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

n his cause, Bob was sitting on a little iron bunk his cell contain

ing down the corridor, and then he was suddenly

near making a good-

llar a very large

d standing outside the cell door, staring at him through the bars. "You h

r holding the envelope until those bad men returned was to be one dollar-and they didn't even co

us' kid, are you?" queried t

ected the lad in a voice so full of reproach t

dus?" smiled the one who

unreasonable,

oo honest," comm

ough a grilling examination, trying in every possible way to scare him into admitting either a knowledge of who the swindlers

straightforward answers and manly manner finally convinced them t

m of the police station, the serg

the swindle," announced one of th

hap back in the cell is one. If you take my advice, sergeant, you will let him go, and you will chan

e saw that the weight of opinion was against him. "Has the boy hypnotized

mother and father died when he was three years old, and his father provided in his will that Dardus should be hi

could rob a countryman in broad daylight in our precinct. Haven't our reports to headquarters said, and haven't the papers said, that our precinct has been free from all such crimes for more than six months, and this is o

d in Bob's innocence, turned on their heels, an

you remember what I told you," shouted the sergeant. And, suiting his action to his wo

he outer room of the stat

cause he had espoused,

d to release him, h

om the expression on Foster's face that his mission to interview Len Dardus had not been altoget

e was money enough in the undertaking, he would never stop to question whether or not it was against the l

im to get rid of the kid by getting

l I don't believe you are. I am more convinced than ever that the boy had

ut it here. We'll let the judge decide. McCarty,

ride in the patrol wagon?" protested one of the other

the sergeant countermanded his order for the police wagon, and instead instructed

, closely followed by the countryman, whose desire to make money without

away to the detention room, to await the calling of his case, whil

se the case

the stern expression on his own countenance relaxed, and he

hope that the boy would be quickly discharged. But his pleasure was only momentary,

ed the judge, directing a glance at the boy, as though he

HAT HAVE YOU TO

ter's Gr

of familiarity with the procedure of

eated his question, but

t had ordered to make a case against the boy. "Perhaps if you offered to give him a light se

the magistrate, again dir

a chance to reply

this boy to court is an outrage. He had no more knowledge of the fact that thos

impressive, and after a moment's hesitation, the magistrate, who knew

u know abou

case," said one of the plain-clothes officers. "He was not a witness of the tran

ill ask for it," snapped the magistrat

ou know about

, your hon

ffered him a dollar if he would hold an envelope, which was supposed to contain twelve hundred and fifty dollars, for a few minutes. The thought of earning such a sum of money so easily evidently caused the boy to forget all discretion. B

trate turned to Simpkin

hat t

t the countryman was surprised int

s,

er who had suggested that Bob be allowed to plead guilty, and receive a light s

as a bad recor

quiries about him. Mr. Dardus is his guardian, and though it was evident that he had no love for the boy, the worst he could say about him was that he took a half hour to deliver an order

court himself and try to help the boy, instead of leaving it to a reporte

ed Foster, "but he refused on the gro

es at putting up a plausible story,"

rp rap with his gavel,

er available man connected with the precinct were out searching for the two swindlers, instead of trying to send a poor, almost frien

ere busy writing down the words of the judge, an

ardian treat

every time he sends me out to deliver an order, that I should come back wit

does he

lars a w

you read

and ranching

want to go

s I have money enough. I have saved

er?" snapped the magistrate, as he heard Bob's reply. "Any boy who earns two

ed and brought to court is an outrage, and I wish there was some way that you could obt

th some bills, from which he selected one of the

tting you out West, and now you go back to Mr. Dardus, and tell him that Jud

so with the sudden turn in events that had resulted in his release, and it was not until one of the court atta

other reporters were busy telephoning the story to their papers, and repeating the magistrate's scathing rebuke to the police of the precinct and the city, so that Bob could not see the