pocket."

"It seems to me you owe an apology to the boys you accused of a
theft which they have not committed," said the gentleman opposite.

"I shan't apologize to anybody," said the lady, whose temper was not
of the best; "least of all to such whipper-snappers as they are."

"Thank you, ma'am," said Dick, comically; "your handsome apology is
accepted. It aint of no consequence, only I didn't like to expose
the contents of my valooable pocket-book, for fear it might excite
the envy of some of my poor neighbors."

"You're a character," said the gentleman who had already spoken,
with a smile.

"A bad character!" muttered the lady.

But it was quite evident that the sympathies of those present were
against the lady, and on the side of the boys who had been falsely
accused, while Dick's drollery had created considerable amusement.

The cars had now reached Fifty-ninth Street, the southern boundary
of the Park, and here our hero and his companion got off.

"You'd better look out for pickpockets, my lad," said the conductor,
pleasantly. "That big wallet of yours might prove a great
temptation."

"That's so," said Dick. "That's the misfortin' of being rich. Astor