watching his guardian intently. He saw the look of cunning, and instead
of surrendering the letter, he hastily thrust it back into his pocket.

Forgetting all discretion, as he saw that his plot for obtaining
possession of the letter had failed, Len Dardus rushed upon the boy,
with the evident purpose of obtaining it by force, exclaiming:

"You won't give it to me, eh? Well, I will take it, whether you want me
to or not."

But Bob, in the flush of his youth, was quick and agile, and it was no
task at all for him to dive under the arm stretched forth to seize him,
and then to dash through the door and out onto the street.




CHAPTER V

BOB MISSES A FRIEND


Never stopping to notice in what direction he was going, Bob dashed
along the street, fearful only lest his guardian would pursue him, and
expecting every moment to hear his voice shouting at him to stop. But as
the moments wore by without any sign of excitement or alarm, Bob gained
confidence, finally slackening his pace to a walk, and began to think of
what he should do, now that he had taken matters into his own hands, and
severed the ties of years that had bound him to his guardian.