The conference closed with nothing done. The captain went to see his lawyer, and Swikes went home. Mrs. Swikes was delighted to see her son; and she would not believe that Matt had done any thing wrong. She was sure that Wade Brooks had taken the money. “You must take good care of it, now you’ve got it back,” said the female Swikes. “I’m goin’ to put it just where it was before; and when Wade comes back to-day, he will never think of looking in the same place for it,” said Obed Swikes, chuckling at his own cunning, as he put the wallet back into the closet. Matt wanted his breakfast, and so did his father. While Mrs. Swikes went down cellar to get something, her husband had to see to the horse in the barn; and Matt was alone in the kitchen for a few minutes. Placing a chair in front of the fireplace, he reached up, obtained the wallet, and put it in his pocket. He was not to be cheated out of his fun by Wade Brooks. He was careful to put the chair in its place this time; and when his mother came back he was just where she left him. When breakfast was ready, farmer Swikes was called. He was in a very happy frame of mind. His money had been restored; and when Wade returned he would get that dollar out of him, and it would pay the fares. CHAPTER XIV. WADE BROOKS’S FRIEND. Wade Brooks walked along the piers by the water, feeling like a young man with twenty dollars in his pocket. Presently he came to a steamer that was larger than any he had seen before; for he had never looked upon any thing larger than the tug-boat that sometimes came up the river. She was quite a curiosity to him, and he stopped to examine her. Then he saw a sign which indicated that the boat was bound to New York. This would exactly meet his views, for he was going to that great city. He would go in her if the fare was not so great as to ruin him. On inquiry, he found that he could obtain a deck passage for a dollar; and this would be cheaper than to walk, for he would have to pay for his food on the way. But the boat did not start till late at night, and would reach her destination early in the morning. He had time, therefore, to explore the place, which he did very thoroughly. As he had never seen even a small city before, he was deeply interested in this one.