Produced by Gary Sandino (text), Al Haines (HTML). (This file was created from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) THE YOUNG BANK MESSENGER BY HORATIO ALGER, JR. AUTHOR OF "RAGGED DICK SERIES," "NEW WORLD SERIES," ETC. THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO., PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, TORONTO. COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY HENRY T. COATES & CO. CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE I. THE LONELY CABIN, 1 II. A DEATHBED REVELATION, 10 III. A SUCCESSFUL ROBBERY, 19 IV. ALONE IN THE WORLD, 27 V. THE TRAMP TURNS UP AGAIN, 36 VI. A CRITICAL SITUATION, 44 VII. ON THE ROAD, 53 VIII. THE QUAKER DETECTIVE, 61 IX. AN ARMED ESCORT, 71 X. THE ASTONISHED OUTLAW, 77 XI. UNDER WATCH AND WARD, 88 XII. THE OUTLAW'S ESCAPE, 97 XIII. THE OUTLAW'S MISTAKE, 106 XIV. ERNEST HAS AN ADVENTURE, 115 XV. A NEW ACQUAINTANCE, 124 XVI. THE OUTLAW'S HOME, 133 XVII. IN THE ROBBER'S CAVE, 142 XVIII. THE OUTLAW AND HIS BAND, 153 XIX. A DAY IN THE CAVE, 159 XX. ERNEST EXPLORES THE CAVE, 168 XXI. OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE, 178 XXII. A FRIEND IN NEED, 187 XXIII. GIVEN IN TRUST, 196 XXIV. STEPHEN RAY AND HIS SON, 206 XXV. A STARTLING DISCLOSURE, 216 XXVI. BOUGHT OFF, 228 XXVII. THE TOWN OF OREVILLE, 236 XXVIII. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE TURNS UP, 246 XXIX. TOM BURNS MAKES A CALL, 256 XXX. A BURGLAR'S FAILURE, 266 XXXI. THE ADVERTISEMENT, 276 XXXII. MR. BOLTON AS A HUSTLER, 285 XXXIII. THE RESULT OF AN ADVERTISEMENT, 295 XXXIV. A STRANGE MEETING, 301 XXXV. MR. BOLTON AND HIS CLIENT, 309 XXXVI. AN IMPORTANT INTERVIEW, 314 XXXVII. CONCLUSION, 320 THE YOUNG BANK MESSENGER. CHAPTER I. THE LONELY CABIN. Just on the edge of the prairie, in western Iowa, some thirty years since, stood a cabin covering quite a little ground, but only one story high. It was humble enough as a home, but not more so than the early homes of some who have become great. Let us enter. The furniture was scanty, being limited to articles of prime necessity. There was a stove, a table, three chairs, a row of shelves containing a few articles of crockery and tinware, and a bed in the far corner of the room, on which rested a man. He had a ragged gray beard and hair, and a face long and thin, with preternaturally black eyes.