CHAPTER XVIII
AT THE OFFICES
After that the three Rovers and Dick's wife talked the matter over forfully an hour. Dick gave Sam and Tom all the particulars he couldthink of, and answered innumerable questions. But try their best, notone of the party could venture a solution of the mystery.
"I think you had better go to bed," said Dora, at last. "You can godown to the offices the first thing in the morning, and make up yourminds what to do next;" and this advice was followed.
"No use of talking, this is a fierce loss!" was Tom's comment, when heand Sam were retiring.
"Yes, and Dick feels pretty bad over it," returned the youngest Rover."I am afraid he imagines that we think he is to blame."
"Maybe, but I don't blame him, Sam. That might have happened to you orme just as well as to him."
It must be admitted that the boys did not sleep very soundly thatnight. For a long time each lay awake, speculating over the mystery,and wondering what had become of the bonds.
"Perhaps Pelter and Japson had nothing at all to do with it," thoughtTom, as he reviewed the situation. "It may have been some outsider,who watched Dick alter the combination of the safe."
All of the boys were up early in the morning, and accompanied by Dora,obtained breakfast in the hotel dining-room.
"If you want me to go along, I shall be glad to do so," said Dora,during the course of the meal. It cut her to the heart to have Dick sotroubled.
"No, Dora, you had better stay here, or else spend your timeshopping," answered Dick. "We'll have to take care of this matterourselves."
"I'll tell you what you can do," broke in Tom. "You can write a niceletter to Aunt Martha, telling her that we have arrived safely, andthat we are going into some business matters with Dick. Of course, youneedn't say a word about the robbery. It will be time enough to tellher and Uncle Randolph after we have tried all we can to get the bondsback--and failed."
As my old readers will probably remember, the offices formerlyoccupied by Pelter, Japson & Company were located at the lower end ofWall Street. The building was an old one, five stories in height,which had recently been put in repair. The offices were on the fourthfloor in the extreme rear, and had a fairly good outlook.
The Rovers found the office boy, Bob Marsh, already on hand, and doingsome work which Dick had given him. He was a bright, sharp-eyed lad,his only failing being that he was a bit forward.
"Any one here to see me, Bob?" asked Dick, as they entered.
"Nobody, sir, but an agent that wanted to sell you some kind of a newcalendar. I told him we had bushels of calendars already," and the boygrinned slightly.
Passing through two small offices, the Rovers came to one in therear--that which had formerly been used by Jesse Pelter.
"Looks a little bit familiar," observed Tom. "Looks like when Ivisited it as Roy A. Putnam, from Denver, Colorado, and thought abouttaking stock in the Irrigation Company," and he laughed shortly as herecalled that incident, the particulars of which have been related in"The Rover Boys in New York."
"You've got pretty big offices for only you and the office boy,"remarked Sam.
"I took them just as the old concern had them," returned Dick. "But ifbusiness increases, I guess we'll have to have quite some office help.Anyway, a bookkeeper and a stenographer."
"Hadn't you better send that office boy out for a little while?"suggested Sam.
"A good idea," returned his oldest brother, and sent the lad on anerrand up to the post-office.
Left to themselves, the Rovers once more went over the details of therobbery so far as they knew them. Dick opened the safe, showing hisbrothers how the combination lock was worked; then the boys lookedinside the strong-box, and into the private compartment which, so Dicktold them, had contained the missing box of bonds.
"I don't see how they got into this safe," was Sam's comment, afterthe door had been closed and the combination turned on. "I can't makehead or tail of how to get it open."
"Let me have a try at it," returned Tom, and he worked for severalminutes over the combination.
"Here are the figures for the combination," said Dick, and he turnedthem over to his brothers. But even with the figures before them, theyfound it no easy task to open the heavy door of the strong-box. Thisdoor was provided with several bolts, so that to get it open withouteither working the combination or else blowing the door open, was outof the question.
