at him inquiringly.

"Do you find news of any of your friends?" he asked.

"Yes, Teddy Donovan has escaped from Sing Sing."

"That's the bank burglar, isn't it?"

"Yes, and one of the smartest men in the profession."

"You know him, then?"

"Yes," answered Bowman. "I got acquainted with him some years ago. Of
course," he added, feeling some explanation necessary, "I didn't know
that he was a burglar till later. Poor fellow, it is his only fault."

Fred was privately of opinion that it was rather a serious fault.

"He's a smart fellow," Bowman continued, "and he led the police a long
chase before they nabbed him. I've often urged him to turn over a new
leaf and lead an honest life or he'd fetch up in prison, but he only
laughed, and that was all the good it did. I wish Teddy would find his
way up here."

"Do you think he will be able to elude recapture?"

"Well, he's sharp enough for almost anything."

"I suppose there are a good many men of his kind in Canada," said Fred
innocently.

"Yes," replied Bowman, adding in a jocular tone. "I didn't know but
that might have brought you here."

"Oh, no!" laughed Fred. "I'm as straight and honorable as you are."

"Good joke!" exclaimed Bowman, slapping his thigh. "Shake!"

Bowman extended his hand, and Fred shook it, though it was not clear to
him what the joke was or why he should shake hands with his companion
because they both happened to be straight and honorable.

The hunt was now begun, for Fred caught sight of a jack rabbit skimming
across the snow. He lifted his gun, and was fortunate enough to bring
his game down. This fired Bowman with the spirit of emulation, and
putting the papers back in his pocket, he started off in search of a
companion trophy to that of his young friend.

He did not find it until the ex-train boy had knocked over two more
"bunnies" and as Fred continued to keep ahead of him in the amount of
game bagged, Mr. Paul Bowman soon became disgusted and proposed a
return to the hotel, where he would have an opportunity to finish his
perusal of the New York papers by the reading-room stove.

As Fred's nose was being nipped by the frost, and he felt that he had
wrought sufficient destruction among the rabbit tribe, he readily fell
in with the suggestion.

Half an hour later he was thawing himself out when Bowman suddenly
looked up from the _World_ and asked abruptly:

"Did you ever hear of John Wainwright, the broker and banker?"