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| committer | Roger Frank <rfrank@pglaf.org> | 2025-10-15 02:15:54 -0700 |
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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Slow and Sure + The Story of Paul Hoffman the Young Street-Merchant + +Author: Horatio Alger + +Release Date: April 23, 2008 [EBook #25151] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLOW AND SURE *** + + + + +Produced by Gary Sandino (text), Al Haines (HTML). (This +file was created from images generously made available by +The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="img-front"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG SRC="images/img-front.jpg" ALT="Julius made the rope fast, and then boldly got out of +the window and swung off" BORDER="2" WIDTH="298" HEIGHT="485"> +<H4> +Julius made the rope fast, and then boldly got out of<BR> +the window and swung off +</H4> +</CENTER> + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +Slow and Sure +</H1> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +THE STORY OF PAUL HOFFMAN<BR> +THE YOUNG STREET-MERCHANT<BR> +</H4> + +<BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +By HORATIO ALGER, JR. +</H3> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +Author of "The Train Boy," "Tony the Hero," "Tom Turner's Legacy,"<BR> +"Tom the Bootblack," etc., etc. +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS NEW YORK +</H4> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PREFACE. +</H3> + +<P> +"SLOW AND SURE" is a volume of the stories of New York street life +inaugurated by Ragged Dick. While it chronicles the advancement of +Paul, the young street merchant, from the sidewalk to the shop, a +large portion of it is devoted to the experiences of a street waif, +who has been brought up by burglars, and passed the greater part of +his time among them, without being wholly spoiled by his corrupt +surroundings. His struggles between gratitude and duty on the one +hand, and loyalty to his vicious guardians on the other, will, it is +hoped, excite the interest and sympathy of the reader. The author has +sought to indicate some of the influences which make it difficult for +the neglected street children to grow up virtuous and well-conducted +members of society. Philanthropy is never more nobly employed than in +redeeming them, and "giving them a chance" to rise to respectability. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +TABLE OF CONTENTS +</H2> + +<BR> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">SIX MONTHS AFTER.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">BARNUM'S MUSEUM.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">THE BURNING OF THE TENEMENT HOUSE.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap04">THE POLICEMAN'S HOME.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">HOUSE HUNTING.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap06">PAUL TAKES A HOUSE ON MADISON AVENUE.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">THE HOUSE ON MADISON AVENUE.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">A GIFT.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">JULIUS.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">A ROOM IN CENTRE STREET.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">FREE LUNCH.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap12">A GOOD ACTION MEETS ITS REWARD.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap13">PAUL MAKES A PURCHASE.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap14">THE SPOT UPON THE COAT.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap15">SUSPICION.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap16">LOCKED UP FOR THE NIGHT.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap17">TRAPPED.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XVIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap18">THE VALUE OF A CLOTHES-LINE.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XIX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap19">A CURIOSITY SHOP.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XX. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap20">THE DISGUISED LISTENER.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap21">A BRIGHTER PROSPECT FOR JULIUS.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap22">MARLOWE OVERTAKES HIS VICTIM.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIII. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap23">A TIMELY RESCUE.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXIV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap24">THE POOR ARTIST.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXV. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap25">MR. TALBOT'S RETURN.</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XXVI. </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap26">FROM THE SIDEWALK TO THE SHOP.</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +SLOW AND SURE. +</H1> + +<HR ALIGN="center" WIDTH="10%"> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +SIX MONTHS AFTER. +</H3> + +<P> +"It's most time for Paul to come home," said Mrs. Hoffman. "I must be +setting the table for supper." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder how he will like my new picture," said Jimmy, a delicate boy +of eight, whose refined features, thoughtful look, and high brow +showed that his mind by no means shared the weakness of his body. +Though only eight years of age he already manifested a remarkable +taste and talent for drawing, in which he had acquired surprising +skill, considering that he had never taken lessons, but had learned +all he knew from copying such pictures as fell in his way. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me see your picture, Jimmy," said Mrs. Hoffman. "Have you +finished it?" +</P> + +<P> +She came up and looked over his shoulder. He had been engaged in +copying a humorous picture from the last page of <I>Harper's Weekly</I>. It +was an ambitious attempt on the part of so young a pupil, but he had +succeeded remarkably well, reproducing with close fidelity the +grotesque expressions of the figures introduced in the picture. +</P> + +<P> +"That is excellent, Jimmy," said his mother in warm commendation. +</P> + +<P> +The little boy looked gratified. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think I will be an artist some day?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I have no doubt of it," said his mother, "if you can only obtain +suitable instruction. However, there is plenty of time for that. You +are only seven years old." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be eight to-morrow," said Jimmy, straightening up his slender +form with the pride which every boy feels in advancing age. +</P> + +<P> +"So you will. I had forgotten it." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder whether I can earn as much money as Paul when I get as old," +said Jimmy thoughtfully. "I don't think I can. I shan't be half as +strong." +</P> + +<P> +"It isn't always the strongest who earn the most money," said his +mother. +</P> + +<P> +"But Paul is smart as well as strong." +</P> + +<P> +"So are you smart. You can read unusually well for a boy of your age, +and in drawing I think Paul is hardly your equal, though he is twice +as old." +</P> + +<P> +Jimmy laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"That's true, mother," he said. "Paul tried to draw a horse the other +day, and it looked more like a cow." +</P> + +<P> +"You see then that we all have our different gifts. Paul has a talent +for business." +</P> + +<P> +"I think he'll be rich some day, mother." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope he will, for I think he will make a good use of his money." +</P> + +<P> +While Mrs. Hoffman was speaking she had been setting the table for +supper. The meal was not a luxurious one, but there was no lack of +food. Beside rolls and butter, there was a plate of cold meat, an +apple pie, and a pot of steaming hot tea. The cloth was scrupulously +clean, and I am sure that though the room was an humble one not one of +my readers need have felt a repugnance to sitting down at Mrs. +Hoffman's plain table. +</P> + +<P> +For the benefit of such as may not have read "Paul the Peddler," I +will explain briefly that Mrs. Hoffman, by the death of her husband +two years previous, had been reduced to poverty, which compelled her +to move into a tenement house and live as best she could on the +earnings of her oldest son, Paul, supplemented by the pittance she +obtained for sewing. Paul, a smart, enterprising boy, after trying +most of the street occupations, had become a young street merchant. By +a lucky chance he had obtained capital enough to buy out a necktie +stand below the Astor House, where his tact and energy had enabled him +to achieve a success, the details of which we will presently give. +Besides his own profits, he was able to employ his mother in making +neckties at a compensation considerably greater than she could have +obtained from the Broadway shops for which she had hitherto worked. +</P> + +<P> +Scarcely was supper placed on the table when Paul entered. He was a +stout, manly boy of fifteen, who would readily have been taken for a +year or two older, with a frank, handsome face, and an air of +confidence and self-reliance, which he had acquired through his +independent efforts to gain a livelihood. He had been thrown upon his +own resources at an age when most boys have everything done for them, +and though this had been a disadvantage so far as his education was +concerned, it had developed in him a confidence in himself and his own +ability to cope with the world not usually found in boys of his age. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, mother," said he briskly, "I am glad supper is ready, for I am +as hungry as a wolf." +</P> + +<P> +"I think there will be enough for you," said his mother, smiling. "If +not, we will send to the baker's for an extra supply." +</P> + +<P> +"Is a wolf hungry, Paul?" asked Jimmy, soberly accepting Paul's +simile. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll draw you one after supper, Jimmy, and you can judge," answered +Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Your animals all look like cows, Paul," said his little brother. +</P> + +<P> +"I see you are jealous of me," said Paul, with much indignation, +"because I draw better than you." +</P> + +<P> +"After supper you can look at my last picture," said Jimmy. "It is +copied from <I>Harper's Weekly</I>." +</P> + +<P> +"Pass it along now, Jimmy. I don't think it will spoil my appetite." +</P> + +<P> +Jimmy handed it to his brother with a look of pardonable pride. +</P> + +<P> +"Excellent, Jimmy. I couldn't do it better myself," said Paul. "You +are a little genius." +</P> + +<P> +"I like drawing so much, Paul. I hope some time I can do something +else besides copy." +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt you will. I am sure you will be a famous artist some day, +and make no end of money by your pictures." +</P> + +<P> +"That's what I would like—to make money." +</P> + +<P> +"Fie, Jimmy! I had no idea you were so fond of money." +</P> + +<P> +"I would like to help mother just as you are doing, Paul. Do you think +I will ever earn as much as you do?" +</P> + +<P> +"A great deal more, I hope, Jimmy. Not but what I am doing well," +added Paul in a tone of satisfaction. "Did you know, mother, it is six +months to-day since I bought out the necktie stand?" +</P> + +<P> +"Is it, Paul?" asked his mother with interest. "Have you succeeded as +well as you anticipated?" +</P> + +<P> +"Better, mother. It was a good idea putting in a case of knives. They +help along my profits. Why, I sold four knives to-day, making on an +average twenty-five cents each." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you? That is indeed worth while." +</P> + +<P> +"It is more than I used to average for a whole day's earnings before I +went into this business." +</P> + +<P> +"How many neckties did you sell, Paul?" asked Jimmy. +</P> + +<P> +"I sold fourteen." +</P> + +<P> +"How much profit did you make on each?" +</P> + +<P> +"About fourteen cents. Can you tell how much that makes?" +</P> + +<P> +"I could cipher it out on my slate." +</P> + +<P> +"No matter; I'll tell you. It makes a dollar and ninety-six cents. +That added to the money I made on the knives amounts to two dollars +and ninety-six cents." +</P> + +<P> +"Almost three dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; sometimes I sell more neckties, but then I don't always sell as +many knives. However, I am satisfied." +</P> + +<P> +"I have made two dozen neckties to-day, Paul," said his mother. +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid you did too much, mother." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no. There isn't much work about a necktie." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I owe you a dollar and twenty cents, mother." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think you ought to pay me five cents apiece, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"That's fair enough, mother. If I get fourteen cents for selling a +tie, certainly you ought to get five cents for making one." +</P> + +<P> +"But your money goes to support us, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"And where does yours go, mother?" +</P> + +<P> +"A part of it has gone for a new dress, Paul. I went up to Stewart's +to-day and bought a dress pattern. I will show it to you after +supper." +</P> + +<P> +"That's right, mother. You don't buy enough new dresses. Considering +that you are the mother of a successful merchant, you ought to dash +out. Doesn't Jimmy want some clothes?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am going to buy him a new suit to-morrow. He is eight years old +to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he? What an old fellow you are getting to be, Jimmy! How many gray +hairs have you got?" +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't counted," said Jimmy, laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"I tell you what, mother, we must celebrate Jimmy's birthday. He is +the only artist in the family, and we must treat him with proper +consideration. I'll tell you what, Jimmy, I'll close up my business at +twelve o'clock, and give all my clerks a half-holiday. Then I'll take +you and mother to Barnum's Museum, where you can see all the +curiosities, and the play besides. How would you like that?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ever so much, Paul," said the little boy, his eyes brightening at the +prospect. "There's a giant there, isn't there? How tall is he?" +</P> + +<P> +"Somewhere about eighteen feet, I believe." +</P> + +<P> +"Now you are making fun, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, it's either eighteen or eight, one or the other. Then there's a +dwarf, two feet high, or is it inches?" +</P> + +<P> +"Of course it's feet. He couldn't be so little as two inches." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Jimmy, I dare say you're right. Then it's settled that we go to +the museum tomorrow. You must go with us, mother." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, yes, I will go," said Mrs. Hoffman, "and I presume I shall enjoy +it nearly as much as Jimmy." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BARNUM'S MUSEUM. +</H3> + +<P> +Barnum's Museum now lives only in the past. Its successor, known as +Wood's Museum, is situated at the corner of Twenty-ninth street and +Broadway. But at the time of my story the old Barnum's stood below the +Astor House, on the site now occupied by those magnificent structures, +the <I>Herald</I> building and the Park Bank. Hither flowed daily and +nightly a crowd of visitors who certainly got the worth of their +money, only twenty-five cents, in the numberless varied curiosities +which the unequaled showman had gathered from all quarters of the +world. +</P> + +<P> +Jimmy had often seen the handbills and advertisements of the museum, +but had never visited it, and now anticipated with eagerness the +moment when all its wonders should be revealed to him. In fact, he +waked up about two hours earlier than usual to think of the treat in +store for him. +</P> + +<P> +Paul, as he had promised, closed up his business at twelve o'clock and +came home. At half-past one the three were on their way to the museum. +The distance was but short, and a very few minutes found them in the +museum. Jimmy's eyes opened wide as they took in the crowded +exhibition room, and he hardly knew what to look at first, until the +approach of a giant eight feet high irresistibly attracted him. It is +a remarkable circumstance that Barnum's giants were always eight feet +high <I>on the bill,</I> though not always by measure. Sometimes the great +showman lavishly provided two or three of these Titans. Where they +came from nobody knew. It has been conjectured by some that they were +got up to order; but upon this point I cannot speak with certainty. As +a general thing they are good-natured and harmless, in spite of their +formidable proportions, and ready to have a joke at their own expense. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, see that big man!" exclaimed Jimmy, struck with awe, as he +surveyed the formidable proportions of the giant. +</P> + +<P> +"He's bigger than you will ever be, Jimmy," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"I wouldn't like to be so tall," said the little boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not? You could whip all the fellows that tried to tease you." +</P> + +<P> +"They don't tease me much, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"Do they tease you at all?" asked his brother quickly. +</P> + +<P> +"Not very often. Sometimes they call me Limpy, because I am lame." +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to catch any boy doing it," said Paul energetically. "I'd +make him see stars." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't mind, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"But I do. Just let me catch the next fellow that calls you Limpy, and +he won't do it again." +</P> + +<P> +By this time a group had gathered round the giant. Paul and Jimmy +joined it. +</P> + +<P> +"Was you always so large?" asked a boy at Paul's side. +</P> + +<P> +"I was rather smaller when I was a baby," said the giant, laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"How much do you weigh?" +</P> + +<P> +"Two hundred and seventy-five pounds." +</P> + +<P> +"That beats you, Jimmy," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Were you big when you were a boy?" +</P> + +<P> +"I was over seven feet high on my fifteenth birthday," said the giant. +</P> + +<P> +"Did the teacher lick you often?" asked one of the boys shyly. +</P> + +<P> +"Not very often. He couldn't take me over his knee very well." +</P> + +<P> +"What an awful lot of cloth you must take for your clothes!" said the +last boy. +</P> + +<P> +"That's so, my lad. I keep a manufactory running all the time to keep +me supplied." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think that's true, Paul?" asked Jimmy, doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Not quite," answered Paul, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you need to eat a good deal?" was the next question. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, no, not much. Half a dozen chickens and a couple of turkeys are +about all I generally eat for dinner. Perhaps I could eat more if I +tried. If any of you boys will invite me to dinner I'll do my best." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad you ain't my son," said one of the boys. "I shouldn't like +to keep you in food and clothes." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, now, I shouldn't mind having you for a father," said the giant, +humorously looking down upon his questioner, a boy of twelve, and +rather small of his age, with a humorous twinkle in his eye. "You +wouldn't whip me very often, would you?" +</P> + +<P> +Here there was a laugh at the expense of the small boy, and the group +dispersed. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, you've seen a large man, Jimmy," said Paul. "I'm going next to +show you a small one." +</P> + +<P> +They moved on to a different part of the building, and joined another +crowd, this time surrounding the illustrious Tom Thumb, at that time +one of the attractions of the museum. +</P> + +<P> +"There's a little man, smaller than you are, Jimmy," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"So he is," said Jimmy. "Is that Tom Thumb?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't think he was so small. I'm glad I'm not so little." +</P> + +<P> +"No, it might not be very comfortable, though you could make a good +deal of money by it. Tom is said to be worth over a hundred thousand +dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"I guess it doesn't cost him so much for clothes as the giant." +</P> + +<P> +"Probably not. I don't think he would need to run a manufactory for +his own use." +</P> + +<P> +But there were multitudes of curiosities to be seen, and they could +not linger long. Jimmy was particularly interested in the waxwork +figures, which at first he thought must be real, so natural was their +appearance. There were lions and tigers in cages, who looked out from +between the gratings as if they would like nothing better than to make +a hearty meal from one or more of the crowd who surrounded the cages. +Jimmy clung to Paul's hand timidly. +</P> + +<P> +"Couldn't they get out, Paul?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"No, the cages are too strong. But even if they could, I don't think +they would attack you. You would only be a mouthful for them." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't see how Mr. Barnum dared to put them in the cages." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think Barnum would dare to come very near them. But he has +keepers who are used to them." +</P> + +<P> +But it was time for the afternoon performance to commence. The play +was Uncle Tom's Cabin, which no doubt many of my readers have seen. +They got very good seats, fronting the stage, though some distance +back. When the curtain rose Jimmy's attention was at once absorbed. It +was the first time he had ever seen a play, and it seemed to him a +scene of rare enchantment. To Paul, however, it was much less of a +novelty. He had frequently been to Barnum's and the Old Bowery, though +not as often as those boys who had no home in which to spend their +evenings. Mrs. Hoffman was scarcely less interested than Jimmy in the +various scenes of the play. It was not particularly well acted, for +most of the actors were indifferent in point of talent; but then none +of the three were critics, and could not have told the difference +between them and first-class performers. +</P> + +<P> +Both laughed heartily over the eccentricities of Topsy, probably the +most original character in Mrs. Stowe's popular story, and Jimmy was +affected to tears at the death of little Eva. To his unaccustomed eyes +it seemed real, and he felt as if Eva was really dying. But, taking it +altogether, it was an afternoon of great enjoyment to Jimmy, whose +pleasures were not many. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Jimmy, how did you like it?" asked Paul, as they were working +their way out slowly through the crowd. +</P> + +<P> +"It was beautiful, Paul. I am so much obliged to you for taking me." +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad you liked it, Jimmy. We will go again some time." +</P> + +<P> +They were stepping out on the sidewalk, when a boy about Paul's size +jostled them rudely. +</P> + +<P> +"There's Limpy!" said he, with a rude laugh. +</P> + +<P> +"You'd better not say that again, Peter Blake," he said menacingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" demanded Peter defiantly. +</P> + +<P> +"It won't be safe," said Paul significantly. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll call you Limpy if I like." +</P> + +<P> +"You may call me so, and I won't mind it. But don't you call my little +brother names." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't mind, Paul," said Jimmy. +</P> + +<P> +"But I do," said Paul. "No boy shall call you names when I am near." +</P> + +<P> +Paul's resolute character was well understood by all the boys who knew +him, and Peter would not have ventured to speak as he did, but he did +not at first perceive that Jimmy was accompanied by his brother. When +he did discover it he slunk away as soon as he could. +</P> + +<P> +They were walking up Park Row, when Jim Parker, once an enemy, but now +a friend of Paul, met them. He looked excited, and hurried up to meet +them. +</P> + +<P> +"When were you home, Paul?" he asked abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +"Two or three hours since. I have just come from Barnum's." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you don't know what's happened?" +</P> + +<P> +Paul turned instantly. +</P> + +<P> +"No. What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Your house has caught fire, and is burning down. The engines are +there, but I don't think they can save it." +</P> + +<P> +"Let us hurry home, brother," said Paul. "It's lucky I've got my +bank-book with me, so if we are burned out, we can get another home at +once." +</P> + +<P> +Excited by this startling intelligence, they quickened their steps, +and soon stood in front of the burning building. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE BURNING OF THE TENEMENT HOUSE. +</H3> + +<P> +The scene was an exciting one. The occupants of the large tenement +house had vacated their rooms in alarm, each bearing what first came +to hand, and reinforced by a numerous crowd of outsiders, were gazing +in dismay at the sudden conflagration which threatened to make them +homeless. +</P> + +<P> +"Och hone! och hone! that iver I should see the day!" exclaimed a poor +Irish woman, wringing her hands. "It's ruined intirely I am by the +fire. Is that you, Mrs. Hoffman, and Paul? Indade it's a sad day for +the likes of us." +</P> + +<P> +"It is indeed, Mrs. McGowan. Do you know how the fire caught?" +</P> + +<P> +"It's all along of that drunken brute, Jim O'Connel. He was smokin' in +bed, bad luck to him, as drunk as a baste, and the burnin' tobacker +fell out on the shates, and set the bed on fire." +</P> + +<P> +"Cheer up, Mrs. McGowan!" said the hearty voice of Mrs. Donovan. "We +ain't burnt up ourselves, and that's a comfort." +</P> + +<P> +"I've lost all my money," said Mrs. McGowan disconsolately. "I had +twenty-siven dollars and thirty cents in the bank, and the bank-book's +burnt up, och hone!" +</P> + +<P> +"You can get your money for all that, Mrs. McGowan," said Paul. "Just +tell them at the savings-bank how you lost your book, and they will +give you another." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think so?" asked Mrs. McGowan doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"I feel sure of it." +</P> + +<P> +"Then that's something," said she, looking considerably relieved. +"Whin can I get it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will go with you to the bank to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Paul. And it's you that's a fine lad intirely." +</P> + +<P> +"All my pictures will burn up," said Jimmy. +</P> + +<P> +"You can draw some new ones," said Paul. "I am afraid, mother, you +will never wear that new dress of yours." +</P> + +<P> +"It's a pity I bought it just at this time." +</P> + +<P> +"Here's a bundle I took from your room, Mrs. Hoffman," said a boy, +pushing his way through the crowd. +</P> + +<P> +"My dress is safe, after all," said Mrs. Hoffman in surprise. "It is +the only thing we shall save." +</P> + +<P> +"You can have it made up and wear it in remembrance of the fire, +mother." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be likely to remember that without." +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile the fire department were working energetically to put out +the fire. Stream after stream was directed against the burning +building, but the fire had gained too great headway. It kept on its +victorious course, triumphantly baffling all the attempts that were +made to extinguish it. Then efforts were made to prevent its spreading +to the neighboring buildings, and these were successful. But the +building itself, old and rotten, a very tinderbox, was doomed. In less +than an hour the great building, full as a hive of occupants, was a +confused mass of smoking ruins. And still the poor people hovered +around in uncertainty and dismay, in that peculiarly forlorn condition +of mind induced by the thought that they knew not where they should +lay their heads during the coming night. One family had saved only a +teakettle to commence their housekeeping with. A little girl had +pressed close to her breast a shapeless and dirty rag baby, her most +valued possession. A boy of twelve had saved a well-used pair of +skates, for which he had traded the day before, while an old woman, +blear-eyed and wrinkled, hobbled about, groaning, holding in one hand +a looking-glass, an article the most unlikely of all, one would think, +to be of use to her. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you save nothing, Mrs. Donovan?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Shure and I saved my flatirons, and my tub I threw out of the window, +but some spalpeen has walked off with it. I wish it had fallen on his +head. What'll my Pat say when he comes home from work?" +</P> + +<P> +"It's lucky no lives were lost." +</P> + +<P> +"Thrue for you, Mrs. Hoffman. It might have been a dale worse. I don't +mind meself, for I've strong arms, and I'll soon be on my fate again. +But my Pat'll be ravin'. He had just bought a new coat to go to a ball +wid tomorrow night, and it's all burnt up in the fire. Do you see that +poor craythur wid the lookin' glass? I'm glad I didn't save mine, for I +wouldn't know what to do wid it." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Mrs. Donovan, we must find a new home." +</P> + +<P> +"I've got a sister livin' in Mulberry street. She'll take me in till I +can get time to turn round. But I must stay here till my Pat comes +home, or he would think I was burnt up too." +</P> + +<P> +The crowd gradually diminished. Every family, however poor, had some +relations or acquaintances who were willing to give them a temporary +shelter, though in most cases it fed to most uncomfortable crowding. +But the poor know how to sympathize with the poor, and cheerfully bore +the discomfort for the sake of alleviating the misfortune which might +some day come upon themselves. +</P> + +<P> +"Where shall we go, mother?" asked Jimmy anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Hoffman looked doubtfully at Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose we must seek shelter somewhere," she said. +</P> + +<P> +"How will the Fifth Avenue Hotel suit you?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"I think I will wait till my new dress is finished," she said, smiling +faintly. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, what's the matter, Paul? You're not burnt out, are you?" +</P> + +<P> +Turning at the voice, Paul recognized Sam Norton, a newsboy, who sold +papers near his own stand. +</P> + +<P> +"Just about so, Sam," he answered. "We're turned into the street." +</P> + +<P> +"And where are you going to stop over night?" +</P> + +<P> +"That's more than I know. Mother here isn't sure whether she prefers +the St Nicholas or Fifth Avenue." +</P> + +<P> +"Paul likes to joke at my expense," said Mrs. Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"Come over and stop with us to-night," said Sam. "My mother'll be glad +to have you." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Sam," said Mrs. Hoffman, who knew the boy as a friend of +Paul, "but I shouldn't like to trouble your mother." +</P> + +<P> +"It'll be no trouble," said Sam eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +"If you think it won't, Sam," said Paul, "we'll accept for to-night. I +am afraid they wouldn't take us in at any of the big hotels with only +one dress, and that not made up, by way of baggage. To-morrow I'll +find some other rooms." +</P> + +<P> +"Come along, then," said Sam, leading the way. "We'll have a jolly +time to-night, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"By way of celebrating the fire. It's jolly enough for us, but I +shouldn't like it too often." +</P> + +<P> +"I say, Paul," said Sam, wheeling round, "if you're out of stamps, +I've got a dollar or two that I can spare." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Sam; you're a brick! But I've saved my bank-book, and I've +got plenty to start on. Much obliged to you, all the same." +</P> + +<P> +It was true that Paul was in an unusually good position to withstand +the blow which had so unexpectedly fallen upon him. He had a hundred +and fifty dollars in the hands of Mr. Preston, a wealthy gentleman who +took an interest in him, and moreover had a hundred dollars deposited +to his credit in a savings-bank, beside his stock in trade, probably +amounting to at least fifty dollars, at the wholesale price. So there +was no immediate reason for anxiety. It would have been rather +awkward, however, to look up a shelter for the night at such short +notice, and therefore Sam Norton's invitation was particularly +welcome. +</P> + +<P> +Sam led the way to the lodgings occupied by his parents. They were +located on Pearl street, not far from Centre, and were more spacious +and well furnished than any in the burned tenement house. +</P> + +<P> +"You go up first and tell your mother, Sam," said Paul. "She won't +know what to make of it if we go in without giving her any notice." +</P> + +<P> +"All right," said Sam. "I'll be down in a jiffy." +</P> + +<P> +Two minutes were sufficient for Sam to explain the situation. His +mother, a good, motherly woman, at once acknowledged the claim upon +her hospitality. She came downstairs at once, and said heartily to +Paul, whom she knew: +</P> + +<P> +"Come right up, Paul. And so this is your mother. I am very glad to +see you, Mrs. Hoffman. Come right up, and I'll do all I can to make +you comfortable." +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid we shall give you trouble, Mrs. Norton," said Mrs. +Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"Not in the least. The more the merrier, that's my motto. I haven't +got much to offer, but what there is you are very welcome to." +</P> + +<P> +The room into which they were ushered was covered with a plain, coarse +carpet. The chairs were wooden, but there was a comfortable +rocking-chair, a cheap lounge, and a bookcase with a few books, +besides several prints upon the wall. Sam's father was a policeman, +while his mother was a New England woman of good common-school +education, neat and thrifty, and so, though their means were small, +she managed to make a comfortable home. Mrs. Hoffman looked around her +with pleased approval. It was pleasant to obtain even temporary refuge +in so homelike a place. +</P> + +<P> +"Is this your little brother who draws such fine pictures?" asked Mrs. +Norton. +</P> + +<P> +Jimmy looked pleased but mystified. How should Mrs. Norton have heard +of his pictures? +</P> + +<P> +"You must draw me a picture to-night, won't you?" asked Mrs. Norton. +</P> + +<P> +"I should like to, if I can have a pencil and some paper. All mine are +burned up." +</P> + +<P> +"Sam will give you some from his desk. But you must be hungry." +</P> + +<P> +Sam was drawn aside by his mother, and, after a whispered conference, +was dispatched to the butcher's and baker's, when he soon returned +with a supply of rolls and beefsteak, from which in due time an +appetizing meal was spread, to which all did full justice. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE POLICEMAN'S HOME. +</H3> + +<P> +It was not till later in the evening that Mr. Norton came in. He had +been on duty all day, and to-night he was free. Though one of the +constituted guardians of the public peace, he was by no means fierce +or formidable at home, especially after he had doffed his uniform, and +put on an old coat. +</P> + +<P> +"Edward," said his wife, "this is Paul's mother, who was burned out +to-day. So I have asked her to stay here till she can find a place of +her own." +</P> + +<P> +"That is right," said the policeman. "Mrs. Hoffman, I am glad to see +you. Paul has been here before. He is one of Sam's friends." +</P> + +<P> +"Paul likes to keep in with father," said Sam slyly, "considering he +is on the police." +</P> + +<P> +"If he is to be known by the company he keeps," said Mr. Norton, "he +might have to steer clear of you." +</P> + +<P> +Here I may explain why Sam was a newsboy, though his father was in +receipt of a salary as a policeman. He attended school regularly, and +only spent about three hours daily in selling papers, but this gave +him two or three dollars a week, more than enough to buy his clothes. +The balance he was allowed to deposit in his own name at a +savings-bank. Thus he was accumulating a small fund of money, which by +and by might be of essential use to him. +</P> + +<P> +The group that gathered around the supper-table was a lively one, +although half the party had been burned out. But Paul knew he was in a +position to provide a new home for his mother, and thus was saved +anxiety for the future. +</P> + +<P> +"You have very pleasant rooms, Mrs. Norton," said Mrs. Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, we have as good as we can afford. Twenty dollars a month is a +good deal for us to pay, but then we are comfortable, and that makes +us work more cheerfully." +</P> + +<P> +"How do you like being a policeman, Mr. Norton?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't like it much, but it pays as well as anything I can get." +</P> + +<P> +"I sometimes feel anxious about him," said Mrs. Norton. "He is liable +to be attacked by ruffians at any time. The day he came home with his +face covered with blood, I was frightened then, I can tell you." +</P> + +<P> +"How did it happen?" +</P> + +<P> +"I was called in to arrest a man who was beating his wife," said the +policeman. "He was raging with drink at the time. He seized one of his +wife's flatirons and threw it at me. It was a stunner. However, I +managed to arrest him, and had the satisfaction of knowing that he +would be kept in confinement for a few months. I have to deal with +some tough customers. A policeman down in this part of the city has to +take his life in his hand. He never knows when he's going to have a +stormy time." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish my husband were in some other business," said Mrs. Norton. +</P> + +<P> +"There are plenty of men that would like my position," said her +husband. "It's sure pay, and just as good in dull times as in good. +Besides, some people think it's easy work, just walking around all +day. They'd better try it." +</P> + +<P> +"There's one part Mr. Norton likes," said his wife slyly. "It's +showing ladies across the street." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know about that," rejoined the policeman. "It gets rather +monotonous crossing the street continually, and there's some danger in +it too. Poor Morgan was run over only three months ago, and injured so +much that he's been obliged to leave the force. Then some of the +ladies get frightened when they're halfway over, and make a scene. I +remember one old woman, who let go my arm, and ran screaming in among +the carriages, and it was a miracle that she didn't get run over. If +she had clung to me, she'd have got over all right." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think I'll be a policeman," said Sam. "I might have to take +you up, Paul, and I shouldn't like to do that." +</P> + +<P> +"Paul isn't bad," said Jimmy, who was very apt to take a joke +seriously, and who always resented any imputation upon his brother. +"He never got took up in his life." +</P> + +<P> +"Then he wasn't found out, I suppose," said Sam. +</P> + +<P> +"He never did anything bad," retorted Jimmy indignantly. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Jimmy," said Paul, laughing. "I'll come to you when I want +a first-class recommendation. If I never did anything bad, I suppose +you won't call that horse bad that I drew the other day." +</P> + +<P> +"It was a bad picture," said the little boy; "but people don't get +took up for making bad pictures." +</P> + +<P> +"That's lucky," said Sam, "or I shouldn't stand much chance of keeping +out of the station-house. I move Jimmy gives us a specimen of his +skill. I've got a comic paper here somewhere. He can copy a picture +out of that." