



Produced by Gary Sandino (text), Al Haines (HTML). (This
file was created from images generously made available by
The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)








THE

YOUNG BANK MESSENGER

BY

HORATIO ALGER, JR.

AUTHOR OF "RAGGED DICK SERIES," "NEW WORLD SERIES," ETC.



THE JOHN C. WINSTON CO.,

PHILADELPHIA, CHICAGO, TORONTO.



COPYRIGHT, 1898, BY HENRY T. COATES & CO.




CONTENTS.

 CHAPTER                                    PAGE

     I. THE LONELY CABIN,                      1

    II. A DEATHBED REVELATION,                10

   III. A SUCCESSFUL ROBBERY,                 19

    IV. ALONE IN THE WORLD,                   27

     V. THE TRAMP TURNS UP AGAIN,             36

    VI. A CRITICAL SITUATION,                 44

   VII. ON THE ROAD,                          53

  VIII. THE QUAKER DETECTIVE,                 61

    IX. AN ARMED ESCORT,                      71

     X. THE ASTONISHED OUTLAW,                77

    XI. UNDER WATCH AND WARD,                 88

   XII. THE OUTLAW'S ESCAPE,                  97

  XIII. THE OUTLAW'S MISTAKE,                106

   XIV. ERNEST HAS AN ADVENTURE,             115

    XV. A NEW ACQUAINTANCE,                  124

   XVI. THE OUTLAW'S HOME,                   133

  XVII. IN THE ROBBER'S CAVE,                142

 XVIII. THE OUTLAW AND HIS BAND,             153

   XIX. A DAY IN THE CAVE,                   159

    XX. ERNEST EXPLORES THE CAVE,            168

   XXI. OUT OF THE FRYING-PAN INTO THE FIRE, 178

  XXII. A FRIEND IN NEED,                    187

 XXIII. GIVEN IN TRUST,                      196

  XXIV. STEPHEN RAY AND HIS SON,             206

   XXV. A STARTLING DISCLOSURE,              216

  XXVI. BOUGHT OFF,                          228

 XXVII. THE TOWN OF OREVILLE,                236

XXVIII. AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE TURNS UP,        246

  XXIX. TOM BURNS MAKES A CALL,              256

   XXX. A BURGLAR'S FAILURE,                 266

  XXXI. THE ADVERTISEMENT,                   276

 XXXII. MR. BOLTON AS A HUSTLER,             285

XXXIII. THE RESULT OF AN ADVERTISEMENT,      295

 XXXIV. A STRANGE MEETING,                   301

  XXXV. MR. BOLTON AND HIS CLIENT,           309

 XXXVI. AN IMPORTANT INTERVIEW,              314

XXXVII. CONCLUSION,                          320




THE

YOUNG BANK MESSENGER.



CHAPTER I.

THE LONELY CABIN.

Just on the edge of the prairie, in western Iowa, some thirty years
since, stood a cabin covering quite a little ground, but only one
story high. It was humble enough as a home, but not more so than the
early homes of some who have become great.

Let us enter.

The furniture was scanty, being limited to articles of prime
necessity. There was a stove, a table, three chairs, a row of shelves
containing a few articles of crockery and tinware, and a bed in the
far corner of the room, on which rested a man. He had a ragged gray
beard and hair, and a face long and thin, with preternaturally black
eyes.

It was evident that he was sick unto death. His parchment-<DW52> skin
was indented with wrinkles; from time to time he coughed so violently
as to rack his slight frame, and his hand, thin and wrinkled, as it
rested on the quilt that covered him, shook as with palsy.

It was hard to tell how old the man was. He looked over seventy, but
there were indications that he had aged prematurely.

There was one other person in the room, one whose appearance
contrasted strongly with that of the old man. It was a boy of sixteen,
a boy with dark brown hair, ruddy cheeks, hazel eyes,