ckerman reminds me that
he called up this afternoon to ask if you would like to take a
motor-ride with him to-morrow morning while I am busy."

"You bet I would!" was the fervent reply.

"I thought as much, so I made the engagement for you. He is coming for
you at ten o'clock. And he will have quite a surprise for you, too."

"What is it?" the boy asked eagerly.

"It is not my secret to tell," was the provoking answer. "You will know
it in good time."

"To-morrow?"

"I think so, yes."

"Can't you tell me anything about it?"

"Nothing but that you were indirectly responsible for it."

"_I!_" gasped Stephen.

Mr. Tolman laughed.

"That will give you something to wonder and to dream about," he
responded, rising from the table. "Let us see how much of a Sherlock
Holmes you are."

Steve's mind immediately began to speculate rapidly on his father's
enigmatic remark. All the way up in the elevator he pondered over the
conundrum; and all the evening he turned it over in his mind. At last,
tired with the day's activities, he went to bed, hoping that dreams
might furnish him with a solution of the riddle. But although he slept
hard no dreams came and morning found him no nearer the answer than he
had been before.

He must wait patiently for Mr. Ackerman to solve the puzzle.

CHAPTER XIII

DICK MAKES HIS SECOND APPEARANCE

When Mr. Ackerman's car rolled up to the hotel later in the morning the
puzzle no longer lacked a solution for in the automobile beside the
steamboat magnate sat Dick Martin, the lad of the pocketbook adventure.
At first glance Steve scarcely recognized the boy, such a transformation
had taken place in his appearance. He wore a new suit of blue serge, a
smartly cut reefer, shiny shoes, a fresh cap, and immaculate linen. Soap
and water, as well as a proper style of haircut had added their part to
the miracle until now, with face glowing and eyes alight with pleasure,
Dick was as attractive a boy as one would care to see.

"I have brought Dick along with me, you see," the New Yorker explained,
when the three were in the car and speeding up Fifth Avenue. "He and I
have been shopping and now he is coming home to stay with me until we
hear from one of the schools to which I have written. If they can find a
place for him he will start at once. Then he is going to study hard and
see what sort of a man he can make of himself. I expect to be very proud
of him some day."

The lad flushed.