Oh, no," said Bob. "I gave my word that I would stay, and I will."

The countryman's suggestion that he be intrusted with the money aroused
Bob's suspicion, for he remembered that the others had placed five
hundred dollars in the envelope, and he thought it was a scheme on the
part of Simpkins to get possession of this money. So that after this
interchange of words, both lapsed into silence.

As the quarter hour lengthened into a half, then to three-quarters, and
finally to an hour, without the re-appearance of the two well-dressed
New Yorkers, Bob's dread of his guardian's anger outweighed his desire
to earn the dollar, and he finally exclaimed:

"I can't wait any longer; honest I can't." And then, chancing to catch
sight of a policeman standing on the corner about a hundred feet away, a
way out of the difficulty suggested itself, and he said to the
countryman:

"I tell you how we can fix it. We will go over to that policeman and
explain the matter to him, and I'll ask him to hold the envelope until
those men come back."

And without giving Simpkins time to protest, Bob picked up his basket,
and led the way to where the guardian of the law was standing,
indolently surveying the crowd.

Casting a contemptuous glance at the two ludicrous figures that
approached him, the policeman first listened to the excited explanation
of the boy indifferently, then with incredulity, and finally with
amusement.

"I have heard of such easy marks, but I never expected to see them in
flesh and blood," exclaimed the officer, when Bob stopped speaking. "So
you think you are holding some money in that envelope, do you, kid?
Well, I'll bet a year's pay that there is nothing in it but old paper."

And while the countryman and the boy gazed at him in speechless dismay,
the policeman took the envelope from Bob's hand, opened it, and drew
forth to their startled gaze a roll of tissue-paper.

"I told you so," grunted the policeman, but further comment was
interrupted by the actions of Simpkins.

No sooner had he discovered that he had been swindled than he shouted at
the top of his lungs:

"I've been robbed! I've been robbed! They've stolen seven hundred and
fifty dollars from me!"

The loud, excited words and the gesticulations of the grotesquely-garbed
man quickly drew the attention of the passersby, and in a trice the
victims of the swindlers and the policeman were the center of a curious
throng of people.

"I want my money! I