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is it?" asked Jimmy eagerly. +</P> + +<P> +The paper was found, and the little boy set to work with great +enthusiasm, and soon produced a copy of one of the pictures, which was +voted excellent. By that time he was ready to go to bed. Paul and he +had to take up with a bed on the floor, but this troubled them little. +They felt thankful, under the circumstances, to have so comfortable a +shelter. Indeed, Jimmy troubled himself very little about the future. +He had unbounded faith in Paul, to whom he looked up with as much +confidence as he would have done to a father. +</P> + +<P> +Early the next morning Mr. Norton was obliged to enter upon his daily +duties. The poor must be stirring betimes, so they all took an early +breakfast. +</P> + +<P> +"Mother," said Paul, "it won't be much use to look up new rooms before +the middle of the forenoon. I think I will open my stand as usual, and +return at ten, and then we can go out together." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, Paul. I will help Mrs. Norton, if she will let me, till +then." +</P> + +<P> +"There is no need of that, Mrs. Hoffman." +</P> + +<P> +"I would rather do it. I want to make some return for your kindness." +</P> + +<P> +So the two women cleared away the breakfast dishes and washed them, +and then Mrs. Hoffman sewed for two hours upon a shirt which his +mother had commenced for Sam. Jimmy amused himself by copying another +picture from the comic paper before mentioned. +</P> + +<P> +Meantime Paul got out his stock in trade, and began to be on the watch +for customers. He bought a copy of the <I>Herald</I> of his friend Sam, and +began to pore over the advertisements headed "FURNISHED ROOMS AND +APARTMENTS TO LET." +</P> + +<P> +"Let me see," soliloquized Paul; "here are four elegantly furnished +rooms on Fifth avenue, only fifty dollars a week, without board. Cheap +enough! But I'm afraid it would be rather too far away from my +business." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose that's the only objection," said Sam slyly. +</P> + +<P> +"There might be one or two others, Sam. Suppose you pick out something +for me." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you say to this, Paul?" said Sam, pointing out the following +advertisement: +</P> + +<P> +"FURNISHED NEATLY FOR HOUSEKEEPING. Front parlor, including piano, +with front and back bedrooms on second floor; front basement; gas, +bath, hot and cold water, stationary tubs; rent reasonable. West +Twenty-seventh street." +</P> + +<P> +"That would be very convenient, especially the piano and the +stationary tubs," observed Paul. "If I decide to take the rooms, you +can come round any time and practice on the tubs." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Paul, I think I'd rather try the piano." +</P> + +<P> +"I thought you might be more used to the tubs. However, that's too far +up town for me." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you going to get furnished rooms?" +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't spoken to mother about it, but as we have had all our +furniture burned up, we shall probably get furnished rooms at first." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps this might suit you, then," said Sam, reading from the paper: +</P> + +<P> +"TO LET—FOR HOUSEKEEPING, several nicely furnished rooms; terms +moderate. Apply at — Bleecker street." +</P> + +<P> +"That must be near where Barry used to live." +</P> + +<P> +"Would it be too far?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I don't think it would. It isn't far to walk from Bleecker +street. But it will depend a little on the terms." +</P> + +<P> +"Terms moderate," read off Sam. +</P> + +<P> +"They might call them so, even if they were high." +</P> + +<P> +"I wish there were some rooms to let in our building." +</P> + +<P> +"I shouldn't mind taking them if they were as nice as yours. How long +have you lived there?" +</P> + +<P> +"We only moved on the first day of May." +</P> + +<P> +"How much do you charge for your neckties, boy?" asked a female voice. +</P> + +<P> +Looking up, Paul beheld a tall, hard-visaged female, who had stopped +in front of his stand. +</P> + +<P> +"Twenty-five cents," answered Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Seems to me they're rather high," returned the would-be customer. +"Can't you sell me one for twenty cents?" +</P> + +<P> +"I never take less than twenty-five, madam." +</P> + +<P> +"I am looking for a nice birthday present for my nephew," said the +hard-visaged lady, "but I don't want to spend too much. If you'll say +twenty cents, I'll take two." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm sorry, but I have only one price," said the young merchant. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll give you twenty-two cents." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall have to charge twenty-five." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose I must pay it then," said the lady in a dissatisfied tone. +"Here, give me that blue one." +</P> + +<P> +The necktie was wrapped up, and the money reluctantly paid. +</P> + +<P> +"How would you like to be her nephew, Sam?" asked Paul, as soon as she +was out of hearing. "You might get a nice birthday present now and +then." +</P> + +<P> +"Shouldn't wonder if that twenty-five cents bust the old woman! Do you +often have customers like that?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not very often. The other day a young man, after wearing a necktie +for a week, came back, and wanted to exchange it for one of a +different color." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you exchange it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I guess not. I told him that wasn't my style of doing business. He +got mad, and said he'd never buy anything more of me." +</P> + +<P> +"That reminds me of a man that bought a <I>Tribune</I> of me early in the +morning, and came back after reading it through and wanted to exchange +it for a <I>Times</I>. But I must be goin', or I'll be stuck on some of my +papers." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +HOUSE HUNTING. +</H3> + +<P> +At ten o'clock Paul closed up his business for the forenoon, and +returning to their temporary home, found his mother waiting for him. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Paul," she said inquiringly, "have you heard of any good +rooms?" +</P> + +<P> +"Here is an advertisement of some nicely furnished rooms in Bleecker +street;" and Paul pointed to the <I>Herald</I>. +</P> + +<P> +"They may be above our means, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"At any rate we can go and look at them. We must expect to pay more if +we take them furnished." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think we had better take furnished rooms?" asked Mrs. Hoffman +doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"I think so, mother, just now. All our furniture is burned, you know, +and it would take too much of our capital to buy new. When we get +richer we will buy some nice furniture." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you are right, Paul. At any rate we will go and look at these +rooms." +</P> + +<P> +"If they don't suit us, I have the paper with me, and we can look +somewhere else." +</P> + +<P> +"May I go, mother?" asked Jimmy. +</P> + +<P> +"We might have to go about considerably, Jimmy," said Paul. "I am +afraid you would get tired." +</P> + +<P> +"If Mrs. Norton will let you stay here, I think it will be better," +said his mother. "Are you sure he won't be in your way, Mrs. Norton?" +</P> + +<P> +"Bless his heart, no," returned the policeman's wife heartily. "I +shall be glad of his company. Mr. Norton and Sam are away most of the +time, and I get lonely sometimes." +</P> + +<P> +Jimmy felt rather flattered by the thought that his company was +desired by Mrs. Norton, and readily resigned himself to stay at home. +Paul and his mother went out, and got on board a Bleecker street car, +which soon brought them to the desired number. +</P> + +<P> +The house was quite respectable in appearance, far more so certainly +than the burned tenement house. The time had been when Bleecker street +was fashionable, and lined with the dwellings of substantial and +prosperous citizens. That time had gone by. Still it was several +grades above the streets in the lower part of the city. +</P> + +<P> +Paul rang the bell, and the door was opened by a maid-servant. +</P> + +<P> +"I saw an advertisement in the <I>Herald</I> about some rooms to let," said +Paul. "Can we see them?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'll speak to the mistress," was the reply. "Won't you come in?" +</P> + +<P> +They entered the hall, and were shown into the parlor, where they took +seats on a hard sofa. Soon the door opened, and a tall lady entered. +</P> + +<P> +"You would like to look at my rooms?" she inquired, addressing Mrs. +Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"If you please." +</P> + +<P> +"They are on the third floor—all that I have vacant. If you will +follow me, I will show you the way." +</P> + +<P> +At the top of the second staircase she threw open the door of a +good-sized room, furnished plainly but neatly. +</P> + +<P> +"There is another room connected with this," she said, "and a bedroom +on the upper floor can go with it." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it arranged for housekeeping?" asked Mrs. Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; you will find the back room fitted for cooking. Come in and I +will show you." +</P> + +<P> +She opened a door in the rear room, displaying a pantry and sink, +while a cooking-stove was already put up. Both rooms were carpeted. In +the front room there was a sofa, a rocking-chair, some shelves for +books, while three or four pictures hung from the walls. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't see any sleeping accommodations," said Mrs. Hoffman, looking +around. +</P> + +<P> +"I will put a bed into either room," said the landlady. "I have +delayed doing it till the rooms were let." +</P> + +<P> +"How do you like it, mother?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, but——" +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Hoffman hesitated, thinking that the charge for such +accommodations would be beyond their means. Paul understood, and asked +in his turn: +</P> + +<P> +"How much do you ask for these rooms by the month?" +</P> + +<P> +"With the small room upstairs besides?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Thirty dollars a month." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Hoffman looked at Paul in dismay. This was more than three times +what they had been accustomed to pay. +</P> + +<P> +"We can afford to pay more than we have hitherto," he said in a low +voice. "Besides, there is the furniture." +</P> + +<P> +"But thirty dollars a month is more than we can afford," said his +mother uneasily. +</P> + +<P> +"My mother thinks we cannot afford to pay thirty dollars," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"The price is very reasonable," said the landlady. "You won't find +cheaper rooms in this street." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't complain of your price," said Mrs. Hoffman, "only it is more +than we can afford to pay. Could you take less?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said the landlady decidedly. "I am sure to get tenants at that +price." +</P> + +<P> +"Then, Paul, I think we must look further," said his mother. +</P> + +<P> +"If you don't find anything to your mind, perhaps you will come back," +suggested the landlady. +</P> + +<P> +"We may do so. How much would you charge for these two rooms alone?" +</P> + +<P> +"Twenty-six dollars a month." +</P> + +<P> +The prices named above are considerably less than the present rates; +but still, as Paul's income from his business only amounted to fifty +or sixty dollars a month, it seemed a good deal for him to pay. +</P> + +<P> +"We may call again," said Mrs. Hoffman as they went downstairs. "But +we will look around first." +</P> + +<P> +"How much do you think we can afford to pay, Paul?" asked Mrs. +Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"We can easily afford twenty dollars a month, mother." +</P> + +<P> +"That is more than three times as much as we pay now." +</P> + +<P> +"I know it, but I want a better home and a better neighborhood, +mother. When we first took the other rooms, six dollars a month was +all we were able to pay. Now we can afford better accommodations." +</P> + +<P> +"What other rooms have you got on your list, Paul?" +</P> + +<P> +"There are some rooms in Prince street, near Broadway." +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid they would be too high-priced." +</P> + +<P> +"At any rate we can go and look at them. They are near by." +</P> + +<P> +The rooms in Prince street proved to be two in number, well furnished, +and though not intended for housekeeping, could be used for that +purpose. The rent was twenty-five dollars a month. +</P> + +<P> +"I do not feel able to pay more than twenty dollars," said Mrs. +Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"That is too little. I'll split the difference and say twenty-two and +a half. I suppose you have no other children?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have one other—a boy of eight." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I don't think I should be willing to let you the rooms," said +the landlady, her manner changing. "I don't like to take young +children." +</P> + +<P> +"He is a very quiet boy." +</P> + +<P> +"No boys of eight are quiet," said the landlady decidedly. "They are +all noisy and troublesome." +</P> + +<P> +"Jimmy is never noisy or troublesome," said Mrs. Hoffman, resenting +the imputation upon her youngest boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Of course you think so, as you are his mother," rejoined the +landlady. "You may be mistaken, you know." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you object to me also," said Paul. "I am more noisy than my +little brother." +</P> + +<P> +"I look upon you as a young man," said the landlady—a remark at which +Paul felt secretly complimented. +</P> + +<P> +"I think we shall have to try somewhere else, mother," he said. +"Perhaps we shall find some house where they don't object to noisy +boys." +</P> + +<P> +It seemed rather a joke to Paul to hear Jimmy objected to as noisy and +troublesome, and for some time afterward he made it a subject for +joking Jimmy. The latter took it very good-naturedly and seemed quite +as much amused as Paul. +</P> + +<P> +The <I>Herald</I> had to be consulted once more. Two other places near by +were visited, but neither proved satisfactory. In one place the rooms +were not pleasant, in the other case the price demanded was too great. +</P> + +<P> +"It's twelve o'clock already," said Paul, listening to the strokes of +a neighboring clock. "I had no idea it was so hard finding rooms. I +wonder whether Mrs. Norton would keep us a day longer." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps we can go out this afternoon and prove more successful, +Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"I've a great mind to consult Mr. Preston, mother. I think I'll call +at his place of business at any rate, as I may need to draw some of +the money we have in his hands. You know we've all got to buy new +clothes." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, Paul. Do as you think best. You won't need me." +</P> + +<P> +"No, mother." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Hoffman returned to her temporary quarters, and reporting her +want of success, was cordially invited by Mrs. Norton to remain as her +guest until she succeeded in obtaining satisfactory rooms. +</P> + +<P> +</P> + +<P> +</P> + +<P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PAUL TAKES A HOUSE ON MADISON AVENUE. +</H3> + +<P> +Paul kept on his way to the office of Mr. Preston. Those who have read +the previous volume will remember him as a gentleman whose +acquaintance Paul had made accidentally. Attracted by our hero's +frank, straightforward manner and manly bearing, he had given him some +work for his mother, and on other occasions had manifested an interest +in his welfare. He now held one hundred and fifty dollars belonging to +Paul, or rather to Mrs. Hoffman, for which he allowed legal interest. +</P> + +<P> +On entering the mercantile establishment, of which Mr. Preston was at +the head, Paul inquired for him of one of the salesmen. +</P> + +<P> +"He is in his office," said the latter. +</P> + +<P> +"Can I see him?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know. Do you want to see him personally?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, if he has time to see me." +</P> + +<P> +"From whom do you come?" +</P> + +<P> +"I come on my own business." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I don't think you can see him," said the clerk, judging that a +boy's business couldn't be very important. +</P> + +<P> +"If you will be kind enough to carry in my name," said Paul, "Mr. +Preston will decide that." +</P> + +<P> +Paul happened to have in his pocket a business card of the firm from +which he bought the silk used in making up his neckties. He wrote on +the back his name, PAUL HOFFMAN, and presented it to the clerk. +</P> + +<P> +The latter smiled a little superciliously, evidently thinking it +rather a joke that a boy of Paul's age should think himself entitled +to an interview with Mr. Preston during business hours, and on +business of his own. However, he took the card and approached the +office. +</P> + +<P> +"There's a boy outside wishes to see you, Mr. Preston," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"From whom does he come?" asked his employer, a portly, +pleasant-looking gentleman. +</P> + +<P> +"On business of his own, he says. Here is his card." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, to be sure. Paul Hoffman!" repeated Mr. Preston, glancing at the +card. "Tell him to come in." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder what business he can have with Mr. Preston," thought the +clerk, considerably surprised. +</P> + +<P> +"You can go in," he said on his return. +</P> + +<P> +Paul smiled slightly, for he observed and enjoyed the other's +surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, my young friend," said Mr. Preston cordially, "how are you +getting on?" +</P> + +<P> +"Pretty well in business, sir," answered Paul. "But we got burned out +yesterday." +</P> + +<P> +"How burned out?" +</P> + +<P> +"I mean the tenement house in which we lodged was burned down." +</P> + +<P> +"No one injured, I hope." +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir; but we lost what little we had there." +</P> + +<P> +"Were you at home at the time?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir; my mother and little brother and myself were at Barnum's +Museum. But for that we might have saved some of our clothing." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, have you got a new place?" "No, sir; we are stopping at the +rooms of some friends. I am looking out for some furnished rooms, as I +don't want to buy any new furniture. As all our clothes are burned, I +may have to draw fifty dollars of the money in your hands." +</P> + +<P> +"How much rent do you expect to pay?" +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose we must pay as much as twenty dollars a month for +comfortable furnished rooms." +</P> + +<P> +"Can you afford that?" +</P> + +<P> +"My business brings me in as much as fifty dollars a month." +</P> + +<P> +"You haven't engaged rooms yet?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir; my mother and I went out to look at some this morning. We +only saw one place that suited us. That we could have got for +twenty-two dollars and a half rent, but when they heard of my little +brother they wouldn't take us." +</P> + +<P> +"I see. Some persons object to young children. I am glad you have not +engaged a place yet." +</P> + +<P> +Paul looked at Mr. Preston inquiringly. +</P> + +<P> +"A gentleman of my acquaintance," proceeded the merchant, "is about +sailing to Europe with his family. He is unwilling to let his house, +fearing that his furniture would be injured. Besides, the length of +his stay is uncertain, and he would want to go into it at once if he +should return suddenly. What I am coming to is this. He wants some +small family to go in and take care of the house while he is away. +They would be allowed to live in the basement and use the chambers on +the upper floor. In return they would receive the rent free. How would +your mother like to make such an arrangement?" +</P> + +<P> +"Very much," answered Paul promptly. He saw at a glance that it would +be a great thing to save their rent, amounting, at the sum they +expected to pay, to more than two hundred and fifty dollars a year. +"Where is the house?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is in Madison avenue, between Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth +streets." +</P> + +<P> +This was a considerable distance uptown, about three miles away from +his place of business; but then Paul reflected that even if he rode up +and down daily in the cars the expense would be trifling, compared +with what they would save in house-rent. Besides, it would be rather +agreeable to live in so fashionable a street. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think my mother can get the chance?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I think so. The gentleman of whom I spoke, Mr. Talbot, expects to +sail for Europe next Wednesday, by the Cunard Line. So the matter must +be decided soon." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I call upon Mr. Talbot," asked Paul, "or shall you see him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Here he is, by good luck," said Mr. Preston, as the door opened and +an elderly gentleman entered. "Talbot, you are just the man I want to +see." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed! I am glad to hear that. What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Have you arranged about your house yet?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I came in partly to ask if you knew of any trustworthy family to +put in while I am away." +</P> + +<P> +"I can recommend some one who will suit you, I think," returned Mr. +Preston. "The young man at your side." +</P> + +<P> +"He hasn't got a family already?" inquired Mr. Talbot, with a humorous +glance at our hero. "It seems to me he is rather forward." +</P> + +<P> +"I believe not," said Mr. Preston, smiling; "but he has a mother, a +very worthy woman, and a little brother. As for my young friend +himself, I can recommend him from my own knowledge of his character. +In fact, he has done me the honor of making me his banker to the +extent of a hundred and fifty dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"So that you will go bail for him. Well, that seems satisfactory. What +is his name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Paul Hoffman." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you in a counting-room?" asked Mr. Talbot, turning to Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir; I keep a necktie stand below the Astor House." +</P> + +<P> +"I must have seen you in passing. I thought your face looked familiar. +How much can you make now at that?" +</P> + +<P> +"From twelve to fifteen dollars a week, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Very good. That is a good deal more than I made at your age." +</P> + +<P> +"Or I," added Mr. Preston. "Paul was burned out yesterday," he added, +"and is obliged to seek a new home. When he mentioned this to me, I +thought at once that you could make an arrangement for your mutual +advantage." "I shall be glad to do so," said Mr. Talbot. "Your +recommendation is sufficient, Mr. Preston. Do you understand the terms +proposed?" he continued, addressing Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir, I think so. We are to have our rent free, and in return are +to look after the house." +</P> + +<P> +"That is right. I don't wish the house to remain vacant, as it +contains furniture and articles of value, and an empty house always +presents temptations to rogues. You will be free to use the basement +and the upper floor. When the rest of the house needs cleaning, or +anything of that kind, as for instance when I am about to return, it +will be done under your or your mother's oversight, but I will pay the +bills. Directions will be sent you through my friend Mr. Preston." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, sir," said Paul. "How soon would you wish us to come?" +</P> + +<P> +"I would like you and your mother to call up this evening and see Mrs. +Talbot. You can move in next Tuesday, as we sail for Europe on the +following day." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir," said Paul in a tone of satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +"I will expect you and your mother this evening. My number is ——." +</P> + +<P> +"We will be sure to call, sir." +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Talbot now spoke to Mr. Preston on another topic. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, by the way, Paul," said Mr. Preston in an interval of the +conversation, "you said you wanted fifty dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think I shall need it now, Mr. Preston," answered Paul. "I +have some other money, but I supposed I might have to pay a month's +rent in advance. Now that will not be necessary. I will bid you +good-morning, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Good-morning, Paul. Call on me whenever you need advice or +assistance." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir; I will." +</P> + +<P> +"That's what I call a good day's work," said Paul to himself in a tone +of satisfaction. "Twenty dollars a month is a good deal to save. We +shall grow rich soon at that rate." +</P> + +<P> +He determined to go home at once and announce the good news. As he +entered the room his mother looked up and inquired: +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Paul, what news?" +</P> + +<P> +"I've engaged a house, mother." +</P> + +<P> +"A house? Where?" +</P> + +<P> +"On Madison avenue." +</P> + +<P> +"You are joking, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"No, I am not, or if I am, it's a good joke, for we are really to live +in a nice house on Madison avenue and pay no rent at all." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't understand it, Paul," said his mother, bewildered. +</P> + +<P> +Paul explained the arrangement which he had entered into. It is +needless to say that his mother rejoiced in the remarkable good luck +which came to them just after the misfortune of the fire, and looked +forward with no little pleasure to moving into their new quarters. +</P> + +<P> +</P> + +<P> +</P> + +<P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE HOUSE ON MADISON AVENUE. +</H3> + +<P> +In the evening, as had been agreed, Paul accompanied his mother uptown +to call on Mrs. Talbot and receive directions in regard to the house. +They had no difficulty in finding it. On ringing the bell they were +ushered into an elegantly furnished parlor, the appearance of which +indicated the wealth of the owner. +</P> + +<P> +"Suppose we give a party, mother, after we move in," said Paul, as he +sat on the sofa beside his mother, awaiting the appearance of Mrs. +Talbot. +</P> + +<P> +"Mrs. Talbot might have an objection to our using her parlors for such +a purpose." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder," said Paul reflectively, "whether I shall ever have a house +of my own like this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not unless your business increases," said his mother, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"I rather think you are right, mother. Seriously, though, there are +plenty of men in New York, who live in style now, who began the world +with no better advantages than I. You see there is a chance for me +too." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be satisfied with less," said his mother. "Wealth alone will +not yield happiness." +</P> + +<P> +"Still it is very comfortable to have it." +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt, if it is properly acquired." +</P> + +<P> +"If I am ever rich, mother, you may be sure that I shall not be +ashamed of the manner in which I became so." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope not, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Mrs. Talbot. She +was a stout, comely-looking woman of middle age and pleasant +expression. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose this is Mrs. Hoffman," she said. +</P> + +<P> +Paul and his mother both rose. +</P> + +<P> +"I am Mrs. Hoffman," said the latter. "I suppose I speak to Mrs. +Talbot?" +</P> + +<P> +"You are right. Keep your seat, Mrs. Hoffman. Is this your son?" +</P> + +<P> +Paul bowed with instinctive politeness, and his mother replied in the +affirmative. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Talbot tells me that you are willing to take charge of the house +while we are absent in Europe." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be glad to do so." +</P> + +<P> +"We have been looking out for a suitable family, and as our departure +was so near at hand, were afraid we might not succeed in making a +satisfactory arrangement. Fortunately Mr. Preston spoke to my husband +of you, and this sets our anxiety at rest." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope I may be able to answer your expectations, Mrs. Talbot," said +Mrs. Hoffman modestly. +</P> + +<P> +"I think you will," said Mrs. Talbot, and she spoke sincerely. +</P> + +<P> +She had examined her visitor attentively, and had been very favorably +impressed by her neat dress and quiet, lady-like demeanor. She had +been afraid, when first informed by her husband of the engagement he +had made, that Mrs. Hoffman might be a coarse, untidy woman, and she +was very agreeably disappointed in her appearance. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose," she said, "you would like to look over the house." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, I should." +</P> + +<P> +"I also wish you to see it, that you may understand my directions in +regard to the care of it. Follow me, if you please. We will first go +down into the basement." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Hoffman rose. Paul kept his seat, not sure whether he was +included in the invitation or not. +</P> + +<P> +"Your son can come, too, if he likes," said Mrs. Talbot, observing his +hesitation. +</P> + +<P> +Paul rose with alacrity and followed them. He had a natural curiosity +to see the rooms they were to occupy. +</P> + +<P> +They descended first into the basement, which was spacious and light. +It consisted of three rooms, the one in front quite large and +pleasant. It was plainly but comfortably furnished. The kitchen was in +the rear, and there was a middle room between. +</P> + +<P> +"These will be your apartments," said Mrs. Talbot. "Of course I have +no objection to your moving in any of your own furniture, if your +desire it." +</P> + +<P> +"We have only ourselves to move in," said Paul. "We were burned out +early this week." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed! You were unfortunate." +</P> + +<P> +"I thought so at the time," said Mrs. Hoffman, "but if it had not been +for that Paul would not have called upon Mr. Preston and we should not +have heard of you." +</P> + +<P> +"Were you able to save nothing?" asked Mrs. Talbot. +</P> + +<P> +"Scarcely anything." +</P> + +<P> +"If you are embarrassed for want of money," suggested Mrs. Talbot +kindly, "I will advance you fifty dollars, or more if you require it." +</P> + +<P> +"You are very kind," said Mrs. Hoffman gratefully; "but we have a sum +of money, more than enough for our present needs, deposited with Mr. +Preston. We are not less obliged to you for so kind an offer." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Talbot was still more prepossessed in favor of her visitors by +the manner in which her offer had been declined. She saw that they had +too much self-respect to accept assistance unless actually needed. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad to hear that," she said. "It is not all who are fortunate +enough to have a reserve fund to fall back upon. Now, if you have +sufficiently examined the basement, we will go upstairs." +</P> + +<P> +While passing through the upper chambers, Mrs. Talbot gave directions +for their care, which would not be interesting to the reader, and are +therefore omitted. +</P> + +<P> +"I had intended," she said, "to offer you the use of the upper +chambers, but they are so far off from the basement that it might be +inconvenient for you to occupy them. If you prefer, you may move down +two bedsteads to the lower part of the house. I have no objection to +your putting one in the dining-room, if you desire it." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Mrs. Talbot; I should prefer it." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you may consider yourself at liberty to do it. I believe I have +now said all I wanted to you. Can you come here next Tuesday?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, we will do so." +</P> + +<P> +"By the way, I forgot to inquire the size of your family." +</P> + +<P> +"I have only one other child, a little boy of eight." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Talbot heard this with satisfaction, for she was aware of the +destructive propensities of children, and preferred that the family in +charge should be small. +</P> + +<P> +"I believe I have nothing further to say," said Mrs. Talbot. "Should +anything else occur to me, I will mention it to you on Tuesday when +you come here permanently." +</P> + +<P> +Paul and his mother took their leave. When they were in the street, +Paul inquired: +</P> + +<P> +"Well, mother, what do you think of Mrs. Talbot?" +</P> + +<P> +"I like her very much. She seems to be a real lady." +</P> + +<P> +"So I think. She seems to be very kind and considerate." +</P> + +<P> +"We are very fortunate to get so good a home and save the entire +rent." +</P> + +<P> +"It will save us two hundred and forty dollars a year." +</P> + +<P> +"We shall be able to save up considerable money every year." +</P> + +<P> +"But there's one thing I want to say, mother. As we are in so much +better circumstances, there will be no need of your working on +neckties any more." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you going to discharge me from your employment, Paul?" said his +mother, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Not unless you are willing, mother; but you will have enough to do +looking after the house." +</P> + +<P> +"I would rather keep on making neckties. It is a work that I like. In +return I will hire my washing done, and all the rougher work." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps that will be better," said Paul; "but you can do both if you +like." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't mean to lead an idle life, Paul. I should not feel happy if I +did. I was always fond of sewing—that is, in moderation. When I made +shirts for that establishment in Broadway, for such low prices, I +cannot say that I enjoyed that very much. I am glad to be relieved of +such work, though at that time I was glad to get it." +</P> + +<P> +"Those days have gone by forever, I hope, mother. I am young and +strong, and I don't see why there isn't as good a chance for me to +succeed as for other poor boys who have risen to wealth and eminence. +I am going to work for success, at any rate. But we shall have to make +some purchases before Tuesday." +</P> + +<P> +"What kind of purchases?" +</P> + +<P> +"Jimmy and I are out of clothes, you know. My entire wardrobe has been +consumed by the devouring element, as the reporters say. Now, being a +young man of fashion, I don't quite like being reduced to one suit and +one shirt, with other things in proportion." +</P> + +<P> +"If you could wait, I would make you some shirts." +</P> + +<P> +"But I can't wait. I shouldn't feel like wearing the shirt I have on +more than a fortnight." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope not," said his mother, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Suppose I should be invited to a party and be obliged to decline with +thanks, on account of having only one shirt. My reputation as a young +man of fashion would be gone forever." +</P> + +<P> +"So I should think." +</P> + +<P> +"To-morrow I will buy a couple of shirts, and these will last me, with +the help of the washerwoman, until you can make me some new ones. Then +I will go to Bookair's tomorrow, and take Jimmy with me and buy new +suits for both." +</P> + +<P> +"I am afraid you are getting extravagant, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"If we live on Madison avenue, we must dress accordingly, you know, +mother. That reminds me, I must buy two trunks also." +</P> + +<P> +"Two?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; one for you, and the other for Jimmy and myself. At present I +could tie up all my clothes in a handkerchief—that is, if I had a +spare one; but I am going to have some more. You must have some new +things also, mother." +</P> + +<P> +"I can wait till we get settled in our new home. I am afraid you won't +have money enough for all the articles you mean to buy." +</P> + +<P> +"I may have to draw some from Mr. Preston. I think I will call on him +to-morrow and do so. I forgot how much we had to buy. I shall close up +business to-morrow and Monday, and spend the time in preparation for +moving." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Hoffman would not, had the matter rested with her, have been in +favor of expending so much money, but she had considerable confidence +in Paul's judgment, and indeed their prospects looked bright enough to +warrant it; so she withdrew her objections, and Paul had his own way, +as he generally did. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A GIFT. +</H3> + +<P> +The next forenoon Paul called at Mr. Preston's place of business. On +entering the office he found Mr. Talbot conversing with him. +</P> + +<P> +"Talbot," said Mr. Preston, "this is your new tenant, Paul Hoffman." +</P> + +<P> +"Good-morning, Paul," said Mr. Talbot pleasantly. "Mrs. Talbot tells +me that you and your mother called last evening." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"I was called away by an engagement, but I am glad to say that Mrs. +Talbot approves my choice." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"I hear from Mr. Preston that you have been unfortunate in being +burned out." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir, we have been burned out, but we hadn't much to lose." +</P> + +<P> +"Were you able to save any of your clothing?" +</P> + +<P> +"My mother saved a new dress she had just bought." +</P> + +<P> +"Was that all?