x up my business, so's I can stay with you till the worst of the
trouble is over."

"Are you countin' on runnin' away with us?" Master Plummer asked, in
surprise.

"That's jest the size of it. You fellers don't seem to know scarcely
anything at all about takin' care of yourselves, an' if I don't 'tend to
business you'll both be in jail before to-morrow mornin'. I'm goin' to
size up things 'round perlice headquarters to-day, an' then come over to
look after you. Jest as soon's the boat touches the slip, you two take a
sneak, find some place where you can hide till night, an' then watch out
for me."

Five minutes later, the fugitives stepped on Jersey soil, and Master
Fernald's scouts were deployed to guard against an attack from the enemy
until the two boys were lost to view in the distance. Then the amateur
detective said, in a tone of grim determination, "Now, fellers, we'll go
back, an' size up the cops in New York."

CHAPTER V.

IN THE CITY.

When Dan Fernald and his two assistants returned to their usual place of
business in the city, they found Joe Potter's mercantile friends in a
state of high excitement.

It seemed as if the eyes of each boy who was acquainted with Joe had
been attracted to that particular advertisement, and business among a
certain portion of the youthful merchants in the vicinity of City Hall
Square was almost entirely suspended because of the startling
information that "the lawyers were after Joe Potter."

It was only natural for each fellow to speculate as to the reason why
the unfortunate fruit merchant should be "wanted," and many and wild
were the theories advanced.

Some of the boys even went so far as to suggest that Joe had robbed a
bank, and, in order to make such a proposition plausible, insinuated
that he had failed in the fruit business simply for the purpose of
deceiving the public as to the true state of his finances.

Little Billy Dooner ventured the opinion that "perhaps Joe had killed a
_I_talian," but no one gave weight to the possible explanation, for
Master Potter enjoyed the reputation of being as peaceable a boy as
could be found in the city.

When each one of those more particularly interested had in turn given
his theory regarding the mystery, without throwing any positive light on
the subject, the conversation was always brought to a close with
something like the following words:

"At any rate, he's gone a mighty long ways crooked, else the lawye