"Madam, do you wish to bring a charge against this man?"
"No, let him go. I've got my pocketbook back, and that's all I want."
The stout man turned aside, and the adventurer sprang out of the stage and dashed down Thirty-Ninth Street in the direction of Third Avenue.
"I'm very much obliged to you, boy," said the old lady. "Did you really see that young man take my pocketbook?"
"I saw him with his hand in your pocket."
"I'm so sorry. He seemed so nicely dressed, too. I thought he belonged to a rich family."
The stout man laughed.
"My dear madam," he said, "the young men connected with our best families don't dress as flashily as your late companion. He is probably a professional pickpocket. Did you have much money with you?"
"Over a hundred dollars. I was going down town to pay a bill."
"Then you ought to be much obliged to this boy for detecting the thief."