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"It will cost you considerable to replace what was destroyed." +</P> + +<P> +"Considerable for me, sir. I called this morning to ask Mr. Preston +for fifty dollars, from the money he has of mine, to spend for clothes +for my mother, and brother, and myself." +</P> + +<P> +"Will fifty dollars be sufficient?" +</P> + +<P> +"I have some money on hand. That will be all I shall need to draw." +</P> + +<P> +"It will be a pity to disturb your savings. Your care of my house will +be worth more than the rent. I will give you fifty dollars besides." +</P> + +<P> +Suiting the action to the word, Mr. Talbot took out his pocketbook and +drew therefrom five ten-dollar bills, which he placed in Paul's hands. +</P> + +<P> +"You are very kind," said Paul, in grateful surprise. "We felt well +paid by having our rent free." +</P> + +<P> +"You are quite welcome, but I ought to tell you that it is to Mrs. +Talbot you are indebted rather than to myself. She suggested my giving +you the money, having been much pleased with your mother's +appearance." +</P> + +<P> +"I am very much obliged to her also, then," said Paul, "and so will be +my mother when I tell her. We will try to give you satisfaction." +</P> + +<P> +"I feel sure you will," said Mr. Talbot kindly. +</P> + +<P> +"That is a fine boy," he said, after Paul had bidden them good-morning +and left the office. +</P> + +<P> +"He is an excellent boy," said Mr. Preston warmly. "He is +straightforward, manly, and honest." +</P> + +<P> +"How did you fall in with him?" +</P> + +<P> +"He fell in with me," said Mr. Preston, laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"How is that?" +</P> + +<P> +"As I was turning the corner of a street downtown one day he ran into +me and nearly knocked the breath out of me." +</P> + +<P> +"Which prepossessed you in his favor?" inquired Mr. Talbot, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Not at first. However, it led to a little conversation, by which I +learned that he was a street candy merchant, and that some young thief +had run off with all his stock in trade. He was then in hot pursuit. +Learning that his mother was a seamstress and a worthy woman, I +employed her to make me some shirts. I have followed the fortunes of +the family, and have been Paul's adviser since then, and latterly his +banker. He is now proprietor of a street-stand, and making, for a boy +of his age, quite a fair income." +</P> + +<P> +"Your account interests me. If I am as well satisfied as I hope to be +with the family I will hereafter seek out some way of serving him." +</P> + +<P> +"I am certain you will be satisfied." +</P> + +<P> +The two gentlemen now conversed of other things, with which the reader +has no concern. +</P> + +<P> +Paul went home in high spirits, and delighted his mother and Jimmy +with the gift he had received. +</P> + +<P> +"Now, mother," he said, "get on your bonnet and shawl, and we'll go +out shopping." +</P> + +<P> +"Won't you take me too, Paul?" asked Jimmy. +</P> + +<P> +"To be sure I will. I am going to buy you a suit of clothes, Jimmy." +</P> + +<P> +The little boy clapped his hands. New clothes were a rarity to him, +and the purchase of a new suit, therefore, would be a memorable event. +</P> + +<P> +I do not propose to detail Paul's purchases. They consisted of new +suits for Jimmy and himself, and a complete outfit of under garments, +closing with the purchase of two plain, substantial trunks. Mrs. +Hoffman deferred her own shopping till Monday. +</P> + +<P> +When, later in the day, the various articles arrived, Paul regarded +them with much complacency. +</P> + +<P> +"It looks as if we were getting up in the world," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"You deserve to succeed, Paul," said his mother. "You have been +industrious and faithful, and God has prospered you." +</P> + +<P> +"I have had a good mother to encourage me," said Paul, "or I should +not have done so well." +</P> + +<P> +"You are right to say that, Paul," said Mrs. Norton. "It isn't every +boy that has a good mother." +</P> + +<P> +"That is true. There are some boys I know who would do well if their +mothers were not shiftless and intemperate. You remember Tommy +O'Connor, mother, don't you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"I met him in Nassau street yesterday. He was lounging about in rags, +doing nothing. He asked me to lend him five cents. I asked him why he +was not at work. He said his mother took all his money and spent it +for drink. Then she got quarrelsome and beat him." +</P> + +<P> +"How can any mother behave in that way?" said Mrs. Hoffman, shuddering. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know, but there is more than one mother that does it, though +it's more likely to be the father." +</P> + +<P> +The next day dawned bright and pleasant. +</P> + +<P> +"Can I put on my new clothes, Paul?" asked Jimmy. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Paul. "It's Sunday, and we'll all put on our best clothes +and go to church." +</P> + +<P> +"I should like that," said the little boy, delighted. +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Hoffman readily agreed to the plan. +</P> + +<P> +If of late the family had remained at home on Sunday, it was at first +for want of good clothing, not from any want of respect for religious +institutions. During Mr. Hoffman's life they had attended regularly, +and Paul had belonged to a Sunday-school, Jimmy being too young. The +church they had formerly attended being in Harlem, they could not of +course go so far, but dropped into one not far from Union Square. They +were shown seats by the sexton, and listened attentively to the +services, though it must be confessed that Jimmy's attention was +occasionally diverted to his new clothes, of which he was not a little +proud. Mrs. Hoffman felt glad once more to find herself enjoying +religious privileges, and determined henceforth to attend regularly. +</P> + +<P> +As they were leaving the church, Paul suddenly found himself, to his +surprise, next to Mr. and Mrs. Talbot, whom he had not before +observed. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-morning, Mr. Talbot," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Talbot turned on being addressed and said: +</P> + +<P> +"What, Paul, are you here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Talbot, this is my mother," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Mrs. Hoffman," said Mr. Talbot, with as much courtesy as if he were +addressing his social equal, "I am glad to make your acquaintance. My +dear, this is Mrs. Hoffman." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Talbot greeted both cordially, and made some inquiries about +Jimmy. She observed with pleasure the neat appearance of the entire +family, feeling sure that those who were so careful about their own +appearance would be equally careful of her house. She also thought +more favorably of them for their attendance at church, having herself +a high respect for religious observances. Of course Paul and his +mother thanked her in fitting terms for the gift which had enabled +them to replace their losses by the fire. +</P> + +<P> +After a brief conversation they parted, Mr. and Mrs. Talbot going +uptown, while Paul and his mother had nearly two miles to walk in a +different direction. +</P> + +<P> +"Next Sunday we shall be walking uptown also," said Paul. "It will +look well in the Directory, 'Paul Hoffman, merchant; house, Madison +avenue,' won't it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said his mother, "so long as it doesn't mention that you live +in the basement." +</P> + +<P> +"Some time I hope to occupy a whole house of my own." +</P> + +<P> +"In Madison avenue?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps so; who knows?" +</P> + +<P> +"I see, Paul, you are getting ambitious." +</P> + +<P> +"Where shall I be, Paul?" asked Jimmy, who felt that his future +prospects deserved consideration. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, you'll be a famous artist, and have a studio on Fifth avenue." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think so, Paul?" asked the little fellow seriously. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope so. All you want is a little help from me now and then. If I +had time I would give you a course of lessons in drawing." +</P> + +<P> +"You draw awfully, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you draw any better?" +</P> + +<P> +"Of course I do." +</P> + +<P> +"Mother," said Paul, with much gravity, "that boy's self-conceit is +unbounded. You ought to talk to him about it." +</P> + +<P> +But though Paul liked to joke Jimmy, he had already decided, after +they moved uptown, to give him an opportunity of developing his talent +by engaging a drawing teacher for him. The large saving in their +expenses from not being obliged to pay rent would allow him to do this +easily. He had not yet mentioned this to Jimmy, for he meant to +surprise him. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +JULIUS. +</H3> + +<P> +At the time appointed, Paul and his mother moved into their new home. +It was necessary to buy but a small quantity of new furniture, as Mrs. +Talbot authorized them to take down from the upper rooms anything of +which they had need. She was led to this offer by the favorable +opinion she had formed of Mrs. Hoffman. With the exception, therefore, +of some bedding and a rocking-chair, the latter purchased nothing. +</P> + +<P> +It took a little time, of course, to get accustomed to their new +quarters. When, however, they had got to feel at home, they enjoyed +them. It was no longer possible, of course, for Paul to come home to +the noonday meal, since the distance between his place of business and +the house on Madison avenue was two miles and a half. He therefore was +accustomed to take his lunch at a restaurant, for his mother had +adopted the common New York custom of having dinner at the end of the +day. +</P> + +<P> +It was about six weeks after Paul's removal to Madison avenue that one +day, on approaching the restaurant on Fulton street where he proposed +to lunch, his attention was drawn to a famished-looking boy who was +looking in at the window at the viands within. It was impossible to +misinterpret his hungry look. Paul understood it at once, and his +heart was stirred with compassion. His own prosperity had not hardened +him, but rendered him more disposed to lend a helping hand to those +more needy. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you hungry, Johnny?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +The boy turned at the sound of the words. +</P> + +<P> +"Ain't I just?" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Didn't you have any breakfast?" +</P> + +<P> +"I had a piece of bread." +</P> + +<P> +"Was that all?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," +</P> + +<P> +"Could you eat a plate of meat if I gave you some?" +</P> + +<P> +"Try me and see," was the reply. +</P> + +<P> +"Come in, then," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you pay for it?" asked the young Arab, almost incredulous. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I will pay for it." +</P> + +<P> +The boy waited for no further assurance. He was not in a position to +refuse so advantageous a proposal. He shuffled in, therefore, directly +behind Paul. +</P> + +<P> +It was not an aristocratic eating-house, but its guests were +well-dressed, and the ragged boy at once attracted unfavorable +attention. +</P> + +<P> +"Get out of here!" said a waiter. +</P> + +<P> +"He told me to come in," said the boy, beginning to tremble at the +thought of losing the proffered dinner. +</P> + +<P> +Paul, at whom he pointed, was known at the restaurant. +</P> + +<P> +"Did this boy come in with you?" asked the waiter. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Paul; "he's going to dine with me." +</P> + +<P> +"All right." +</P> + +<P> +The waiter was rather surprised at Paul's selection of a table +companion, but payment being thus guaranteed, could interpose no +further objections. +</P> + +<P> +"Sit down there, Johnny," said Paul, indicating a seat at one of the +side tables and taking the seat opposite himself. +</P> + +<P> +"Now what'll you have?" he asked, handing his young guest the bill of +fare. +</P> + +<P> +The young Arab took it, and holding it upside down, looked at it in +perplexity. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't read," said he, handing it back. +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose you can eat, though," said Paul. "What'll you have?" +</P> + +<P> +"Anything that's good; I ain't pertikler," said the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you like stewed oysters?" +</P> + +<P> +The boy eagerly replied in the affirmative. +</P> + +<P> +"Stewed oysters for two," ordered Paul. "That'll do to begin on, +Johnny. What's your real name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Julius." +</P> + +<P> +"Anything else?" +</P> + +<P> +"That's all the name I know." +</P> + +<P> +"You can take another when you need it. Did you ever hear of Julius +Caesar?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said the boy. +</P> + +<P> +Paul was a little surprised to discover the boy's range of historical +information. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you know about him?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know him; I've seed him," said the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Where have you seen him?" asked Paul, rather astonished. +</P> + +<P> +"Down in Baxter street." +</P> + +<P> +"Does he live there?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; he keeps a barber shop there." +</P> + +<P> +Evidently the young Arab supposed that Julius Caesar, colored barber, +within the precincts of the Five Points, was the one referred to by +his questioner. Paul did not explain to him his mistake. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you got any father or mother?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you live?" +</P> + +<P> +"In Centre street." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you do for a living?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sometimes I black boots; sometimes I beg." +</P> + +<P> +"Who do you live with?" +</P> + +<P> +"Jack Morgan." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he any relation to you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I dunno," answered the boy. +</P> + +<P> +The conversation was here interrupted. The stews were placed on the +table, with a plate of crackers. +</P> + +<P> +The boy's eyes glistened. He seized the spoon, and attacked his share +with evident appetite. +</P> + +<P> +"Poor little chap!" thought Paul, sympathetically; "he doesn't often +get a good dinner. To-day he shall have all he can eat." +</P> + +<P> +When the boy had finished, he said: "Will you have some pudding, or +would you like some more oysters?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like the oysters, if it's all the same to you," answered Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Another stew and some apple dumpling," ordered Paul. +</P> + +<P> +Julius was in appearance about twelve years of age. In reality he was +fourteen, being small of his age. He had black hair and a dark +complexion; his face was thin and his figure slender. He had the +expression of one who was used to privation and knew how to bear it +without much hope of anything better. His clothes were soiled and +ragged, but his face was clean. Water was cheap, and he was +unfashionably neat for the quarter in which he lived. +</P> + +<P> +The stew was brought, and an extra plate of bread and butter. +</P> + +<P> +"Now go ahead," said Paul. "Eat all you want." +</P> + +<P> +Julius needed no other invitation. He proceeded vigorously to +accomplish the work before him, and soon both bread and oysters were +disposed of. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you got enough?" asked Paul, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Julius; "I'm full." +</P> + +<P> +Have you ever seen the satisfied look of an alderman as he rose from a +sumptuous civic banquet? The same expression was visible on the face +of the young Arab as he leaned back in his chair, with his hands +thrust into his pockets. +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said Paul, "we may as well be going." +</P> + +<P> +The boy seized his ragged cap and followed his benefactor from the +eating-house. When they reached the sidewalk, he turned to Paul and +said: +</P> + +<P> +"That was a bully dinner." +</P> + +<P> +Paul understood that he intended to thank him, though his gratitude +was not directly expressed. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm glad you liked it," said he; "but I must be going now." +</P> + +<P> +Julius looked after him until he turned the corner. "He's been good to +me," he said to himself; "maybe I can do something for him some day." +</P> + +<P> +The young Arab had had few occasions for gratitude. The world had been +a hard stepmother to him. It was years since he had known father or +mother, and as long as he could remember he had been under the +guardianship of a social outlaw, named Jack Morgan, who preyed upon +the community whenever he got a chance. Whenever he was under the ban +of the law, Julius had shifted for himself, or been transferred to one +of his lawless companions. The chances seemed to be in favor of Julius +growing up such another as his guardian. Had he been differently +constituted he would have been worse than he was. But his natural +instincts were healthful, and when he had been left entirely to +himself he had lived by honest industry, devoting himself to some of +the street occupations which were alone open to him. His most perilous +period was when Jack resumed his guardianship, as he had done a +fortnight previous, on being released from a three months' residence +at Blackwell's Island. +</P> + +<P> +What the tie was between him and the boy was unknown. Julius knew that +Jack was not his father, for the latter had never made that claim. +Sometimes he vaguely intimated that Julius was the son of his sister, +and consequently his nephew, but as at times he gave a different +account, Julius did not know what to think. But he had always +acquiesced in his guardianship, and whenever Jack was at liberty had +without hesitation gone back to him. +</P> + +<P> +After a brief pause Julius followed Paul to the corner, and saw him +take his place beside the necktie stand. He then remembered to have +seen him there before. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought I know'd him," he said; "I'll remember him now." +</P> + +<P> +He wandered about vaguely, having no regular occupation. He had had a +blacking-box and brush, but it had been stolen, and he had not +replaced it. He had asked Jack to lend him the money requisite to set +him up in the business again, but the latter had put him off, +intimating that he should have something else for him to do. Julius +had therefore postponed seeking any other employment, beyond hovering +about the piers and railway stations on the chance of obtaining a job +to carry a carpetbag or valise. This was a precarious employment, and +depended much more on good fortune than the business of a newsboy or +bootblack. However, in the course of the afternoon Julius earned +twenty-five cents for carrying a carpet-bag to French's Hotel. That +satisfied him, for he was not very ambitious. He invested the greater +part of it in some coffee and cakes at one of the booths in Fulton +Market, and about nine o'clock, tired with his day's tramp, sought the +miserable apartment in Centre street which he shared with Jack Morgan. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A ROOM IN CENTRE STREET. +</H3> + +<P> +In a room on the third floor of a miserable tenement house in Centre +street two men were sitting. Each had a forbidding exterior, and +neither was in any danger of being mistaken for a peaceful, +law-abiding citizen. One, attired in a red shirt and pants, was +leaning back in his chair, smoking a clay pipe. His hair was dark and +his beard nearly a week old. Over his left eye was a scar, the +reminder of a wound received in one of the numerous affrays in which +he had been engaged. +</P> + +<P> +This was Jack Morgan, already referred to as the guardian of the boy +Julius. He was certainly a disreputable-looking ruffian, and his +character did not belie his looks. +</P> + +<P> +The other man was taller, better dressed, and somewhat more +respectable in appearance. But, like Jack, he, too, was a social +outlaw, and the more dangerous that he could more easily assume an air +of respectability, and pass muster, if he chose, as an honest man. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Marlowe," said Jack Morgan to the latter, who had just entered, +"how's business?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not very good," said Marlowe, shaking his head. "I haven't been so +hard up for a long time. You haven't lost much by being shut up." +</P> + +<P> +"I've had my board and lodging free," said Morgan; "but I'd rather +look out for myself. I don't like free hotels." Marlowe smiled. +</P> + +<P> +"That's where you're right, Jack. I never tried it but once, and then +I didn't like it any better than you." +</P> + +<P> +"You're a sharp one. You always cover your tracks." +</P> + +<P> +"The cops don't often get hold of me," said Marlowe, with pride. "You +remember that big bond robbery a year ago?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. You wasn't in that?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I was." +</P> + +<P> +"The rest of the fellows got trapped." +</P> + +<P> +"That's so; but I heard in time and got off." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you make anything out of it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I made sure of a thousand-dollar bond." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you put it off?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I sold it for half price." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is the money?" +</P> + +<P> +"It lasted me a month," said Marlowe, coolly. "I lived then, you can +bet. But I haven't done much since. Do you see that?" +</P> + +<P> +He took from his vest pocket a dollar greenback. +</P> + +<P> +"What of it?" +</P> + +<P> +"It's my last dollar." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you've got to do something." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't you thought of anything?" +</P> + +<P> +"I've got a plan that may work." +</P> + +<P> +Here Julius entered, and his entrance produced a brief interruption. +"What luck, Julius?" asked Morgan. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing much. I got a bundle to carry for a quarter." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you got the money?" +</P> + +<P> +"There's ten cents. I bought my supper with the rest." +</P> + +<P> +"Give it to me." +</P> + +<P> +Jack Morgan took the ten cents and thrust it into his pocket. +</P> + +<P> +"You ain't smart, Julius," he said. "You ought to have brought more +than that." +</P> + +<P> +"Buy me a blacking-box and I will," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll see about it. But, Marlowe, you were just goin' to tell me of +your plan." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I tell before him?" asked Marlowe, indicating the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Drive ahead. He's one of us." +</P> + +<P> +"There's a house on Madison avenue that I've heard about. It belongs +to a man that's gone to Europe." +</P> + +<P> +"Then there isn't much left in it worth taking." +</P> + +<P> +"That's where you're wrong. I've found out that he has left all his +plate locked up in a safe on the second floor and some bonds, too, +it's most likely." +</P> + +<P> +"Has he got much?" +</P> + +<P> +"So I hear." +</P> + +<P> +"Who told you?" +</P> + +<P> +"A man that was in his service. He was discharged for drunkenness, and +he owes this Mr. Talbot a grudge." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he a thief himself?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, but he is willing to help us, out of revenge." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you can depend on his information." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; there is no doubt of it." +</P> + +<P> +"Is the house empty?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; there's a family in charge." +</P> + +<P> +"That's bad." +</P> + +<P> +"Not so bad; it's a widow, with two children—one a little boy of +eight or thereabouts, the other sixteen." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know anything about them?" +</P> + +<P> +"The oldest boy is a street peddler. He keeps a necktie stand below +the Astor House." +</P> + +<P> +Hitherto Julius had not taken much interest in the conversation. That +his disreputable guardian should be planning a burglary did not strike +him with surprise. It seemed only a matter of course. But the last +remark of Marlowe put a different face upon the matter. The +description was so exact that he felt almost certain the boy spoken of +must be his new friend, to whom he had been indebted for the best +dinner he had eaten for many a day. He began to listen now, but not +too obtrusively, as that might awaken suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +"A boy of sixteen may give trouble," said Jack Morgan. +</P> + +<P> +"He is easily disposed of," said Marlowe, indifferently. +</P> + +<P> +"I wish it were only the woman and little boy we had to deal with." +</P> + +<P> +"We can easily secure the boy's absence for that night." +</P> + +<P> +"How?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't tell yet, but there's plenty of ways. He might be arrested on +a false charge and kept over night in the station-house. Or there's +other ways. But I can't tell till I know more about him. A letter +might be sent him, asking him to go over to Brooklyn." +</P> + +<P> +"Wouldn't do. His mother would get somebody else in his place." +</P> + +<P> +"We must find out all about him. How's that boy of yours? Is he +sharp?" +</P> + +<P> +"He ought to be. He's knocked about for himself long enough." +</P> + +<P> +"We can try him. Come here, my son." +</P> + +<P> +Julius rose from his seat and walked up to the pair. +</P> + +<P> +"Hark you, my lad, can you do as you're told?" +</P> + +<P> +Julius nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"We've got something for you to do. It'll lead to money—do you hear?" +</P> + +<P> +"I hear," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you heard what we were talking about?" +</P> + +<P> +"I heard, but I didn't mind." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I want you to hear, and mind, too, now. Have you ever seen a +necktie stand between Dey and Cortlandt streets?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"There's a boy keeps it." +</P> + +<P> +"I've seed him." +</P> + +<P> +"So far so good, then. Do you know anything about him?" +</P> + +<P> +Julius shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"Then I want you to find out all you can about him. Find out if he's +got any friends in Brooklyn, or just outside of the city. I'll tell +you what I know about him, and then you must learn as much more as +possible. Do you know his name?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"It is Paul Hoffman. He and his mother live in a house that they take +care of on Madison avenue. We want to break into that house some night +next week and carry off some plate and bonds that are in the safe. If +we make the haul we'll do well by you." +</P> + +<P> +"I understand," said Julius, nodding intelligently. +</P> + +<P> +"What we want," pursued Marlowe, "is to have the boy sleep out of the +house the night we make the attempt. That will leave the coast clear. +If the woman wakes up and discovers us, we'll threaten to kill her if +she makes any fuss. Do you hear?" +</P> + +<P> +Julius nodded again. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think you can do what we want?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"That's well. We'll wait for the boy's report before we lay our plans, +Jack. Now that's settled, we'll send out for some whisky and drink +success to the job." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you must find the money, Marlowe, for I'm dead broke." +</P> + +<P> +"Here, boy, take this," said Marlowe, handing Julius the bill he had +recently displayed, "and bring back a pint of whisky." +</P> + +<P> +"All right," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"And mind you bring back the change, or I must go without breakfast +to-morrow morning." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll remember," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +When he had gone out, Marlowe said: "Where did you pick up that boy, +Jack? He isn't your son, is he?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I have no son. I picked him up one day when he was a little chap. +He didn't seem to belong to nobody; so I took him home, and he's been +with me ever since." +</P> + +<P> +"Where does he go when you are shut up, Jack? That's a good part of +the time, you know." +</P> + +<P> +"Into the streets. He picks up a living there somehow. I don't ask +how." +</P> + +<P> +"And he always comes back to you when you get out again?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Loves you like a father, eh?" said Marlowe, laughing. +</P> + +<P> +"He's used to me," said Jack, indifferently. +</P> + +<P> +Not being sentimental, he never troubled himself to expect affection +from his young ward, and would not have felt very deeply afflicted if +he had deserted him. Still, he, too, had got used to the society of +Julius, who was the only living thing that clung to him, and probably +would have felt a degree of regret at his loss. There are few, however +callous, who do not feel some satisfaction in companionship. +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you laughing at?" said Jack. +</P> + +<P> +"I was thinking, Jack, that you wasn't exactly the right sort to train +up a boy in the way he should go, and all that. If he takes pattern by +you, it's easy to tell where he'll fetch up." +</P> + +<P> +"He ain't a bad sort," said Jack. +</P> + +<P> +"Has he ever been over to the island?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Then he hasn't followed your teaching, that's all I can say." +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind about the boy," said Jack, who had grown weary of the +subject. "He can take care of himself." +</P> + +<P> +Here Julius reappeared with the whisky. Both men brightened up at the +sight of their favorite beverage. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you got a pack of cards?" asked Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"Are there any cards?" asked Jack, appealing to Julius. +</P> + +<P> +The boy found some hidden away in the cupboard, and the men taking +them were soon intent upon a game of poker. Julius looked on for a +time, for he, too, knew something of the game; but after a time he +became drowsy, and threw himself upon a pallet in the corner, which he +shared with his guardian. He didn't sleep immediately, however, for +now that his attention was drawn away from the game, he began to +consider how he should act in the matter which had been confided to +him. Should he prove true to his guardian and treacherous to Paul, or +should he repay the latter for the kindness he had received at his +hands? It was a difficult question. While he was pondering it his eyes +closed and he fell asleep. +</P> + +<P> +The men continued to play for about two hours, for penny stakes. The +game had no interest for them unless something was staked upon it, and +the winner pocketed his winnings with as much satisfaction as if it +had been a thousand times as large. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FREE LUNCH. +</H3> + +<P> +About seven o'clock the next morning Julius awoke. Jack Morgan was +still asleep and breathing heavily. His coarse features looked even +more brutal in his state of unconsciousness. The boy raised himself on +his elbow and looked thoughtfully at him as he slept. +</P> + +<P> +"How did I come to be with him?" This was the question which passed +through the boy's mind. "He ain't my father, for he's told me so. Is +he my uncle, I wonder?" +</P> + +<P> +Sometimes, but not often, this question had suggested itself to +Julius; but in general he had not troubled himself much about +ancestry. A good dinner was of far more importance to him than to know +who his father or grandfather had been. He did not pretend to have a +warm affection for the man between whom and himself existed the only +tie that bound him to any fellow-creature. They had got used to each +other, as Jack expressed it, and that served to keep them together +when the law did not interfere to keep them apart. In general Julius +had obeyed such orders as Jack gave him, but now, for the first time, +a question of doubt arose in his mind. He was called upon to do +something which would injure Paul, whose kindness had produced a +strong impression upon him. Should he do it? This led him to consider +how far he was bound to obey Jack Morgan. He could not see that he had +anything to be grateful for. If Jack was flush he received some slight +advantage. On the other hand, he was expected to give most of his +earnings to his guardian when they were living together. While he was +thinking the man opened his eyes. +</P> + +<P> +"Awake, eh?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"What time is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"The clock has gone seven." +</P> + +<P> +"I can tell that by my stomach. I've got a healthy appetite this +morning. Have you got any money?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not a penny, Jack." +</P> + +<P> +"That's bad. Just feel in the pocket of my breeches; there they are on +the floor. See if you can find anything." +</P> + +<P> +Julius rose from the pallet and did as he was ordered. +</P> + +<P> +"There's twelve cents," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Good. We'll divide. We can get a breakfast at Brady's Free Lunch +Saloon. Take six cents of it. I ain't going to get up yet." +</P> + +<P> +"All right," said the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"You must look sharp and pick up some money before night, or we shall +go to bed hungry. Do you hear?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Jack." +</P> + +<P> +"When Marlowe and I get hold of that gold and plate in Madison avenue +we'll have a grand blow-out. You remember what Marlowe told you last +night?" +</P> + +<P> +"About the boy that keeps the necktie stand near Dey street?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"I am to find out all I can about him." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. See if you can find out if he has any friends out of the city." +</P> + +<P> +Julius nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"We want to have the coast clear, so that we can break in next Monday +night. The sooner the better. I'm dead broke and so is Marlowe, but I +guess we can stand it till then." +</P> + +<P> +"All right." +</P> + +<P> +Jack Morgan turned over and composed himself to sleep again. He had +said all he thought necessary, and had no pressing business to call +him up. Julius opened the door and went out, down the rickety stairs +and out through a narrow covered alleyway to the street, for the room +which Jack Morgan and he occupied was in a rear tenement house. +Several dirty and unsavory-looking children—they could not well be +otherwise in such a locality—barefooted and bareheaded, were playing +in the court. Julius passed them by, and sauntered along toward the +City Hall Park. He met several acquaintances, newsboys and bootblacks, +the former crying the news, the latter either already employed or +looking for a job. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are you goin', Julius?" asked a bootblack of his acquaintance. +</P> + +<P> +"Goin' to get breakfast." +</P> + +<P> +"Got any stamps?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sixpence." +</P> + +<P> +"You can't get a square meal for that." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm goin' to 'free-lunch places.'" +</P> + +<P> +"That's good if you're hard up. What are you doin' now?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothin' much." +</P> + +<P> +"Why don't you black boots?" +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't got any box or brush." +</P> + +<P> +"You can borrow mine, if you'll give me half you make." +</P> + +<P> +"What are you goin' to do?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'll try sellin' papers for a change." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll do it," said Julius, promptly, for he saw that the arrangement +would, under the circumstances, be a good one for him. "Where will I +see you to-night?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'll be here at six o'clock." +</P> + +<P> +"All right. Hand over your box." So the business arrangement was +concluded—an arrangement not uncommon among street professionals. It +is an illustration, on a small scale, of the advantage of capital. The +lucky possessor of two or three extra blacking-boxes has it in his +power to derive quite a revenue—enormous, when the amount of his +investment is considered. As a general thing, such contracts, however +burdensome to one party, are faithfully kept. It might be supposed +that boys of ordinary shrewdness would as soon as possible save up +enough to buy a box and brush of their own; but as they only receive +half profits, that is not easy, after defraying expenses of lodging +and meals. +</P> + +<P> +Julius obtained one job before going to breakfast. He waited for +another, but as none seemed forthcoming, he shouldered his box and +walked down Nassau street till he reached a basement over which was +the sign, FREE LUNCH. He went downstairs and entered a dark basement +room. On one side was a bar, with a variety of bottles exposed. At the +lower end of the apartment was a table, containing a couple of plates +of bread and butter and slices of cold meat. This was the free lunch, +for which no charge was made, but it was understood to be free to +those only who had previously ordered and paid for a drink. Many came +in only for the drinks, so that on the whole the business was a paying +one. +</P> + +<P> +Julius walked up to the bar and called for a glass of lager. +</P> + +<P> +"Here, Johnny," said the barkeeper. +</P> + +<P> +While he was drinking, a miserable-looking man, whose outward +appearance seemed to indicate that Fortune had not smiled upon him +lately, sidled in, and without coming to the bar, walked up to the +table where the free lunch was spread out. +</P> + +<P> +"What'll you have to drink, my friend?" asked the barkeeper, +pointedly. +</P> + +<P> +The man looked rather abashed, and fumbled in his pockets. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm out of money," he stammered. +</P> + +<P> +"Then keep away from the lunch, if you please," said the proprietor of +the establishment. "No lunch without a drink. That's my rule." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm very hungry," faltered the man, in a weak voice. "I haven't +tasted food for twenty-four hours." +</P> + +<P> +"Why don't you work?" +</P> + +<P> +"I can't get work." +</P> + +<P> +"That's your lookout. My lunch is for those who drink first." +</P> + +<P> +Julius had listened to this conversation with attention. He knew what +it was to be hungry. More than once he had gone about with an empty +stomach and no money to buy food. He saw that the man was weak and +unnerved by hunger, and he spoke on the impulse of the moment, placing +five cents in his hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Take that and buy a drink." +</P> + +<P> +"God bless you!" uttered the man, seizing the coin. +</P> + +<P> +"What'll you have?" asked the barkeeper. +</P> + +<P> +"Anything the money will buy." +</P> + +<P> +A glass of lager was placed in his hands and eagerly quaffed. Then he +went up to the table and ate almost ravenously, Julius bearing him +company. +</P> + +<P> +"God bless you, boy!" he said. "May you never know what it is to be +hungry and without a penny in your pocket!" +</P> + +<P> +"I've knowed it more'n once," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you—already? Poor boy! What do you do for a living?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sometimes one thing—sometimes another," said Julius. "I'm blackin' +boots now." +</P> + +<P> +"So I am relieved by the charity of a bootblack," murmured the other, +thoughtfully. "The boy has a heart." +</P> + +<P> +"Can't you get nothin' to do?" asked Julius, out of curiosity. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, yes, enough to do, but no money," said the other. +</P> + +<P> +"Look here," said the barkeeper, "don't you eat all there is on the +table. That won't pay on a five-cent drink—that won't." +</P> + +<P> +He had some cause for speaking, for the man, who was almost famished, +had already eaten heartily. He desisted as he heard these words, and +turned to go out. +</P> + +<P> +"I feel better," he said. "I was very weak when I came in. Thank you, +my boy," and he offered his hand to Julius, which the latter took +readily. +</P> + +<P> +"It ain't nothin'," he said, modestly. +</P> + +<P> +"To me it is a great deal. I hope we shall meet again." +</P> + +<P> +Street boy as he was, Julius had found some one more destitute than +himself, and out of his own poverty he had relieved the pressing need +of another. It made him feel lighter-hearted than usual. It was the +consciousness of having done a good action, which generally brings its +own reward, however trifling it may have been. +</P> + +<P> +Though himself uneducated, he noticed that the man whom he had +relieved used better language than was common among those with whom he +was accustomed to associate, and he wondered how such a man should +have become so poor. