d of Ralph. He looked puzzled, but
he halted in his original intention of arresting the stowaway. Young
Graham paid no attention to anything going on about him. He seemed
occupied as usual with his own thoughts solely. First he dug cinders
out of his blinking eyes. Then he rubbed the coating of grime and soot
from his face, and began groping in his pockets. Very ruefully he
turned out one particular inside coat pocket. He shook his head in a
doleful way.

"Gone!" he remarked. "Lost my pocket book. Friend--a pencil, quick."

These words he spoke to Ralph, beckoning him earnestly to approach
nearer.

"And a card, a piece of paper, anything I can write on. Don't
delay--hurry, before I forget it."

Ralph found a stub of a pencil and some railroad blanks in his pocket,
and gave them to the young inventor. Then the latter set at work,
becoming utterly oblivious of his surroundings. For nearly two minutes
he was occupied in making memoranda and drawing small sections of
curves and lines.

"All right, got it, good!" he voiced exultantly, as he returned the
pencil to Ralph and carefully stowed the slips of paper in his pocket.
Then he arose to his feet. He smiled queerly as he gazed down at his
tattered garments and grimed and blistered hands.

"Pretty looking sight, ain't I?" he propounded to the young engineer.
"Had to do it, though. Glad I did it. Got the actual details, see?"

"What of, may I ask?" inquired Ralph.

"New idea. Save fuel, make the engine go faster. Been figuring on it
for months," explained the strange boy. "I live at Bridgeport."

"Yes, I know," nodded Ralph. "I saw you there."

"Did? Glad of that, too. If you feel friendly enough, maybe you'll
advise me what to do in my distressing plight. Stranger here, and lost
my pocketbook. It fell out of my pocket while I was hanging on to the
trucks. Not a cent."

"That can be fixed all right, I think," said Ralph.

"Clothes all riddled--need a bath."

"You had better come with me to the hotel, Mr. Graham," spoke Ralph.
"I know enough about you to be interested in you. I will vouch for you
to the hotel keeper, who will take care of you until you hear from
home."

"Yes. Got money in the bank at Bridgeport," said Archie Graham. "As I
was telling you, I've struck a new idea. You know I've been trying to
invent something for a number of years."

"Yes, I've heard about that, and sincerely hope you will figure out a
success."

"Stick at it, anyway," dec