Bob Chester's Grit; Or, From Ranch to Riches Read online

  BOB CHESTER'S GRIT

  Or

  From Ranch to Riches

  by

  FRANK V. WEBSTER

  Author of "The Newsboy Partners," "Only a Farm Boy," "Bob the Castaway,"Etc.

  Illustrated

  HE URGED FIREFLY TO GREATER SPEED_Bob Chester's Grit_ Page 190]

  New YorkCupples & Leon CompanyPublishers

  * * * * *

  BOOKS FOR BOYS

  By FRANK V. WEBSTER

  12mo. Cloth. Illustrated. Price per volume,40 cents, postpaid

  ONLY A FARM BOY TOM, THE TELEPHONE BOY THE BOY FROM THE RANCH THE YOUNG TREASURE HUNTER BOB, THE CASTAWAY THE YOUNG FIREMEN OF LAKEVILLE THE NEWSBOY PARTNERS THE BOY PILOT OF THE LAKES TWO BOY GOLD MINERS JACK, THE RUNAWAY COMRADES OF THE SADDLE THE BOYS OF BELLWOOD SCHOOL THE HIGH SCHOOL RIVALS AIRSHIP ANDY BOB CHESTER'S GRIT BEN HARDY'S FLYING MACHINE DICK, THE BANK BOY DARRY, THE LIFE SAVER

  * * * * *

  Cupples & Leon Co., Publishers, New YorkCopyright, 1911, byCupples & Leon Company

  * * * * *

  BOB CHESTER'S GRIT

  CONTENTS

  CHAPTER PAGE I UNDER A CLOUD 1 II BOB FINDS AN UNEXPECTED CHAMPION 11 III FREE AGAIN 19 IV BOB DETERMINES TO BE HIS OWN MASTER 31 V BOB MISSES A FRIEND 40 VI A KIND-HEARTED WAITRESS 46 VII GOOD LUCK FROM BAD 57 VIII BOB'S LUCK CONTINUES 65 IX A TALE OF THE PLAINS 74 X BOB DOES A KIND ACT 83 XI BOB FAILS TO FIND MRS. CAMERON 93 XII ALONE IN A STRANGE CITY 100 XIII BOB STARTS AGAIN 108 XIV AT THE THROTTLE OF A FREIGHT ENGINE 116 XV BOB EARNS HIS PASSAGE 124 XVI FAIRFAX AT LAST 133 XVII SEEKING A JOB 143XVIII ON THE TRACK 149 XIX AN AMAZING RECEPTION 155 XX BOB BECOMES OWNER OF A DOG 160 XXI AT THE RANCH 167 XXII ON THE RANGE STATION 173XXIII BOB OVERHEARS A SECOND PLOT 179 XXIV A RACE FOR LIFE 189 XXV FROM RANCH TO RICHES 197

  Bob Chester's Grit

  CHAPTER I

  UNDER A CLOUD

  "Hey, boy! What's your name?"

  "Bob Chester."

  "Where are you going with that basket of groceries?"

  "To deliver an order to one of my guardian's customers."

  "Are you honest?"

  "I hope so, sir," replied Bob, his face expressing surprise that hisprobity should be questioned.

  The man who had hailed Bob Chester appeared to be about twenty-fiveyears old, and his clothes were well-fitting, giving him the air of aman of means. With him were two other men; one of whom, several yearsolder, was also well dressed. The third member of the group was entirelydifferent from the others. His clothes were grotesque, and bore everytrace of having been purchased in some country store. His derby hat wasgreen-black, and apparently a size too small, judging from the manner inwhich it rested on his head. Had not his appearance bespoken that he wasa stranger come from the country to see the sights of New York, hisface, sunburned and honest, would have proclaimed him as oneunaccustomed and unfamiliar with the wiles of a great city.

  Prior to his having been addressed, the boy who had given his name asBob Chester had noticed the difference between the three men as theystood in earnest conversation on the sidewalk, and instinctively he hadbeen attracted by the frankness of the countryman's face. He had beenwondering why the two New Yorkers were so interested in the other man,but the unexpectedness of his being accosted had driven all thought fromhis mind, and he had given his answers as though compelled by thesearching glance the younger of the two men had directed at him.

  All three watched him intently, and as he made his answer that he hopedhe was honest, the elder of the New Yorkers exclaimed:

  "I think he will do, Harry."

  "Well, if you say so, all right," returned the other, and then turningto Bob, he asked:

  "Would your guardian object seriously if you did not deliver your orderfor about half an hour?"

  "I don't know. Saturday is always a busy day at the store, and Mr.Dardus always scolds me if I don't get right back. It doesn't make anydifference to him how far I have to go, he always thinks I should beback within fifteen minutes after I have started. So I'd rather notdelay--because I don't like to be scolded," added the boy, as though byway of apologizing for his refusal.

  "Well, if we gave you a dollar, don't you think you could stand the oldman's scolding, if you were half an hour late?" asked the elder of theNew Yorkers, at the same time putting his hand in his pocket and drawingforth a large roll of bills, which he opened ostentatiously. The figureswere so large that Bob's eyes seemed as though they would pop out of hishead, so eagerly did they scan them. The man extracted a dollar bill.

  The sight of so much money in the possession of one man fairlyhypnotized the boy, and he replied:

  "Do you mean you will give me a whole dollar if I will wait here half anhour?"

  "That's what!" exclaimed the man with the roll of bills. "But there is alittle more to it. Our friend, Mr. Anthony Simpkins, and we, have animportant business transaction in hand, involving fifteen hundreddollars. My friend and I don't happen to have more than five hundreddollars with us, while Mr. Simpkins has seven hundred and fifty, and sowe want you to hold this money while my friend and I go to our bank andget the two hundred and fifty dollars more, which is our share in thedeal."