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't want to see that man again," said the barkeeper. "He spends +five cents and eats twenty cents' worth. If all my customers were like +that, I should soon have to stop business. Do you know him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Never seed him afore," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +He shouldered his box and ascended the steps to the sidewalk above. He +resolved to look out for business for the next two hours, and then go +around to the necktie stand of Paul Hoffman. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap12"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A GOOD ACTION MEETS ITS REWARD. +</H3> + +<P> +Paul Hoffman was standing beside his stock in trade, when all at once +he heard the question, so common in that neighborhood, "Shine yer +boots?" +</P> + +<P> +"I guess not," said Paul, who felt that his income did not yet warrant +a daily outlay of ten cents for what he could easily do himself. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll shine 'em for nothin'," said the boy. +</P> + +<P> +Such a novel proposition induced Paul to notice more particularly the +boy who made it. +</P> + +<P> +"Why for nothing?" he asked, in surprise, not recognizing Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"You gave me a dinner yesterday," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you the boy?" asked Paul, with interest. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm the one," answered Julius. "Will you have a shine?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't want any pay for the dinner," said Paul. "You're welcome to +it." +</P> + +<P> +"I'd rather give you a shine," persisted Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"All right," said Paul, pleased by his grateful spirit, and he put out +his foot. +</P> + +<P> +"Won't you let me pay for it?" asked Paul, when the job was finished +and his boots were resplendent with a first-class polish. +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Julius, hastily drawing back. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, then. Have you had good luck this morning?" +</P> + +<P> +"I got four shines," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"I once blacked boots myself, for a little while," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"You're doin' better now." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I'm doing better now. So will you some day, I hope." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you live in a house on Madison avenue?" asked Julius, abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Paul, surprised. "Who told you?" +</P> + +<P> +"You take care of the house for a gentleman as has gone to Europe, +don't you?" +</P> + +<P> +"How do you know it?" demanded Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"I want to tell you something" said Julius, "only don't you never let +on as I told you." +</P> + +<P> +"All right. Go ahead!" said Paul, more and more mystified. +</P> + +<P> +"Ain't there some gold and bonds kept in the house?" +</P> + +<P> +"Why do you ask?" demanded Paul, eying the boy with suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +"There's a couple of chaps that's plannin' to rob the house," said +Julius, sinking his voice almost to a whisper, and looking cautiously +about him to guard against being overheard. +</P> + +<P> +"Who are they? How do you know it?" asked Paul, startled. +</P> + +<P> +"One is Jack Morgan, the man I live with; the other is a friend of +his, Tom Marlowe." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you hear them talking about it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; last night." +</P> + +<P> +"Did they tell you about it?" +</P> + +<P> +"They wanted me to find out all about you—if you'd got any friends in +Brooklyn, or anywheres round. They want to get you off the night +they're goin' to break in." +</P> + +<P> +"When is that?" +</P> + +<P> +"Next Monday." +</P> + +<P> +"What made you tell me all this?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Cause you was good to me and give me a dinner when I was hungry." +</P> + +<P> +"Give me your hand," said Paul, his heart warming toward the boy who +exhibited so uncommon a feeling as gratitude. +</P> + +<P> +"It's dirty," said Julius, showing his hand stained with blacking. +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind," said Paul, grasping it warmly. "You're a good fellow, +and I'd rather take your hand than a good many that's cleaner." +</P> + +<P> +Julius, rough Arab as he was, looked gratified, and his face +brightened. He felt that he was appreciated, and was glad he had +revealed the plot. +</P> + +<P> +"Now," said Paul, "you have told me about this man's plans; are you +willing to help me further? Are you willing to let me know anything +more that you find out about the robbery?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I will," said Julius, unhesitatingly. +</P> + +<P> +"Then I'll depend upon you. What sort of a man is this that you live +with? What's his name?" +</P> + +<P> +"His name is Jack Morgan. He's a bad sort, he is. He's shut up most of +the time." +</P> + +<P> +"What makes you stay with him?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm used to him. There ain't nobody else I belong to." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he your father?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, he ain't." +</P> + +<P> +"Any relation?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sometimes he says he's my uncle, but maybe it ain't so—I dunno." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he a strong man?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; he's a hard customer in a fight." +</P> + +<P> +"How about the other man?" +</P> + +<P> +"That's Marlowe. He's the same sort. I like Jack best." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think they will try to break in next Monday night?" +</P> + +<P> +"If they think you are away." +</P> + +<P> +"What will you tell them?" +</P> + +<P> +"What do you want me to tell them?" asked Julius, looking at him +earnestly. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," said Paul, thoughtfully. "If you should say I was +going to be away, they'd want to know where, and how you found out. +They might suspect something." +</P> + +<P> +"That's so," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Suppose they heard that I would remain in the house, what would they +do to prevent it?" +</P> + +<P> +"They might get you took up on a false charge and put in the +station-house over night, or maybe they'd seize you if they got a +chance and lock you up somewhere." +</P> + +<P> +"How could they have heard that Mr. Talbot left any valuables in the +house?" +</P> + +<P> +Julius shook his head. On that point he could give no information. +</P> + +<P> +"You may tell them," said Paul, after a moment's thought, "that I +have an aunt, Mrs. Green, living in Brooklyn." +</P> + +<P> +"Whereabouts in Brooklyn?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. 116 Third avenue," said Paul, at a venture. "Can you remember?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"They will probably send a message from her late Monday evening for me +to go over there." +</P> + +<P> +"Will you go?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will leave the house, for they will probably be watching; but I +shall not go far, and I shall leave the house well guarded." +</P> + +<P> +Julius nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll tell 'em," he said. +</P> + +<P> +He was about to go, when Paul called him back. +</P> + +<P> +"Won't you get yourself into trouble?" he said. "I should not want to +have any harm come to you." +</P> + +<P> +"They won't know I'm in the game," answered Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you come to-morrow and let me know what they say?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +Julius crossed Broadway and turned into Fulton street, leaving Paul +full of thought. He felt what a great advantage it was to be +forewarned of the impending danger, since being forewarned was +forearmed, as with the help of the police he could prepare for his +burglarious visitors. He saw that the money he had paid for a dinner +for a hungry boy was likely to prove an excellent investment, and he +determined that this should not be the last favor Julius received from +him. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile Julius returned to business. With the help of his blacking +materials he succeeded in earning a dollar before the close of the +day. Unluckily, half of this was to be given to the young capitalist +who had supplied him with a box and brush; but still fifty cents was +more than he would probably have earned if he had been compelled to +depend upon chance jobs. At six o'clock he met his young employer and +handed over fifty cents, which the other pocketed with much +satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you want to take the box ag'in to-morrow?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"All right. You can keep it then. You can take it home with you and +bring me the stamps to-morrow night at this same hour." +</P> + +<P> +So the contract was continued, and Julius, having treated himself to +some supper, went home. +</P> + +<P> +Jack Morgan was already there. He looked up as Julius entered. +</P> + +<P> +"Where'd you get that box?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I borrored it." +</P> + +<P> +"Of a boy?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I give him half I makes." +</P> + +<P> +"How much did you make to-day?" +</P> + +<P> +"Ten shines. That was a dollar." +</P> + +<P> +"And half of it went to you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Jack." +</P> + +<P> +"Where is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I had to get my dinner and supper. There's all that's left." +</P> + +<P> +He handed Jack ten cents. +</P> + +<P> +"Why didn't you keep the whole of the money?" grumbled Jack. "You +needn't have paid the boy." +</P> + +<P> +"He'd have licked me." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I'd lick him." +</P> + +<P> +Julius shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"That would be cheatin'," he said. "I wouldn't want to cheat him when +he give me the box." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, you're gettin' mighty particular," sneered Jack, not very well +satisfied at having so large a portion of the boy's earnings diverted +from himself. +</P> + +<P> +"If I had a box and brush of my own I could keep all the stamps I +made," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm dead broke. I can't give you no money to buy one. Did you go to +see that boy I told you of?" +</P> + +<P> +"Paul Hoffman?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, if that's his name." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I went to see him." +</P> + +<P> +"And did you find out anything?" asked Jack, with eagerness. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, out with it, then. Don't let me do all the talking." +</P> + +<P> +"He's got an aunt as lives in Brooklyn." +</P> + +<P> +"Whereabouts?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. 116 Third avenue." +</P> + +<P> +"How did you find out?" +</P> + +<P> +"I got 'him to talkin'." +</P> + +<P> +"That's good. And did he suspect you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"No. 116 Third avenue," repeated Jack. "I must put that down. Did he +tell you the name?" +</P> + +<P> +"Mrs. Green." +</P> + +<P> +"That's good. We'll trump up a message from her late Monday evening. I +wish I knew how things was arranged in the house." +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe I could go there," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"What, to the house?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. I could go there in the evenin' and ask him if he'd let me have +some old clothes. Maybe he'd invite me upstairs, and—" +</P> + +<P> +"You could use your eyes. That's a good idea, but I don't believe +you'd get a chance to go up." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I try?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; you may try to-morrow night. If we make a haul, you shall have +your share. Halloo, Marlowe!" +</P> + +<P> +These last words were addressed to Marlowe, who entered +unceremoniously without knocking. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm in luck," said Marlowe. "Here's a fiver," and he displayed a +five-dollar greenback. "Come out and we'll have a jolly supper." +</P> + +<P> +Jack accepted the invitation with alacrity, communicating to his +companion as they walked along the information Julius had picked up. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap13"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PAUL MAKES A PURCHASE. +</H3> + +<P> +It is not very pleasant to be informed that your house is to be +entered by burglars. Still, if such an event is in prospect, it is +well to know it beforehand. While Paul felt himself fortunate in +receiving the information which Julius gave him, he also felt anxious. +However well he might be prepared to meet the attack, he did not like +to have his mother and Jimmy in the house when it was made. Burglars +in nearly every case are armed, and if brought to bay would doubtless +use their arms, and the possible result of a chance shot was to be +dreaded. On Monday night, therefore, if that should be the one decided +upon by the burglars, he made up his mind that his mother and Jimmy +should sleep out of the house. He lost no time in proposing this plan +to his mother. +</P> + +<P> +"Mother," said he on reaching home, "I have had some news to-day." +</P> + +<P> +"Not bad, I hope?" said Mrs. Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"I leave you to judge," answered Paul, with a smile. "We are to have +visitors next Monday evening." +</P> + +<P> +"Visitors, Paul? Who are they?" +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Jack Morgan and Mr. Marlowe." +</P> + +<P> +"Are they friends of yours? I never heard you mention them." +</P> + +<P> +"I never saw them that I know of." +</P> + +<P> +"Then why did you invite them here?" +</P> + +<P> +"They invited themselves." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't understand it, Paul. If you don't know them, why should they +invite themselves here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you'll understand me better, mother, when I tell you their +business." +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"They are burglars." +</P> + +<P> +"Burglars!" repeated Mrs. Hoffman, turning suddenly pale and sinking +back into a chair, for she had been standing. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, mother. They have found out, though I can't tell how, that there +are some bonds and plate in the safe upstairs, and that is their +reason for coming." +</P> + +<P> +"How did you find out, Paul? What a dreadful thing!" gasped Mrs. +Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"It will be worse for them than for us, I am thinking," said Paul. "It +was a boy told me—a boy that lives with them. I'll tell you about +it." +</P> + +<P> +He gave his mother an account of what had already been communicated to +him. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, dear, we shall be murdered in our beds!" exclaimed his mother, in +dismal accents. +</P> + +<P> +Upon this Jimmy began to cry, but Paul only laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought you were braver, Jimmy," he said. "If I buy you a pistol, +will you promise to use it?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," said Jimmy, dubiously. "I should be afraid to shoot a +great big man. Would he have a pistol, too?" +</P> + +<P> +"Probably." +</P> + +<P> +At this Jimmy began to cry again, and Paul hastened to say: "Don't be +afraid; I don't mean to have you sleep in the house that night." +</P> + +<P> +"Where can we go?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think Mrs. Norton will let you stop with her that night." +</P> + +<P> +"And you will come, too, Paul?" said Mrs. Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"And let the house be robbed, mother? What would Mr. Talbot think of +that?" +</P> + +<P> +"But you will be killed. What can you do against such bad men?" +</P> + +<P> +"What would you recommend, mother?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"You might write a letter to them, telling them you knew all about +their plan and you would have them arrested if they came." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think, mother," said Paul, laughing, "that that would be the +best course. I want to get them here and catch them. Then they can be +shut up, and we shall be safe from any further attempts. I am going to +police headquarters, and they will tell me what to do. Probably two or +three officers will be concealed in the house, and when the burglars +are fairly in will arrest them." +</P> + +<P> +"You needn't stay, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"It is my duty, mother. We are left by Mr. Talbot in charge of the +house and what it contains. Some of us ought to be here at such a +time. I will take care not to get into danger." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. Hoffman was a woman and a mother, and it was with difficulty that +Paul could convince her that it was his duty to remain. At length, +however, she acquiesced, and agreed to go and see Mrs. Norton the next +day and ask permission to remain with her on Monday night. +</P> + +<P> +The next day Julius came to Paul's stand. +</P> + +<P> +"Is there any news, Julius?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Nothin' much," said Julius. "Jack wants me to call up to your house +and find out where the gold is kept." +</P> + +<P> +"How does he think you are going to do it without my suspecting?" +</P> + +<P> +"He told me to go up and ask for some old clothes. Then, if you didn't +let me into the house, I was to ask for something to eat." +</P> + +<P> +"A good plan." said Paul. "When are you coming?" +</P> + +<P> +"To-night." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well; I'll be ready for you. Is there any change in the +evening?" +</P> + +<P> +"No. They're comin' Monday night." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll be ready for them," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you goin' to do?" asked Julius, and he fixed a pair of +sharp, black eyes on Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Can I trust you, Julius?" demanded Paul, with a keen glance at the +boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Then," said Paul, "I mean to have them arrested. They'll walk into a +trap." +</P> + +<P> +Julius looked thoughtful. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you like it, Julius?" +</P> + +<P> +"I dunno," said the boy, slowly. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you like this man Morgan?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't like him. I'm used to him." +</P> + +<P> +"And you don't like the idea of his being arrested through your +means?" +</P> + +<P> +Julius nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"I know how you feel, but I don't see how it can be helped. If he +didn't rob us he would rob somebody else. Did he ever do any honest +work?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not as I knows on." +</P> + +<P> +"How does he live?" +</P> + +<P> +"By stealin' and gamblin'." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope he won't teach you to follow his example, Julius." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't want to be like him." +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" +</P> + +<P> +"I want to be respectable, like you." +</P> + +<P> +"You know it's wrong to steal." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Julius, but without any great depth of conviction. The +fact is, stealing was too familiar to his observation to excite in him +detestation or horror. But he was a sharp boy. He knew that his +guardian for the last five years had spent more than half the time in +confinement. Even when free he lived from hand to mouth. Julius had +made up his mind that it did not pay. He saw that an honest mechanic +got a good deal more comfort and enjoyment out of life than Jack, and +he had a vague wish to become respectable. This was encouraging, as +far as it went. Higher considerations might come by and by. +</P> + +<P> +"If you want to be respectable, Julius, I'll help you," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Will you?" said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; you are doing me a great favor. I shall be in your debt, and +that's the way I will pay you. You mustn't grow up like the man you +live with." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't want to." +</P> + +<P> +"We'll talk about that after Monday. We shall have more time then." +</P> + +<P> +"Shall I come up to-night, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, come." +</P> + +<P> +Julius strolled away with his blacking-box, and Paul was left to his +reflections. +</P> + +<P> +"He'll make a good boy if he's only encouraged," said Paul to himself. +"I don't know what would have become of me if I'd been brought up by +burglars like him. There's nothing like having a good mother. There +ain't any excuse for a boy going wrong if he's got a good mother." +</P> + +<P> +Paul was right. Our destinies are decided more than we know by +circumstances. If the street boys, brought up to a familiarity with +poverty, and often with vice and crime, go astray, we should pity as +well as condemn, and if we have it in our power to make the conditions +of life more favorable for any, it is our duty, as the stewards of our +common Father, to do what we can. +</P> + +<P> +It occurred to Paul that he had no old clothes to give Julius, all his +wardrobe, not very extensive at the best, having been burned up in the +fire which consumed his old home. As he had told Julius to come up, it +was necessary that he should have something to give him, and he +therefore decided to provide himself at a second-hand clothing store. +He knew well enough where they were to be found. His old street +companions used to go to Chatham street and Baxter street in search of +clothing, and these localities, though not distinguished for fashion, +are at least reasonable in their scale of prices. +</P> + +<P> +A little earlier than usual Paul closed his stand, and walked across +the City Hall Park and up Chatham street to a store he had frequently +seen. Like most of its class, it had a large portion of its stock +displayed outside, where the proprietor stood, keen-eyed and watchful, +on the lookout for customers. +</P> + +<P> +"Can I sell you something this afternoon?" he asked, obsequiously, as +Paul halted in front of his store. +</P> + +<P> +"That depends upon whether I see anything that suits me," answered +Paul. +</P> + +<P> +Before he had finished, the dealer had seized his arm, and, hurrying +him into the store, pulled down a coat, on the merits of which he +began to expatiate with voluble tongue. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't want anything for myself," said Paul. "I want to buy a coat +for a boy of twelve. Have you got anything of the right size?" +</P> + +<P> +Paul need not have asked. The trader was keen at a sale, and if +Barnum's giant had called for a second-hand suit, would have sworn +boldly that he had the very thing. In the present case Paul found a +coat which, as well as he could judge, would about fit Julius. At any +rate, the street boy was not likely to be fastidious as to the quality +or exact fit of a coat, which, at all events, would be a decided +improvement upon the one he was now wearing. +</P> + +<P> +"What is the price of this?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Five dollars," was the reply. +</P> + +<P> +Paul was too well accustomed to the ways of Chatham street to pay the +first price demanded, or the second or third. Finally he succeeded in +getting the coat for one dollar and a half, which was cheap, although +the dealer made a fair profit even at this price. Before the bargain +was concluded, a tall man strayed in, and watched the bargaining with +slight interest. Paul would have been not a little surprised had he +known that this man was one of the burglars against whom he was +contriving measures of defense. It was, indeed, Marlowe, who, having +dexterously picked the pocket of a passenger on the Third avenue cars +an hour before, found himself thirty dollars richer by the operation, +and being himself out at elbows, had entered this shop on an errand +similar to Paul's. +</P> + +<P> +"What can I sell you?" asked the shopkeeper, to his new customer. +</P> + +<P> +"I want a coat," said Marlowe, roughly; "good and cheap. Don't try any +of your swindling tricks on me, for I won't stand them." +</P> + +<P> +With the details of the negotiation that followed we have nothing to +do. It is enough to say that this chance meeting between Paul and +Marlowe was not without its results, though neither knew the other. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap14"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE SPOT UPON THE COAT. +</H3> + +<P> +When Julius went home at six o'clock he found Marlowe and his guardian +(if Jack Morgan deserves the title) sitting over a game of cards. They +looked up as he entered the room. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Julius, how are you getting on?" asked Jack. "Have you found +out anything more?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not yet, Jack." +</P> + +<P> +"Then it's time you did." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm goin' up to the house to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"Does he know it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; he told me to come." +</P> + +<P> +"What made him do that?" +</P> + +<P> +"I axed him for some old clothes. He told me to come up to-night and +he'd give me some." +</P> + +<P> +"That's good," said Jack, approvingly. "Mind you keep your eyes open +when you're there. Find out where the swag is kept. It'll save me and +Marlowe some trouble." +</P> + +<P> +Julius nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll do my best," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"What time are you going up?" +</P> + +<P> +"In an hour or so." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope we'll make a haul, Marlowe," said Jack. "I haven't been in +luck lately. If I could raise a thousand or so I'd clear out of these +diggings. The cops know me too well." +</P> + +<P> +"Where would you go, supposin' you got the money?" asked his +companion. +</P> + +<P> +"I'd go to California. They don't know me there. Something might turn +up for me." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll go with you, Jack, if you go. I've got tired of New York, and, +as you say, they know me too well hereabouts. Will you take the boy?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Jack carelessly. "He knows how to take care of himself. +He'll be better off here." +</P> + +<P> +Julius listened to this conversation, thoughtfully watching the +speaker as he spoke, and it helped him to a decision in a matter that +had troubled him somewhat. He could not help seeing that Jack Morgan +cared nothing for him, except so far as it suited his convenience to +have his companionship. Looking back, he could not see that he owed +him any gratitude. The balance of favors was on the other side. He had +done more for Jack than Jack for him. He asked himself if he wanted to +go with Jack Morgan on this journey, and he answered his own question +in the negative. It was better that he should leave him now forever. +With him he could only look forward to a future of shame and disgrace. +</P> + +<P> +"What are you thinking about, boy?" asked Marlowe. "Do you want to go +to California with Jack and me?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," answered Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Why not?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'd rather stay here," answered Julius shortly. +</P> + +<P> +"When I was a lad I'd have liked to go off on a journey like that." +</P> + +<P> +"I like stayin' here." +</P> + +<P> +"He's used to the streets," said Jack. "He likes 'em. That's best, as +he can't go." +</P> + +<P> +"Can you take care of yourself?" asked Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"I always has," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"That's so," said Jack, laughing. "You ain't given me much trouble, +Julius." +</P> + +<P> +The men resumed their game, and the boy looked on silently. After +awhile seven o'clock struck, and Julius rose from his seat. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm goin'," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"All right, Julius. Keep your eyes open." +</P> + +<P> +"I know," said the boy. +</P> + +<P> +He had saved enough money to pay for a ride uptown. He took the Fourth +avenue cars, and in half an hour found that he had reached the cross +street nearest to his destination. Five minutes later he rang the +basement bell of the house in Madison avenue. +</P> + +<P> +Paul saw him enter the area, and went himself to open the door. +</P> + +<P> +"Come in, Julius," he said. "I have been expecting you. Have you had +any supper?" +</P> + +<P> +"I bought some coffee and cakes." +</P> + +<P> +"I think you can eat a little more," said Paul, smiling. "Mother, +can't you give Julius some dinner?" +</P> + +<P> +"Is this the boy you expected, Paul?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, mother." +</P> + +<P> +"I saved some for him. Sit down at the table, Julius," she said +hospitably. +</P> + +<P> +Julius did as he was told, and directly Mrs. Hoffman took from the +oven a plate of meat and vegetables, which had thus been kept warm, +and poured out a cup of tea also. These were placed before the young +Arab. His eyes lighted up with pleasure at the tempting feast, and the +vigor of his assaults showed that the coffee and cakes which he had +partaken had by no means destroyed his appetite. Mrs. Hoffman and Paul +looked on with pleasure, glad that they had been able to give pleasure +to their young visitor. Jimmy, who had heard them speak of Julius, +hovered near, surveying him with curiosity. He wanted to "interview" +Julius, but hardly knew how to begin. Finally he ventured to ask: "Are +you the boy that lives with the robbers?" +</P> + +<P> +"Jimmy!" said his mother reprovingly. +</P> + +<P> +But Julius was not sensitive. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," he answered. +</P> + +<P> +"Ain't you afraid of them?" continued Jimmy. +</P> + +<P> +"What for?" asked Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Because robbers are bad men." +</P> + +<P> +"They wouldn't hurt me," said the young Arab indifferently. +</P> + +<P> +"You ain't a robber, are you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Julius in a matter-of-fact tone. +</P> + +<P> +"What makes you live with them?" +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't got anybody else to live with," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Are they going to rob this house?" +</P> + +<P> +"Jimmy, you are talking too much," said Paul reprovingly. "I suppose +they haven't changed their plans, have they, Julius?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"They mean to come next Monday?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Did they know you were coming up here this evening?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I told 'em you were goin' to give me some clo'es." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Paul. "I've got a coat for you." +</P> + +<P> +He opened a bundle and displayed the purchase he had made that +afternoon in Chatham street. +</P> + +<P> +"Try it on, Julius," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Julius took off the ragged coat he had on and tried on the one Paul +had purchased. +</P> + +<P> +"It is an excellent fit," said Mrs. Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"Look at yourself in the glass," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +Julius surveyed himself with satisfaction. Though second-hand, the +coat was decidedly superior to the one he had taken off. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a bully coat," he said. "Thank you." +</P> + +<P> +"You are quite welcome, Julius. You may as well wear it. You can put +your old one in a paper and take it back with you." +</P> + +<P> +"Jack wanted me to find out where the money was kept," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"You may tell him it is in a safe in the front room on the second +floor. But how did he expect you would find out?" +</P> + +<P> +"He left that to me." +</P> + +<P> +"And what will you tell him?" +</P> + +<P> +"I dunno. I'll think of something." +</P> + +<P> +"He won't suspect you, will he?" +</P> + +<P> +"I guess not." +</P> + +<P> +"Suppose he did?" +</P> + +<P> +"He'd kill me," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"What a dreadful man he must be!" exclaimed Mrs. Hoffman, shuddering. +"How do you dare to live with him?" +</P> + +<P> +"I shan't live with him much longer," said Julius. "He said to-night +he'd go to Californy if he got swag enough here." +</P> + +<P> +"What is swag?" asked Mrs. Hoffman, bewildered. +</P> + +<P> +"He means money, or articles of value," explained Paul. "I don't think +he'll go to California, Julius. I think he'll go somewhere else." +</P> + +<P> +"I guess I'll go," said Julius, moving toward the door. +</P> + +<P> +"You need not be in a hurry. We should like to have you stay longer." +</P> + +<P> +"He'll expect me," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Go, then, if you think it best. But it is a long distance downtown, +and you must be tired. Here is money to pay your fare in the cars." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank yer," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +He accepted the money, and went out, first, however, promising to call +upon Paul the next day at his stand and let him know whether there was +any change in Jack Morgan's plans. +</P> + +<P> +"I pity the poor boy," said Mrs. Hoffman, after he went out. "What a +dreadful thing it is to live with such a desperate man!" +</P> + +<P> +"I will see what I can do to help him next week," said Paul. "We shall +owe him something for letting us know of the robbery." +</P> + +<P> +"I shudder to think what might have happened if we had been taken by +surprise. We might have been murdered in our beds." +</P> + +<P> +Jimmy looked so frightened at this suggestion that Paul laughed. +</P> + +<P> +"It is no laughing matter, mother," he said; "but Jimmy looked so +thoroughly scared that I couldn't help being amused. Don't be alarmed, +Jimmy. We'll take good care of you." +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile Julius was returning to the miserable room which he called +home. He was thinking how he could communicate the information agreed +upon without arousing the suspicions of the two confederates. Finally +he decided upon a story which seemed to him satisfactory. +</P> + +<P> +It was nine o'clock when he entered the room where Jack Morgan and +Marlowe, having got tired of playing cards, were leaning back against +the wall in their chairs, smoking clay pipes. The room was full of the +odor of a villainous quality of cheap tobacco when Julius reappeared. +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Julius," said Jack, removing his pipe from his mouth and +regarding him eagerly, "what luck?" +</P> + +<P> +"Good," said Julius briefly +</P> + +<P> +"What have you found out?" +</P> + +<P> +"I found out that the swag is in a safe upstairs on the second floor." +</P> + +<P> +"Good!" exclaimed Jack, admiringly. "Didn't I tell you he was a sharp +one, Marlowe?" +</P> + +<P> +"How did you find that out?" asked Marlowe keenly. "You didn't ask, +did you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I ain't a fool," answered Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"You haven't answered my question." +</P> + +<P> +"They give me some supper," said Julius, who had got his story ready, +"and while I was eatin' I heard Mrs. Hoffman tell Paul that she had +got some men to move the safe from the front room on the second floor +into the bathroom. She didn't say what was in it, but it's likely the +money's there." +</P> + +<P> +"The boy's right, Marlowe," said Jack. +</P> + +<P> +"Did they give you anything else besides supper?" asked Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; they give me this coat," answered Julius, indicating the coat he +had on. "Ain't it a bully fit?" +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe they'd like to adopt you," said Jack jocosely. "If me and +Marlowe go to Californy, you can go there." +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile Marlowe's attention had been drawn to the coat. It struck +him that he had seen it before. He soon remembered. Surely it was the +one that he had seen purchased in Chatham street the same afternoon. +Coats in general are not easily distinguishable, but he had noticed a +small round spot on the lapel of that, and the same reappeared on the +coat which Julius brought home. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap15"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +SUSPICION. +</H3> + +<P> +Julius had been about the streets all day, and felt tired. He threw +himself down in the corner, and was soon asleep. Marlowe and Jack +kept on with their game, the latter wholly unconscious of the thoughts +that were passing through the mind of his companion. +</P> + +<P> +Finally Marlowe, at the conclusion of a game, said: "I won't play any +more to-night, Jack." +</P> + +<P> +"Tired, eh?" +</P> + +<P> +"Tired of playing, but I've got something to say to you." +</P> + +<P> +"Out with it," said Morgan, tilting his chair back against the wall. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a minute." +</P> + +<P> +Saying this, Marlowe rose from his seat, and advancing to the corner, +leaned over the sleeping boy, and listened intently to his deep +regular breathing. +</P> + +<P> +"What's up?" asked Morgan, surprised. +</P> + +<P> +"I wanted to make sure that the boy was asleep," answered Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"Why? Don't you want him to hear?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I don't; for what I have to say is about him." +</P> + +<P> +"Go ahead." +</P> + +<P> +"I mistrust that he's going to sell us, Jack." +</P> + +<P> +"What!" exclaimed Morgan. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't speak so loud. You might wake him." +</P> + +<P> +As he spoke, Marlowe came back and resumed his seat, bending over and +speaking to Jack in a low tone. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you got into your head, Marlowe?" said Jack incredulously. +"Julius sell us! Impossible!" +</P> + +<P> +"Why impossible?" +</P> + +<P> +"He'd never think of such a thing. What put it into your head?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'll tell you. Do you see that coat he brought home?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. What of it?" +</P> + +<P> +"The boy—Paul Hoffman—gave it to him. I saw him buy it this +afternoon in a secondhand store in Chatham street." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you sure the coat is the same?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I know it by a spot I noticed at the time. Now, what should he +take the trouble to buy a coat for unless the boy had done him some +service? It's different from giving him an old coat he had thrown +aside." +</P> + +<P> +"That's so," said Jack thoughtfully. "Perhaps he's took a fancy to +Julius." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps he has," repeated Marlowe incredulously. "You know he ain't +rich enough to buy coats to give away." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't think the boy would betray us," said Jack slowly. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps he wouldn't; I ain't sure; but we must guard against it." +</P> + +<P> +"How?" +</P> + +<P> +"We must attack the house sooner than we meant. Suppose we say +Saturday night?" +</P> + +<P> +"The boy will be in the house." +</P> + +<P> +"It can't be helped. If he makes trouble we must silence him." +</P> + +<P> +"I'd rather have a clear field Monday night." +</P> + +<P> +"So would I; but suppose the cops are waiting for us?" +</P> + +<P> +"If I thought Julius would do that," said Jack, scowling at the +sleeping boy, "I'd kill him myself." