g a button in his office. The man must have seen the unspoken
query on Dick's face, for he said:

"I want you to go, because this is a very important matter, involving a
stock deal, and if I send a regular messenger from my office, some
other dealers will be sure to notice it, and it may make trouble. You
can go without being suspected. Here is the note, and here is a dollar
for delivering it."

"That's too much," said Dick quickly.

"I think not," replied the broker with a smile. "You are doing me more
of a service than you know. Now don't lose any time."

Dick started off, with the note in his hand.

"Hold on!" called the man quickly. "Don't go out with it that way.
Some one may have seen me speaking to you, and suspect something. We
have to be very particular down here in Wall Street."

Dick had been down in that section long enough to understand that often
the winning or losing of a big financial deal depended on a small
matter, such as the broker had mentioned.

"Here, this will be a good way," went on the man, pulling a newspaper
from his pocket. "Slip the letter in there, and then, if any one sees
you, they'll think you are merely going into the office where I am
sending you, to deliver a paper."

Dick did as requested, and was soon on his way, hardly able to believe
that he had earned a dollar so easily. He hurried to the office, left
his message, without being observed, as far as he could tell, and then
he decided he would take a walk up to Barclay Street and see Jimmy.

"I promised him I'd meet him down at the bathhouse," said Dick to
himself, "but I don't feel like it. Guess I must be a little under the
weather. I don't believe it would be good to go swimming in that
water. I'll use the bath-tub at the lodging house."

He went through City Hall Park, on his way to see his partner, for he
had emerged in front of the World Building. As he crossed the open
space, and approached the fountain, he was aware that something was
going on. There was a big crowd about the water basin.

"Maybe somebody's hurt," thought Dick, hastening his steps, but, when
he managed to wiggle through the throng, and was close to the edge of
the basin, he saw that it was merely the sight of some lads in the
fountain that had attracted the crowd.

The hot lads, braving the wrath of the police, of whom none were then
present, had taken off all the garments they dared, and had plunged
into the cooling water. They