is
so far away. If we could only send some one to Buffalo, who understood
the case, and would know what to do, we could manage. It is out of the
question for me to go, and I don't believe Nat could manage matters.
The mate would probably get some criminal lawyer, and effect a
release, even if he was arrested. It's quite a puzzle."

"I don't see what we can do," added the detective. "If we had been
half an hour sooner we could have nabbed him."

Nat, who had hopes of recovering the money that was rightfully his,
began to feel discouraged. It looked as if the rascally mate had the
best of them.

As the four stood in the street, undecided what to do, a voice hailed
Nat, calling out:

"Well, well! If there isn't the lad who saved my boat for me! I'm
glad to see you again. How are you?"

Nat looked up, to see advancing toward him two men. The younger was
John Scanlon, whose craft the boy had saved from being stove in at the
dock in Chicago, some weeks before.

CHAPTER XVII

PLANNING A CAPTURE

"Glad to meet you again," said Nat cordially, as he shook hands with
young Mr. Scanlon. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, we're on a little trip, my father and I. By the way, I don't
believe you have met my father. Dad, this is Nat Morton, whom I was
telling you about. He saved our rowboat."

"Humph, I haven't quite forgiven you for that careless piece of work,
John. But I'm glad to meet Nat," and Mr. Peter Scanlon shook hands
with the lad.

"What are you doing here, Nat?" asked John.

"I'm learning to be a pilot."

"This is a queer place to learn that calling--ashore."

Then Nat explained that he was about to make a change of craft, and he
introduced his companions to John and the latter's parent. He also
told of the money due him and their fruitless efforts to capture the
mate.

"Why, that's quite a romantic story," commented John Scanlon. "To
think of your having money all this time, and not knowing it!"

"And I'm still without it," said Nat, "and likely to be for some time,
unless something happens."

"What a story that would make for the newspapers," went on John. "I
once thought of becoming a newspaper reporter. This would be a dandy
yarn."

"Hold on there, young fellow!" exclaimed the detective.

"What's the matter?" asked John.

"Don't go to tipping off the papers about this. We're going to have a
hard enough time as it is to capture this chap, and we don't want him
to know we're after him. I