  "What, me hold twelve hundred and fifty dollars!" exclaimed Bob, asthough unable to believe his ears. "Why, you don't know anything aboutme. I might run off with it."

  "You look honest," replied the man who had hailed him, "and that's whywe stopped you. Besides, you wouldn't be able to run away if you wantedto, because Mr. Simpkins is going to wait here with you until wereturn."

  "And you will give me a dollar just for keeping the money until you comeback?" demanded Bob.

  "Exactly."

  "All right. That's half as much as I get for working a week."

  "That's the boy. I am glad to see that you have the sense of thrift sostrongly developed. Now we will just put Mr. Simpkins' seven hundred andfifty dollars and our five hundred dollars in this envelope, which youwill keep until we return."

  As he spoke, the elder of the New Yorkers counted out five hundreddollars, put it in the envelope, and then asked the countryman for hisshare. After verifying the amount, he placed it with the other money,then handed an envelope to Bob, exclaiming:

  "Now you two stay right here, and we will be back within fifteenminutes."

  "All right, sir," said Bob, as he grasped the envelope. And as hisfingers closed about it, he unconsciously threw back his head, andsquared his shoulders, proud of the thought that he had been selected asthe custodian of such a large sum of money.

  Again repeating their promise to return within a quarter of an hour, thetwo New Yorkers hastened away, and were soon lost among the people whothronged the thoroughfare.

  Oblivious as the people who live in New York are to the presence oftheir fellowmen, the sight of the man so obviously from the country andthe bright-eyed, alert boy, closely clasping the envelope in one hand,while at his feet rested the basket packed with groceries, attractedmany a passing glance.

  Between Simpkins and Bob, however, no words were exchanged; though each,while apparently gazing at the pa
ssersby, kept a sharp lookout upon theother.

  Minute after minute went by, without the return of the two men, who hadsaid they were going to the bank for money, and as the time wore onwithout their re-appearance, Simpkins exclaimed:

  "I wonder what's keeping them? I don't want to stand here all day."

  "And I can't," said Bob. "I will be more than half an hour late ingetting back to the store, and I know Mr. Dardus will be very angry. Imost wish I hadn't said I'd wait. It just shows that Mr. Dardus is rightwhen he says there is no pleasure in having money that isn't earnedhonestly, and getting a dollar for just holding this money isn't reallyhonest work."

  "Well, if you think you ought to be delivering your groceries, why notgive the envelope to me? I'll stay here and wait, though I must say I amgetting tired."

  "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 arousedBob's suspicion, for he remembered that the others had placed fivehundred dollars in the envelope, and he thought it was a scheme on thepart of Simpkins to get possession of this money. So that after thisinterchange of words, both lapsed into silence.

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

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

  "I tell you how we can fix it. We will go over to that policeman andexplain the matter to him, and I'll ask him to hold the envelope untilthose 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 thatapproached him, the policeman first listened to the excited explanationof the boy indifferently, then with incredulity, and finally withamusement.

  "I have heard of such easy marks, but I never expected to see them inflesh and blood," exclaimed the officer, when Bob stopped speaking. "Soyou 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 drewforth to their startled gaze a roll of tissue-paper.

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

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

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

  The loud, excited words and the gesticulations of the grotesquely-garbedman quickly drew the attention of the passersby, and in a trice thevictims of the swindlers and the policeman were the center of a curiousthrong of people.

  "I want my money! I want my money!" bellowed Simpkins.

  "You stand a fine chance of getting it," returned the policeman, "but Iwill do what I can for you. I'll take you around to the police station,and you can make a complaint to the sergeant and give him a descriptionof the 'con' men."

  As word of the swindle was passed among the crowd, various were thecomments and bits of advice offered.

  At first Bob had been too stunned by the discovery that he had been madean innocent party to the swindle even to think, but as he graduallyrecovered from the unpleasant surprise, his one thought was to get awayfrom Simpkins, to deliver his groceries and get back to the store asquickly as possible. In order to carry out this plan, he began to wormhis way through the constantly increasing crowd.

  One of the men who were offering advice chanced to see him, and cried:

  "There goes the boy! He was probably standing in with the swindlers. Whydon't you arrest him, Mr. Officer?"

  "That's the thing to do," agreed several others, and the policeman,evidently thinking that it would be a wise procedure for him to seizesome one in connection with the swindle, leaped after Bob, grasped himroughly by the shoulder, and started for the station-house, followed bySimpkins and those of the crowd who had nothing better to do.

  Arrived at the police station, the countryman and the patrolman bothtalked at once, while Bob stood in silence, overcome by the disgrace ofhis arrest.

  Taking his pencil, the sergeant stopped the countryman's torrent ofwords, and began to ask him questions as to his meeting with thestrangers, eliciting the information that he had met them coming over onthe ferry-boat from Jersey City, and that the business deal they hadproposed was the betting of fifteen hundred dollars on a race horse thatwas sure to win.

  "It's a pity there isn't a law to keep you country people out of thecities," grunted the sergeant, when the details of the story had beentold him, and then, turning to the policeman, he said:

  "You did right in bringing along the boy, McCarty. He is evidently oneof the gang, or he wouldn't have been passing along the street just ashe was. We may be able to learn from him who the 'con' men are, andwhere they hang out. Search him, and then take him back to a cell. I'llsend a couple of plain-clothes men in to talk with him."

  And grabbing Bob by the arm, the policeman dragged him toward the doorwhich led to a cell.