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't see why we can't do it Saturday night. We can easily +overpower young Hoffman. As for Julius, he'll be asleep. Of course, he +mustn't know of our change of plan." +</P> + +<P> +"If you think it best," said Morgan in a tone of indecision; "but I'm +almost sure I can trust the boy." +</P> + +<P> +"I trust nobody," said Marlowe. "I wouldn't trust my own brother, if +he had an interest in goin' against me." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you trust me?" asked Jack, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I trust you, for we are both in the same boat. It wouldn't do +you any good to betray me." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, we're both in the same boat, but you're steerin'. Well, Marlowe, +just make your plans, and count me in. You always had a better +headpiece than I." +</P> + +<P> +"Then Saturday night let it be. To-day's Thursday." +</P> + +<P> +"Then we have only two days to get ready." +</P> + +<P> +"It will do." +</P> + +<P> +"We'll lock the boy in that night, so he can't make mischief if he +wakes up and finds that we are gone." +</P> + +<P> +During this conversation Julius remained fast asleep. Jack soon lay +down, and Marlowe also, the latter having taken up his quarters with +his friend. The next morning Julius was the first to wake. He leaned +on his elbow and looked carelessly at the sleepers. Big, bloated, with +a coarse, ruffianly face, Jack lay back with his mouth open, anything +but a sleeping beauty. Julius had never thought much of his +appearance, but now that he had himself begun to cherish some faint +aspirations to elevate himself above his present condition, he looked +upon his associates with different eyes, and it struck him forcibly +that his guardian had a decidedly disreputable look. +</P> + +<P> +"I won't stay with him long," thought Julius. "If he's took by the +cops, I'll set up for myself and never go back to him." +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe lay alongside of his companion, not so disreputable as he in +appearance, but not a whit better as regards character. He was the +abler of the two mentally, and so was the more dangerous. As Julius +looked at him carelessly, he was startled to hear Marlowe talk in his +sleep. He was prompted by a natural curiosity to listen, and this was +what he heard: +</P> + +<P> +"Don't trust the boy! Make it Saturday night." +</P> + +<P> +These words fastened the attention of Julius. His heart beat quicker +as it was revealed to him that his want of fidelity was discovered, or +at least suspected. He lay quite still, hoping to hear more. But +Marlowe said nothing in addition. Indeed, these words were the +precursor of his waking. +</P> + +<P> +Julius saw the indications of this, and prudently closed his own eyes +and counterfeited sleep. So when Marlowe in turn looked about him he +saw, as he thought, that both his companions were asleep. He did not +get up, for there was nothing to call him up early. He was not one of +the toiling thousands who are interested in the passage of eight-hour +laws. Eight hours of honest industry would not have been to his taste. +He turned over, but did not again fall asleep. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile Julius, after a sufficient interval, appeared to wake up. He +rose from his couch, and gave himself a general shake. This was his +way of making his morning toilet. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you awake, Julius?" asked Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"You sleep sound don't you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Like a top." +</P> + +<P> +"How did they treat you at that house in Madison avenue?" +</P> + +<P> +"They was kind to me. They gave me some supper." +</P> + +<P> +"Did they ask you if you had a father?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"What did you tell 'em?" +</P> + +<P> +"That I hadn't got none." +</P> + +<P> +"Did they ask who you lived with?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Julius, after a slight pause. +</P> + +<P> +"And you told 'em?" +</P> + +<P> +"I told 'em I lived with a friend some of the time, when he wasn't +absent in the country," said Julius, grinning, as he referred to +Jack's frequent terms of enforced seclusion. +</P> + +<P> +"Was you ever at the Island, Julius?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"That's odd! You don't do credit to Jack's teaching." +</P> + +<P> +"Likely I'll go some time," said Julius, who, knowing that he was +suspected, thought it would not do to seem too virtuous. +</P> + +<P> +"It ain't so bad when you're used to it. Let me see that coat." +</P> + +<P> +Julius tossed it over to Marlowe. It was the only part of his clothing +which he had taken off when he went to bed. +</P> + +<P> +"It's a good coat." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, a bully one." +</P> + +<P> +"The boy—young Hoffman—used to wear it, didn't he?" +</P> + +<P> +"Likely he did, but he's a good deal too big to wear it now." +</P> + +<P> +"How big is he?" +</P> + +<P> +"Most as tall as Jack," said Julius, Jack being considerably shorter +than Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"Big enough to make trouble. However, he'll get a telegram Monday, to +go over to Brooklyn, that'll get him out of the way." +</P> + +<P> +"That's a good plan, that is!" said Julius, knowing very well that it +was only said to deceive him. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall you see him to-day?" +</P> + +<P> +"If you want me to." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," said Marlowe. "Do you know where he sleeps?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Julius. "You didn't tell me to ask." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course not. It would only make him suspect something. But I didn't +know but you heard something said, as you did about the safe." +</P> + +<P> +He eyed Julius keenly as he spoke, and the boy perceiving it, +concluded that this was the cause of the sudden suspicion which +appeared to have been formed in Marlowe's mind. Of course he knew +nothing of the coat, as Paul had not told him of having purchased it. +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't hear nothin' said about it," he answered. "If he's away, you +won't mind." +</P> + +<P> +"That's true. I suppose you didn't find out where his mother sleeps." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I did. It's the front basement. There was a bed in the room." +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe asked no further questions, and the conversation dropped. +Julius threw his blacking-box over his back, and opening the door went +out. His mind was busily occupied with the revelation which he had +unexpectedly overhead. It seemed clear that the plans of the burglars +had been changed, and that the attack was to be made on Saturday +night, and not on Monday night, as first proposed. He must tell Paul +Hoffman, for he had made his choice between his new friend and his old +guardian. On the one side was respectability; on the other a +disreputable life, and Julius had seen enough of what it had brought +to Jack not to relish the prospect in his own case. He determined to +acquaint Paul with the change of plan, and went around to Broadway for +that purpose. But Paul had not got opened for business. He had delayed +in order to do an errand for his mother. +</P> + +<P> +"I can go later," thought Julius. "It will do just as well." +</P> + +<P> +In this he was mistaken, as we shall see. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap16"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +LOCKED UP FOR THE NIGHT. +</H3> + +<P> +About nine o'clock, after a comfortable breakfast, for which he had +paid out of his morning's earnings, Julius went round again to Paul's +necktie stand. He had just opened for business when the boy came up. +</P> + +<P> +"You're late this mornin'," said Julius. "I was here before." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I was detained at home. Is there anything new?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, there is," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"What is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"They suspect somethin'." +</P> + +<P> +"Who?" +</P> + +<P> +"Jack and Marlowe. They think I ain't to be trusted." +</P> + +<P> +"How do you know? Did they tell you so?" inquired Paul, with interest. +</P> + +<P> +"No; Marlowe talked in his sleep." +</P> + +<P> +"What did he say?" +</P> + +<P> +"'Don't trust the boy! Make it Saturday night.'" +</P> + +<P> +"Saturday night!" repeated Paul in excitement. "Why, that's to-morrow +night." +</P> + +<P> +Julius nodded. +</P> + +<P> +"Do they know you overheard?" +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"So you came and told me. You're a good fellow, Julius. You have done +me a great favor." +</P> + +<P> +"You've been good to me," said Julius. "That's why I did it." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be ready for them to-morrow night, then," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +This conference was watched, though neither Julius nor Paul was aware +of it. Marlowe, on leaving the room some time after Julius, had come +into the vicinity with the design of getting a view of Paul and +ascertaining whether he was the boy whom he had seen purchasing the +coat. He came up a moment after Julius reached the stand. Of course he +identified Paul, and his suspicions as to the good understanding +between him and Julius were confirmed by seeing them together. He +listened intently, hoping to catch something of their conversation, +but though not far off, the street noises were such as to render this +impossible. +</P> + +<P> +"The young viper!" he said to himself. "He's sold us, as sure as my +name's Marlowe. I'll wring his neck for him. He'll find he's got into +dangerous business." +</P> + +<P> +He went back and reported to Jack what he had seen. +</P> + +<P> +"If I thought the boy was playin' us a trick," growled Jack, "I'd +strangle him; but I ain't sure. You didn't hear what he said?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I couldn't hear, but it stands to reason that he's sold us." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you want me to do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothing yet. The boy don't know that we have changed our plans. He +thinks we trust him. Let him think so, and when we get ready to go out +Saturday night, we'll tie him hand and foot, so he can't stir. Then +we'll go up to the house and take 'em unprepared." +</P> + +<P> +"All right," said Jack. "Your head's longer than mine, Marlowe. You +know best." +</P> + +<P> +"Of course I do," said Marlowe. "You've got the strength and I've got +the brain." +</P> + +<P> +Jack Morgan extended his arms, and watched his muscular development +with satisfaction. He was not sensitive about the slight to his +understanding. He was content to be thought what he was, a strong and +dangerous animal. +</P> + +<P> +What preparations were necessary to be made were made during that day +and the next by the two confederates. They were made during the +absence of Julius, that he might know nothing of what was going on. +Further to mislead him, the two spoke two or three times on the +previous evening of their expedition of Monday night. Julius fathomed +their design, and was sharp enough not to appear particularly +interested. +</P> + +<P> +So Saturday night came. At six o'clock Julius entered the room and +found the two seated together. He had had half a mind not to appear at +all, but to cut loose from them forever; but this would lead to +suspicion, and he changed his mind. Though he had not seen Paul since, +he had reason to believe that he had made preparations to receive the +two burglars. In all probability they would be arrested, and this +would be their last meeting. +</P> + +<P> +"How are you, Jack?" he said, as he entered the room, with a little +qualm at the thought that this man, bad as he was, was so near falling +into the hands of justice, and by his means. +</P> + +<P> +Jack looked at him, but did not answer. His expression was menacing, +as Julius perceived, and his heart beat more quickly, as he thought, +"Has he found out anything?" +</P> + +<P> +But luckily for him neither Jack nor Marlowe knew anything definite. +Had it been so, the boy's life would have been in peril. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you seen young Hoffman to-day?" asked Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"He don't know we're going to call Monday night, does he?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Julius, and he answered truly. "Where could he find out?" +</P> + +<P> +"You might say something to let him know." +</P> + +<P> +"What would make me do that?" said Julius boldly. +</P> + +<P> +"You might think he'd pay you for telling him." +</P> + +<P> +"He ain't rich," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know what I'd do to you if I found out as you'd sold us," here +broke in Jack Morgan, his dull eyes gleaming fiercely. "I'd kill you." +</P> + +<P> +"What makes you say that to me, Jack?" said Julius, not showing the +fear he felt. +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, it ain't nothin' to you, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, it isn't." +</P> + +<P> +Of course this was a falsehood, but it would have been idle to expect +the truth from one like Julius, under such circumstances. He knew Jack +well enough to understand that he was quite capable of carrying out +his threat, and it decided him, when the two went out, to go out +himself and not to return. They might find out that he had been +dealing falsely with them, and if so his life was in danger. It was +yet early, and he decided to go out at once, as he usually did, for it +was not very agreeable to pass an entire evening in the miserable +tenement rooms. +</P> + +<P> +"Where are you going?" asked Marlowe, as he lifted the latch of the +door. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm goin' out. I haven't had any supper." +</P> + +<P> +"You can do without supper to-night, eh, Jack?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, he can do without supper to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"Why? What's up?" demanded the boy. +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind what's up," answered Marlowe. "You ain't goin' out +to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm hungry." +</P> + +<P> +"We'll bring you some supper. We're goin' out ourselves." +</P> + +<P> +"You never kept me in before," said Julius, who felt that it was best +to show surprise at the action of the confederates, though it did not +surprise him. +</P> + +<P> +"That's neither here nor there. You ain't goin' out to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"All right," said Julius, "if you say so; only bring a feller some +grub." +</P> + +<P> +"We'll bring you some," said Jack, who was not as fully convinced as +his comrade of Julius' treachery. +</P> + +<P> +They left the room, carefully locking the door behind them. +</P> + +<P> +Julius sat down on the bed, and began to review the situation. +Evidently he was to be locked up in the room through the night, while +Jack and Marlowe were robbing the house on Madison avenue. In all +probability they would be arrested, and prevented from returning. But +suppose one or both escaped from the trap in which they were expected +to fall. If their suspicions of his fidelity were aroused now they +would be confirmed by the discovery of the police. Knowing the +desperate character of both, Julius reflected with a shudder that his +life would possibly be sacrificed. It would not do for him to remain +here. He must escape by some means. +</P> + +<P> +But how? This was a difficult question to answer. The room was on the +third floor, with a solitary window looking out into a small, dirty +court. It was too high up to jump with safety, and there was nothing +in the room by which he could descend. +</P> + +<P> +He was still considering this question an hour later, when the two +returned. +</P> + +<P> +Jack had in his hand a couple of apples. +</P> + +<P> +"There," said he, tossing them to Julius. "That'll do you till +mornin'." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +It was true that he had had no supper, and he ate the apples with a +good appetite. The two men sat down, and, producing the same old, +greasy pack of cards which they had before used, began to play. It was +not until a late hour that they could go about the business which they +had planned. Twelve o'clock was as early as they could venture to +attempt entering the house. To prime them for the task, they had +brought in with them a plentiful supply of whisky, of which they +partook at frequent intervals. They offered none to Julius. +</P> + +<P> +By and by Julius went to bed. He knew they would not go out till +eleven, probably, and he would like to have kept awake till then. But +this would have been unusual, and perhaps have increased suspicion. So +after awhile he lay quiet, and pretended to be asleep. The men kept on +playing cards till half-past ten. Then Marlowe spoke: +</P> + +<P> +"We'll hold up now. It's time to be goin'." +</P> + +<P> +"What time is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Most eleven." +</P> + +<P> +"The boy's asleep." +</P> + +<P> +"Is he?" +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe went to the bed and leaned over. Julius felt his breath on his +face, but gave no sign that he was still awake. He was filled with +curiosity to know whether Marlowe and Jack meant to carry out their +plan this evening. +</P> + +<P> +"He seems to be asleep," said Marlowe, "but we'll lock him in, to make +sure. In three hours we'll be back, if all goes well, with plenty of +swag." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope so, Marlowe. I've got tired of livin' this way; we'll go to +California if we come out right." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm with you, Jack, on that. A pal of mine went out to the mines and +got rich. Then he swore off and turned respectable." +</P> + +<P> +"So would I, if I had plenty of tin." +</P> + +<P> +"I've no objection myself, with plenty of money to back me. Money's +what makes the difference between people in this world. Give me a +hundred thousand, and instead of bein' Tom Marlowe I would be Thomas +Marlowe, Esq., our eminent fellow-citizen, and you would be the Hon. +John Morgan, eh, Jack?" +</P> + +<P> +Jack laughed at the unfamiliar title, though possibly he was no more +undeserving of it than some who flaunt it in the face of society. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm the figger for an Honorable," he said. "But it's time to be +goin'. Here's good luck!" and he poured down a glass of the whisky at +one gulp. +</P> + +<P> +They carefully locked the door behind them, and their heavy steps were +heard descending the rickety stairs. +</P> + +<P> +Julius listened till the sound was no longer heard. Then he jumped up +from the pallet on which he had been counterfeiting sleep, and said to +himself, "It ain't safe to stay here any longer. How shall I get out?" +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap17"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TRAPPED. +</H3> + +<P> +It was close upon midnight when Marlowe and Jack approached the house +in Madison avenue. There was one thing connected with the position of +the house, not before mentioned, which favored their attempt. It was a +corner house, and in the rear a high wall separated the area from the +street. The two confederates judged that this would be the most +feasible way of entrance. +</P> + +<P> +"Boost me up, Marlowe, first," said Jack Morgan. "You're lighter'n me, +and can get up alone. I'm fat and clumsy, and I couldn't 'go it alone' +to save my neck." +</P> + +<P> +"All right, Jack. Are you ready?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Shove away." +</P> + +<P> +Jack, raised by his companion, got firm hold of the top of the wall, +and by an effort clambered over. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm over, all right," he said, in a low voice. "Get over yourself." +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe looked cautiously up and down the street, till he was +satisfied no policeman was in sight, then, making a leap, seized the +wall, and, by the exercise of his strength, drew himself up, and then, +of course, easily descended into the area. +</P> + +<P> +"Here we are," said Jack, in a tone of satisfaction. "Now for work." +</P> + +<P> +"The lights are all out," said Marlowe, softly. "I hope they are all +asleep." +</P> + +<P> +"It's likely they are." +</P> + +<P> +"Did Julius say whether any of them slept in the basement?" +</P> + +<P> +"He didn't find out." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, we must risk it. We'll reconnoiter a little and see what's the +best way to get in." +</P> + +<P> +At length it was decided that a particular window afforded the easiest +ingress. Of course it was fastened inside; but they were not novices, +and this presented not the slightest difficulty to their practiced +hands. With an instrument pointed with a diamond, they cut out the +pane of glass just beneath, and, thrusting in a hand, Marlowe turned +back the fastening. Then the window was softly raised, and both +entered. +</P> + +<P> +They were now in the kitchen. It was dangerous to grope about in the +dark, for some article of furniture might be overturned, and that +would probably create an alarm which would be fatal to their plans. +The first thing, therefore, was to strike a light. +</P> + +<P> +They had a dark lantern with them, and this was speedily lighted. Then +both removed their shoes, and one after the other filed into the +entry. +</P> + +<P> +"Take care, Jack," said Marlowe. "The woman may be sleeping in the +front basement, and might hear you if you make the least noise." +</P> + +<P> +"Suppose she does?" +</P> + +<P> +"We must gag her. If it's the boy, I'll dispose of him pretty quick." +</P> + +<P> +All was still as death. Neither had the slightest idea that their plan +was known, and that preparations of a most unwelcome character had +been made for their reception—that, in fact, they had ventured into a +trap. But on the previous evening Paul had called at the nearest +police station, and, communicating what he knew in regard to the +intended attack, had asked for a guard. One of the force had been +instructed to go back with him and carefully examine the house, the +better to provide, not only for defense, but for the capture of the +burglars. +</P> + +<P> +"They will enter through the back area window," said the officer at +once. "Where do you sleep?" +</P> + +<P> +"My mother and little brother sleep in the front basement. I sleep +upstairs." +</P> + +<P> +"The basement must be left vacant." +</P> + +<P> +"Certainly. I wouldn't trust mother and Jimmy there such a night." +</P> + +<P> +"You had better all go upstairs—to the upper floor, if you like—and +we will conceal ourselves on the second floor." +</P> + +<P> +"We will do as you think best. I will stay with you." +</P> + +<P> +"No, Paul," said Mrs. Hoffman, terrified. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't think of your exposing yourself to so much danger." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm not afraid, mother. I think it is my duty." +</P> + +<P> +"You can do no good," said the officer. "There will be enough of us to +take care of them." +</P> + +<P> +With some reluctance Paul gave up his plan. He was bold and +courageous, and, like most boys of his age, he was fond of adventure. +An encounter with burglars promised no little excitement, and he +wanted to be present, and have his share in it. But when he saw how +uneasy and alarmed his mother was, he yielded his desire, as I am sure +you, my boy reader, would have done in his place, even had your wish +been as strong as his. +</P> + +<P> +Jimmy was now fast asleep; but neither Mrs. Hoffman nor Paul could so +readily compose themselves to slumber under the circumstances. They +were standing at the head of the attic stairs, listening intently for +the slightest sound from below which might indicate the arrival of the +expected visitors. At length they heard a pistol shot, then a shriek, +then confused noises of feet and voices, and they knew that the +encounter had taken place. We must go back and explain what had +happened. Carrying their shoes in their hands, the two burglars crept +up the basement stairs. Their hopes were high. Their entrance had not +yet been observed, and even if it were, they were two strong men +against a woman and two boys, the oldest only half-grown. There seemed +nothing to fear. +</P> + +<P> +"Now for the safe," said Marlowe. "It's somewhere on the second +floor." +</P> + +<P> +"The door of the room may be locked." +</P> + +<P> +"Then it'll take us longer, that's all." +</P> + +<P> +But the door was not locked, and the safe was in the front room on the +second floor. In the back room the police were concealed, and were +listening intently to the movements of the burglars. Should the latter +discover them they were ready for an immediate attack, but they hoped +the visitors would get to work first. In this hope they were +gratified. +</P> + +<P> +By chance the two confederates entered the front room first. +</P> + +<P> +"Here's the safe, Marlowe," whispered Jack, in tones of satisfaction. +"Now, if luck's on our side, we'll make a raise." +</P> + +<P> +"You talk too much," cautioned his companion. "Work first, and talk +afterward." +</P> + +<P> +They approached the safe, and Jack kneeled down before it and prepared +to effect an entrance. Marlowe was about to follow his example, when +his ear, made acute by necessity, distinguished a footstep outside. +</P> + +<P> +"Jack," said he in a sharp whisper, "I hear a step outside." +</P> + +<P> +Instantly Jack Morgan was on his feet. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think we are heard?" +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps so. If we are we must secure ourselves. It may be the boy. If +it is, we'll quiet him pretty quickly." +</P> + +<P> +They never dreamed of any opposition which they would be unable to +withstand. Paul was, of course, no match for them, and as to Mrs. +Hoffman, she might go into a fit of hysterics, or might give the +alarm. It would be easy to dispose of her. Since, therefore, there was +nothing to fear, the two confederates thought it best to face the +enemy at once and put him <I>hors de combat</I>. +</P> + +<P> +Thereupon Marlowe opened the door at once, and, to his dismay, found +himself confronted by four stalwart policemen. +</P> + +<P> +"The game's up, Jack!" he shouted. "Save yourself!" +</P> + +<P> +He made a spring, eluding the grasp of the officers, and plunged +downstairs at a breakneck rate. Meanwhile Jack had snapped a pistol at +one of the policemen, but it missed fire. By a return shot he was +wounded in the shoulder, and his right arm hung useless. He broke into +a volley of execrations. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you surrender?" demanded the officer, at whom he had fired. +</P> + +<P> +"I must," said Jack, in a surly tone. "You're four to one." +</P> + +<P> +Only one policeman had followed Marlowe downstairs. Circumstances +favored the escape of this, the more dangerous villain of the two. At +the foot of the basement stairs was a door, and on the outside was a +bolt. This Marlowe had noticed on going up, and the knowledge stood +him in good stead. He got downstairs sufficiently in advance of the +policeman to bolt the door and so obstruct his progress. This gave him +time, and time was all-important to him. While the officer was kicking +at the door and trying to burst it open, as he finally did, Marlowe +dashed through the kitchen and got out at the open window. Then he had +to scale the wall; but this was easy to do on the inside, for there +was a narrow ledge midway. In less than a minute he was on the +pavement outside, and fleeing from the danger under cover of the +darkness. +</P> + +<P> +When he had got far enough to dare to slacken his pace time also came +for thought, and he was able to consider how it happened that four +officers were concealed in the house. There was but one possible +explanation. +</P> + +<P> +"It was that cursed boy!" he muttered, grinding his teeth in a fierce +rage. "He betrayed us. He upset the likeliest plan I've joined in for +years. He shall suffer for it, curse it! Before I go to sleep this +night I'll give him a lesson. He won't need but one." +</P> + +<P> +His soul thirsting for revenge, he hurried back to the miserable room +in which Julius was confined. He had no doubt of finding him, for he +was satisfied the boy could not get out. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile Jack Morgan was compelled, by superior force, to surrender +at discretion. The blood was trickling from the wound in his shoulder, +and on the whole, he looked the burglar to perfection. While they were +slipping on the handcuffs the officer who had pursued Marlowe returned +and reported that he had escaped. +</P> + +<P> +"Bully for him!" said Jack. "He's smart, Marlowe is!" +</P> + +<P> +"So his name is Marlowe, is it?" +</P> + +<P> +"You knew it before," said Jack, in a surly tone. "Who told you about +our coming here to-night?" +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind!" said the officer. "It was our business to find out, and +we found out." +</P> + +<P> +"I know well enough who blabbed," growled Jack. "Curse him! I'd like +to strangle him." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know whom you suspect, my man," said the officer; "but I +think it'll be some time before you'll have a chance to carry out your +benevolent purpose." +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps it will," returned Jack; "but Marlowe ain't took yet. He'll +attend to the business for both of us;" and there wis a look of +malignant joy on his face as he thought of the sure retribution that +would overtake Julius. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap18"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XVIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE VALUE OF A CLOTHES-LINE. +</H3> + +<P> +When Julius found himself alone and understood that his companions had +actually started on their illegal expedition, he felt that there was +pressing need of action. He must escape by some means. While the +prospect was that they would be captured, and so prevented from +returning, on the other hand, one or both might escape, and in that +case he knew enough of their savage and brutal character to realize +that he would be in the greatest danger. He rose from his bed, and +began to devise ways and means of escape. +</P> + +<P> +The first and most obvious outlet, of course, was the door. But this +was locked, and the key was in Marlowe's possession. Then there was +the solitary window. It was on the third floor, and looked out into a +court. It was too high to jump from, and the only other way was by a +rope, but there was no rope in the room. Had there been a bedstead of +the right kind, the bedcord would have served his purpose, but there +was no bedstead at all. With a democratic contempt for such a luxury, +all three slept on the floor. The prospect was not encouraging. +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder if I could hang out of the window?" thought Julius. +</P> + +<P> +He looked out, and decided that he would run the risk of breaking a +limb if he attempted it. So that plan had to be given up. +</P> + +<P> +Julius sat down and reflected. It occurred to him that perhaps Mrs. +O'Connor's key (she roomed just beneath) would open the door. At any +rate it was worth trying. +</P> + +<P> +He stamped on the floor with such force that, as he expected, it +attracted the attention of those beneath. Listening intently, he heard +the woman ascending the staircase. He began to jump up and down with +renewed vigor. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the matter wid ye?" called Mrs. O'Connor through the keyhole. +"Are you drunk?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'm sick," returned Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it the jumpin' toothache ye have?" asked the Irish woman. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm awful sick. I don't know what it is." +</P> + +<P> +"Open the door, and I'll come in." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't. The door's locked, and Jack has gone away." +</P> + +<P> +Here Julius began to groan again. +</P> + +<P> +"Poor bye!" said the compassionate woman. "What will I do for ye?" +</P> + +<P> +"Try the door with your key. Perhaps it will open it." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll do that same." +</P> + +<P> +She drew out a key, and tried to put it in the lock, but to no +purpose. It would not fit. +</P> + +<P> +"I can't open it," she said. +</P> + +<P> +This was a severe disappointment to Julius, who saw his chances of +success fade away one by one. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you got a clothes-line, Mrs. O'Connor?" he asked, suddenly. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said the good woman, rather astonished, with a vague idea that +Julius expected to cure himself by means of it. "And what for do you +want it?" +</P> + +<P> +"If you will go down to the court and throw it up to me, I'll get out +of the window." +</P> + +<P> +"And what good will that do you?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will go for the doctor." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll go meself, and save you the trouble." +</P> + +<P> +"But he can't get through the keyhole." +</P> + +<P> +"Thrue for you. Wait a bit, and I'll do it." +</P> + +<P> +Mrs. O'Connor descended, and, obtaining from her room a well-worn +clothes-line, went below, and, after two or three futile attempts, +succeeded in throwing it up so that Julius could seize it. +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Mrs. O'Connor," said the boy in exultation. "I'll come +down directly." +</P> + +<P> +He soon had it secured, and then boldly got out of the window and +swung off. In a minute he was by the side of his friend. +</P> + +<P> +"How do ye feel now?" asked the good woman, in a tone of sympathy. +</P> + +<P> +"Better," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"What made them lock ye up?" +</P> + +<P> +"They didn't think I'd want to go out till mornin'. Good-bye, Mrs. +O'Connor; I'm goin' for the doctor. You can get your line in the +mornin'." +</P> + +<P> +He left the house with a quick, alert step, showing no further +evidence of pain. Mrs. O'Connor noticed it, and wondered that he +should have got over his sickness so soon. Julius had been tempted to +take her into his confidence and explain the real state of the case, +but in the uncertain issue of the burglary he decided that it would +not be best. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-bye, old house!" he said, looking back to it in the indistinct +light; "I shall never come back and live here again. I'll go down to +the wharves and find a place to sleep the rest of the night." +</P> + +<P> +He turned his steps in the direction of the East River. He found an +out-of-the-way corner on one of the piers, where he disposed himself +for sleep. It was nothing new to him. Scores of times he had spent the +night in similar places, and never found fault with the +accommodations. They might be poor, but the best of it was there was +nothing to pay, and he must be indeed unreasonable who could complain +under such circumstances. He fell asleep, but the shadow of recent +events was upon him. He dreamed that Marlowe had him by the throat, +and woke up in terror to find a dock-hand shaking him by the shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"Avast there!" said the man, who had caught some phrases from the +sailors; "wake up and pay for your lodgin's." +</P> + +<P> +"All my money's in the bank," said Julius. "I can't get at it till the +bank opens." +</P> + +<P> +"Not then, either," said the dock-hand, good-humoredly. "Well, I'll +let you off this time. Your wife's expectin' you home." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you sure of that?" said Julius. "I told her I was goin' to a +party, and she needn't expect me home till mornin'." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, the party's broke up, and you'd better be going," returned the +other, good-naturedly. +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile let us go back to Marlowe, whom we left hurrying home a +little past midnight, intent upon wreaking his vengeance on Julius for +his treachery. Had he found the boy it would have gone hard with him. +The ruffianly instinct of the burglar was predominant, and he might +have killed him in the intensity of his blind rage. But the foresight +and prudent caution of Julius defeated his wrathful purpose, and when +he reached the shabby room which he called home his intended victim +had escaped. +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe did not at once discover the boy's flight. He unlocked the +door, but it was dark within, for the window looked out upon an +inclosed court, and permitted only a scanty light to enter. Before +striking a light he locked the door again and put the key in his +pocket. This was to prevent the boy's escape on the one hand, and any +outside interference on the other. Then he drew a match from his +pocket and lighted a fragment of candle upon the table. This done he +turned his eyes toward the bed with stern exultation. But this was +quickly turned into angry surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"The boy's gone!" he exclaimed, with an oath. "How could he have got +out, with the door locked?" +</P> + +<P> +The open window and the rope hanging from it revealed the method of +escape. +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe strode to the window with a feeling of keen disappointment. +Was he to be robbed of his revenge, after all? He had depended upon +this with certainty, and meant to have it, though he should be +arrested the next minute, and he knew that, though he had escaped from +the house of his meditated crime, he was still in great peril. +Doubtless Julius had given full information to the police of his name +and residence, and even now they might be in pursuit of him. He ground +his teeth when he thought of this, and clinched his fist in the +impotent desire for vengeance. +</P> + +<P> +"If I had him here," he muttered, "I'd crush him as I would a spider," +and he stamped angrily upon the floor. +</P> + +<P> +But where could he have got the rope? that was the next question. He +knew that there was none in the room, and how one could have been +smuggled in with the door locked was something that puzzled him. +Julius himself could not very well have brought one in, as on account +of its bulk it would have attracted the attention either of Jack +Morgan or himself. Perhaps the woman downstairs might know something +about it, he reflected, and this led him to go down and knock at Mrs. +O'Connor's door. +</P> + +<P> +After a little pause Mrs. O'Connor came to the door and opened it. +</P> + +<P> +"What's wanted?" she asked. Then, recognizing her visitor as one of +the lodgers in the room above, she added, "Is it the boy?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; where is he?" demanded Marlowe, abruptly. +</P> + +<P> +"It's gone to the doctor he is." +</P> + +<P> +"Gone to the doctor!" repeated Marlowe, mystified. "What do you mean?" +</P> + +<P> +"He was taken sick jist after you wint away, and as he couldn't open +the door which was locked, he pounded on the floor. My key wouldn't +fit, so he asked me to throw up a clothes-line, which I did, and the +poor crayther got out of the winder, and wint for the doctor. He'll be +back soon, I'm thinkin'." +</P> + +<P> +"No, he won't," growled Marlowe. "He's a thief and a villain, and he's +run away." +</P> + +<P> +"Did I iver hear the likes?" exclaimed Mrs. O'Connor. "Who'd have +thought it, shure?" +</P> + +<P> +"I've a good mind to wring your neck, for helping him off," said +Marlowe, forgetting in his anger the politeness due to the fair sex. +</P> + +<P> +"Would you, thin?" exclaimed Mrs. O'Connor, incensed. "Then my husband +would do the same to you, you brute! I am glad the boy's gone, so I +am, and I hope he'll never get into your clutches again, you monster! +Tim, wake up there, and defind yer wife from the thafe that's insulted +her!" +</P> + +<P> +Before Tim O'Connor aroused from his sleep at his wife's call, +Marlowe, with a smothered execration, retreated to his own room, and +began to consider his position. He must fly. There was no doubt of +that. Remaining in his old haunts, he would, unquestionably, fall into +the hands of the police, now probably on his track. He must get away, +and that very night. Any delay would be dangerous. He must leave the +city and remain in hiding for the present. +</P> + +<P> +While he was making hurried preparations steps were heard on the +stairs, and there was a loud knocking on the door. +</P> + +<P> +"Who's there?" demanded Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"Open, in the name of the law!" was the reply of the officers, who had +tracked him to his lair. