Part 43 (1/2)
”Humph! Why, you are but a boy and dare talk to ,” put in Andy ”We are not to be mistreated by rivals or by any one else”
”Don't talk to me!” snapped Gissem, and unable to keep up the talk with credit to himself, he fled froain,” said Andy ”He is too much afraid to have his past record raked up”
Andy went off to dinner, leaving Matt in sole charge The snow had cleared away, but it was still cold, and to keep hiot his overcoat He was just putting on the garment when a noise near the sho attracted his attention He ran forward, and saw that a thin strea The water was splashi+ng on some of the stock, and unless it was speedily checked it would do a good bit of da was not occupied In the rear of the store was a door leading to the back hallway, and through this he ran and started to go upstairs
As he did so, somebody started to come down It was the boy orked for the rival auctioneers
CHAPTER xxxV
TOM INWOLD
As soon as the boy saw Matt he stopped short, and then endeavored to retreat But Matt was co up the steps in a treh to the boy to catch hihtened
”What have you done?” questioned Matt sternly, and without waiting for a reply, forced the boy to accolance around revealed the cause of the flood below In one of the rooms was a sink with city water The water had been turned on full, and the sink-holes stopped up with putty The sink had overflowed, and the water was running through several cracks in the floor
As rapidly as he could Matt turned off the faucet Then leaving the water still in the sink to the brim, he dashed downstairs
”You come with me and help me save my stock!” he cried to the boy
”If you don't I'll hand you over to the first policeman I can find”
”Oh, please don't have me arrested!” howled the boy, almost scared out of his wits by the threat ”I--I--didn't mean any harm!”
”You didn't mean any harm? We'll see Come do”
The boy hesitated, and then followed Matt into the store Here a portion of the stock had to be re auctioneer set the boy to workup the water on the counter and the floor
”Say, please don't have me arrested, will you?” asked the boy, almost in tears over what he considered a very serious predicaht a lesson,” returned Matt severely ”What put you up to the idea of letting the water overflow?”
”What Mr Gissem said He ful mad after he was in here, and he told Mr Filloished that you would burn out or that the water pipes would burst and drown you out Then he asked me if I couldn't worry you a bit, and I said I'd try, and that's the truth of it”
”Well, that orous exclamation
”Excuse me, but is he any relation to you?”
”Oh, no”
”Is Mr Fillow?”
”No, neither of the with them?”