shop it wouldn't be anyways hard for him to get
in an' strike a match to some of these shavin's."

"But accordin' to that you couldn't do very much work, if you set up all
night watchin' for Jip Collins. You'd have to sleep in the daytime. I
don't see how a feller is goin' to earn his livin' any sich way."

"I didn't say you ought'er do it," Sam replied quickly; "but was only
tellin' what I believed in. It ain't likely you'd have to stand watch
many nights, 'cause the first time you caught Jip you'd put an end to
it by pretty nigh thumpin' the life out er him; then I don't reckon he'd
come again."

"Do you s'pose he's countin' on doin' this all alone?"

"No; he's got a couple of fellers from Brooklyn that he's chummin' with
jest now, an' most likely they're comin' into the game."

"If they do, an' I should watch for Jip till I caught him, there ain't
any great show of my thumpin' him very bad if he's got two others to
lend a hand."

"You ain't scared of him, are you?" Sam asked quickly.

"Not much I ain't; but I'll keep clear from that kind of a racket till I
know somethin' 'bout it. I can't 'ford to have a row, don't you see,
'cause if any of Ninety-four's men heard I was fightin' my way along, as
likely as not they'd shut me off from goin' to the engine-house, an'
then ag'in when the time comes for me to get into the Department it
would give me a black eye if I had the name of doin' sich things. I
don't s'pose that would hurt a detective; but they're mighty careful
what kind of fellers they have in the Department, an' I don't count on
havin' a bad mark to my name four years from now."

"Well, suit yourself about that, of course. It ain't any of my
business, only I thought I'd tell you what Jip's sayin', an' I've got to
get along over towards Hoboken."

Then, from the noise he made, his hosts understood that Sam Barney was
making his way out of the apartment, and Dan asked in a friendly tone if
he had made any new discoveries regarding the theft of his money.

"I'm follerin' up a pretty good clue now," Sam replied in a tone
calculated to give the hearer an impression that he could tell more if
it was necessary, and then with a cheery "So long," he rapidly made his
way across the lumber-yard to the street.

CHAPTER II.

'LISH DAVIS.

When their visitor had departed Seth and Dan held a long consultation as
to the advisability of following Sam's advice in the matter of standing
guard during the hou