able who arrested him at Linwood on suspicion of being a
horse-thief he took passage on board the steamer Sam Kendall for St.
Louis. While he was on the steamer he made the acquaintance of George
Ackerman, who was one of the pilots, and whom he twice saved from
drowning. George owned an extensive cattle-ranche in Texas, which was
held in trust for him by his uncle, John Ackerman, who was his guardian.
After the Sam Kendall was burned he tried to show his gratitude to his
preserver, whom he believed to be alone in the world, by offering him a
home at his house. At first Bob was inclined to refuse. His imagination
having been excited by the cheap novels he had read, he had left home
intending to go on the Plains and make himself famous as a hunter and
Indian-fighter; but George, who had seen more than one professional
hunter in his frontier home, said so much against it, and painted the
poverty and worthlessness of this class of men, and the dangers of the
life they led, in such gloomy colors, that Bob was finally induced to
give up his long-cherished idea, and to consent to accompany his new
friend to his home in Texas. As George had no money, Bob footed all
their bills, and in due time, in spite of the efforts which Uncle John
Ackerman made to separate them in New Orleans, they arrived in
Galveston.

They had scarcely stepped ashore before their troubles began in earnest.
Bob's pocket was picked while he was passing through the crowd on the
wharf, and the boys found themselves alone in a strange city, without
money enough in their possession to pay for supper or lodging, and no
friend to whom they could go for assistance. They spent the night on the
streets, keeping constantly in motion to avoid attracting the attention
of the police, and when morning came they found a good-natured grocer
who gave them a breakfast of crackers and cheese, and provided George
with the means of writing to Mr Gilbert for money to pay his fare and
Bob's by rail and stage-coach to Palos. If they could only reach that
place, their troubles would be over, for George was well known there,
and everybody would be ready to lend him and his new friend a helping
hand. But Mr. Gilbert lived a long way from Galveston, the mail
facilities between Palos and his rancho were none of the best, and the
boys were utterly at a loss to determine how they were going to exist
during the two or three weeks that must elapse before George could
receive an answer to