to me, and to you. That is, I have a third interest in it, and
you have two-thirds."

"That hardly seems fair. You should have more than I."

"Never mind, Roy. In fact I intend that, in time, you shall have the
whole of the property."

"Where is it located?"

"In New York City."

"New York? That is a long way off."

"Yes, a good many miles. In fact I have never seen the property. It
is in charge of an agent--a real estate man. Every month he sends me
the money received for rent, and, for several years I have put your
share away, at interest in a bank."

"Then I have some money saved up, and did not know it."

"That is right, and it is quite a sum. But, of late, the rents have
been falling off, until they are only about half what they were when
your mother owned the property."

"Why is this?"

"The agent says it is because the property has gone down in value, but
I can not see how that is, as it is in a good part of New York, and
that city is certainly not getting smaller."

"How do you account for the rents being less, then?"

"That is just the point. I can't account for it, and, to tell you the
truth, I am suspicious of this real estate man."

"Who is he?"

"His name is Caleb Annister."

"What do you propose doing, dad? Can't you get a lawyer to see him,
and find out if he is cheating you?"

"I suppose I could, but I have thought of a different plan. It came to
me when I was lying sick here, and I decided to put it into operation,
so as to straighten out my affairs as well as your own."

"What's your plan, dad?"

"I am going to send you to New York, to look up this property and the
matter of rents, and see whether or not Caleb Annister is telling the
truth, when he says that the value has gone down. Roy, I want you to
act as my agent, and start for New York at once!"

CHAPTER III

A FAREWELL RIDE

His father's announcement rather startled Roy. He had never thought
much of business, outside of that connected with the ranch, and now the
idea of endeavoring to ascertain the value of property, and whether the
agent of it was doing his duty, came as a sort of shock. But, more
than this, was the idea of going to a big city.

In all his life, as far as he could remember, Roy had never been in any
town of more than five thousand inhabitants. He had never, so far as
he knew, taken more than a short ride in a railroad train. I say as
far as he knew, for he had been born in Chi