ver.

The fact that his uncle believed he had tried to burn down the barn
filled him with alarm. Certainly, the building must have been set on
fire, but who had done the base deed?

"Perhaps that man I took to be Uncle Abner!" he cried to himself. Up to
the present time he had forgotten about seeing that individual in the
semi-darkness while on the way to get the cow.

The weather was warm and pleasant, and had Nat been less disturbed in
mind he would have enjoyed the trip on Lake Erie thoroughly. Even as it
was, he gazed at the great lake in wonder.

"If this is only a lake, what must the ocean be!" he mused. "When I get
to New York, I'll have to take a trip to Coney Island, or some other
ocean beach."

The boat Nat was on carried more freight than passengers, and made half
a dozen landings before Buffalo was reached. But the boy thought the
craft one of the best on the lake, and wandered over her from end to end
with great interest. At noon he purchased a light lunch, and at supper
time a sandwich and a glass of milk.

"They charge pretty stiff prices on a boat," he thought, after paying
over his money. "I've got to live cheaper after this, or I'll be a
beggar before I settle down and find something to do."

It was dark when Buffalo was reached, and here Nat was more bewildered
than he had been on arriving at Cleveland. He followed the crowd up from
the dock to one of the main streets, and then stood on a corner, not
knowing which way to turn, or what to do next.

"What a terrible lot of people and cars!" was his mental comment. "It's
enough to make a fellow's head swim."

He felt that it would be useless to try to do anything that night, and
so looked around for a cheap lodging house. Soon he found a place where
beds could be had for twenty-five cents a night, and he entered.

"I'll take a bed," he said to the clerk at the desk.

"All right; twenty-five cents." And as the money was passed over, the
clerk continued: "Leave your valuables at the desk."

"Valuables?" repeated Nat. "You mean my watch?"

"You may leave it if you wish, and your money too."

"No; I'll keep them on me," answered the boy.

He was conducted to an elevator, and soon found himself on the fifth
story of the building. Here was a big room containing twenty cots, ten
on each side.

"Here you are; No. 134," said the attendant, and left him.

On several of the cots some men were already sleeping. They were not
pleasant-appearing i