do so, and he grasped the shoulder of the fellow who had apologized to Frank. 

 “I’ll show youse who’s a gentleman!” cried the sailor. “You can’t insult me, nor bunk inter friends of mine!” 

 The two stood close together glaring at one another, with Ned and Frank between them. A crowd gathered in front of the moray tank. 

 “Come on, Ned, let’s get out of here!” whispered Frank into his brother’s ear. “There’ll be a fight in a minute, and we don’t want to be mixed up in it.” 

 The two belligerents separated for a moment, and the lads slipped out of the throng. As they did so an officer sauntered up. 

 “Here, youse! Cut out that rough stuff and 44 beat it!” he said to the two quarrelsome men. The latter never so much as replied, but quickly disappeared in the crowd. There was some laughter. 

44

 “One was afraid, and the other didn’t dare,” commented a man. 

 “Come on, now, don’t crowd,” advised the officer, and the throng thinned out, while Ned and Frank, glad they had escaped any unpleasantness, emerged into Battery Park again. 

 “Did you see enough?” asked Frank. 

 “Sure. Now I’m ready for the next thing on the programme. Say, that sailor was a friendly chap all right, wasn’t he?” 

 “Too friendly,” Frank said. “I didn’t want him to get into a fight on our account.” 

 “I should say not. But maybe he meant all right.” 

 “Well, I’m not so sure of that. What time have you? It must be nearly one o’clock.” 

 Ned reached toward his vest, where he carried his father’s gold watch. He had chosen that as a memento of his dead parent, Frank taking a peculiar old ring that he valued highly. But instead of pulling out the watch it was the empty chain that dangled from Ned’s hand. 

 “Why—why—” he began, a blank look coming over his face. “Why, where’s dad’s watch? I never left it anywhere! I had it not an hour 45 ago, when we went in there! Now it’s gone!” 

45

 Prev. P 29/123 next