"No, the money is all right," cried Robert.
"Well, count it out to me and see for yourself."
Anxious to prove that the amount was correct Robert began to count the bills one after another.
As he was doing this Frederic Vernon suddenly raised the umbrella he carried and brought down the heavy handle with crushing force on the boy's head.
The blow was as cruel as it was unexpected, and with a groan Robert fell forward on the stateroom floor.
Vernon bent over him, to find that he was totally unconscious, and liable to remain so for some time to come.
"That's the time I paid him off," muttered the rascal. "I'll teach him to meddle in my private affairs."
He gathered up the ticket and the money, and prepared to leave the stateroom. Then a sickly smile came over his face.
"Might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb," he muttered, and going back he relieved Robert of his watch, his pocketbook, and the scarfpin Mrs. Vernon had given him.
"I reckon I'll be pretty well fixed for awhile," said the young rascal to himself. "And if the steamer carries him off to South Africa or Australia perhaps I'll be able to tell aunt a pretty good story and get back into her good graces."