Joe the Hotel Boy; Or, Winning out by Pluck by Pluck by Jr. Horatio Alger (novels to read .txt) ๐
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- Author: Pluck by Jr. Horatio Alger
Read book online ยซJoe the Hotel Boy; Or, Winning out by Pluck by Pluck by Jr. Horatio Alger (novels to read .txt) ๐ยป. Author - Pluck by Jr. Horatio Alger
โEight o'clock.โ
โWhat!โ Maurice Vane started up. โI've certainly slept fast enough this trip. Are you getting hungry waiting for me?โ
โI just woke up myself.โ
โOh!โ Maurice Vane stretched himself. โMy, how dizzy I am.โ
โI am dizzy too, sir. It must be from the motion of the car.โ
โProbably, although I rarely feel so, and I ride a great deal. I feel rather sick at my stomach, too,โ went on the gentleman, as he began to dress.
Joe had just started to go to the lavatory to wash up when he heard his employer utter an exclamation.
โJoe!โ
โYes, sir!โ
โDid you see anything of my satchel?โ
โYou took it into the berth with you.โ
โI don't see it.โ
โIt must be somewhere around. I saw it when you went to bed.โ
โYes, I put it under my pillow.โ
Both made a hasty search, but the satchel could not be found. The dress-suit case stood under the seat and Joe's was beside it.
โThis is strange. Can I have been robbed?โ
โWas there much in that satchel, Mr. Vane?โ
โYes, those mining shares and some other articles of value.โ
โThen we must find the satchel by all means.โ
โI'll question the porter about this.โ
The colored man was called and questioned, but he denied having seen the bag. By this time quite a few passengers became interested.
โHas anybody left this car?โ asked Maurice Vane.
โThe gen'men that occupied Numbers 9 and 10, sah,โ said the porter.
โWhen did they get off?โ
โ'Bout three o'clock, sahโwhen de train stopped at Snapwood.โ
โI haven't any tickets for Snapwood,โ said the conductor, who had appeared on the scene.
โThen they must have had tickets for some other point,โ said Joe.
โThat looks black for them.โ
The porter was asked to describe the two men and did so, to the best of his ability. Then another search was made, and in a corner, under a seat, a bottle was found, half filled with chloroform.
โIt's as plain as day to me,โ said Maurice Vane. โJoe, I was chloroformed.โ
โPerhaps I was, too. That's what gave us the dizzy feeling.โ
โAnd those two menโโ
โMust have been Caven and Malone in disguise,โ finished our hero.
CHAPTER XXVII.
JOE MAKES A DISCOVERY.
โWho are Caven and Malone?โ asked the conductor of the train, while a number of passengers gathered around, to hear what Maurice Vane and our hero might have to say.
โThey are two rascals who are trying to do me out of my share of a mine,โ explained Maurice Vane. โI had my mining shares in that satchel.โ
โIf you wish I'll telegraph back to Snapwood for you,โ went on the train official.
โHow many miles is that?โ
โA little over two hundred.โ
โWhat is the next stop of this train?โ
โLeadington.โ
โWhen will we get there?โ
โIn ten minutes.โ
A telegram was prepared and sent back to Snapwood as soon as Leadington was reached. The train was held for five minutes and it was learned that nobody had been seen at the station there at three in the morning, as the night operator and station master were away, there being no passengers to get on the train bound West.
Maurice Vane was much disturbed and did not know what to do.
โTo go back and look for them at Snapwood may be a mere waste of time,โ said he. โOn the other hand, I don't feel much like going on while the shares are out of my possession.โ
โIf you wish it, Mr. Vane, I'll go back,โ said Joe. โYou can go ahead, and if anything turns up I will telegraph to you.โ
This pleased the gentleman, and he said Joe could go back on the very next train. The conductor was again consulted, and our hero left the train bound West a quarter of an hour later.
โHere is some money,โ said Maurice Vane on parting. โYou'll need it.โ And he handed over two hundred dollars.
โOh, Mr. Vane! will I need as much as this?โ
โPerhaps. If you see those rascals you may have a long chase to capture them. Do not hesitate to spend the money if it appears necessary to do so.โ
Long before noon our hero was on the way East on a train scheduled to stop at Snapwood. He went without his dress-suit case and carried his money in four different pockets.
The train was almost empty and the riding proved decidedly lonely. In a seat he found an Omaha paper, but he was in no humor for reading. When noon came he took his time eating his dinner, so that the afternoon's ride might not appear so lasting.
About half-past two o'clock the train came to an unexpected halt.
Looking out of the window Joe saw that they were in something of a cut, close to the edge of a woods.
The delay continued, and presently one passenger after another alighted, to learn the meaning of the hold-up. Joe did likewise, and walked through the cut toward the locomotive.
The mystery was easily explained. On one side of the cut the bank had toppled over the tracks, carrying with it two trees of good size. A number of train hands were already at work, sawing the trees into pieces, so that they might be shifted clear of the tracks.
Joe watched the men laboring for a few minutes and then walked up the bank, to get a look at the surroundings. Then he heard a whistle and saw a train approaching from the opposite direction. It came to a halt a few hundred feet away.
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