st before obtaining his position at Oak Hall,
and he owed her sixty dollars for this. During the time he had spent
with her he had spoken of a school-book he was going to publish that
would bring him in much money, and she had loaned him a hundred and
twenty-five dollars for this. But she had never seen the school-book,
nor had he ever paid back a cent. His plea, when she had written to
him, had been that his pay was poor and that he had to wait a long
time to get money, and that his publishers had not yet gotten around
to selling his book.

"I never heard of any book he got out," said Roger. "And I think I
would hear if there was such a book."

"That's so," added Phil. "Old Haskers would be so proud of it he would
want everybody to know."

"It is certainly a shame he doesn't pay this lady, if he has the
money," was Dunston Porter's comment. "Did he give you a note?" he
asked of Mrs. Breen.

"He wrote out some kind of a paper and was going to give it to me. But
I never got it."

"He's a swindler, that's what he is!" murmured Phil, wrathfully.

"It looks that way," answered Dave, in an equally low tone.

"He knows this lady is next to helpless and he intends to do her out
of the money!"

"He ought to be sued," exclaimed Roger.

"You have no note, or other writing about the money?" questioned Mr.
Porter.

"I have his letters," answered the elderly lady. "They are in the
bureau yonder." And she pointed to an ancient chest of drawers.

"Shall I get them?" asked Jessie, for she saw that it was a task for
the old lady to move around.

"If you will, my dear. I am so stiff it is hard to get up."

Both girls went to the chest of drawers and brought out a small box of
letters. Mrs. Breen put on her glasses and fumbled them over and
brought forth three communications which were, as the boys recognized,
in Job Haskers's well-known jerky handwriting. She passed them over to
be read, and all present perused them with interest.

The contents, however, were disappointing, especially to the boys and
Dunston Porter, who had hoped to find something by which legally to
hold the school-teacher. Not once did Job Haskers mention that he owed
Mrs. Breen any money. He simply stated that he regretted he could do
nothing for her, that times were hard, and that his income was limited
and hard to get. He said as little as possible, and the tone of the
communications showed that he hoped he would hear no more from the old
lady who