"Hullo, what does this mean?" he asked himself but could not answer the question.

 

He looked the articles over and made sure they did not belong to any of the other deckhands. Then as he was folding up an extra-fine outing shirt, he saw a letter drop to the floor. He picked it up and saw that it was addressed to Peter Polk.

 

"Can these things belong to Polk?" he asked himself. "If so, how did they get here?"

 

Curiosity prompted him to look into the envelope in his hand. Inside was a single sheet of paper on which was scrawled² in a bold, heavy hand this brief communication:

 

"Peter Polk: If you don't pay me that commission of twenty dollars at once, I will go to old man Shalley and let him know how you are boosting up the expense account.

 

G. A. G."

 

Randy read the letter with great interest. It was postmarked New York and the date was four days back.

 

"There is some mystery here," he reasoned. "What can it mean? Can Mr. Polk be cheating Mr. Shalley in some way?"

 

Then he remembered how the purser purchased all the supplies for the steamboat and paid the bills, and gave a low whistle.

 

"I must see Captain Hadley about this, and at once," he thought. "But no, maybe it would be better to go and see Mr. Shalley direct."

 

He placed the letter in a safe place and then went out on deck. He had just started to look for Captain Hadley,—to tell him about the strange wearing apparel—when Peter Polk rushed up to him.

 

"Look here, Thompson, I want you!" shouted the purser, wrathfully.

 

"What is it, Mr. Polk?"

 

"I've got you, you young thief!"

 

"I am no thief," answered our hero, warmly.

 

"You are!"

 

"Who says Randy is a thafe?" demanded Pat Malloy.

 

"I do."

 

"And I say it is false."

 

"He has stolen some of my underwear," went on the purser. "Tell me what you have done with the stuff at once!"

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