Author: Jr. Horatio Alger

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the first servant, putting his lips to the keyhole.

“Yes,” chimed in Mr. Piper, irritably; “what do you mean by such an infernal hubbub?”

“Open the door, and let me out,” returned Paul, eagerly.

The party looked at each other in surprise. They did not expect to find the desperate maniac a boy.

“Perhaps there's more than one of them,” suggested the second servant, prudently.

“Why don't you come out yourself?” asked James. “I am locked in.”

The door was opened with a passkey and Paul confronted the party.

“Now, young man, what do you mean by making such a disturbance?” demanded Mr. Piper, excitably. “My room is just below, and I expected every minute you would come through.”

“I am sorry if I disturbed you, sir,” said Paul, politely; “but it was the only way I could attract attention.”

“How came you locked up here?”

“Yes,” chimed in James, suspiciously, “how came you locked up here?”

“I was drugged with chloroform, and locked in,” said Paul.

“Who did it?”

“Mr. Felix Montgomery; or that's what he called himself. I came here by appointment to meet him.”

“What did he do that for?”

“He has carried off a diamond ring which I came up here to sell him.”

“A very improbable story,” said Mr. Piper, suspiciously. “What should such a boy have to do with a diamond ring?”

Nothing is easier than to impart suspicion. Men are prone to believe evil of each other; and Paul was destined to realize this. The hotel servants, ignorant and suspicious, caught the suggestion.

“It's likely he's a' thafe,” said Bridget, from a safe distance.

“If I were,” said Paul, coolly, “I shouldn't be apt to call your attention by such a noise. I can prove to you that I am telling the truth. I stopped at the office, and the bookkeeper sent a servant to show me up here.”

“If this is true,” said Mr. Piper, “why, when you found yourself locked in, didn't you ring the bell, instead of making such a confounded racket? My nerves won't get over it for a week.”

“I didn't think of the bell,” said Paul; “I am not much used to hotels.”

“What will we do with him?” asked James, looking to Mr. Piper for counsel.

“You'd better take him downstairs, and see if his story is correct,” said the nervous gentleman, with returning good sense.

“I'll do it,” said James, to whom the very obvious suggestion seemed marked by extraordinary wisdom, and he grasped Paul roughly by the arm.

“You needn't hold me,” said our hero, shaking off the grasp. “I haven't any intention of running away. I want to find out, if I can, what has become of the man that swindled me.”

James looked doubtfully at Mr. Piper.

“I don't think he means to run away,” said that gentleman. “I begin to think his story is correct. And hark you, my young friend, if you ever get locked up in a hotel room again, just see if there is a bell before you make such a confounded racket.”

“Yes, sir, I will,” said Paul, half-smiling; “but I'll take care not to get locked up again. It won't be easy for anybody to play that trick on me again.”

The party filed downstairs to the office and Paul told his story to the bookkeeper.

“Have you seen Mr. Montgomery go out?” asked our hero.

“Yes, he went out half an hour ago, or perhaps more. He left his key at the desk, but said nothing. He seemed to be in a hurry.”

“You didn't notice in what direction he went?”

“No.”

Of course no attempt was made to detain Paul. There could be no case against him. He went out of the hotel, and looked up and down Broadway in a state of indecision. He did not mean to sit down passively and submit to the swindle. But he had no idea in what direction to search for Mr. Felix Montgomery.

CHAPTER XIX PAUL DELIBERATES

Paul stood in the street irresolute. He looked hopelessly up and down Broadway, but of course the jeweler from Syracuse was not to be seen. Seeking for him in a city containing hundreds of streets and millions of inhabitants was about as discouraging as hunting for a needle in a haystack. But difficult as it was, Paul was by no means ready to give up the search. Indeed, besides the regret he felt at the loss, he was mortified at having been so easily outwitted.

“He's taken me in just as if I was a country boy,” thought Paul. “I dare say he's laughing at me now. I'd like to get even with him.”

Finally he decided to go to Tiffany's, and ask them to detain any one who might bring in the ring and offer it for sale. He at once acted upon this thought, and, hailing a Broadway stage, for no time was to be lost, soon reached his destination. Entering the store, he walked up to the counter and addressed the clerk to whom he had before shown the ring.

“Do you remember my offering you a diamond ring for sale this morning?” he asked.

“Yes, I remember it very well. Have you got it with you?”

“No, it has been stolen from me.”

“Indeed! How was that?” asked the clerk, with interest.

“I met in the cars a well-dressed man, who called himself a jeweler from Syracuse. He examined the ring, and offered me more than Mr. Tiffany, but asked me to bring it to him at Lovejoy's Hotel. When I got there, he drugged me with chloroform, and when I recovered he was gone.”

“You have been unlucky. There are plenty of such swindlers about. You should have been careful about displaying the ring before strangers.”

“I was showing it to a friend.”

“Have you notified the police?”

“Not yet. I came here to let you know, because I thought the thief might bring it in here to sell.”

“Very likely. Give me a description of him.”

Paul described Mr. Felix Montgomery to the best of his ability.

“I think