CHAPTER IV.
IN WHICH PHIL ENDEAVORS TO REMEDY HIS FIRST MISHAP.
I went up to the centre of the town, where I had seen a church; butit was closed, and all its windows were dark. I inquired for theother churches, and visited the rest of them; but I could find noprayer-meeting. Those whom I asked had not heard of any meetings.By this time I concluded that I was an idiot to believe that theprayer-meeting was anything but a ruse on the part of Mr. LeonidasLynchpinne, otherwise Lynch, which was probably his true name, andwhich he had doubtless extended for my especial benefit.
I was disgusted, and heartily wished I had not left the steamer. Imade up my mind that it was not safe to trust any stranger, even if hesaid he was in the habit of attending prayer-meetings; but I ought toadd that I have always found it safe to trust those who really attendthem, and really take an interest in them. I had been duped, deceived,robbed. I wanted my money back, and I was quite as anxious to see Lynchas I was Mr. Gracewood.
I walked up to the hotel, and looked at every body I saw in the publicrooms, hoping that my fellow-passenger had concluded to pay a dollarfor his lodging, instead of fifty cents at the gambling den, which Ithought he now could afford to do, with his funds replenished with thecontents of my shot-bag. He was not there, and I went over towardsthe house where I had been robbed. I approached the locality verycautiously, for I was not anxious to confront the burly Glynn.
I examined the building at a respectful distance, and tried to fix thelocation of the attic chamber where Lynch had plundered me; but I hadtwisted about so many times in the long entries that I was unable todo so. Occasionally a man, or a party of men, went up the steps, and Isupposed them to be the lodgers in the house. I watched those who wentin and those who came out, in the hope that I might see Lynch. I didnot see him, and perhaps it was just as well for me that I did not,for, as I felt then, I should certainly have "pitched into him."
I could not do anything to help myself. I was tempted to arm myselfwith a club and go into the lodging-house in search of the rascalwho had robbed me; but this would have been very imprudent. It waspossible that Lynch was still in the house, and that he would occupythe room in the attic. I could not help thinking that Redwood was hisconfederate, and that my money would be shared between them. Theyseemed to understand each other perfectly, and I recalled the remark ofmy companion, incomprehensible to me when it was uttered, that I was"a dove with the yellows." A dove is the emblem of innocence, and theyellows I took to be a metaphor, based upon the color of the pieces inmy shot-bag.
It was clearly more prudent for me to wait till the next morningbefore I attempted to do anything; and, having satisfied myself of thecorrectness of my conclusion, I decided to wait, with what patience Icould, for the assistance of my friends the next day. The night wasadvancing, and I had no place to sleep. I had not money enough leftto pay even for a cheap lodging; and it was rather cool to camp on theground without a blanket. But I had a berth on board of the steamer, ifI could find my way back to her. I was not so tired that I could notwalk four miles.
I started for the wood-yard, and, with less difficulty than I expected,I found the road over the prairie. As I trudged along in the darkness,I thought of all the events of the evening. It was a pity that theworld contained any such rascals as "Mr. Leonidas Lynchpinne;" but Iwas confident that the next time I met one of his class I should be amatch for him, and would not even go to a prayer-meeting with him. Itwas possible that this worthy had returned to the steamer, relying uponRedwood to retain me till after the steamer had left the town; but Idid not depend much upon finding him in his state-room.
Reaching the wood-yard, I went on board of the steamer. Though it wasnearly midnight, the gamblers on board were still plying their infamousvocation. I went to the table, and satisfied myself that Lynch was notamong them. I visited the state-room which Mr. Gracewood had occupiedwith me since we left Council Bluffs, where the number of passengersincreased so that I could no longer have a room to myself. He was notthere; and there was no light in the room occupied by his wife anddaughter. I was not willing to believe they had left the boat till Iobtained this evidence.
The bar of the steamer was still open, for wherever the gamblers werewhiskey was in demand. I asked the bar-keeper where the captain was,and learned that he had retired; but the clerk was still up, and I soonfound him, for I wished to ascertain where Lynch's room was.
"Well, Phil, you are up late," said the clerk, as I walked up to him;and in the long trip I had become well acquainted with him.
"I have been down to Leavenworth," I replied.
"Why did you come back? We shall be there early in the morning."
"I had to come back. Do you take the names of all the passengers?"
"Yes; we have to put all the names on the berth list."
"Is there one by the name of Leonidas Lynchpinne?" I asked.
"Certainly not," he replied, laughing.
"Or any name like it?"
"I will look, if you wish."
"Do, if you please, and I will tell you why I ask."
We went to the office, and he examined his list.
