Conduct of life -- Fiction; Railroads -- Fiction; Swindlers and swindling -- Fiction
Palmer scowled at him, but saw that it was useless to persist in his
charges against the boy, and walked on with head bent, reflecting
bitterly that he had not only lost the proceeds of the burglary, but
his freedom besides. He could see now that but for his secreting the
stolen watch and chain in Fred's bundle, he would probably have escaped
scot free. As for the present, at least, we shall have nothing more to
do with F. Grant Palmer, it may be briefly set down that after a speedy
trial he was found guilty by the jury without leaving their seats. He
was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, and is now serving out his
term at Auburn.
Daring the remainder of his stay at Niagara, Fred used his time to
advantage, and it was with a thankful heart that he took his place on
the through train to New York the next morning. Just before starting,
Mr. Lawrence appeared on the platform, and handed him a small package
covered with brown paper.
"Have you a pocket where this will be safe?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"Then put it away, and open it when you arrive home."
"Thank you, sir."
Fred's attention was taken up by his duties as train boy, and he gave
no thought to the package, though he wondered at the moment what it
contained.
The train left at 8:43, and was not due in Jersey City till 10:10 P.M.
At Port Jervis a young lady came on board dressed in a very plain and
quiet manner. In his rounds through the train Fred stopped at her seat
with a pile of recent novels under his arm and asked her to buy.
"No, thank you," she answered courteously, and Fred observed that her
face was very sad. If she had been dressed in mourning, he would have
supposed that she had lost a near relative, but there was nothing in
her dress to justify such a supposition. Being naturally sympathetic,
Fred from time to time glanced at the young lady passenger, wishing it
were in his power to lighten her sorrow, whatever it might be.
Sitting next to her was a young lady, handsomely dressed, who was
evidently annoyed at the near neighborhood of one whom she considered
her social inferior. It chanced to be the only seat unoccupied when the
train reached Port Jervis, and the young lady was compelled to avail
herself of it. But when she reached the seat she found it occupied by a
fat poodle of uncertain temper, belonging to the fashionable young
lady.
"May I take this seat?" asked the new arrival.
"Don't you see that it is occupied?" snapped the dog's owner.
"There is no other seat vacant," said the new passenger deprecatingly.
"Then you had better go into the next car." As the young girl stood in
the aisle, undecided, Fred, who had heard the entire colloquy, and was
naturally indignant, made up his mind to interfere.
"These seats were meant for passengers--not for dogs," he said.
"Boy, you are impertinent!" said the fashionable young lady haughtily.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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