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a minute," said Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +He rushed to the window and descended swiftly by the same rope which +had given Julius deliverance (it had escaped the attention of the +officers, on account of the darkness), and while the officers were +waiting for the door to be opened he eluded their vigilance and made +his escape. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap19"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XIX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A CURIOSITY SHOP. +</H3> + +<P> +Marlowe realized that he had made the city too hot to hold him. The +police, with whom he had a more intimate acquaintance than he desired, +were already on his track, and it was doubtful if he could escape. The +affair in which he was implicated was a serious one, and if arrested +and tried he could hardly hope for less than ten years' imprisonment. +This is rather a long term of confinement to be taken out of a man's +life, and must be avoided if possible. But one way of escape seemed +feasible, and this Marlowe tried, as a desperate experiment. +</P> + +<P> +He made his way swiftly through the darkness to a tumble-down building +not far from Baxter street. The front door was unlocked. He opened it, +and feeling his way up—for there were no lights—knocked in a +peculiar way at a door just at the head of the stairs. His knock was +evidently heard, for shuffling steps were heard within, a bolt was +drawn, and Marlowe confronted a little old man, of feeble frame and +deeply furrowed face, who scanned the face of his visitor by the light +of a candle which he held above his head. +</P> + +<P> +"Why, it's Marlowe!" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Hush, Jacob! don't mention my name! I'm in trouble." +</P> + +<P> +"What's in the wind now?" +</P> + +<P> +"Shut the door and I'll tell you." +</P> + +<P> +I may as well say that the conversation which ensued was interlarded +with expressions common to the lawless class which Marlowe +represented, but I prefer to translate them into common speech. The +room which they entered seemed full of odds and ends of wearing +apparel, and might have been taken for a pawnbroker's shop, or +second-hand clothing store. Or it might have been taken for a +dressing-room to a theatre, but that the articles displayed had long +since seen their best days, with few exceptions. +</P> + +<P> +"What have you been up to?" asked Jacob, varying the form of his +question. +</P> + +<P> +"Jack Morgan and I tried to break into a house on Madison avenue +to-night." +</P> + +<P> +"Couldn't you get in?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; but the police were in waiting for us. They nabbed Jack, but I +got away. They followed me to Jack's room, but I got out of the +window. They're on my track now." +</P> + +<P> +"They didn't see you come in here?" asked the old man, alarmed. +</P> + +<P> +"No, I have given them the slip. But they'll have me unless you help +me." +</P> + +<P> +"My son, I'll do what I can. What is your plan?" +</P> + +<P> +"To disguise myself so that my own mother wouldn't know me. See what +you can do for me." +</P> + +<P> +My reader will now understand the character of the old man's business. +Thieves, and others who had rendered themselves amenable to the law, +came to him for disguises, paying heavily for the use of what articles +he supplied them. In many cases he was obliged to give them credit, +but the old adage, "There is honor among thieves," was exemplified +here, for he seldom failed, sooner or later, to receive full payment. +It might be, and probably was, from motives of policy that his +customers were so honorable; for if unfaithful to their agreements +they could hardly expect to be accommodated a second time, and this +was a serious consideration. +</P> + +<P> +When appealed to by Marlowe, Jacob understood that the details of the +disguise were left to his judgment. He raised his candle, and took a +good look at his customer. Then he dove under a heap of clothing on +the floor, and fished out a dirty sailor's dress. "Try it on," he +said. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know about that," said Marlowe, hesitating. "I don't know any +sailor's lingo." +</P> + +<P> +"That's no matter. You can say, 'shiver 'my timbers,' can't you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I can do that." +</P> + +<P> +"That's enough. It's all I know myself. But it won't do any harm to pick +up something else; the police won't never think of you as a sailor." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know but you're right, Jacob, shiver my timbers if I don't!" +and he laughed as he used the expression. +</P> + +<P> +"Try it on. I guess it'll be about right," said the old man. +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe quickly stripped off the suit he wore, and arrayed himself in +the strange and unfamiliar garb presented. By good luck it had +originally been made for a man of about his size, and there was no +discrepancy likely to excite suspicion. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me look at myself," said he. +</P> + +<P> +Jacob produced a small cracked glass, and the ex-burglar surveyed his +transformed figure. +</P> + +<P> +"What do you think of it?" asked the dealer. +</P> + +<P> +"The dress is well enough, but they'll know my face." +</P> + +<P> +"Sit down." +</P> + +<P> +"What for?" +</P> + +<P> +"I must cut your hair." +</P> + +<P> +"What then?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'll give you a red wig. There's nothing will disguise you so quick +as different colored hair." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you got a wig?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, here it is." +</P> + +<P> +"It's ugly enough." +</P> + +<P> +"Better wear it than your own hair at Sing Sing." +</P> + +<P> +"That's where you're right, old man! Go ahead. You understand your +business. I'll put myself in your hands." +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe sat down in a wooden chair with a broken back, and the old man +proceeded, with trembling hands, to cut his black locks with a pair of +large shears, which he kept for this and other purposes. +</P> + +<P> +"You're cutting it pretty close, Jacob. I shall look like a +scarecrow." +</P> + +<P> +"All the better," said the old man, laconically. +</P> + +<P> +When the operation was over, Marlowe surveyed his closely-cropped head +in the cracked mirror with some disgust. +</P> + +<P> +"You've made a beauty of me," he said. "However, it had to be done. +Now where's that wig?" +</P> + +<P> +He was adjusting it awkwardly, when Jacob took it from his hands and +put it on properly. +</P> + +<P> +"Now look at yourself," he said. +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe did look, and, as the old man had predicted, found his looks +so transformed that he hardly knew himself. +</P> + +<P> +"That's good," he said, in a tone of satisfaction. "It don't improve +my beauty, but then I ain't vain. I care more for my liberty. If it +hadn't been for that cussed boy there wouldn't have been any need of +this." +</P> + +<P> +"What boy?" +</P> + +<P> +"Jack Morgan's boy—Julius." +</P> + +<P> +"What did he do?" +</P> + +<P> +"He split on us—gave warning of our attempt. That's how we came to be +taken. I'd give something to get at him." +</P> + +<P> +"Maybe you will." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll try, at any rate. If not now, my revenge will keep. Is that +all?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not quite. Sit down again." +</P> + +<P> +The old man stained the face of his visitor so adroitly that he +appeared to be deeply pitted with smallpox. +</P> + +<P> +"Your own mother wouldn't know you now," he said with pride. +</P> + +<P> +"That's so, Jacob! you're a regular genius," replied Marlowe. "I ain't +sure about it's being me. You're sure about it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Shiver your timbers!" said the old man. +</P> + +<P> +"Shiver my timbers, but I forgot about it! Do you think I'll do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; but you mustn't wash your face till it is dry." +</P> + +<P> +"I sometimes forget to do it now. I guess I can get along without it +for a day or two. Now, how much are you going to ask for all this?" +</P> + +<P> +"Seventy-five dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"It's a good deal." +</P> + +<P> +"How long would you get if you got took?" asked Jacob, significantly. +</P> + +<P> +"You're right. It's worth the money. But I can't pay you now, Jacob." +</P> + +<P> +"You won't forget it," said the old man, composedly, for he expected +this, since Marlowe's attempt at burglary had been unsuccessful. +"You'll pay me when you can." +</P> + +<P> +"Shiver my timbers, messmate, but I will!" +</P> + +<P> +"Good!" said the old man. "You're getting it." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think those landlubbers—the cops—will know me in this +rig-out." +</P> + +<P> +"Better. You'll do." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Jacob, I'll pay you as soon as I can. By the way, haven't you +any place where you can stow me for the night? It won't do for me to +go back to Jack's room; it's too hot for me." +</P> + +<P> +"Lay down anywhere," said Jacob. "I haven't got any bed; I lie down on +the clothes." +</P> + +<P> +"That'll do; I ain't used to bridal-chambers or silk counterpanes. I +am as tired as a dog. Here goes!" +</P> + +<P> +He flung himself down in a corner on an indiscriminate pile of +clothing, and in five minutes was breathing deeply, and fast asleep. +Had he been a novice in his illegal profession, the two narrow escapes +he had just had, and the risk which, in spite of his disguise he at +present run, would have excited him and prevented his sleeping; but he +was an old hand and used to danger. It was not the first time he had +eluded the authorities, and was not likely to be the last, so he fell +asleep upon his strange couch, and slept as unconcernedly as an +infant. The old man did not immediately lie down. He held up and +examined attentively the suit Marlowe had thrown oft, which, according +to custom, became his perquisite, in addition to the cash payment +demanded, and was gratified to find it in good condition. He next +plunged his hands into the pockets, but Marlowe had transferred their +contents to his new attire. However, Jacob would have been little +richer had his visitor neglected to do so. Having finished his +scrutiny the old man blew out the candle and lay down in the corner +opposite Marlowe. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap20"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XX. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE DISGUISED LISTENER. +</H3> + +<P> +On the Monday morning succeeding the attempt at burglary so happily +defeated, Paul thought he ought to go round to the counting-room of +Mr. Preston and acquaint him with the particulars. He accordingly +deferred opening his place of business—if I may use so ambitious a +phrase of the humble necktie stand over which he presided—and bent +his steps toward Mr. Preston's counting-room. The latter had just +arrived. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-morning, Paul," said Mr. Preston, smiling. "I know all about +it." +</P> + +<P> +"About what, sir?" inquired Paul, surprised. +</P> + +<P> +"About the burglary." +</P> + +<P> +"Who told you?" our hero asked, in astonishment. +</P> + +<P> +"Didn't you know it was in the papers?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"I read it on my way downtown. These reporters get hold of everything. +Read that." +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Preston put into Paul's hands a morning paper, pointing to the +following paragraph: +</P> + +<P> +"On Saturday evening an attempt was made to rob the house of Nathaniel +Talbot, No. — Madison avenue. The attempt was made by two well-known +burglars, familiarly known as Jack Morgan and Tom Marlowe. The +enterprise promised to be successful, as Mr. Talbot is absent in +Europe with his family. During his absence the house is taken care of +by a Mrs. Hoffman, whose son Paul, a boy of sixteen, keeps a necktie +stand below the Astor House. Paul, who seems to be possessed of +courage and coolness, learned that the attempt was about to be made, +and determined not only to frustrate it, but to get hold of the +burglars. He gave information at police headquarters, and when the +brace of worthies arrived they met a reception as unexpected as it was +unwelcome. They were permitted to effect an entrance, and met with no +drawback till they reached the second story. Then the police made +their appearance on the scene and effected the capture of Morgan. +Marlowe succeeded in effecting his escape, but the police are on his +track, and his haunts in the city being known, there is every reason +to believe that he will be captured. Great credit is due to the boy +Paul, through whose bravery and good judgment Mr. Talbot's house has +been saved from robbery, and probably two noted desperadoes captured." +</P> + +<P> +Paul read this paragraph with pleasure, as may readily be supposed. He +was glad to find that his efforts in Mr. Talbot's behalf were likely +to secure recognition. +</P> + +<P> +"I never thought of getting into the papers," he said, looking up. "I +don't see how the reporters found out about it." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, the reporters are everywhere. Probably they call every evening at +police quarters and obtain information of all such cases. You see, +Paul, you are getting famous." +</P> + +<P> +"I only did what I ought to do," said Paul, modestly. +</P> + +<P> +"I agree to that, but that is more than many of us can say. If we all +could say it with justice, we should have a very different world from +what we have at present." +</P> + +<P> +"Besides," said Paul, who, though he liked praise, wanted to be just, +"there is some one else, a boy, too, who had more to do with the +affair than I." +</P> + +<P> +"Who was that?" +</P> + +<P> +"The boy who told me the house was to be entered." +</P> + +<P> +"Tell me all about it. I told you I knew all about it, but there is +one thing the paper does not explain how you found out the plans of +those villains." +</P> + +<P> +"I will tell you, sir. One day I saw a boy in front of the +eating-house where I usually dine, who looked hungry. I have known +what it was to be hungry myself, and I pitied him. So I asked him in +and gave him some dinner. I think it was the next day that he came +round and asked me if I did not live in Mr. Talbot's house on Madison +avenue. He said the man he lived with and another were intending to +break into it and rob the safe. They seemed to know that my mother and +myself were the only ones who occupied it." +</P> + +<P> +"How old a boy was he?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know his age. He looks about twelve, but he may be older." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you suppose made him bring you the information?" +</P> + +<P> +"I think he felt grateful for the dinner I gave him." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you see him more than once?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, several times. It seems the two men intended at first to make +the attempt this evening, but for some reason they came to distrust +the boy, who was acquainted with their plans, and fixed it for +Saturday. They didn't intend to let him know of their change of plan, +but he overheard one of them talking in his sleep. He came and told +me. This was lucky, as otherwise I should not have been ready for +them." +</P> + +<P> +"What is the name of this boy?" +</P> + +<P> +"Julius." +</P> + +<P> +"He has certainly done you and Mr. Talbot great service. What is your +opinion of him? Has he been spoiled by living with thieves?" +</P> + +<P> +"I don't think he has. If he could have a chance to do better, I think +he would." +</P> + +<P> +"He shall have a chance. I suppose you will see him soon." +</P> + +<P> +"I shouldn't wonder if he would come round to my stand to-day." +</P> + +<P> +"If he does, bring him here." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir, I will." +</P> + +<P> +"What you have told me, Paul," continued Mr. Preston, "does not lessen +your own merits. But for your kindness to this poor boy you would have +heard nothing of the intended burglary, and been unable to take the +measures which have proved so happily successful." +</P> + +<P> +"You are determined to praise me, Mr. Preston," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Because you deserve it. I shall take care to write particulars to Mr. +Talbot, who will doubtless have seen the paragraph you have just read, +and will be interested to hear more. I shall not forget your part in +the affair." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir. I shall be glad to have Mr. Talbot know that I am +faithful to his interests." +</P> + +<P> +"He shall know it." +</P> + +<P> +A boy entered the office at this point, with a number of letters from +the post office, and Mr. Preston began to read them. Paul saw that it +was time to go, and bade him good-morning. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-morning, Paul," said his patron. "Don't forget to bring me the +boy, Julius." +</P> + +<P> +"I won't forget, sir." +</P> + +<P> +Paul was not likely to forget, for he, too, felt grateful to Julius, +and was glad to think the poor boy was likely to receive a reward for +his services. Through the arrest of Jack Morgan he would be thrown +upon his own exertions, and aid would doubtless be welcome. Paul felt +an honorable satisfaction in knowing that he was rising in the world, +and he was unselfish enough to desire to see others prosper also. +</P> + +<P> +He was not mistaken in supposing Julius would call upon him. About +eleven o'clock he came up to the stand. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-morning, Julius," said Paul, cordially. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-morning," said the smaller boy. "Was Jack and Marlowe round to +your house last night?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Was they took?" asked Julius, anxiously. +</P> + +<P> +"Morgan was captured, but Marlowe escaped." +</P> + +<P> +The boy's countenance fell, and he looked alarmed. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think they'll take him?" +</P> + +<P> +"They are on his track. I don't think that he can escape." +</P> + +<P> +"If he does he'll kill me," said Julius; "he suspected me afore. Now +he'll know I let out about him and Jack." +</P> + +<P> +"He won't dare to come near you." +</P> + +<P> +"Why won't he?" +</P> + +<P> +"He knows the police are after him; he'll hide somewhere." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know," said Julius, thoughtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"He'll be awful mad with me. He'll try to do me some harm if he can." +</P> + +<P> +"I should be sorry to have any harm come to you, Julius," said Paul, +earnestly. "If Marlowe is arrested it will be all right." +</P> + +<P> +"He shut me up last night before he went away; Jack and he did." +</P> + +<P> +"How was that?" +</P> + +<P> +Julius gave an account of his confinement, and how he escaped through +the help of Mrs. O'Connor. He did not know of Marlowe's subsequent +visit to the room, and his disappointment at finding the bird flown. +He did not know of this, not having dared to go round there since, +lest he should come upon Jack or Marlowe. Now he knew it was only the +latter he had to fear. +</P> + +<P> +"You managed it pretty well about getting away," said Paul. "It +reminds me of something that happened to me—I was locked up in a +hotel once the same way," and he gave Julius a little account of his +adventure at Lovejoy's Hotel, with the jeweler from Syracuse, as +narrated in an earlier volume of this series, "Paul the Peddler." +Julius was interested in the story. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you got any money, Julius?" asked Paul, when he had finished. +</P> + +<P> +"I've got ten cents. I didn't have much luck this mornin'. I left my +blackin'-box in the room, and I didn't dare to go after it, as I +thought I might meet Marlowe or Jack." +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't you had any breakfast, then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, I went down to the Long Branch boat and got a chance to carry a +carpet-bag. The gentleman gave me a quarter; I spent fifteen cents for +breakfast, and I've got ten left." +</P> + +<P> +"You must stop and go to dinner with me, Julius. It is twenty minutes +to eleven already. I shall go at twelve." +</P> + +<P> +"You spend too much money on me," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind that. Where would I be if you hadn't told me about this +burglary? I should have known nothing about it, and I might have been +murdered. I've told about you to Mr. Preston, a friend of Mr. Talbot, +whose house I live in, and he wants me to bring you round to his +counting-room. He is going to do something for you." +</P> + +<P> +Julius brightened up. He had never had any friend excepting Jack +Morgan, and the reader can form some idea of the value of such a +friend as Jack. +</P> + +<P> +"When does he want me to come to his room?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll go round with you after dinner. You want to rise in the world, +don't you, Julius?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to, but I ain't had any chance." +</P> + +<P> +"I think Mr. Preston will give you a chance. You can be thinking what +you would like to do, and he will help you to it." +</P> + +<P> +"I would like to go out West. I'm afraid to stay here. Marlowe might +find me." +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know but you are right, Julius. Out West there is more of a +chance to rise. You can tell Mr. Preston what you wish." +</P> + +<P> +While the boys were talking a man stood near by, who listened +attentively to what was said, hearing every word. Neither Paul nor +Julius remarked him. He was a tall man, with red hair, and a face +marked by the smallpox. He was dressed in the garb of a sailor. Of +course this was Marlowe. It was imprudent for him to post himself in +so public a place, but he trusted to his disguise, and he wanted to +hear for himself the conversation between the two boys. He learned, +what he suspected before, that to the boy, Julius, he was indebted for +the failure of his attempt at burglary. When the two boys went to +dinner he followed them. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap21"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A BRIGHTER PROSPECT FOR JULIUS. +</H3> + +<P> +After dinner Paul went again to Mr. Preston's place of business, +accompanied by Julius. The disguised sailor, who had lingered outside +the restaurant, followed the two at a safe distance. Had not Paul and +Julius been so occupied with their own affairs, they might have +noticed Marlowe. As it was, they were quite unconscious of being +followed. +</P> + +<P> +They were fortunate in finding Mr. Preston in his office, and at +leisure. +</P> + +<P> +"Mr. Preston," said Paul, "this is the boy I spoke to you about." +</P> + +<P> +"What is your name, my lad?" asked the merchant. +</P> + +<P> +"Julius," answered the street boy. +</P> + +<P> +"My young friend, Paul, tells me that you have done him and his +employer a great service. Did you live with the men who were engaged +in the burglary?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"I suppose they have been in prison at different times?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir, more'n half the time." +</P> + +<P> +"What did you do then?" +</P> + +<P> +"Worked for myself." +</P> + +<P> +"What did you do?" +</P> + +<P> +"Blacked boots or sold papers. When I got a chance I smashed baggage." +</P> + +<P> +"Did you get paid for that?" asked Mr. Preston, with a smile. +</P> + +<P> +"He means carried bundles or carpet-bags," explained Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"I understand. Did these men ever want you to steal, or join them in +burglary?" +</P> + +<P> +"Sometimes. They was goin' to take me last night, but they was afraid +I'd peach, and locked me up at home." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope you have no desire to become a burglar?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir; I want to be respectable, like Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"You are right, there, my lad. Now, have you any plans for the +future?" +</P> + +<P> +"I'd like to go out West." +</P> + +<P> +"Would you rather go there than remain in New York?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir. He's here." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is here?" +</P> + +<P> +"Marlowe. He wasn't took. He'll murder me if he gets hold of me." +</P> + +<P> +"Marlowe is one of the burglars, I suppose?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir; he's the worst." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope he will be taken. Probably he will find it hard to escape, as +the police are on his track. But I don't know but you are right about +going out West. Many boys like yourself have been sent out by the +Children's Aid Society." +</P> + +<P> +"I know some of 'em," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"You will stand a better chance of succeeding there than here. I am +willing to help you, if you wish to go out." +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Preston took out his pocketbook, and drew therefrom a roll of +bills. +</P> + +<P> +"Here are fifty dollars," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"For me?" asked Julius, in almost incredulous surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, for you. I hope you will make a good use of it." +</P> + +<P> +Julius selected a five-dollar bill, which he thrust into his vest +pocket, and handed the remainder to Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Keep it for me, Paul," he said; "I might lose it." +</P> + +<P> +"You have done well," said Mr. Preston, approvingly. "Until you leave +the city, it will be best to leave the money in Paul's hands. Now, my +lad, I must bid you good-morning, as business claims my attention. Try +to lead a good life, and you have my best wishes for your welfare." +</P> + +<P> +He offered his hand, which Julius took shyly. +</P> + +<P> +The two boys went out, and again Marlowe followed them and tried to +overhear what they said. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you feel rich, Julius?" he heard Paul say. +</P> + +<P> +"He was very good to me," said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Fifty dollars is a good deal of money for a boy like you." +</P> + +<P> +"Fifty dollars!" said Marlowe to himself. "So the young dog got fifty +dollars for selling Jack 'n' me? He thinks he's done a good thing. +We'll see! we'll see!" +</P> + +<P> +He instantly conceived the design of getting hold of this fifty +dollars. As we know, he was almost penniless, and money he sorely +needed to effect his escape from the city, where he was placed in +hourly peril. To take it from Julius would give him more pleasure than +to obtain it in any other way, for it would be combining revenge with +personal profit. Not that this revenge would content him. His +resentment was too deep and intense to be satisfied with any such +retaliation. He wanted to make the boy suffer. He would hardly have +shrunk from taking his life. He was, in fact, a worse man than Jack +Morgan, for the latter was not naturally cruel, though, under +temptation, he might be led to desperate acts. +</P> + +<P> +"Now tell me what you want to do, Julius," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"I want to go out West." +</P> + +<P> +"You are rather young to travel alone. Besides, you don't know +anything about the West, do you?" +</P> + +<P> +Julius admitted that he did not. His education had been very much +neglected. He probably could not have named half a dozen States, and +had the vaguest idea of the West. He had heard it spoken of, and some +boys whom he used to know about the streets had gone out there. But +beyond that he knew nothing. +</P> + +<P> +"How far do you think it is to the West?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"About a hundred miles." +</P> + +<P> +"It is all of that," said Paul, laughing. "Now I'll tell you what I +would do if I were in your place." +</P> + +<P> +"What?" +</P> + +<P> +"Were you ever in the Newsboys' Lodging House?" +</P> + +<P> +"Lots of times." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you know Mr. O'Connor, the superintendent?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; he's very kind to us boys." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, suppose we go round and ask him when the next company of boys +starts for the West. You could go with them, and he will find you a +place out there. What do you say?" +</P> + +<P> +"I would like to do that," said Julius, with evident satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +"Then we will go up at once. I guess my business can wait a little +longer." +</P> + +<P> +"You're very kind to me," said Julius, gratefully. "You'll lose money +goin' round with me so much." +</P> + +<P> +"No matter for that. It won't ruin me. Besides, you've done me a great +service. I ought to be willing to do something for you." +</P> + +<P> +"That ain't nothin'." +</P> + +<P> +"I think different. Come along; we'll settle this matter at once." +</P> + +<P> +The two boys kept on their way till they reached the lodging house. +All was quiet; for in the day-time the boys are scattered about the +streets, earning their livelihood in different ways. Only at +supper-time they come back, and in the evening the rooms are well +filled. Paul had been here before, not as a guest, for he had always +had a home of his own; but he had called in the evening at different +times. Julius had often passed the night there, during the lengthened +intervals of Jack's enforced residence in public institutions. +</P> + +<P> +They met Mr. O'Connor just coming out. +</P> + +<P> +"How do you do, Paul? I hope you're well, Julius," said the +superintendent, who has a remarkable faculty for remembering the names +and faces of the thousands of boys that from time to time frequent the +lodging house. "Do you want to see me?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir," answered Paul; "but we won't detain you long." +</P> + +<P> +"Never mind about that; my business can wait." +</P> + +<P> +"Julius wants to go out West," proceeded Paul. "Now, what we want to +find out is, when you are going to send a party out." +</P> + +<P> +"This day week." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is going out with it?" +</P> + +<P> +"It is not quite decided. I may go myself," said the superintendent. +</P> + +<P> +"Can Julius go out with you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; we haven't got our full number. He can go." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you're all right, Julius," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"What gave you the idea of going out West, Julius?" asked Mr. +O'Connor. +</P> + +<P> +"Marlowe's after me," said Julius, briefly. +</P> + +<P> +The superintendent looked mystified, and Paul explained. +</P> + +<P> +"Didn't you read in the papers," he asked, "about the burglary on +Madison avenue?" +</P> + +<P> +"At Mr. Talbot's house?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Had Julius anything to do with that?" +</P> + +<P> +"Through his means the burglars were prevented from carrying out their +designs, and one of them was captured. This was Jack Morgan, with whom +Julius lived. The other, a man named Marlowe, got off. As he suspected +Julius beforehand of betraying them, and is a man of revengeful +disposition, Julius is afraid of staying in the city while he is at +large. We both think he had better go West. There he may have a chance +of doing well." +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt. Why, some of our boys who have gone out there have grown +rich. Others have persevered in seeking an education, and there are +lawyers, ministers and doctors, as well as merchants, now prosperous +and respected, who graduated from the streets of New York, and were +sent out by our society." +</P> + +<P> +The face of Julius brightened as he heard these words. +</P> + +<P> +"I hope I'll do well," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"It depends a good deal on yourself, my boy," said the superintendent, +kindly. "Firmly resolve to do well, and you will very likely succeed. +You've had a rough time of it so far, and circumstances have been +against you; but I'll try to find a good place for you, where you'll +have a chance to learn something and to improve. Then it will be your +own fault if you don't rise to a respectable place in society." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll try," said Julius, hopefully, and he meant what he said. He had +lived among social outlaws all his life, and he realized the +disadvantages of such a career. He shuddered at the idea of following +in the steps of Jack Morgan or Marlowe—a considerable portion of +whose time was spent in confinement. He wanted to be like Paul, for +whom he felt both respect and attachment, and the superintendent's +words encouraged and made him ambitious. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap22"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MARLOWE OVERTAKES HIS VICTIM. +</H3> + +<P> +On emerging into the street the two boys parted company. It was time +for Paul to go back to his business. Julius was more indifferent to +employment. He had five dollars in his pocket, and forty-five dollars +deposited with Paul. Accustomed to live from hand to mouth, this made +him feel very rich. It was a bright, pleasant day, and it occurred to +him that it would be very pleasant to make an excursion somewhere, it +made little difference to him where. The first place that occurred to +him was Staten Island. It is six miles from the city or half an hour +by water. The boats start from a pier near the Battery. +</P> + +<P> +"Where's he going, I wonder?" thought Marlowe, following at a little +distance. +</P> + +<P> +As no conversation had passed between the boys about the excursion, he +was quite in the dark; but he was determined to follow where-ever it +might be. He soon ascertained. Julius met a street acquaintance—Tom +Barker, a newsboy—and accosted him. +</P> + +<P> +"Tom, come with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Where you goin'?" +</P> + +<P> +"To Staten Island." +</P> + +<P> +"What's up?" +</P> + +<P> +"Nothin'. I'm goin' for the benefit of my health. Come along." +</P> + +<P> +"I can't come." +</P> + +<P> +"Haven't you got the stamps? I'll pay." +</P> + +<P> +"I've got to go to Twenty-seventh street on an errand. I'll go with +you to-morrow." +</P> + +<P> +"Can't wait," said Julius. "I must go alone." +</P> + +<P> +"Goin' to Staten Island," thought Marlowe, in exultation. "I'll get a +chance at him there." +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe had not much money with him, but he had enough to pay the fare +to Staten Island—ten cents. So he kept on the track of Julius, and +passed the wicket just behind him. The boat was approaching the pier, +and they had not long to wait. Julius went to the forward part of the +boat, and took a seat just in front of the boiler. Marlowe took a +position near, but not too near. He had considerable confidence in his +disguise, but did not want to run any unnecessary risk of recognition. +It so happened that a few steps from him was a genuine specimen of the +profession he was counterfeiting. With the sociability characteristic +of a sailor, he undertook to open a conversation with Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"Hollo, shipmate!" he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Hollo, yourself!" said the counterfeit, not over pleased with the +salutation. +</P> + +<P> +"I thought I'd hail you, seein' we both foller the sea. Have you been +long ashore?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not long," answered Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"Where was your last v'y'ge?" +</P> + +<P> +"To Californy," answered Marlowe, hesitating. +</P> + +<P> +"What craft?" +</P> + +<P> +Here was an embarrassing question. Marlowe wished his questioner at +the North Pole, but felt compelled to answer. +</P> + +<P> +"The—Sally Ann," he answered. +</P> + +<P> +"You don't say!" said the other, with animation. "I was aboard the +Sally Ann myself, one v'y'ge." +</P> + +<P> +"Confound you, I'm sorry to hear it!" thought the impostor. +</P> + +<P> +"There's more than one Sally Ann, it's likely," he said. "Who was your +captain?" +</P> + +<P> +"Captain Rice." +</P> + +<P> +"Mine was Captain Talbot." +</P> + +<P> +"How long was your v'y'ge, shipmate?" +</P> + +<P> +Now Marlowe had no knowledge of the number of days such a voyage ought +to take. He knew that the California steamers came in in three or four +weeks, and the difference of speed did not occur to him, not to speak +of the vastly greater distance round Cape Horn. +</P> + +<P> +"Thirty days," he answered, at random. +</P> + +<P> +"Thirty days!" exclaimed the sailor, in amazement. "Did you go round +the Horn in thirty days?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, we had favorable winds," explained Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"He must be crazy, or he's no sailor," thought the true son of +Neptune. +</P> + +<P> +He was about to ask another question, when Marlowe, who suspected that +he had made a blunder, turned abruptly, and walked away. +</P> + +<P> +"He ain't no sailor," said the questioner to himself. "He never lived +in the forecastle, I know by his walk." +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe had not the rolling gait of a seaman, and the other detected +it at once. +</P> + +<P> +"Went round the Horn in thirty days!" soliloquized the sailor. "That +yarn's too tough for me to swallow. What's he got on that rig for?" +</P> + +<P> +Meanwhile, Julius looked around him with enjoyment. Cheap as the +excursion was, he had but once made it before. It had been seldom that +he had even twenty cents to spare, and when he had money, he had +preferred to go to the Old Bowery or Tony Pastor's for an evening's +entertainment. Now he felt the refreshing influence of the sea breeze. +He was safe from Marlowe, so he thought. He had left danger behind him +in the great, dusty city. Before him was a vision of green fields, and +the delight of an afternoon without work and without care. He was sure +of a good supper and a comfortable bed; for had he not five dollars in +his pocket? Julius felt as rich as Stewart or Vanderbilt, and so he +was for the time being. But he would have felt anxious, could he have +seen the baleful glance of the disguised sailor; for Marlowe, though +he had changed his seat, still managed to keep Julius in sight. But +there was another who in turn watched him, and that was the genuine +sailor. The latter was bent on finding out the meaning of the +disguise, for disguise he knew it to be. He was not long in +discovering that Marlowe was watching Julius with a malignant glance. +</P> + +<P> +"He hates the lad," thought the sailor. "Does he mean him harm?" +</P> + +<P> +He was making an excursion of pleasure, but he had another object in +view. He had a cousin living on Staten Island, and he was intending to +make him a call; but this business was not imperative, and he resolved +to follow out the present adventure. +</P> + +<P> +"If he tries to harm the lad," said the kindhearted sailor, "he'll +have to take me too." +</P> + +<P> +So while Marlowe watched Julius, he was watched in turn. +</P> + +<P> +The boat reached the first landing, and some of the passengers got +off. But Julius made no motion to disembark, and of course Marlowe did +not. Shortly afterward the second landing was reached; but it was not +until the boat touched the third that Julius rose from his seat and +descended the stairs to the lower deck. The two sailors followed. +</P> + +<P> +Julius walked up the road that leads to the pier. He had no particular +destination. He cared little where he went, his main object being to +get back into the country. The sailor soon perceived that Marlowe had +no object except to follow Julius. All his movements depended upon the +boy's. When Julius turned, he turned also. +</P> + +<P> +"What has he got ag'in the boy?" thought the sailor. "He shan't harm +him if Jack Halyard can prevent it." +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe was tall and strong, and a formidable opponent. The sailor was +three inches shorter, but he was broad-shouldered, and had an immense +chest. It was clear that he was very powerful. He was thoroughly brave +also. Fear was a stranger to him, and he did not hesitate for a moment +to encounter Marlowe in the boy's defense. +</P> + +<P> +Julius kept on. At one place he stopped to watch two boys who were +pitching ball to each other. He asked them if he might join in the +game; but the boys looked contemptuously at his shabby clothes, and +one of them said, rudely: +</P> + +<P> +"We don't play with ragamuffins." +</P> + +<P> +"I ain't a ragamuffin!" said Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"Perhaps you're a gentleman in disguise," said one, with a sneer. +</P> + +<P> +"I'm as much of a gentleman as you are," retorted Julius, angrily. +</P> + +<P> +"Clear out, you beggar! We don't want you here," said the second boy, +arrogantly. +</P> + +<P> +Julius walked on indignantly. +</P> + +<P> +"They insult me because I am poor," he said to himself. "I'll be rich +some time, perhaps." +</P> + +<P> +The possibility of becoming rich had never occurred to him before +to-day; but Mr. O'Connor's words, and the fifty dollars which had been +given him, made him hopeful and ambitious. He had heard that some of +the rich men who owned warehouses in the great city had once been poor +boys like himself. Might he not rise like them? For the first time in +his life he seemed to be having a chance. +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe saw him leave the boys with satisfaction. Had Julius stopped +to play with them his scheme of vengeance would have been delayed, +perhaps frustrated. It would not do for him to attack the boy in the +presence of others. But Julius w r as walking away from the village +into the interior. If he only went far enough he would be at his +mercy. +</P> + +<P> +What should he do to him? He might kill him, but killing is rather a +dangerous game to play at in a civilized community. