CHAPTER XVIII
ROY IN DANGER
When Roy got out into the street again, after paying for the pie he hadforgotten about, he was quite puzzled as to which direction to take toget back to his hotel.
"Guess I'm off the trail," he told himself. "I'd ought to have broughta compass along. Let's see, which way is North?"
He looked about for a sight of the sun, but, though it was shining, thetall buildings hid it from view.
"Might as well be down in the grand canyon of the Colorado, as here inNew York for all you can see of the sun," he murmured.
"I ought to have taken more notice of the way I came, but what withgoing in so many buildings, and that express elevator, I'm all turnedaround."
He tried to think which way to take, and then, getting over a littlenatural embarrassment about asking a stranger the road, he inquired ofa well-dressed man the way to get to his hotel, the name of which,fortunately, Roy remembered.
"Go right down those stairs," said the man, pointing to a flight whichstarted in a little shelter built on the sidewalk. "Take an uptownexpress, and you'll land right at your hotel. There's a station there."
"Station?" thought Roy. "That's a queer place for a station. Didn'thave room for it above ground, I reckon."
He walked down the flight of steps, finding himself in a brilliantlylighted place. Doing as he saw the crowd do he bought a ticket at alittle window and then, seeing a sign "Uptown Express Trains," hefollowed the throng going in that direction.
A moment later a string of cars came rumbling up along-side of theplatform.
"All aboard!" called the guard.
The boy from the ranch got in and took a seat. The next moment thetrain started off at great speed, for it was an express, and made butfew stops. Leaving the brilliantly-lighted station the cars plungedinto darkness, relieved by an occasional electric lamp.
"Must be a tunnel," thought Roy. "We'll come out on top of the groundin a minute, and I can see what New York looks like. Space is socrowded down town, I s'pose they have to tunnel for a few blocks."
But the tunnel did not come to an end. In vain Roy waited for thetrain to emerge into daylight. Past station after station it rushed,the lights there showing for an instant, and then the darkness closingin again.
Finally the express stopped. Several passengers got off, and more goton. Then it started up again, still whizzing through the dark.
Roy could stand it no longer. Perhaps he had made a mistake and gotteninto the wrong train This one might be destined for China, or someother under-ground port. Roy made his way to where a guard wasstanding.
"Excuse me, stranger," he began, in his broad western tones. "But howlong is this tunnel, anyhow?"
"Tunnel? This ain't no tunnel!"
"No? what is it then? It's a pretty good imitation. Looks like anunderground river that has gone dry."
"Why, this is the subway."
"The subway?"
"Sure. It goes right under the streets, all the way along New York."
Then Roy understood. Mortimer De Royster had told him something ofthis underground railroad, through the heart of New York, but thinkingof other things had put it out of Roy's mind. A little later healighted and walked to his hotel.
Meanwhile Caleb Annister and Mr. Baker had been plotting together.They discussed many schemes, and at last hit on one they thought wouldanswer.
"I think we'll let Tupper do the trick," said Baker. "Young Bradnersaw less of him than he did of the rest of us, and if Tupper shaves offhis moustache, and changes his voice a bit, as he can do, the boy willnever recognize him," for Baker had told Mr. Annister of the encounterof himself and his cronies with the boy from the ranch.
"Anything so as to get him away for two weeks," said the agent. "Don'ttell him too much about it, and then--if anything happens, youunderstand--I can't be called to testify."
"Oh, nothing will happen, in the way you mean. We'll be careful. Nowwhere is he stopping?"
Mr. Annister mentioned the name of the hotel, which Roy had written onthe card he had left with the agent.
"All right. I'll see Tupper, and have him fix up to do the job. Itought to be easy. You'll have the money, I suppose?"
"As soon as he is out of the way--safely--you get the thousand dollars."
There was some more talk, and the two plotters separated.
It was three days after this, during which time Roy had enjoyed himselfgoing about New York alone, (for he had not seen De Royster) that, ashe was sitting in the hotel lobby one afternoon, a well-dressed manapproached him.
"Aren't you from out Painted Stone way, in Colorado?" asked the manpleasantly.
"That's where I'm from, the Triple O ranch," replied Roy, who was frankby nature, and unsuspicious. He wondered who the man could be, and howhe knew where he was from in the west.
"I thought so," went on the stranger. "I was out on a ranch near thereabout a week ago and I happened to be at the railroad station when yougot aboard."
"What ranch were you on?" asked Roy, for he knew them all within aradius of a hundred miles of his father's.
"Why, it was--er--let's see--seems to me it was the Double X."
"There's no such ranch near Painted Stone."
"Well, maybe I'm wrong. I just stopped there, but I have a poor memoryfor names," said the stranger quickly. "But permit me to introducemyself. I'm John Wakely, of Buffalo. I'm a stranger in New York, and,as you are also, I thought we might go about a bit together."
"That would suit me," replied Roy, who was beginning to feel a bitlonely in the big city, without the company of a friend. He thoughtthis was a good opportunity to go around and see the sights. He toldthe man his name.
"Suppose we go in and have some ice cream soda," went on Mr. Wakely."Or, better, still, have it in my room. I'm stopping at this hotel.Then we can go out a bit."
The idea appealed to Roy, who had a liking for the ice cream sodas hehad only lately become familiar with. The day was hot, and thestranger seemed very cordial. Roy had a dim suspicion that he hadheard his voice somewhere before, but he could not place it. Certainlythe face was not one he could recall.
They went to Mr. Wakely's room, and soon a bell boy brought two largeglasses of the cool beverage.
He set them down on the table between Mr. Wakely and Roy, and thenwithdrew. Had Roy known now of the dangers of the city he never wouldhave trusted a stranger as he did this one.
"Is that your handkerchief on the floor behind you?" asked Mr. Wakelysuddenly, pointing at something on the carpet.
Roy turned. At the same instant Mr. Wakely extended his hand over theglass of soda in front of the boy. Something like a white powdersifted down into it.
A moment later Roy turned back.
"It's not my handkerchief," he said. "Must be a piece of dust rag, thework-girl dropped."
"Very likely. But drink your soda and we'll go out." The boy put tohis lips the glass, into which Mr. Wakely had sifted the white powder.He was in great danger, but he did not realize nor suspect it.
Boy from the Ranch; Or, Roy Bradner's City Experiences Page 18
