l, sir."

"I have an account with the bank, and will send a check by you to be
cashed."

"All right, sir."

"I will engage a top buggy for you at the hotel stable. I suppose you
are used to driving?"

"Oh, yes, sir."

"And I suppose you know the way to Benton?"

"I have been there a good many times."

"Then there will be no trouble."

"When do you want me to start?"

"At eleven o'clock. That would get you home late to dinner. You may,
therefore, stop and dine at the hotel in Benton."

This would make it a day's excursion. Andy liked driving, and the visit
to Benton would be a pleasure to him.

"I will run home and tell mother I shall not be back to dinner," he
said.

"Very well. Be back here at eleven o'clock."

"All right, sir."

When Andy reached the hotel on his return he found the buggy ready.
Harnessed to it was the best horse in the hotel stable.

"A pleasant journey to you!" said Walter Gale, smiling at Andy from the
piazza.

"Thank you, sir."

Andy drove off at good speed. It was a bright, clear morning. The air
was invigorating, and his spirits rose.

He reflected upon his good luck in having found such a friend as Walter
Gale. He had been unfortunate, to be sure, in being compelled to leave
school, but the hardship was very much mitigated by Mr. Gale's
friendship.

He had gone two-thirds of the way when he overtook a man whose bloated
look and shabby clothing proclaimed him to belong to the large class of
tramps whose business seems to be to roam through the country in quest
of plunder.

The man looked up as Andy reached him.

"I say, boy," he called out, "give me a lift, won't you?"

Andy was kind-hearted, but he was repelled by the unsavory look of the
man who asked him this favor. He felt that it would be very unpleasant
to have such a man sitting beside him in the buggy.

"I think you must excuse me," he said.

"What for?" asked the man, with a scowl. "Are you too proud to take in
a poor man?"

"I don't object to you being poor," answered Andy; "but you look as if
you had been drinking."

The man replied by an oath, and, bending over, he picked up a good-sized
stone and flung it at the young driver. Fortunately his condition made
his aim unsteady, and the stone flew wide of the mark.

Andy whipped up the horse, and was soon out of danger.

CHAPTER VIII.

A MOMENT OF DANGER.

Andy did not examine the check till he reached the bank in Benton. Then,
glancing