Page:Dave Porter and his Rivals.djvu/296



" do you want?" demanded Nat, and his voice trembled a little, for he realized that he was cornered.

"In the first place, I think you'll have to restore Phil's missing gym. shoe," remarked Dave dryly. "How about it, Phil?"

"That's so," answered the shipowner's son.

"I've got the shoe in my closet," growled Nat. "It dropped out when I was packing the box. I'll get it now."

"No, you don't!" cried Shadow. "You can get the shoe any time. We will settle the rest of this affair before you leave."

"I—er—I don't understand?" stammered the money-lender's son. "You've got your shoes back. What more do you want? Can't you stand for a joke?"

"Not that kind of a joke, Nat. You put me in a false light—made everybody think I had walked off with the shoes in my sleep—and you