Buck Hawk, Detective

The Messenger Boy's Fortune by Edward L. Wheeler.

In Philadelphia before the Bi-Centennial celebration, a young telegraph messenger boy named Turk is hired by a man claiming to be diamond merchant Jerome St. Clair. Turk delivers a sealed letter to St. Clair's residence on North Seventeenth Street, where he meets Miss Etta Evelyn, the merchant's niece. She gives Turk a jeweled case containing a hundred-thousand-dollar diamond set to deliver to St. Clair at Broad Street Station. After receiving the package, the man—revealed to be an impostor—dismisses Turk with a dime instead of the promised reward.

Later, Turk learns from fellow messenger Pat Murphy that the robbery has been discovered and detective Jack Grimes is investigating. Fearing arrest as an unwitting accomplice, Turk realizes he must flee Philadelphia and abandon his promising position with the telegraph company.