?"

Archie patted his pockets. "No, I haven't. Left it in the office. Got
a couple of hundred cash you're welcome to, though."

The young man looked nervously at his watch. Mitchell turned
hesitatingly toward Thompson. But the Westerner did not wait for an
appeal to his generosity. He volunteered, eager to oblige a man of
such large affairs as his substantial friend.

"I'll write you a check. You can just run in to the nearest bank with
me and indorse it, Mr. Mitchell. Sorry I haven't the cash with me."
Thus Steve, his clumsy innocence eluding the toils with all the grace
of an agile hippopotamus.

The grafters glanced at each other. But Mitchell was equal to the
emergency.

"No need to bother you, Mr. Thompson, thanks, all the same," he said
suavely. "Archibald, just give me what you've got and I'll run over to
Jersey City with John. Traffic Manager of the Pennsylvania is a friend
of mine. If he's in his office I'll get it of him. Otherwise, I'll
start John on, and wire balance to him at St. Augustine when I get
back. Wait a minute, John. Got plenty of time to catch the boat. Look
here, Archie--you're not busy, are you?"

"I'm always busy," said the shipowner gayly, "but no more so to-day
than any other day. Why?"

"Oh, well, you can get off. I promised Thompson, here, to do him
the honors, and now I've got to help John out. Oh, you two are not
acquainted, are you? Ex_cuse_ me! Mr. Archibald, Mr. Bickford--Mr.
Thompson, Mr. Bickford. Mr. Bickford's father was a dear old friend of
mine. Once very wealthy, too, but has had reverses. Bless me, how I do
ramble on! Old age, sir, old age! Osler was half right. Now, Archie,
'phone up to your office that you're unavoidably detained and all the
rest of it, like a good fellow, and take my place as cicerone.
Never mind your dinky little boats--take him up and show him the big
fellows--the ocean greyhounds."

"But," objected Archibald, "I've got to go down to the office to get
some money. You've broke me, you shanghaier."

"So I have, so I have!" He peeled off a hundred-dollar-bill, ignoring
Steve's protest. "That enough? I'll fix John up, some way. You're at
Mr. Thompson's orders. Mind, his money isn't any good. I pay for both
of you. Wish it was more, but you see how I'm hooked up. You'll have a
better time with a young fellow like Archie than you would with an
old fogy like me, anyhow. Here, we'll be left!" He made for the ferry
slips with the anxious Bickford.

T