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll take his money," thought Marlowe, "and beat him within an inch +of his life. I'll teach him to betray me!" +</P> + +<P> +At length Julius wandered to a spot solitary enough to suit his +purpose. Strange to say, the boy had not turned, or noticed his +pursuer. Marlowe was quite out of his thoughts. Who would think of +finding him in this quiet scene? But he was destined to be rudely +awakened from his dream of security. All at once he felt a hand upon +his shoulder. Turning quickly, he saw one whom he supposed to be a +sailor. +</P> + +<P> +"What's wanted?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"You're wanted." +</P> + +<P> +"What for?" asked Julius, not yet recognizing his enemy. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you know me?" asked Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"But I know you, you young villain!" exclaimed Marlowe, unable longer +to repress his fury. "I'm the man you sold along with Jack Morgan. +I've got a reckoning with you, my lad, and it's goin' to be a heavy +one. I haven't followed you all the way from New York for nothing." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap23"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIII. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A TIMELY RESCUE. +</H3> + +<P> +Julius was filled with a terrible fear, when in the man who stood over +him menacingly he recognized Tom Marlowe. He knew the man's brutal +disposition, and that he was very much incensed against him. He looked +wildly around him for help, but he could see no one. The sailor had +hidden behind a large tree, and was not visible. +</P> + +<P> +"You're looking for help, are you?" sneered Marlowe. "Look all you +want to. You're in my power. Now tell me, you treacherous young dog, +why shouldn't I kill you?" +</P> + +<P> +Julius regarded him in silent terror. +</P> + +<P> +"You didn't think I'd get away from the cops you set on my track, did +you? You thought you'd get rid of me, did you? Where's that money you +got for selling us, eh?" +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't sell you," said Julius, trembling. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't lie to me. I know all about it. I followed you when you went +with that boy that keeps the necktie stand. I know how much you got. +It was fifty dollars." +</P> + +<P> +Julius was bewildered. He did not understand how Marlowe could have +gained this information. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you deny this?" demanded Marlowe. +</P> + +<P> +"I didn't know I was to get any money," stammered Julius. "I wouldn't +have told of you, but Paul had been kind to me." +</P> + +<P> +"So you forgot all about Jack Morgan and me. You were ready to sell +your best friends. But you didn't count the cost, my chicken! We +generally pay up for such favors. I promised Jack I'd settle our +account, and I'm goin' to do it." +</P> + +<P> +"Is Jack took?" asked Julius, shrinking under the man's fierce glance. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, he is, curse you! If it hadn't been for your blabbing tongue +we'd both have got off with the swag. Now hand over that money, and be +quick about it." +</P> + +<P> +"What money?" faltered Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"You know well enough—the fifty dollars." +</P> + +<P> +Julius felt thankful now that he had deposited the greater part with +Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"I haven't got it." +</P> + +<P> +"You lie!" exclaimed Marlowe, brutally. +</P> + +<P> +"I gave it to Paul, all except five dollars." "I don't believe you. +Empty your pockets." +</P> + +<P> +Julius did so, but only five dollars were found. Marlowe was badly +disappointed. Fifty dollars would have been of essential service to +him, and they had dwindled to five. +</P> + +<P> +"What business had you to give the money to him?" he demanded, +harshly. +</P> + +<P> +"I was afraid I might lose it." +</P> + +<P> +"Give me the five dollars." +</P> + +<P> +Julius reluctantly handed the bill to his enemy, who thrust it into +his pocket. +</P> + +<P> +"Now," said he, seizing Julius by the shoulder with a dark and +menacing look, "I'll give you a lesson you'll remember to the last day +of your life." +</P> + +<P> +He threw Julius upon the ground, and was about savagely to kick the +helpless boy, who would in all probability have died from the brutal +treatment he was likely to receive, when he was seized by the collar, +and sent whirling backward by a powerful hand. +</P> + +<P> +"Avast there, you lubber!" said the sailor, who had felt it time to +interfere. "What are you about?" +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe turned furiously upon his unexpected assailant. +</P> + +<P> +"I'll soon let you know, if you don't leave here pretty sudden. What +business is it of yours?" he said, furiously. +</P> + +<P> +"It's always my business," said the sailor, manfully, "when I see a +big brute pitching into a youngster like that. I ain't the man to +stand by and see it done." +</P> + +<P> +"He wants to kill me. Don't let him," implored Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"That I won't, my lad. He'll have to kill me, too, if that's what he's +after. He'll find me a tough customer, I reckon." +</P> + +<P> +"This is my boy. I shall beat him as I please," said Marlowe, angrily. +</P> + +<P> +"I am not his boy," said Julius, fearing the sailor would credit the +statement. +</P> + +<P> +"Don't you be afraid, my lad. If you were his boy ten times over, he +shouldn't beat you while I am by." +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe was terribly enraged. He saw his victim slipping from his +grasp just as he was about to glut his vengeance upon him. He was a +man of violent passions, and they got the better of his prudence. +</P> + +<P> +"Stand back!" he shouted, advancing toward the intrepid sailor, "or I +will serve you and the boy alike." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm ready," said the other, coolly, squaring off scientifically. +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe aimed a heavy blow at his head, which, had it taken effect, +would have prostrated and perhaps stunned him. But it was warded off, +and a counter blow returned, which took better effect. Marlowe +staggered under it, but it only maddened him. Half-blinded, he rushed +once more upon his opponent, but received a well-directed blow full in +the chest, which stretched him at the sailor's feet. The latter +forbore to take an unmanly advantage of his foe's position, but calmly +waited for him to rise. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you want more?" he asked, coolly. +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe, had he been wise, would have desisted, but he was filled with +a blind, unreasoning rage, and advanced again to the attack. But he +was no match for the stout sailor. He fared this time no better than +before, but again was stretched at the sailor's feet. +</P> + +<P> +By this time the conflict had attracted attention. Several men came +running up, among them a member of the local police. +</P> + +<P> +"What's the meaning of all this?" demanded the latter. +</P> + +<P> +"Ask the boy," said the sailor. +</P> + +<P> +Julius, thus appealed to, answered: +</P> + +<P> +"That man wanted to kill me, but the sailor stopped him." +</P> + +<P> +"It's a lie!" growled Marlowe. "He's my boy, and I was punishing him." +</P> + +<P> +"Are you his boy?" asked the policeman, turning to Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"No." +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you live?" +</P> + +<P> +"In New York." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know him?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes." +</P> + +<P> +"Who is he?" +</P> + +<P> +Marlowe saw that it was getting dangerous for him, and was anxious to +get away. +</P> + +<P> +"The boy may shift for himself," he said. "If you take so much +interest in him you can take care of him." +</P> + +<P> +These last words were addressed to the sailor. +</P> + +<P> +He turned on his heel, and hoped to get away without further trouble. +</P> + +<P> +"Stop, there!" said the officer. "We haven't done with you yet." +</P> + +<P> +"What do you want?" demanded Marlowe, endeavoring to conceal his alarm +under an air of surly bravado. +</P> + +<P> +"I want to know who you are." +</P> + +<P> +"I'm a sailor." +</P> + +<P> +"Then you're a land sailor," retorted the true son of Neptune. +</P> + +<P> +"Is he a sailor?" asked the officer of Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"No, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"What is his name?" +</P> + +<P> +"His name is Marlowe," answered Julius, in spite of the black and +menacing looks of his enemy, intended to intimidate him. +</P> + +<P> +"Marlowe? The man implicated in the burglary in Madison avenue?" +</P> + +<P> +Julius was not required to answer this, for at the question, showing +that he was known, Marlowe with an oath took to flight, closely +pursued by all present. He had run half a mile before he was secured. +But his pursuers at length caught up with him, and after a sharp +struggle, in which they were materially assisted by the powerful +sailor, he was taken and bound. +</P> + +<P> +"If I ever get free, I'll kill you!" he muttered, between his teeth, +to Julius. "You'll rue this day's work." +</P> + +<P> +Julius, secure as he was at present, could not help shuddering as he +heard these threatening words. But he felt thankful that he had +escaped the present danger. The peril was over for the time; but +Julius could not help feeling that he was not wholly safe as long as +Marlowe was at large. I may as well add here that the burglar was +delivered to the New York authorities, and in due time had his trial, +was convicted and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in the prison +at Sing Sing. +</P> + +<P> +This adventure, and the excitement attending it, spoiled the enjoyment +of Julius for the afternoon. He returned to the pier and took passage +on the boat bound for the city. He called on Paul at his stand, and +surprised him with the news of Marlowe's capture, and his own narrow +escape. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad to hear it, Julius," said Paul. "So that sailor that +followed you was Marlowe." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Did you see him?" +</P> + +<P> +"I noticed him two or three times, but had no idea he was following +us." +</P> + +<P> +"I never should have known him, he looked so different." "He might +have got away if he hadn't been so anxious to revenge himself on you." +</P> + +<P> +"He's got my five dollars," said Julius, regretfully. +</P> + +<P> +"It might have been much worse. You've got forty-five dollars left +yet. Do you want any of it?" +</P> + +<P> +"You may give me five more." +</P> + +<P> +Paul drew a five-dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to Julius. +</P> + +<P> +"By the way, Julius," he said "where do you expect to sleep to-night?" +</P> + +<P> +"In the lodgin' house." +</P> + +<P> +"Come up and stop with me. We can find room for you. Besides, my +mother will give you a good supper." +</P> + +<P> +"You are very kind to me, Paul," said Julius, gratefully. +</P> + +<P> +"I ought to be. You did us all a great service. You must stay with us +till it is time for you to go out West." +</P> + +<P> +Julius made some faint objections, out of bashfulness; but he was so +pleasantly received by Mrs. Hoffman, and treated with so much +kindness, that he came to feel quite at home, and needed no urging +after the first night. Jimmy asked him a multitude of questions about +the burglars, how they looked and how they lived, to which Julius +answered patiently. +</P> + +<P> +"When you are out West, you must write to us how you are getting +along, Julius," said Mrs. Hoffman, kindly. +</P> + +<P> +Julius blushed, and did not answer. He seemed much embarrassed. +</P> + +<P> +"Won't you?" asked Jimmy. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't know how to write!" said Julius at last, feeling suddenly +ashamed of his ignorance. +</P> + +<P> +"Such a big boy as you can't write?" said Jimmy, in amazement. +</P> + +<P> +"There is plenty of time to learn," said Paul, cheerfully. "Julius has +had no chance to learn yet, but after he gets to the West he will make +it up." +</P> + +<P> +The mortification which Julius felt at his ignorance made him +determine to study hard whenever he could. He felt that if he wanted +to occupy a respectable position in society, he must, at least, know +how to read and write. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap24"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXIV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE POOR ARTIST. +</H3> + +<P> +A week later Julius started for the West with a company of boys who +went out under the auspices of the Children's Aid Society. His +adventures out West will make the subject of another volume. +</P> + +<P> +On the day succeeding his departure Paul was at his stand, when his +attention was drawn to a man of respectable appearance, but poorly +clad, and thin and emaciated, who, after a little hesitation, accosted +a gentleman who was passing, in these words: "Sir, I hope you will +excuse my liberty in addressing you, but I have been sick, and am +without money. Can you spare me a trifle?" +</P> + +<P> +"I never give to street beggars," said the gentleman, coldly. +</P> + +<P> +The applicant shrank back abashed, and a look of pain and +mortification overspread his features. Paul noticed it, and his heart +was filled with compassion. He saw that the man was not a common +street beggar; that, except under the pressure of necessity, he would +not have asked help. Stepping up to him as he was slowly moving away, +Paul said, gently: "Can I assist you in any way, sir?" +</P> + +<P> +The other turned at the words. +</P> + +<P> +"I am in great need of help," he said. "I am without money, and I have +a little daughter at home who wants bread." +</P> + +<P> +As he said this he came near breaking down. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me help you," said Paul; and he drew a dollar from his pocket and +passed it to the applicant. +</P> + +<P> +"A thousand thanks for your generous kindness!" said the stranger, +gratefully; "but"—and here he glanced at Paul's humble place of +business—"can you spare this money?" +</P> + +<P> +"Easily," said Paul. "I am doing very well, and saving up money every +week." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will accept it. There are some kind hearts in the world. I +felt very much depressed by the refusal I just received. It was a +great sacrifice of pride for me to ask help of any one, but the +thought of my little daughter removed all my scruples. I could bear +privation and hunger myself, but I could not bear to see her suffer." +</P> + +<P> +"Where do you live?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"In Centre street. It is a miserable place, but all I can afford." +</P> + +<P> +"May I ask your business?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am an artist. I came from England, my native country, some months +since, hoping to better my fortune here. But I fell sick in a short +time, and continued so until a week since." +</P> + +<P> +"You are not looking well." +</P> + +<P> +"I have overcome my disease, but I need nourishing food, and I have +not been able to buy it." +</P> + +<P> +"How did you pay your expenses while you were sick?" +</P> + +<P> +"I brought over with me a small sum of money, and by great economy I +made it last till a week since. I am unknown, and, though I have two +pictures finished, I cannot sell them. I was told that America was a +good country for the poor; but I do not find it so for me." +</P> + +<P> +"It may be, after you are known." +</P> + +<P> +"But what shall I do in the meantime?" +</P> + +<P> +Here an idea came to Paul. He had long intended to obtain a teacher of +drawing for Jimmy. It would be a charity to employ this poor artist if +he were competent. +</P> + +<P> +"Did you ever give lessons in drawing?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I gave lessons in England. I would gladly find scholars here, +but I am not known." +</P> + +<P> +"I have a little brother who has a great taste for drawing," said +Paul. "You may begin with him." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you," said the stranger, warmly. "You give me new hope. I will +teach him gladly, and leave the price of the lessons to you." +</P> + +<P> +"If you will tell me where you live I will call there at noon. You +will want to buy some food for your little girl." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, poor little Mary, I must not leave her waiting any longer. I +shall be very glad to see you at my poor room. It is No. — Centre +street, back room, third floor. Ask for Mr. Henderson." +</P> + +<P> +"I will be sure to call." +</P> + +<P> +The artist made his way to a baker's where he bought a loaf of bread. +Also at a shop near by he obtained a pint of milk, and, provided with +these, he hastened home to his hungry child. +</P> + +<P> +At noon, after taking lunch, Paul found his way to the address given +him by the artist. The room was dark and scantily furnished. Mr. +Henderson sat before an easel, trying to work. He got up hastily as +Paul entered. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad to see you, my good young friend," he said. "Take a seat." +</P> + +<P> +"Is this your little daughter?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Come here, Mary, and speak to the gentleman," said her father. +</P> + +<P> +Mary Henderson was a delicate looking little girl of eight years, with +dark hair and eyes. She would have been pretty if she had been +stronger and more healthy. A few weeks of good food and country air +would bring back the roses to her cheeks, and fill out her emaciated +form. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you any pictures finished?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"I have two small ones. Would you like to see them?" +</P> + +<P> +"Very much." +</P> + +<P> +The artist went to a closet, and produced two small pictures unframed. +One was an English country landscape, pretty in design, and executed, +as Paul thought, with taste. +</P> + +<P> +"I like that," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"The other is better," said Mr. Henderson. +</P> + +<P> +He exhibited the other canvas. It was a simple sketch of a brother and +sister on their way to school. The faces were bright and pretty, the +attitudes natural and graceful, and all the details were well carried +out. +</P> + +<P> +"You are right," said Paul. "This is the best picture. The girl's face +looks familiar. It is your own little girl, is it not?" +</P> + +<P> +"Then you see the resemblance?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, it is very like, but——" +</P> + +<P> +"But it represents a blooming, healthful child, while my poor Mary is +thin and pale. Yet when the picture was painted, before I left +England, it was an exact likeness. You see what privation and the bad +air of the city have done for her." +</P> + +<P> +"She will look like it again. A few weeks will bring her back." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope so." +</P> + +<P> +"You ought to get a good price for these pictures, Mr. Henderson." +</P> + +<P> +"If I had a name, I could." +</P> + +<P> +"If you are willing to trust me with them, I will see what I can do +for you." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you a thousand times." +</P> + +<P> +"I may not be able to sell them, but I will try. Have you set a price +on them?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; I will sell them for anything they will fetch—for five dollars +even, if no more can be obtained." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope to get more." +</P> + +<P> +"Mary, wrap up the pictures for the gentleman," said her father. +</P> + +<P> +The little girl did so. +</P> + +<P> +"If you can call on me this evening at half-past seven, Mr. +Henderson," said Paul, "I will make arrangements about your giving +lessons to my little brother." +</P> + +<P> +"I will certainly do so." +</P> + +<P> +"You will not be afraid to leave your little girl alone?" +</P> + +<P> +"She can stay with a neighbor." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will expect you." +</P> + +<P> +Paul wrote down his address, and took his leave, with the pictures +under his arm. +</P> + +<P> +He had thought of a customer. He knew that Mr. Preston was not only +rich, but kindhearted and charitable. Even if he did not want the +pictures, he thought he would be willing to give a small sum for them; +and even a little would be of great service to the poverty-stricken +artist. +</P> + +<P> +He therefore made his way to Mr. Preston's counting-room, and was +admitted to his presence. +</P> + +<P> +"Are you busy, Mr. Preston?" asked our hero. +</P> + +<P> +"Not particularly. I can spare you a few minutes." +</P> + +<P> +He looked inquiringly at the parcel Paul carried under his arm. +</P> + +<P> +"I have come to sell you some pictures, Mr. Preston." +</P> + +<P> +"You haven't turned artist?" said the merchant, surprised. +</P> + +<P> +"No; but I am acting as agent for a poor artist, who is in great need +of money." +</P> + +<P> +"A poor artist in both senses of the word, eh, Paul?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, I think not. I am not a judge of pictures, but these seem to me +very good." +</P> + +<P> +"Let me see them." +</P> + +<P> +Paul unrolled the bundle and displayed them. Mr. Preston took them in +his hands, and examined them with interest. +</P> + +<P> +"They are good pictures," he said, after a pause. "Who is the artist?" +</P> + +<P> +"An Englishman named Henderson. I will tell you all I know of his +story. He has been very unfortunate, and is now in pressing need of +assistance." +</P> + +<P> +Mr. Preston listened to the story with which the reader is already +familiar. When it was concluded he said, "We must help him." +</P> + +<P> +"I am going to take him as teacher for my little brother Jimmy." +</P> + +<P> +"I will purchase the picture of the children for fifty dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"It will be a fortune to the poor man," said Paul, joyfully. +</P> + +<P> +"When shall you see him?" +</P> + +<P> +"To-night." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will give you the money to hand to him. Besides, I will give +him a note to Goupil, who will allow him to exhibit the other picture +in his store. That may secure its sale." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, Mr. Preston. You will do him a great kindness." +</P> + +<P> +Paul left the picture of which he had disposed, and, taking the other +under his arm, went back to the necktie stand. He felt an honest +pleasure in the thought of the happiness he was about to confer upon +the poor artist. "It will set him on his feet," he thought. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap25"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXV. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +MR. TALBOT'S RETURN. +</H3> + +<P> +"Jimmy," said Paul, on reaching home, "there is a gentleman coming to +see you this evening." +</P> + +<P> +"A gentleman—to see me?" repeated the little boy, in surprise. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. Mr. Henderson." +</P> + +<P> +"But I don't know him." +</P> + +<P> +"You will know him very soon. He is an artist, and is going to give +you lessons." +</P> + +<P> +"How good you are, Paul!" said Jimmy, joyfully; "but," he added, +considerately, "won't you have to pay him a good deal?" +</P> + +<P> +"No; he is a poor man, and it is partly to help him that I have +engaged him to give you lessons. I expect him in an hour. So get out +your best drawings, so that he will see how far you are advanced." +</P> + +<P> +"Does he paint pictures? I should like to see some of them." +</P> + +<P> +"I have one with me." +</P> + +<P> +"Oh, let me see it!" +</P> + +<P> +Paul removed the paper from the painting he had brought with him, and +displayed it to his little brother. +</P> + +<P> +"It is beautiful, Paul. I wonder if I can ever paint such a nice +picture." +</P> + +<P> +"No doubt you can, if you study faithfully. I brought away another of +Mr. Henderson's pictures, which I like better than this, but I have +sold it to Mr. Preston." +</P> + +<P> +"How much did you get for it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Fifty dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"Isn't that a large price?" asked Mrs. Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"Not for a good picture. I dare say Jimmy will by and by be charging +as much as that for a picture." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope so, Paul. I would like to earn some money." +</P> + +<P> +"You are too young to earn money now, Jimmy. That will come in good +time." +</P> + +<P> +Soon after the supper table was cleared Mr. Henderson called. +</P> + +<P> +"I am glad to see you, Mr. Henderson," said Paul, cordially. "This is +my mother, Mrs. Hoffman, and here is the young scholar I told you of." +</P> + +<P> +Jimmy looked up shyly. +</P> + +<P> +"He has seen your picture and likes it. By the way, I have sold one of +your pictures—the one introducing the children." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you for your kindness," said the artist, his face brightening. +"You have done what I could not do, and it will give me very welcome +aid." +</P> + +<P> +"I hope the price will be satisfactory," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"I did not expect much," said Mr. Henderson, who inferred that the +price obtained was small. "I am unknown, and I have no right to expect +much for my work." +</P> + +<P> +"I sold it to a friend of mine for fifty dollars," continued Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Fifty dollars!" exclaimed the poor artist, hardly crediting the +testimony of his ears. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes," said Paul, enjoying his surprise. "Is it satisfactory?" +</P> + +<P> +"Satisfactory! It is ten times as much as I expected. How can I ever +thank you?" said Mr. Henderson, seizing Paul's hand in his fervent +gratitude. +</P> + +<P> +"The purchaser is rich, and he has promised to speak a word to Goupil +in your favor." +</P> + +<P> +"Heaven sent you to my help," said the artist. "What a change has a +single day wrought! This morning I woke without a penny, and my poor +child without bread. To-night I am rich, and Hope has once more +visited me. I owe all my good fortune to you. Will you permit me to +give lessons to your brother without charge?" +</P> + +<P> +"No," said Paul, decidedly. "I think every one ought to be paid for +their work. What I have done for you has given me very little trouble. +I am glad that I could help you. I know what it is to be poor, and +most people would call me poor now; but I can earn enough for our +expenses, and lay up something besides, so I do not feel poor. Now, +Jimmy, go and bring your drawings, and show the gentleman." +</P> + +<P> +The drawings were brought, and, to Jimmy's delight, elicited warm +approval from the artist. +</P> + +<P> +"Your brother has great talent," said he. "I shall be very glad to +have him for a pupil. It is much pleasanter to teach where the scholar +has taste and talent. When would you like the lessons to begin?" +</P> + +<P> +"As soon as possible. To-morrow, if you can come." +</P> + +<P> +"And at what time?" +</P> + +<P> +"At any time. I suppose the day would be better." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, it would be better, on account of the light. Besides, I like to +be with my little daughter in the evening." +</P> + +<P> +"Have you a little daughter?" asked Mrs. Hoffman. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, madam. She must be nearly the age of my young pupil here." +</P> + +<P> +"Bring her with you at any time," said motherly Mrs. Hoffman. "I shall +be glad to have her come." +</P> + +<P> +"If she would not be in the way." +</P> + +<P> +"Not at all. We have plenty of room, and Jimmy has no playmate. We +shall be very glad to see her." +</P> + +<P> +"Mary will enjoy coming," said her father. "I appreciate your kindness +in inviting her." +</P> + +<P> +"By the way, Mr. Henderson," suggested Paul, "why don't you move into +the upper part of the city? It will be more convenient for you, +especially if you get other pupils." +</P> + +<P> +"It is a good plan," said the artist. "I could not do so before, +because I had no money. Now, thanks to your kindness, I can do so." +</P> + +<P> +It was arranged that Jimmy should take two lessons a week, for which +Paul agreed to pay a dollar each. The sum was small, but to Mr. +Henderson it was an important help. I will anticipate the future so +far as to say that, after a while, through the persistent efforts of +Paul, aided by Mr. Preston, he obtained three other pupils, from whom +he was able to obtain a higher price, and occasionally he effected the +sale of a picture, so that he was able to occupy more comfortable +rooms, and provide himself with better clothing. The days of his +adversity were over, and he now enjoyed a moderate degree of +prosperity. Little Mary regained her lost flesh and color, and once +more looked as she did when she sat for the figure of the girl in her +father's picture, which Paul had sold to Mr. Preston. She came often +with her father, when he was to give a lesson to Jimmy, and sometimes +Mrs. Hoffman called to invite her to accompany Jimmy and herself to +Central Park. +</P> + +<P> +As to Jimmy, he surprised his teacher by the rapid progress which he +made. He would have devoted all his time to drawing if his mother had +permitted, but she was not willing that he should neglect his school +studies—for Jimmy now attended school. His health, too, had improved, +and he no longer looked weak and delicate. +</P> + +<P> +So several months passed away. Paul's business continued good. It did +not increase much, for there was not an opportunity for that. But he +averaged fifteen dollars a week profit, and that, he justly felt, was +a very good income from such a limited business. Mrs. Hoffman +continued to make ties for Paul, so she, too, earned three or four +dollars a week, and as they had no house rent to pay, they were able +not only to live very comfortably, paying all the bills promptly, but +to save up money besides. In addition to the money in Mr. Preston's +hands, Paul had an account at a downtown savings-bank, which already +amounted to over two hundred dollars. +</P> + +<P> +"We must save money now, mother," said Paul; "for Mr. Talbot will be +coming home by and by, and then we shall have to look up other rooms, +and pay rent." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you know when he means to come home? Has Mr. Preston told you?" +</P> + +<P> +"No, mother. I think I will call round in the morning and inquire. He +has already been away more than a year." +</P> + +<P> +When Paul entered Mr. Preston's counting-room the next morning that +gentleman looked up from his desk, and said, "I was just about to +write you a letter, Paul." +</P> + +<P> +"Indeed, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; I am in receipt of a letter from Mr. Talbot, in which he +announces his immediate return home. He will be here in four weeks, +and he desires your mother to engage women to clean the house +thoroughly, and put it in order for his occupation. Of course, you +will keep an account of all you have to expend in this way, and you +can hand me the bill." +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir. I will see that it is done." +</P> + +<P> +Paul heard, with some regret, of Mr. Talbot's speedy return. It would +curtail his income considerably. Still he felt that Mr. Talbot would +be satisfied with the manner in which his mother and himself had +acquitted themselves of their trust, and that was a source of +satisfaction. +</P> + +<P> +He gave his mother immediate notice of the approaching return of Mr. +Talbot, and she began to look about for rooms to which to remove. At +length she found a very comfortable place at twenty dollars a month. +Half that sum would have obtained them shelter in a poor tenement +house, but both Paul and his mother had become fastidious, and felt +that such economy would be out of place. They must have a respectable +and comfortable home, even if they were prevented thereby from adding +so much to their account at the savings-bank. +</P> + +<P> +At length the steamer in which the Talbots had taken passage arrived. +A coach brought them from the pier to the house. Mrs. Hoffman and Paul +were in waiting to receive them. Mrs. Talbot expressed herself pleased +with the neat appearance of the house, and Mr. Talbot called Paul +aside. +</P> + +<P> +"My young friend," he said, "I deferred, till my return home, the +acknowledgment of your very creditable conduct in the defense of my +house. You showed a coolness and good judgment remarkable in one of +your age. In return for this, and in acknowledgment of the generally +satisfactory manner in which you and your mother have kept my house, I +ask your acceptance of this pocketbook, with its contents." +</P> + +<P> +When Paul opened it he was astonished and delighted to find that it +contained two one-hundred dollar bills. +</P> + +<P> +"One of them properly belongs to you, mother," he said. But Mrs. +Hoffman refused to take it. +</P> + +<P> +"No, Paul," she said, "you are the treasurer of our little household. +Take this money and add to your savings. Some time you will find it +useful in enlarging your business, or entering upon a new one." +</P> + +<P> +"I will put it in the savings-bank, as you recommend, mother; but you +must remember that the fund there is yours as much as mine." +</P> + +<P> +"I will promise to call for money, Paul, whenever I want it. I like to +think that we have so large a fund to draw upon in case of need." +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap26"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XXVI. +</H3> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FROM THE SIDEWALK TO THE SHOP. +</H3> + +<P> +One morning, some months later, Paul was looking over the advertising +columns of the <I>Herald.</I> As his eye glanced carelessly over the +Chances for Business, his attention was drawn to the following: +</P> + +<P> +"FOR SALE The stock and fixtures of a gentlemen's small furnishing +store. Good reasons for selling. Apply at No. — Sixth avenue." +</P> + +<P> +"I wonder how much it would cost," thought Paul. "I wish I had a small +store instead of a stand. I could make more money. Besides, it would +be more comfortable in cold and stormy weather." +</P> + +<P> +It was a raw morning in November. Paul had his hands in his pockets, +and had much ado to keep warm. But he knew that worse days were to +come. The winter before he had suffered not a little on some days when +he felt the necessity of keeping at his business. +</P> + +<P> +"Let me see," he reflected. "I have about six hundred dollars. That is +something, but it wouldn't go far toward stocking a store. Still, I +have a great mind to go up and look at the place, and inquire about +terms." +</P> + +<P> +The more Paul thought about it, the more he felt a desire to go. He +accordingly got a boy, in whom he felt confidence, to attend his +stand, while he himself jumped on a Sixth avenue car and rode up to +the shop advertised. +</P> + +<P> +On entering he found it small, but neat, and to all appearance a good +stand for business. The proprietor, a man of thirty-five or +thereabouts, came forward. +</P> + +<P> +"What can I show you?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +"I saw your advertisement in the <I>Herald,"</I> said Paul, "and came to +inquire about it. You want to sell out?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes. It is on account of my wife's health. The doctor says the city +air doesn't agree with her, and orders her into the country. I don't +want to be separated from her, and, besides, I have a chance to open a +store in a country town where my uncle lives." +</P> + +<P> +"Is this a good stand for business?" +</P> + +<P> +"Excellent. I am making more money here than I can expect to outside +of the city; but of course that is not to be put in the scale against +my wife's health. Were you thinking of going into the business?" +</P> + +<P> +"I should like to, but I have not much capital. At what price do you +value your stock?" +</P> + +<P> +"At two thousand dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"That is more money than I have got." +</P> + +<P> +"I'll tell you what I will do. If you will give me a thousand dollars +down, and give me good security for the balance, payable a year hence, +I will sell out to you." +</P> + +<P> +"What is the rent?" +</P> + +<P> +"A thousand dollars." +</P> + +<P> +"Isn't that a good deal?" +</P> + +<P> +"In proportion to the value of my stock, it is, but I keep turning it +over. Last year, after paying rent and all expenses, including wages +to a boy of seventeen, who assisted me, I cleared two thousand +dollars." +</P> + +<P> +To Paul this seemed considerable. It would be a great improvement upon +his present position, and he would enjoy much more being the owner of +a store than of a street stand. But where would he get the money? +</P> + +<P> +"Couldn't you take less than a thousand dollars down?" he asked. +</P> + +<P> +The man shook his head. +</P> + +<P> +"I need that amount at once," he said. "You had better accept my +terms. You can't do better. Can't you raise the money somewhere?" +</P> + +<P> +"I will see," said Paul. +</P> + +<P> +He had thought of Mr. Preston. He knew that Mr. Preston was his +friend, and that he was fully able to assist him. He would go and see +him, and consult him about the matter, not directly asking him for +help, but giving him an opportunity to offer. +</P> + +<P> +"I will come back to-morrow and give you my answer," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Come to-night, if you can." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well, I will, if possible." +</P> + +<P> +Paul was fortunate enough to find Mr. Preston in. