all right."

"Here is a five-dollar bill for a reward."

"But I don't want any reward, Mr. Garwell. It was nice of you to give me
the position."

"Didn't you just own up that you were short of funds?"

"Yes, sir, but----"

"That's all right. Take the money. And now let me tell you something as
a friend."

"Yes, sir."

"I like my clerks to look neat and clean at all times. It pays to look
that way. Never come down to the office with a dirty collar, or with
dirty shoes."

"I'll remember that."

"I don't ask you to dress in the topmost style, or be a dude. But keep
yourself neat and clean."

"I will, sir."

"Then that is all. If anything doesn't go right in the office don't
hesitate to let me know."

CHAPTER XV

ABNER AND THE WIDOW GUFF

It was with a light heart that Nat went to work for Mr. John Garwell. He
felt that his employer was a man to be trusted, and one who would do the
best he could for those under him.

"It was a lucky thing for me that I took that walk on the Brooklyn
Bridge," he reasoned. "Perhaps I shouldn't have gotten the job
otherwise."

The clerk, Wilson, proved kind and considerate, and under him our hero
learned rapidly.

"Didn't I tell you that you'd strike luck," said Dick. "Now, all you've
got to do is to nurse that job carefully, and you'll be at the top of
the firm some day."

"Well, I am going to nurse it as carefully as I can," laughed Nat.

When our hero had time he went to the police headquarters to see if
anything had been learned of Nick Smithers.

"Nothing yet," said the officer in charge. "But I think he'll be run
down sooner or later."

"I'd like to run him down myself."

"I've no doubt you would."

Nat had been working for Mr. Garwell about a week when he received
another letter from Sam Price. Sam wrote, in part, as follows:

"Since I sent my last letter, there have been great changes at your
uncle's farm. He has discharged the housekeeper, and some say he is
courting the Widow Guff. For all I know they'll be married pretty
soon. More than that, I heard somebody say that he was thinking of
coming to New York to look for you."

Nat read this communication with close attention. He knew the Widow Guff
as a person who took boarders in the town where he had sold his cow. She
had three children, and had the reputation of being a rather tart and
self-willed woman.

"I shouldn't think Uncle Abner would want to marry that w