Robert found that the afternoon boat for Muskegon left at half past three, so there was still time left in which to get back to Mrs. Gibbs' house for a late dinner.

At the boarding house he found a short note from Livingston Palmer.

    "Mr. Gray is going to go into business again," it read; "with one office here and another in New York. He is going to take me back and he says you can return too, if you desire."

"That's nice," thought Robert. "But I'll have to see Dick Marden before I decide upon what's best to do next."

While waiting for dinner he penned a hasty reply to the note, and also a letter to his mother. In the latter he mentioned that he had seen Palmer, and that his step-father had called upon him,[Pg 246] and urged her to keep her financial affairs entirely under her own control. He was careful to send the letter in care of Mr. Blarcomb, for personal delivery only.

"She'll get that, I know," he said to himself. "And I hope it does some good."

At the proper time our hero went down to the dock and boarded the Arrow, as the steamer was named. He found about two hundred passengers besides himself bound for Muskegon and other points along the Michigan shore. Besides passengers the Arrow carried a large quantity of baggage and freight.

The distance from Chicago to Muskegon is about one hundred and twenty-five miles. The Arrow was rather a slow boat and did not reach the latter point until some time in the early morning, so that Robert must spend a night on board. This being so, he lost no time in obtaining a berth.

He had just turned away from the clerk's office when he saw two men approaching. They were Hammerditch and Le Fevre.

"Hullo, they are going too," he thought, and was about to step out of sight, when the Englishman espied him.

"Humph! so you are going with us," said the man, with a scowl.

[Pg 247]

"Not with you," answered Robert quietly. "I believe this is a public boat."

"You have been following us again."

"Excuse me, Mr. Hammerditch, but I never followed you in my life."

"Then why are you on this boat?"

"Because I am going to take a trip in her."

"To Muskegon?"

"That is my affair."

"I suppose if we get off at Muskegon you will get off too."

"Perhaps I shall."

"Don't you know that you may get into a good deal of trouble through following us, young man?"

"As I said before, I am not following you. I have my own business to attend to and I am attending to it."

"Bah, do you think we will believe zat," burst in Jean Le Fevre. "You are von spy. Perhaps you are von—vot you call heem?—von detective."

At this Robert laughed. "No, I am no detective. Only a young fellow out for business."

"Zen you are on ze way to Timberville, hey?"

"If I am that is my business."

At this the French Canadian began to dance around and shook his fist in Robert's face.

[Pg 248]

"I know you!" he shouted. "But ve vill see who comes out best! Ha! ve vill see zat!"

"Hush!" interrupted Hammerditch. "Don't raise a disturbance on the boat," and he led his companion away to the upper deck.

"I shall have to keep my eye on them," thought Robert. "That Frenchmen wouldn't like anything better than to get into a fight. I might fight one of them, but I don't think I could get the best of both."

Once on the upper deck and away from observation, Hammerditch began to talk earnestly to his companion.

"We made a mistake by quarreling with him," he said.

"I cannot see eet," muttered Le Fevre.

"If we had made friends with him he might have shown us the map."

"Ha! zat is so."

"I would give a good lot to get hold of the map," continued the Englishman. "Our false map may help us some, but that real map ought to be out of the way."

At this Le Fevre clutched his companion by the arm.

"I haf an idee," he whispered. "Let us see if ze boy has got a stateroom."

[Pg 249]

"We can find that out at the office."

"And if he is to sleep alone."

"All right."

A little later they went to the............