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.

It was evident that he was sick unto death. His parchment-colored skin
was indented with wrinkles; from time to time he coughed so violently
as to rack his slight frame, and his hand, thin and wrinkled, as it
rested on the quilt that covered him, shook as with palsy.

It was hard to tell how old the man was. He looked over seventy, but
there were indications that he had aged prematurely.

There was one other person in the room, one whose appearance
contrasted strongly with that of the old man. It was a boy of sixteen,
a boy with dark brown hair, ruddy cheeks, hazel eyes, an attractive
yet firm and resolute face, and an appearance of manliness and
self-reliance. He was well dressed, and, though the tenant of such an
humble home, would have passed muster upon the streets of a city.

"How do you feel, Uncle Peter?" he asked, as he stood by the bedside.

"I shall never feel any better, Ernest," said the old man, in a hollow
voice.

"Don't say that, uncle," rejoined Ernest in a tone of concern.

There seemed little to connect him, in his strong, attractive boyhood,
with the frail old man, but they had lived together for five years,
and habit was powerful.

"Yes, Ernest, I shall never rise from this bed."

"Isn't there anything I can get for you, uncle?"

"Is there is there anyt