, of course!" said the other somewhat impatiently, and all
at once a light broke in upon Jack.

The man was the one he had heard, but had not seen, talking with
the foreign nurse maid on the bank of the kill earlier in the
afternoon.

He had tried to place the man's voice, but while he talked in low,
pleasant tones, with a good inflection, he was puzzled, knowing
and yet not knowing it.

The instant that the man spoke in impatient, angry tones, such
as he had used on the bank of the kill, Jack recognized him, and
he wondered that he had not done so before.

The man took a slip of paper from his pocketbook, and read out a
number written in pencil, the exact number of the watch which Jack
had found.

"Is that correct?" he asked Jack with a certain tone of triumph.

"Perfectly so," the boy answered.

"And the description is correct also?"

"Absolutely."

"Ah, I am glad of that. I mentioned a reward a few minutes ago, and
I am perfectly willing to pay it. Will a hundred dollars be
sufficient?"

"It would be more than ample in the event of my having the actual
owner of the watch to deal with," in a quiet tone.

The man flushed, glared angrily at the boy, and cried excitedly:

"What do you mean by that, you young scoundrel? Do you dare to
say that I am not---" and then he stopped short, laughed, and
said in his former pleasant tones: "but this is a joke, of course."

"No, it is not, it is the truth," said the boy. "Dr. Wise, don't
give it to him. He is not the real owner of the watch. Have
you forgotten your conversation with Gabrielle this afternoon?"
to the man himself. "Well, I have not, nor has my friend, and we
both heard it. It was on the banks of a little kill that runs into
the Hudson a few miles from here, and about a mile up from the river."

Before the boy had finished the man uttered an inarticulate mutter,
and flushed deeply, dashing out of the room as the sentence was
completed.

CHAPTER X

DISAPPOINTMENTS

"Come On, Dick, the man must not escape!" cried Jack excitedly.
"Excuse us, Doctor, we've got to watch him. Come ahead, Dick!"

Both boys left the cottage in haste, seeing the man running toward
the river when they reached the outside.

"Hello! stop that man!" shouted Dick.

"Catch him!" echoed Jack.

Jack's boat was at the shore, not hauled up on the bank as usual,
and now this man made directly for it, sprang in, started the engine
in a few moments, and was out