"All right, captain. Come along, b'yes," said Mike, with a wink of enjoyment at his companions.
Ben felt not a little humiliated at walking along Broadway in the clutch of a policeman. He felt bewildered, too, it had come upon him so quickly. It really seemed as if misfortunes were crowding upon him. First, his uncle had practically disowned him, he had been rebuffed in his attempt to obtain employment, and now he was arrested, and on his way to the station-house, charged with fighting and disorderly conduct in the streets.
To make matters worse and heighten his humiliation, as he was walking along, shrinking from observation, he met his cousin, Clarence Plantagenet, in company with another boy, somewhat older, dressed also in the height of the fashion.
Clarence regarded Ben in amazement, and turned away his head in a disgust which he did not attempt to conceal.
"He will tell Uncle Nicholas," thought our unfortunate hero, "and he will think I have been doing something disgraceful."
"Come along, ye young rapscallion!" said the policeman, roughly, "I'll soon attind to your case."
CHAPTER VII.
A Strange Adventure.
Under different circumstances Ben might have been interested in his first view of a police station. But, standing before the bar in the custody of a policeman, he felt too much troubled in mind to notice his surroundings. As another prisoner was under examination, fifteen minutes elapsed before Ben's turn came.