yacht?" asked the captain of police.
"Yes, sir," answered the owner.
"Have you one of the thieves aboard?"
[Pg 265]
"No, sir."
"That's not true!" said the sallow-faced man, now a prisoner. "That boy came with us," and he pointed11 to Jed.
"Is that true?" asked the police captain.
"This boy was sent on board by the thieves, but he was quite ignorant of the character of his employer. He is a country boy, and was an innocent agent of the guilty parties."
"We shall need his evidence against these men. Will you guarantee that it shall be forthcoming?"
"Yes, captain. I will give my name and his, and will call at your office to-morrow morning."
"That will answer."
The young man took out one of his cards, bearing the name of Schuyler Roper, and wrote Jed's name, which he had ascertained14, underneath15.
"You will be responsible for the boy's appearance, Mr. Roper?" said the officer [Pg 266]respectfully, reading the name by the light of a lantern.
"Yes; he will stay with me."
This seemed satisfactory, and the boat rowed away.
"I am very much obliged to you for believing in my innocence, Mr. Roper," said Jed earnestly.
"I hope you won't see any reason to doubt it. I am afraid I am putting you to trouble," continued Jed, realizing that he could not leave the yacht, and was thrown on the hospitality of the owner.
"Not at all. I can accommodate you easily. You must be tired, if you have been about the city all day."
Jed admitted that he was. In fact he felt very tired, and found it hard work to keep his eyes open.
"I have sleeping accommodations for six persons on board my yacht, so that I can easily provide for you. So far from giving[Pg 267] me trouble I shall be glad of your company, though I don't expect any more visitors to-night."
Mr. Roper pointed out a comfortable bunk17, and Jed lost no time in taking possession of it. He sank into a deep sleep, which was only broken by a gentle shake from his young host. As he opened his eyes, and they met the unusual surroundings, he was at first bewildered.
"Don't you know where you are?" asked Schuyler Roper, smiling. "Don't you remember boarding my yacht with felonious intent last night?"
"Yes," answered Jed with an answering smile. "I remember that I was taken prisoner."
"Then you are subject to my orders. When I am on a cruise we have meals aboard the yacht, but I am not keeping house now. If you will assist me, we'll direct our course to land and find breakfast somewhere."
Jed did not know much about a yacht, but he liked the water and proved very quick in comprehension, so that in a comparatively[Pg 268] short time they had reached the Battery. Here Mr. Roper found two men whom he had engaged to help man the yacht, and leaving the Juno in their charge he walked up Broadway with Jed.
"We will take breakfast at the Astor House," he said.
"I dined there yesterday," replied Jed.
"You did!" exclaimed the other in a tone of surprise. "Yet you tell me you are penniless?"
"Yes, sir, but I fell in with a gentleman whom I knew at Sea Spray, a Mr. Foster."
"Not Howell Foster?"
"Yes."
"I know him very well. If he is a friend of yours, I shall feel that I am justified18 in reposing19 confidence in you."
Just then Mr. Foster entered the room.
"Good morning, Jed," he said in a friendly tone. "So you like the Astor well enough to come back?"
"I am here by invitation of Mr. Roper."
Mr. Foster, who was shortsighted, now for the first time observed Jed's companion.
[Pg 269]
"So you know Roper, too?" he said. "Why, he's one of my closest friends. When did you pick him up, Schuyler?"
"I caught him boarding my yacht on a marauding expedition last night," said Roper, smiling.
"Bless my soul! What do you mean?"
"Sit down and take breakfast with us, and I will explain."
"And what are you going to do with this desperate young man?" asked the broker20 at the end of the story.
"I shall invite him to accompany me to Bar Harbor on my yacht. But first we must call on the harbor police, as our testimony21 will be needed to convict the rascals22 who came near robbing me of five thousand dollars' worth of valuables."
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1
agile
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| adj.敏捷的，灵活的 | |
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postponed
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| vt.& vi.延期，缓办，（使）延迟vt.把…放在次要地位；[语]把…放在后面（或句尾）vi.（疟疾等）延缓发作（或复发） | |
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allayed
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| v.减轻，缓和( allay的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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abruptly
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| adv.突然地，出其不意地 | |
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rascal
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| n.流氓；不诚实的人 | |
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oars
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| n.桨，橹( oar的名词复数 )；划手v.划（行）( oar的第三人称单数 ) | |
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overhauled
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| v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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amazement
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| n.惊奇，惊讶 | |
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plausible
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| adj.似真实的，似乎有理的，似乎可信的 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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innocence
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| n.无罪；天真；无害 | |
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13
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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ascertained
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| v.弄清，确定，查明( ascertain的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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15
underneath
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| adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面 | |
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kindly
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| adj.和蔼的，温和的，爽快的；adv.温和地，亲切地 | |
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bunk
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| n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话 | |
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18
justified
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| a.正当的，有理的 | |
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reposing
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的现在分词 ) | |
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broker
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| n.中间人，经纪人；v.作为中间人来安排 | |
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21
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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rascals
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| 流氓( rascal的名词复数 )； 无赖； （开玩笑说法）淘气的人（尤指小孩）； 恶作剧的人 | |
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