set the aristocratic bully on his back and came down on top of him.
They rolled over together, and at length Percy set up a howl of pain.

"Oh, my shoulder! You have twisted it out of place!"

"Have you had enough?" demanded Ralph.

"Yes! yes!"

"Will you pay the toll?"

"I don't want to go over now."

"All right, then, you can go back to shore."

Ralph arose to his feet, and the aristocratic bully slowly followed.
Several persons were coming across the bridge now, and the young bridge
tender ran to collect their tolls, leaving his late antagonist to brush off
his sadly-soiled clothes.

"I'll fix you for this!" cried Percy, after the passengers had passed out
of hearing. "We'll see if the village will allow a ruffian like you to tend
bridge much longer."

And off he stalked, with his face full of dark and bitter hatred.

Ralph looked after him anxiously. Would Percy's threat amount to anything?
It would be a real calamity to lose his situation on the bridge.

Then Ralph started to brush off his own clothes. While he was doing so he
felt in his pocket to see if his twenty dollars was still safe. The bill
was gone!

With great eagerness he began a search for the missing banknote. It was all
to no purpose, the money could not be found.

CHAPTER V.

A HUNT FOR THE MISSING BILL.

Ralph was deeply chagrined to think that the twenty-dollar bill could not
be found. He had calculated that with it he might advertise for the missing
papers, and even offer a small reward.

He was loath to give up the search, and after his first hasty hunt, went
over every foot of the plank walk of the bridge, and even under it.

"It must have slipped from my pocket, and the wind must have blown it into
the water," he thought, bitterly. "That was a pretty dear quarrel,
especially as it was not in the least of my making."

Thinking he might possibly find the bill floating on the water, the young
bridge tender sprang into his rowboat, the _Martha_, which was tied up to
the ironwork under the bridge, and pulled around the stonework and some
distance down into Silver Lake.

He found nothing, and inside of ten minutes had to go back to his post of
duty and collect toll from several people who were coming over from
Eastport.

"I'm out twenty dollars, and that's all there is to it," he muttered to
himself. "It's too bad. Why can't Percy Paget stay away and mind his own
business?"

The remainder of the afternoon passed qui