t up. "I'd like ter kill
dem fellers!" he muttered.

He hurried for the nearest saloon, where he tried to drown his troubles
in drink. In the saloon were several who knew him, and one man jeered
him because of the black eye. This brought on another quarrel, and as a
consequence both men were pushed out of the drinking resort. They
continued to fight on the sidewalk, until a policeman came along and
tried to stop them. Then Hosker attacked the officer, and as a
consequence was placed under arrest. The next day he was brought up in
court and sentenced to a year in prison for his misdeeds.

"I don't think he'll forget us," said Jones, as the steamboat was
reached.

"Maybe he will lay for us," said Randy.

"Well, we can kape our eyes open," put in Pat Malloy.

"I shall not visit that neighborhood again," said our hero. "Now I have
my money back I am satisfied."

"New York has altogether too many such toughs," put in Jones. "The
police ought to clean them all out. When I first came here I was
attacked in my boarding place on the Bowery."

"Were you robbed?"

"The fellow tried to rob me, but he didn't succeed. I played a neat
trick on him."

"What did you do?"

"I had a roll of bills and these I placed in an inside pocket. I also
had an imitation bank-bill--one of these advertisements you often see.
Well, I took a small roll of paper and put the imitation bill around
it, and put the roll in my vest pocket. The would-be thief got the roll
and ran off with it."

"He must have been angry when he saw how he had been duped," laughed
Randy.

"I didn't see that fellow again for nearly six months. Then I met him
on the steamboat where I was working. When he saw me he sneaked out of
sight in a hurry, I can tell you."

"Did you follow him up?"

"I tried to, but I didn't see him again until we were making a landing.
Then I tried to grab him, but he slipped me in a crowd and went ashore
as fast as his legs could carry him," concluded the deckhand.

CHAPTER XXVI

NEW TROUBLES

On the following day Randy noticed that Peter Polk seemed unusually
sour and thoughtful.

"Something has gone wrong with him, that is certain," thought our hero.
"I wonder what it can be?"

He did his best to keep out of the way of the purser and succeeded
until nightfall. But then, when he was carrying an extra heavy trunk,
Peter Polk got in his way and made him stumble and drop the piece of
baggage. The trunk was split open at o