"oh, how thankful i am that you came!" exclaimed gertrude, when she felt safe once more.

"i'm glad myself," answered nelson heartily. "but how was it pepper made you a prisoner?"

"i went there to find you, because mrs. kennedy is so sick. i must get back to her at once."

"there is no need to hurry." and nelson told of what he and gladys had done for the patient.

then gertrude related her story and told how homer bulson had said she must marry him.

"he was going to take me to some place in new jersey," gertrude continued. "i heard him and sam pepper talk it over."

"the both of them are a big pair of rascals!" burst out nelson. "oh, i wish i was a man! i'd teach them a lesson!" and he shook his head determinedly.

"i am afraid mr. bulson will find out that i am living with mrs. kennedy, and he'll watch his chance to make more trouble for me," said the girl[pg 156] despondently. "oh, why can't he let me alone? he can have my uncle's money, and welcome."

"we'll all be on guard," answered nelson. "if he tries to harm you, call a policeman. perhaps that will scare him."

gertrude returned to her home with mrs. kennedy, and satisfied that homer bulson would do nothing further that night, the newsboy started to walk uptown.

but presently he changed his mind and turned his footsteps toward the east side. when he reached the vicinity of sam pepper's resort he saw a coach drawn up in front of the place.

homer bulson was just coming out of the resort with sam pepper behind him.

"it's too bad," our hero heard bulson say.

"you're a fine rascal!" cried the boy boldly. "for two pins i'd have you locked up."

"here he is now!" exclaimed bulson. "pepper, you ought to take him in hand for his impudence."

"sam pepper won't touch me, and you won't touch me, either," cried our hero, with flashing eyes. "you thought you were smart, mr. homer bulson, but your game didn't work. and let me tell you something. if you trouble miss horton in the future, she and i are going to put the police on your track."

[pg 157]

"me? the police!" ejaculated the young man, in horror.

"yes, the police. so, after this, you had better let her alone."

"nelson, you talk like a fool," put in sam pepper.

"i don't think so."

"what is that girl to you? if you'd only stand in with us, it would be money in your pocket."

"i'm not for sale."

"mr. bulson wants to do well by her. she don't know how to work. if she marries him, she'll have it easy for the rest of her life."

"but she don't want him, and that's the end of it. i've given you warning now. if anything happens to her i'll call in the police, and i'll tell all i know, and that's more than either of you dream of," concluded our hero, and walked off.

"he's an imp!" muttered bulson savagely. "i'd like to wring his neck for him!"

"i wonder how much he knows?" said pepper, in alarm. "it was always a mystery to me how he and the girl fell in with each other."

"he can't know very much, for she doesn't know a great deal, pepper. he's only talking to scare us," said bulson. his uncle had not told him of the meeting in the library.

[pg 158]

"what are you going to do next?"

"better wait till this affair blows over. then gertrude will be off her guard," concluded homer bulson.

after that several weeks slipped by without anything unusual happening. gertrude kept on her guard when going out to give piano lessons, but neither bulson nor pepper showed himself.

gertrude, gladys, and nelson all took turns in caring for mrs. kennedy, and the old lady speedily recovered from the severe attack of rheumatism she had experienced. she was anxious to get back to her fruit-and-candy stand.

"it's meself as can't afford to be idle at all," she declared. "sure an' i must owe yez all a whole lot av money."

"don't owe me a cent," said nelson, and gertrude and gladys said the same.

business with the firm was steadily increasing. the boy who had carried the paper route had left, and paul randall was now filling the place and doing his best to bring in new trade.

"we'll soon be on our way to opening a regular store," said george van pelt, one day. "we really need the room already."

"let us go slow," said nelson. "i know a fellow who had a stand near the fulton ferry. he swelled up and got a big store at fifty dollars[pg 159] a month, and then he busted up in less than half a year. i want to be sure of what i am doing." and van pelt agreed with him that that was best.

of course some newsboys were jealous of our hero's success, and among these were billy darnley and len snocks. both came up to the stand while nelson was in sole charge one afternoon, and began to chaff him.

"t'ink yer big, don't yer?" said darnley. "i could have a stand like dis, if i wanted it."

"perhaps you could, if you could steal the money to buy it," replied our hero suggestively.

"dis aint no good spot fer business," put in len snocks. "why didn't yer git furder downtown?"

"this is good enough for me," said our hero calmly. "if you don't like the stand, you don't have to patronize me."

"yer don't catch me buyin' nuthin here," burst out snocks. "we know better where to spend our money; don't we, billy?"

"perhaps you called to pay up that balance you owe me," said nelson to billy darnley. "there is a dollar and ninety cents still coming my way."

"ah, go on wid yer!" growled billy darnley, with a sour look. "i wouldn't have de stand, if yer give it to me. come on, len!" and he hauled his companion away.

[pg 160]

our hero felt that he could afford to laugh at the pair. "i guess it's a case of sour grapes," he said to himself. "they'd think they were millionaires if they owned a place like this."

both darnley and snocks were out of money, and hungry, and they were prowling along the street, ready to pick up anything which came to hand.

"it's a shame nelse's got dat stand," said darnley. "he don't deserve it no more'n i do."

"no more dan me," added snocks. "it beats all how some fellers strike it lucky, eh?"

"i wish we could git something off of him," went on the larger bully.

"off de stand?" queried snocks.

"yes."

"maybe we can—to-night, after he locks up."

"say, dat would be just de t'ing," burst out the larger boy. "nobody is around, and it would be easy to break open de lock. if only we had a push-cart, we could make a big haul."

"i know an italian who has one. we can borrow dat."

"will he lend it?"

"i'll borrow it on de sly."

so a plan was arranged to get the push-cart that night, after the news stand was locked up and nelson and van pelt had gone away. billy[pg 161] darnley had a bunch of keys in his pocket, and he felt fairly certain that one or another would fit the lock to the stand.

"won't nelse be surprised when he finds de t'ings gone?" said snocks. "but it will serve him right, won't it?"

"to be sure," added darnley. "he's gittin' too high-toned. he wants to come down out of de clouds."