must write to father, and tell him
what took place. Then I wander what I had better do next."

Roy was quite perplexed. He would have been more worried had he known
what was passing through the mind of Caleb Annister at that moment.

CHAPTER XVII

CALEB ANNISTER MAKES PLANS

The rascally real estate agent was more worried over the visit of Roy
than he cared to acknowledge, even to himself. The truth was that
Caleb Annister was planning a bold stroke, which was nothing less than
to obtain title of the building belonging to Mr. Bradner and his son.

For a long time, as Mr. Bradner had suspected, the agent had been
cheating him, retaining part of the rents. But this did not satisfy
Mr. Annister. He had begun to steal, and he liked that easy way of
getting money so well that he determined on operations on a larger
scale. Now Roy's coming was likely to interfere with this.

It was Caleb Annister's plan to obtain ownership of the building in
this way. Though he had reported to Mr. Bradner that the taxes had
been always paid promptly, they were, in fact, very much behind, and
had not been paid for two years.

Consequently the city had put the property up for sale for unpaid
taxes. A certain length of time must elapse before a title could be
taken from the former owner, and given to any one who would pay the
taxes and other city charges.

Mr. Annister planned to pay these back taxes without Mr. Bradner's
knowledge and so become the owner of the building, which was quite
valuable. But it needed about two weeks before his trick could be
consummated, and with Roy on hand in New York it might not go through
at all.

For the real estate agent realized, that as Roy had already begun to
investigate the property, he might not stop there, but go further
discover that the taxes were unpaid, and have his father pay them in
the two weeks that remained, thus keeping the title of the building and
land in Mr. Bradner's name.

"I must prevent that at all costs!" exclaimed the agent, as he sat in
his office, when Roy had gone. "I have gone too far to back out now.
And I will not be thwarted by a mere boy. Bah! Why should I be afraid
of him? If I can get him out of the way--if I can have him disappear
for two weeks, I can snap my fingers at him and his father too. Then
I'll no longer be the agent for the Bleecker Building--I'll be the
owner, and a wealthy man!"

He gave himself up to day-dreams of what this woul