"It's a Chinese puzzle to me. I give it up," declared Tom, at last."The only way I imagine, Dick, is that, somehow or other, somebody gothold of that combination."
"It would seem so, Tom. But I can't see how it could be done, or whodid it," was the answer.
"Do you suppose that boy suspects anything?" questioned Sam.
"He may, because, after I discovered that the box was gone, Iquestioned him pretty closely as to who had been in the offices. Iguess he knows something is wrong."
"Let us ask him about Pelter and Japson when he comes back," said Tom."It certainly won't do any harm to get all the information possible.Then, if we can't get any clew by noon, I think the best thing you cando, Dick, is to notify the authorities."
It was not long before Bob Marsh came back from his errand to thepost-office, and then Dick called him into the inner office.
"Now, Bob, I'm going to tell you something," said the oldest Rover,coming to the point without delay. "There has been a robbery here."
"Robbery!" exclaimed the boy. "I didn't do it. I wouldn't takenothin'," he went on, quickly.
"I didn't say you did, Bob. But what I want you to do is to tell meeverything that you know. Was there anybody in this office during myabsence?"
"Nobody went into this office while I was here," declared the officeboy. "I wouldn't let 'em in. But then you must remember, the janitorscome in during the night to clean up."
"Oh, yes, I know that."
"Dick, do you think the janitor of the building could be in this?"exclaimed Sam.
"As I have said several times, I don't know what to think," answeredDick. "As a matter of fact, I don't know who the janitor is."
"Say!" broke in the office boy, suddenly. "There was one feller herethat I didn't tell you about. I forgot about him. He was here three orfour days ago--I don't exactly remember what day it was."
"Who was that?"
"Why, it was a young feller named Barton Pelter. He's a relation toMr. Pelter. I think Mr. Pelter is his uncle."
"Barton Pelter!" exclaimed Dick. He looked at his brothers. "That mustbe the same fellow that you wrote about--the fellow you pulled out ofthe river."
"What did this Barton Pelter want?" asked Sam.
"He wanted to see his uncle. He knew that the firm had sold out to youfolks, but he was not certain if they had moved away yet. When I toldhim that his uncle was gone, he looked kind of disappointed."
"Was he in this office, Bob?" questioned Dick.
"No, sir, he was only in the outside office."
"Did he say anything about bonds or money?"
"No, sir."
"Say, tell me something!" broke in Tom. "Were this Barton Pelter andhis uncle on good terms?"
"They used to be," replied the office boy, "but once or twice they hadsome pretty warm talks. This young feller didn't like it at all theway his uncle treated your father. I heard him tell his uncle once,that what he was doing was close to swindling. Then Mr. Pelter gotawful mad, and told him he had better get out."
"Good for Barton!" murmured Sam. "He can't be such a bad sort."
"Oh, I guess he was all right," put in the office boy, with thefreedom that seemed natural to him. "Only I guess he was dependent onhis uncle for money. Maybe if it wasn't for that, he would havepitched into his uncle more than he did. But say! You said somethingwas stolen. What was it?"
"Sixty-four thousand dollars in bonds," answered Dick.
"What! Say, boss, ain't you kiddin'?" and the boy looked incredulous.
"No, it is the truth, Bob. Somebody took a box out of t
hat safe thatcontained sixty-four thousand dollars' worth of bonds."
"Great smoke! I didn't think there was that many bonds in the hullbuilding!" cried the boy, with emphasis.
"I only expected to keep them here a few days," went on Dick. "Lateron, of course, I would have placed them in a safe deposit vault."
"Say, boss! you sure don't think that I took them bonds?" cried theoffice boy.
"No, I don't, Bob. But somebody took them, and we've got to findthem."
"Sure, we've got to find them!" cried Bob. "Say, do you want me tocall the janitor? Maybe he knows something about it."
"Yes, you may call him, but don't tell him what we want him for,"answered Dick.