aggage the steamboat sped on her way once more.

"He's as mad as a wet hen," said Jones to Randy. "And he ought to be
thankful for having his life spared."

"He always was a mean sort of fellow," answered our hero. "And his
folks are just as mean as he is."

"Then maybe they will try to make trouble for the steamboat owner."

Amos Bangs did try to make trouble. Two days after the accident on the
river Andrew Shalley received a letter which ran in part as follows:

"As you perhaps know, my son, Robert Bangs, was out on the Hudson
on the 6th inst., in his sloop, when, without any cause whatsoever,
your steamboat, the _Helen Shalley_, ran into his boat, smashed it
completely and put him in peril of his life.

"I am a man of few words, sir, and I demand damages for this
outrage. If you wish to settle, you may send me your check for one
thousand dollars; if not, I will sue you for that amount."

CHAPTER XX

WHAT CAME OF A DEMAND

The letter from Amos Bangs worried Andrew Shalley a little and he at
once called on Captain Hadley, as soon as the steamboat made a landing
at Nyack.

"It seems you ran down a boy a few days ago," said the steamboat owner.

"He tried to run us down," answered the captain, quietly.

"Was he hurt?"

"Not in the least."

"His father wants a thousand dollars' damages."

"I wouldn't pay him a cent."

"Did you run him down?"

"No, he tried to run us down."

"This is no joke, Captain Hadley."

"I know it, Mr. Shalley. But to threaten us with a suit at law is
absurd. I can bring a dozen witnesses to prove that the accident was
entirely of the boy's making."

"I am glad to hear that," and Andrew Shalley breathed a sigh of relief.
He did not care so much for the money, but he wanted to know that
Captain Hadley was not to blame.

"That boy acted like a little fool from beginning to end," went on the
captain of the steamboat and then told his story. Later Randy was
called up, to relate what he had done, and also Jones.

"If there is any trouble some of the passengers will testify for us,"
said Captain Hadley, and mentioned half a dozen who had said they would
stick to the captain, in case of trouble. The passengers were
well-known citizens, whose testimony would be sure to carry weight in
any court of law.

Having satisfied himself that Amos Bangs had no case against him, the
steamboat owner wrote to the rich manufacturer to that effect. By
retu