"What do you advise me to do next?"
"You had better wait and see what develops," said the lawyer.
The safe opener and the constable were paid off and Philip Bartlett returned to Albany in anything but a happy frame of mind. A day or two later he called upon Randy, when the steamboat tied up at the dock for the night.
"My fat is in the fire," he said to our hero, and told of his failure to locate the missing documents.
"Mr. Bartlett, I am sure Mr. Bangs said the papers were in his safe!" cried Randy. "He must have taken them out when he returned home."
"You can be a witness if the matter is brought into court?"
"Of course. I remember very well all I heard."
"Well, that is something," answered Philip Bartlett, hopefully.
He went home and the next day received a strong letter from Amos Bangs denouncing him for the action he had taken. Part of the letter ran as follows:
"I should sue you for damages, only I do not wish to drag you into court on account of your wife and family. In the future you need expect no favors from me. I am done with you. If you want to sell your stock in the iron company I will give you the market price, not a cent more. Remember, I shall be on my guard against you in the future, and if you dare to molest me again you shall take the consequences."