"Lyndon Lynch--"
"That's the man," I interposed. "Lynch. Which is his room?"
"No. 24."
"I should like to know whether he is in it, or not," I added.
"He came on board at St. Joe," said the clerk, as we walked to No. 24.
Lynch was not there, and the other occupant of the room was playingcards at the table. I sat down with the clerk, and related to him allthe events of the evening. Occasionally he smiled, and even laughedwhen I spoke of going to a prayer-meeting. I felt cheap to think I hadbeen duped so easily, and was a subject for the merriment of the clerk.
"You will never see your money again, Phil," said he, when I hadconcluded.
"Why not? Don't they have any law in these civilized regions."
"You can have all the law you want when you find your man. This Lynchis probably one of these blacklegs. They are miserable scoundrels, whofloat about everywhere."
"But the man who kept the lodging-house was in league with him."
"Very likely; but it don't appear from your story that he had anythingto do with the robbery. Your own evidence would acquit him."
I did not derive much comfort from the clerk's remarks, though I couldnot help acknowledging the truth of what he said. However, the loss ofa hundred dollars would not ruin me, uncomfortable and inconvenientas it was. I could draw upon Mr. Gracewood, who had fifteen hundreddollars of my funds in his possession. But I intended to make an effortthe next day, while the boat lay at Leavenworth, to find Lynch, andhave him lynched, if possible.
"But why did you come back, Phil?" continued the clerk. "Mr. Gracewoodand his family went down in the boat."
"I couldn't find them, or the boat. I was almost sure they had notstarted."
"They went."
"It's very strange I could not find the boat. I inquired of twentypersons, and no one had seen or heard of it. Do you suppose anythingcould have happened to them?"
"It is not probable, though of course it is possible. The current ofthe river is very swift, and the shores are rocky. But they had two ofour deck hands with them, and I should say that any accident was nextto impossible."
I was of his opinion, though I could not help worrying about them. Iwent to my room and retired. I was very weary; but, though disposedto consider still further the events of the evening, I fell asleep inspite of myself. When I awoke the next morning, the boat was lying atthe landing in Leavenworth. It was only a little after sunrise, butthe hands were busy loading and discharging freight. I hastily dressedmyself, wondering how I could have slept so long; but I had walked notless than fifteen miles the preceding evening, and perhaps it was morestrange that I waked so early.
"Have you found the boat, captain?" I asked, with breathless interest,as I hastened to the main deck, where I found the master of thesteamer.
"No, Phil; and I am a good deal
worried about your friends," he replied.
"Why, where are they?"
"I have no idea; but I have been up and down the levee from one end ofthe town to the other, and I can't find the boat. I don't understandit."
"I could not find it last night. I asked twenty persons, but no one hadseen such a party as I described," I added.
"Do you know the name of the person they intended to visit?"
"I do not. I may have heard it, but I don't remember anything about it."
"The boat will not start before noon, and we may hear of them beforethat time," said the captain.
"Did you look along the shore as you came down?" I asked.
"Not particularly; but if they had been on the shore the pilot wouldhave seen them. The clerk told me you lost your money last night,Phil."
"Yes, sir;" and I repeated my story to him.
"We will take an officer and visit the house," added the captain.
"The sooner we go, the more likely we shall be to find Lynch," Isuggested.
"We will go at once, then."
Captain Davis and I landed, and walked up to the hotel. An officer wasprocured, and I led the way to the lodging-house. We entered withoutannouncing our visit, and proceeded to the office, as Glynn had calledthe room in front of the gambling den.
"So you have come back, youngster," said the burly assistant.
"Where is the man that calls himself Lynch?" demanded the officer.
"No such man here," replied Glynn. "Don't know him."
"I suppose not," said the officer, ironically. "What room did you takewith him, young man?" he added, turning to me.
"I don't know the number, but I can lead you to it."
"What's the matter?" asked Glynn, innocently.
"This young man was robbed in your house last night."
"Was he really, though?" added the assistant.
"You know that he was."
"He told me he was, but I didn't believe it. The youngster went to aroom with a man, and I heard some one breaking down doors. I caughtthis youngster up there alone. But if he was robbed, that's anotherthing," continued Glynn, who seemed to have a very proper and wholesomerespect for the officer. "I will go up to that room, and see if Lynchis there."
"You needn't trouble yourself," said the prudent official. "I will gomyself."
"I'll go up and show you the way."
"Where is Redwood?"
"Not up yet. I will call him."
"No; I will call him myself when I want him."
Glynn led the way up to the attic, and I was tolerably confident, fromhis manner, that we should find Lynch in the room. We found the doorlocked, in spite of the damage I had done to it.