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-morning, Paul," said the merchant, pleasantly; "what can I do +for you this morning?" +</P> + +<P> +"I want to consult you on a matter of business, Mr. Preston." +</P> + +<P> +"I shall be glad to advise you as well as I can." +</P> + +<P> +Hereupon Paul explained the matter, first displaying the +advertisement. +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think the shop favorably situated for business?" asked Mr. +Preston. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it pretty well stocked?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir. If I had it I might want to increase the stock a little." +</P> + +<P> +"So the man asks a thousand dollars cash?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir." +</P> + +<P> +"How much money have you?" +</P> + +<P> +"Six hundred." +</P> + +<P> +"Well, Paul, I think favorably of your plan. If you want to take the +shop, I will lend you the money you need, and stand security for the +remainder." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir," said Paul, joyfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Wait a minute till you hear my conditions. This is strictly a +business arrangement between us. I expect you to pay me interest at +the legal rate, and to pay it punctually as it falls due. You +understand that?" +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir, that is only fair." +</P> + +<P> +"As you say, it is only fair, yet borrowers are apt to forget it. They +will make all sorts of promises when they want to borrow, and break +them afterward. Even honest men will think it is enough to pay +interest whenever it is convenient, forgetting that by their neglect +they are injuring their credit. Some years since I helped two former +clerks to establish themselves in business. Both were honest; but +while one was prompt in all his engagements, and waited upon me on the +very day the interest came due with the money ready, the other obliged +me to send for it, and then put me off on every occasion, though he +paid finally. The result was, that after a while I assisted the first +cheerfully to extend his business. The second, hearing of it, made a +similar application, which I promptly refused. Do you wonder at it?" +</P> + +<P> +"Not at all, sir. I think you were perfectly right." +</P> + +<P> +"Be prompt in all your engagements. That is a good rule in business, +and in everything else. I have confidence in your integrity, and shall +be very glad to assist you. Go and finish your negotiation, and when +you want the money come to me." +</P> + +<P> +"Thank you, sir, not only for your kind offer, but for your advice." +</P> + +<P> +"He is going to succeed," said the merchant, as Paul went out. "He +will some day be a prosperous man." +</P> + +<P> +The merchant was pleased at the respect with which his advice was +received. Young America is very apt to regard the counsel of the old +and experienced as of slight value; but in this they make a great +mistake. There are plenty of young men, who, from their own +self-sufficiency and impatience of good advice, go to financial ruin +every year. He shows wisdom who avails himself of the experience of +other men, avoiding their errors, and imitating what in them is worthy +of imitation. +</P> + +<P> +Paul returned to the shop and made a careful examination of the stock. +He came to the conclusion that the price asked was not excessive, and +agreed to pay it. In the course of two days the transfer was +concluded, and Paul transferred the small stock of his necktie stand +to the shop which he had taken. During all this time he had said +nothing to his mother of the change he had made. He wanted to surprise +her. +</P> + +<P> +"Mother," he said, on the second morning of his possession, "I want +you to take a little walk with me this morning." +</P> + +<P> +"May I go too, Paul?" asked Jimmy. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, Jimmy, I meant to invite you. So get your cap." +</P> + +<P> +"Where shall we walk to, Paul?" asked his mother. +</P> + +<P> +"I don't mean to tell you just yet. You will soon know." +</P> + +<P> +"Is it a secret?" asked Mrs. Hoffman, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes; it is a great secret." +</P> + +<P> +"Then I will try to stifle my curiosity for a time." +</P> + +<P> +"What is it, Paul? Whisper it to me," said Jimmy. +</P> + +<P> +"You must wait, too," said Paul. "I believe you are more curious than +mother." +</P> + +<P> +They had not far to walk. When they reached the shop the sign told +them nothing, for Paul had not yet had time to have his own put up. He +had given the order to a sign-painter, but it would take time to +fulfill it. +</P> + +<P> +"I want to go in here a minute," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Shall we wait outside?" asked his mother. +</P> + +<P> +"No; come in. I would like to have you see the shop." +</P> + +<P> +The three entered. A young clerk, who had been in the employ of the +former proprietor, and whom Paul had agreed to retain at the same +wages, was behind the counter. +</P> + +<P> +"Good-morning, Mr. Hoffman," he said. +</P> + +<P> +"Have you sold anything this morning?" asked Paul. +</P> + +<P> +"Yes, sir; I have entered the sales on the slate." +</P> + +<P> +"Let me see them." +</P> + +<P> +"A new style of necktie is out. I think it will be well to get it. It +was asked for this morning." +</P> + +<P> +"Very well. Just make a memorandum of it." +</P> + +<P> +"Paul," said Mrs. Hoffman, who had listened to the conversation in +surprise, "have you anything to do with this store?" +</P> + +<P> +"I am the proprietor," answered Paul, smiling. +</P> + +<P> +"Is it true? How did it happen?" +</P> + +<P> +"I wanted to surprise you, mother, and so I told you nothing about +it." +</P> + +<P> +"When did you come into it?" +</P> + +<P> +"This is only the second day. Mr. Preston helped me, or I could not +have carried out the arrangement." +</P> + +<P> +"Do you think you can pay all your expenses and make money?" asked +Mrs. Hoffman, a little frightened when she heard of the rent which +Paul had agreed to pay. +</P> + +<P> +"I mean to try, mother. I don't feel much afraid. I shall devote +myself faithfully to business, and if I don't do well it won't be my +fault." +</P> + +<HR ALIGN="center" WIDTH="10%"> + +<P> +We have kept our promise, and shown how Paul advanced slowly but +surely from the humble position of a street merchant to be the +proprietor of a shop. Now that several years have elapsed, I am able +to say that he succeeded, even beyond his anticipations. At the end of +two years he took a larger shop and engaged two extra clerks. Prompt +in his engagements, and of thorough integrity, he is likely to be even +more prosperous as the years roll on. +</P> + +<P> +His mother is no longer dependent upon him. Mr. Henderson, the English +artist, now able to obtain purchasers for his pictures at remunerative +prices, asked her to become his wife and a mother to his little girl, +and, after a little hesitation, she consented, partly, I think, +because Jimmy liked the artist so much. Mr. Henderson took pains to +instruct Jimmy and develop his talent, with such encouraging success +that Paul's prediction seems likely to be fulfilled, and I shall not +be surprised if the name of James Hoffman should, before many years, +rank among the most prominent in the list of our artists. +</P> + +<P> +Julius, as I have already stated, left the streets of New York for a +home in the West. His old enemies, Jack Morgan and Tom Marlowe, were +sentenced to a long imprisonment in Sing Sing. Marlowe threatens +vengeance upon Julius whenever he gets free from prison. Whether he +will have an opportunity of carrying out his threat I cannot tell. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="finis"> +THE END. +</P> + +<BR><BR> +<HR> +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A. L. Burt's Catalogue of Books for Young People by Popular Writers, +52-58 Duane Street, New York +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +BOOKS FOR BOYS. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Joe's Luck: A Boy's Adventures in California. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The story is chock full of stirring incidents, while the amusing +situations are furnished by Joshua Bickford, from Pumpkin Hollow, and +the fellow who modestly styles himself the "Rip-tail Roarer, from Pike +Co., Missouri." Mr. Alger never writes a poor book, and "Joe's Luck" +is certainly one of his best. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Tom the Bootblack; or, The Road to Success. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A bright, enterprising lad was Tom the Bootblack. He was not at all +ashamed of his humble calling, though always on the lookout to better +himself. The lad started for Cincinnati to look up his heritage. Mr. +Grey, the uncle, did not hesitate to employ a ruffian to kill the lad. +The plan failed, and Gilbert Grey, once Tom the bootblack, came into a +comfortable fortune. This is one of Mr. Alger's best stories. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Dan the Newsboy. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Dan Mordaunt and his mother live in a poor tenement, and the lad is +pluckily trying to make ends meet by selling papers in the streets of +New York. A little heiress of six years is confided to the care of the +Mordaunts. The child is kidnapped and Dan tracks the child to the +house where she is hidden, and rescues her. The wealthy aunt of the +little heiress is so delighted with Dan's courage and many good +qualities that she adopts him as her heir. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Tony the Hero: A Brave Boy's Adventure with a Tramp. By HORATIO ALGER, +JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Tony, a sturdy bright-eyed boy of fourteen, Is under the control of +Rudolph Rugg, a thorough rascal. After much abuse Tony runs away and +gets a job as stable boy in a country hotel. Tony is heir to a large +estate. Rudolph for a consideration hunts up Tony and throws him down +a deep well. Of course Tony escapes from the fate provided for him, +and by a brave act, a rich friend secures his rights and Tony is +prosperous. A very entertaining book. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Errand Boy; or, How Phil Brent Won Success. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. +12mo, cloth illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The career of "The Errand Boy" embraces the city adventures of a smart +country lad. Philip was brought up by a kind-hearted innkeeper named +Brent. The death of Mrs. Brent paved the way for the hero's subsequent +troubles. A retired merchant in New York secures him the situation of +errand boy, and thereafter stands as his friend. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Tom Temple's Career. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Tom Temple is a bright, self-reliant lad. He leaves Plympton village +to seek work In New York, whence he undertakes an important mission to +California. Some of his adventures in the far west are so startling +that the reader will scarcely close the book until the last page shall +have been reached. The tale is written in Mr. Alger's most fascinating +style. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Frank Fowler, the Cash Boy. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Frank Fowler, a poor boy, bravely determines to make a living for +himself and his foster-sister Grace. Going to New York he obtains a +situation as cash boy in a dry goods store. He renders a service to a +wealthy old gentleman who takes a fancy to the lad, and thereafter +helps the lad to gain success and fortune. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Tom Thatcher's Fortune. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Tom Thatcher is a brave, ambitious, unselfish boy. He supports his +mother and sister on meagre wages earned as a shoe-pegger in John +Simpson's factory. Tom is discharged from the factory and starts +overland for California. He meets with many adventures. The story is +told in a way which has made Mr. Alger's name a household word in so +many homes. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Train Boy. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Paul Palmer was a wide-awake boy of sixteen who supported his mother +and sister by selling books and papers on the Chicago and Milwaukee +Railroad. He detects a young man in the act of picking the pocket of a +young lady. In a railway accident many passengers are killed, but Paul +is fortunate enough to assist a Chicago merchant, who out of gratitude +takes him into his employ. Paul succeeds with tact and judgment and is +well started on the road to business prominence. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Mark Mason's Victory. The Trials and Triumphs of a Telegraph Boy. By +HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Mark Mason, the telegraph boy, was a sturdy, honest lad, who pluckily +won his way to success by his honest manly efforts under many +difficulties. This story will please the very large class of boys who +regard Mr. Alger as a favorite author. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Debt of Honor. The Story of Gerald Lane's Success in the Far West. +By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The story of Gerald Lane and the account of the many trials and +disappointments which he passed through before he attained success, +will interest all boys who have read the previous stories of this +delightful author. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Ben Bruce. Scenes in the Life of a Bowery Newsboy. By HORATIO ALGER, +JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Ben Bruce was a brave, manly, generous boy. The story of his efforts, +and many seeming failures and disappointments, and his final success, +are most interesting to all readers. The tale is written In Mr. +Alger's most fascinating style. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Castaways; or, On the Florida Reefs. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This tale smacks of the salt sea. From the moment that the Sea Queen +leaves lower New York bay till the breeze leaves her becalmed off the +coast of Florida, one can almost hear the whistle of the wind through +her rigging, the creak of her straining cordage as she heels to the +leeward. The adventures of Ben Clark, the hero of the story and Jake +the cook, cannot fail to charm the reader. As a writer for young +people Mr. Otis Is a prime favorite. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Wrecked on Spider Island; or, How Ned Rogers Found the Treasure. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Ned Rogers, a "down-east" plucky lad ships as cabin boy to earn a +livelihood. Ned is marooned on Spider Island, and while there +discovers a wreck submerged in the sand, and finds a considerable +amount of treasure. The capture of the treasure and the incidents of +the voyage serve to make as entertaining a story of sea-life as the +most captious boy could desire. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Search for the Silver City: A Tale of Adventure in Yucatan. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Two lads, Teddy Wright and Neal Emery, embark on the steam yacht Day +Dream for a cruise to the tropics. The yacht is destroyed by fire, and +then the boat is cast upon the coast of Yucatan. They hear of the +wonderful Silver City, of the Chan Santa Cruz Indians, and with the +help of a faithful Indian ally carry off a number of the golden images +from the temples. Pursued with relentless vigor at last their escape +is effected in an astonishing manner. The story is so full of exciting +incidents that the reader is quite carried away with the novelty and +realism of the narrative. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Runaway Brig; or, An Accidental Cruise. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This is a sea tale, and the reader can look out upon the wide +shimmering sea as it flashes back the sunlight, and imagine himself +afloat with Harry Vandyne, Walter Morse, Jim Libby and that old +shell-back, Bob Brace, on the brig Bonita. The boys discover a +mysterious document which enables them to find a buried treasure. They +are stranded on an island and at last are rescued with the treasure. +The boys are sure to be fascinated with this entertaining story. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Treasure Finders: A Boy's Adventures in Nicaragua. By JAMES OTIS. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Roy and Dean Coloney, with their guide Tongla, leave their father's +indigo plantation to visit the wonderful ruins of an ancient city. The +boys eagerly explore the temples of an extinct race and discover three +golden images cunningly hidden away. They escape with the greatest +difficulty. Eventually they reach safety with their golden prizes. We +doubt if there ever was written a more entertaining story than "The +Treasure Finders." +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Jack, the Hunchback. A Story of the Coast of Maine. By JAMES OTIS. +Price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This is the story of a little hunchback who lived on Cape Elizabeth, +on the coast of Maine. His trials and successes are most interesting. +From first to last nothing stays the interest of the narrative. It +bears us along as on a stream whose current varies in direction, but +never loses its force. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +With Washington at Monmouth: A Story of Three Philadelphia Boys. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine edges, illustrated, price +$1.50. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Three Philadelphia lads assist the American spies and make regular and +frequent visits to Valley Forge in the Winter while the British +occupied the city. The story abounds with pictures of Colonial life +skillfully drawn, and the glimpses of Washington's soldiers which are +given shown that the work has not been hastily done, or without +considerable study. The story is wholesome and patriotic in tone, as +are all of Mr. Otis' works. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +With Lafayette at Yorktown: A Story of How Two Boys Joined the +Continental Army. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine +edges, illustrated, price $1.50. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Two lads from Portmouth, N. H., attempt to enlist In the Colonial +Army, and are given employment as spies. There is no lack of exciting +incidents which the youthful reader craves, but it is healthful +excitement brimming with facts which every boy should be familiar +with, and while the reader is following the adventures of Ben Jaffrays +and Ned Allen he is acquiring a fund of historical lore which will +remain in his memory long after that which he has memorized from +textbooks has been forgotten. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +At the Siege of Havana. Being the Experiences of Three Boys Serving +under Israel Putnam in 1762. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, +olivine edges, illustrated, price $1.50. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"At the Siege of Havana" deals with that portion of the island's +history when the English king captured the capital, thanks to the +assistance given by the troops from New England, led in part by Col. +Israel Putnam. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The principal characters are Darius Lunt, the lad who, represented as +telling the story, and his comrades, Robert Clement and Nicholas +Vallet. Colonel Putnam also figures to considerable extent, +necessarily, in the tale, and the whole forms one of the most readable +stories founded on historical facts. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Defense of Fort Henry. A Story of Wheeling Creek in 1777. By JAMES +OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine edges, illustrated, price $1.50. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Nowhere in the history of our country can be found more heroic or +thrilling incidents than in the story of those brave men and women who +founded the settlement of Wheeling in the Colony of Virginia. The +recital of what Elizabeth Zane did is in itself as heroic a story as +can be imagined. The wondrous bravery displayed by Major McCulloch and +his gallant comrades, the sufferings of the colonists and their +sacrifice of blood and life, stir the blood of old as well as young +readers. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Capture of the Laughing Mary. A Story of Three New York Boys in +1776. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.50. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"During the British occupancy of New York, at the outbreak of the +Revolution, a Yankee lad hears of the plot to take General +Washington's person, and calls in two companions to assist the patriot +cause. They do some astonishing things, and, incidentally, lay the way +for an American navy later, by the exploit which gives its name to the +work. Mr. Otis' books are too well known to require any particular +commendation to the young."—Evening Post. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +With Warren at Bunker Hill. A Story of the Siege of Boston. By JAMES +OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine edges, illustrated, price $1.50. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This is a tale of the siege of Boston, which opens on the day after +the doings at Lexington and Concord, with a description of home life +in Boston, introduces the reader to the British camp at Charlestown, +shows Gen. Warren at home, describes what a boy thought of the battle +of Bunker Hill, and closes with the raising of the siege. The three +heroes, George Wentworth. Ben Scarlett and an old ropemaker, incur the +enmity of a young Tory, who causes them many adventures the boys will +like to read."—Detroit Free Press. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +With the Swamp Fox. The Story of General Marion's Spies. By JAMES +OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This story deals with General Francis Marion's heroic struggle in the +Carolinas. General Marion's arrival to take command of these brave men +and rough riders is pictured as a boy might have seen it, and although +the story Is devoted to what the lads did, the Swamp Fox is ever +present in the mind of the reader. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +On the Kentucky Frontier. A Story of the Fighting Pioneers of the +West. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +In the history of our country there is no more thrilling story than +that of the work done on the Mississippi river by a handful of +frontiersmen. Mr. Otis takes the reader on that famous expedition from +the arrival of Major Clarke's force at Corn Island, until Kaskaskia +was captured. He relates that part of Simon Kenton's life history +which is not usually touched upon either by the historian or the story +teller. This is one of the most entertaining books for young people +which has been published. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Sarah Dillard's Ride. A Story of South Carolina in in 1780. By JAMES +OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This book deals with the Carolinas in 1780, giving a wealth of detail +of the Mountain Men who struggled so valiantly against the king's +troops. Major Ferguson is the prominent British officer of the story, +which is told as though coming from a youth who experienced these +adventures. In this way the famous ride of Sarah Dillard is brought +out as an incident of the plot."—Boston Journal. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Tory Plot. A Story of the Attempt to Kill General Washington. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo. cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"'A Tory Plot' is the story of two lads who overhear something of the +plot originated during the Revolution by Gov. Tryon to capture or +murder Washington. They communicate their knowledge to Gen. Putnam and +are commissioned by him to play the role of detectives in the matter. +They do so, and meet with many adventures and hairbreadth escapes. The +boys are, of course, mythical, but they serve to enable the author to +put into very attractive shape much valuable knowledge concerning one +phase of the Revolution."—Pittsburgh Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Traitor's Escape. A Story of the Attempt to Seize Benedict Arnold By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This is a tale with stirring scenes depicted in each chapter, +bringing clearly before the mind the glorious deeds of the early +settlers in this country. In an historical work dealing with this +country's past, no plot can hold the attention closer than this one, +which describes the attempt and partial success of Benedict Arnold's +escape to New York, where he remained as the guest of Sir Henry +Clinton. All those who actually figured in the arrest of the traitor, +as well as Gen. Washington, are included as characters."—Albany +Union. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Cruise with Paul Jones. A Story of Naval Warfare in 1776. By JAMES +OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This story takes up that portion of Paul Jones' adventurous life when +he was hovering off the British coast, watching for an opportunity to +strike the enemy a blow. It deals more particularly with his descent +upon Whitehaven, the seizure of Lady Selkirk's plate, and the famous +battle with the Drake. The boy who figures in the tale is one who was +taken from a derelict by Paul Jones shortly after this particular +cruise was begun."—Chicago Inter-Ocean. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Corporal Lige's Recruit. A Story of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1,00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"In 'Corporal Lige's Recruit,' Mr. Otis tells the amusing story of an +old soldier, proud of his record, who had served the king In '58, and +who takes the lad, Isaac Rice, as his 'personal recruit.' The lad +acquits himself superbly. Col. Ethan Allen 'In the name of God and the +continental congress,' infuses much martial spirit into the narrative, +which will arouse the keenest interest as it proceeds. Crown Point, +Ticonderoga, Benedict Arnold and numerous other famous historical +names appear in this dramatic tale."—Boston Globe. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Morgan, the Jersey Spy. A Story of the Siege of Yorktown in 1781. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The two lads who are utilized by the author to emphasize the details +of the work done during that memorable time were real boys who lived +on the banks of the York river, and who aided the Jersey spy in his +dangerous occupation. In the guise of fishermen the lads visit +Yorktown, are suspected of being spies, and put under arrest. Morgan +risks his life to save them. The final escape, the thrilling encounter +with a squad of red coats, when they are exposed equally to the +bullets of friends and foes, told in a masterly fashion, makes of this +volume one of the most entertaining books of the year."—Inter-Ocean. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Young Scout: The Story of a West Point Lieutenant. By EDWARD S. +ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The crafty Apache chief Geronimo but a few years ago was the most +terrible scourge of the southwest border. The author has woven, in a +tale of thrilling interest, all the incidents of Geronimo's last raid. +The hero is Lieutenant James Docker, a recent graduate of West Point. +Ambitious to distinguish himself the young man takes many a desperate +chance against the enemy and on more than one occasion narrowly +escapes with his life. In our opinion Mr. Ellis is the best writer of +Indian stories now before the public. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Adrift in the Wilds: The Adventures of Two Shipwrecked Boys. By EDWARD +S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Elwood Brandon and Howard Lawrence are en route for San Francisco. Off +the coast of California the steamer takes fire. The two boys reach the +shore with several of the passengers. Young Brandon becomes separated +from his party and is captured by hostile Indians, but is afterwards +rescued. This is a very entertaining narrative of Southern California. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Young Hero; or, Fighting to Win. By EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This story tells how a valuable solid silver service was stolen from +the Misses Perkinpine, two very old and simple minded ladies. Fred +Sheldon, the hero of this story, undertakes to discover the thieves +and have them arrested. After much time spent in detective work, he +succeeds in discovering the silver plate and winning the reward. The +story is told in Mr. Ellis' most fascinating style. Every boy will be +glad to read this delightful book. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Lost in the Rockies. A Story of Adventure in the Rocky Mountains. By +EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Incident succeeds incident, and adventure is piled upon adventure, and +at the end the reader, be he boy or man, will have experienced +breathless enjoyment in this romantic story describing many adventures +in the Rockies and among the Indians. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Jaunt Through Java: The Story of a Journey to the Sacred Mountain. +By EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The interest of this story is found in the thrilling adventures of two +cousins, Hermon and Eustace Hadley, on their trip acrosss the Island +of Java, from Samarang to the Sacred Mountain. In a land where the +Royal Bengal tiger, the rhinoceros, and other fierce beasts are to be +met with, it is but natural that the heroes of this book should have a +lively experience. There is not a dull page in the book. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Boy Patriot. A Story of Jack, the Young Friend of Washington. By +EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, illustrated, price $1.50. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"There are adventures of all kinds for the hero and his friends, whose +pluck and ingenuity in extricating themselves from awkward fixes are +always equal to the occasion. It is an excellent story full of honest, +manly, patriotic efforts on the part of the hero. A very vivid +description of the battle of Trenton is also found In this +story."—Journal of Education. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Yankee Lad's Pluck. How Bert Larkin Saved his Father's Ranch in +Porto Rico. By WM. P. CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Bert Larkin, the hero of the story, early excites our admiration, and +is altogether a fine character such as boys will delight in, whilst +the story of his numerous adventures is very graphically told. This +will, we think, prove one of the most popular boys' books this +season."—Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Brave Defense. A Story of the Massacre at Fort Griswold in 1781. By +WILLIAM P. CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Perhaps no more gallant fight against fearful odds took place during +the Revolutionary War than that at Fort Griswold, Groton Heights, +Conn., in 1781. The boys are real boys who were actually on the muster +rolls, either at Fort Trumbull on the New London side, or of Fort +Griswold on the Groton side of the Thames. The youthful reader who +follows Halsey Sanford and Levi Dart and Tom Malleson, and their +equally brave comrades, through their thrilling adventures will be +learning something more than historical facts; they will be imbibing +lessons of fidelity, of bravery, of heroism, and of manliness, which +must prove serviceable in the arena of life. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Young Minuteman. A Story of the Capture of General Prescott in +1777. By WILLIAM P. CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This story Is based upon actual events which occurred during the +British occupation of the waters of Narragansett Bay. Darius Wale and +William Northrop belong to, "the coast patrol." The story is a strong +one, dealing only with actual events. There is, however, no lack of +thrilling adventure, and every lad who is fortunate enough to obtain +the book will find not only that his historical knowledge is +increased, but that his own patriotism and love of country are +deepened. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by S. J. SOLOMON. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mr. Henty's graphic prose picture of the hopeless Jewish resistance +to Roman sway adds another leaf to his record of the famous wars of +the world. The book is one of Mr. Henty's cleverest efforts."—Graphic. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Roy Gilbert's Search: A Tale of the Great Lakes. By WM. P. CHIPMAN. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A deep mystery hangs over the parentage of Roy Gilbert. He arranges +with two schoolmates to make a tour of the Great Lakes on a steam +launch. The three boys visit many points of interest on the lakes. +Afterwards the lads rescue an elderly gentleman and a lady from a +sinking yacht. Later on the boys narrowly escape with their lives. The +hero is a manly, self-reliant boy, whose adventures will be followed +with interest. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Slate Picker: The Story of a Boy's Life in the Coal Mines. By +HARRY PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This is a story of a boy's life in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Ben +Burton, the hero, had a hard road to travel, but by grit and energy be +advanced step by step until he found himself called upon to fill the +position of chief engineer of the Kohinoor Coal Company. This is a +book of extreme interest to every boy reader. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Boy Cruisers; or, Paddling in Florida. By ST. GEORGE RATHBORNE. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Andrew George and Rowland Carter start on a canoe trip along the Gulf +coast, from Key West to Tampa, Florida. Their first adventure is with +a pair of rascals who steal their boats. Next they run into a gale in +the Gulf. After that they have a lively time with alligators and +Andrew gets into trouble with a band of Seminole Indians. Mr. +Rathborne knows just how to interest the boys, and lads who are in +search of a rare treat will do well to read this entertaining story. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Captured by Zulus: A Story of Trapping in Africa. By HARRY PRENTICE. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This story details the adventures of two lads, Dick Elsworth and Bob +Harvey, in the wilds of South Africa. By stratagem the Zulus capture +Dick and Bob and take them to their principal kraal or village. The +lads escape death by digging their way out of the prison hut by night. +They are pursued, but the Zulus finally give up pursuit. Mr. Prentice +tells exactly how wild-beast collectors secure specimens on their +native stamping grounds, and these descriptions make very entertaining +reading. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Tom the Ready; or, Up from the Lowest. By RANDOLPH HILL. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This is a dramatic narrative of the unaided rise of a fearless, +ambitious boy from the lowest round of fortune's ladder to wealth and +the governorship of his native State. Tom Seacomb begins life with a +purpose, and eventually overcomes those who oppose him. How he manages +to win the battle is told by Mr. Hill in a masterful way that thrills +the reader and holds his attention and sympathy to the end. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Captain Kidd's Gold: The True Story of an Adventurous Sailor Boy. By +JAMES FRANKLIN FITTS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +There is something fascinating to the average youth in the very idea +of buried treasure. A vision arises before his eyes of swarthy +Portuguese and Spanish rascals, with black beards and gleaming eyes. +There were many famous sea rovers, but none more celebrated than Capt. +Kidd. Paul Jones Garry inherits a document which locates a +considerable treasure buried by two of Kidd's crew. The hero of this +book is an ambitious, persevering lad, of salt-water New England +ancestry, and his efforts to reach the island and secure the money +form one of the most absorbing tales for our youth that has come from +the press. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Boy Explorers: The Adventures of Two Boys in Alaska. By HARRY +PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Two boys, Raymond and Spencer Manning, travel to Alaska to join their +father in search of their uncle. On their arrival at Sitka the boys +With an Indian guide set off across the mountains. The trip is fraught +with perils that test the lads' courage to the utmost. All through +their exciting adventures the lads demonstrate what can be +accomplished by pluck and resolution, and their experience makes one +of the most interesting tales ever written. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Island Treasure; or, Harry Darrel's Fortune. By FRANK H. CONVERSE. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Harry Darrel, having received a nautical training on a school-ship, is +bent on going to sea. A runaway horse changes his prospects. Harry +saves Dr. Gregg from drowning and afterward becomes sailing-master of +a sloop yacht. Mr. Converse's stories possess a charm of their own +which is appreciated by lads who delight in good healthy tales that +smack of salt water. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Guy Harris: The Runaway. By HARRY CASTLEMON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Guy Harris lived in a small city on the shore of one of the Great +Lakes. He is persuaded to go to sea, and gets a glimpse of the rough +side of life in a sailor's boarding house. He ships on a vessel and +for five months leads a hard life. The book will interest boys +generally on account of its graphic style. This is one of Castlemon's +most attractive stories. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Julian Mortimer: A Brave Boy's Struggle for Home and Fortune. By HARRY +CASTLEMON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The scene of the story lies west of the Mississippi River, in the days +when emigrants made their perilous way across the great plains to the +land of gold. There is an attack upon the wagon train by a large party +of Indians. Our hero is a lad of uncommon nerve and pluck. Befriended +by a stalwart trapper, a real rough diamond, our hero achieves the +most happy results. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by MAYNARD BROWN. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Boys with a turn for historical research will be enchanted with the +book, while the rest who only care for adventure will be students in +spite of themselves."—St. James's Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +St. George for England: A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A story of very great interest for boys. In his own forcible style +the author has endeavored to show that determination and enthusiasm +can accomplish marvellous results; and that courage is generally +accompanied by magnanimity and gentleness."—Pall Mall Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Captain Bayley's Heir: A Tale of the Gold Fields of California. By G. +A. HENTY. With illustrations by H. M. PAGET. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mr. Henty is careful to mingle instruction with entertainment; and +the humorous touches, especially in the sketch of John Holl, the +Westminster dustman, Dickens himself could hardly have excelled." +—Christian Leader. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Budd Boyd's Triumph; or, The Boy Firm of Fox Island. By WILLIAM P. +CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The scene of this story is laid on the upper part of Narragansett Bay, +and the leading incidents have a strong salt-water flavor. The two +boys, Budd Boyd and Judd Floyd, being ambitious and clear sighted, +form a partnership to catch and sell fish. Budd's pluck and good sense +carry him through many troubles. In following the career of the boy +firm of Boyd & Floyd, the youthful reader will find a useful lesson +that industry and perseverance are bound to lead to ultimate success. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Lost in the Canyon: Sam Willett's Adventures on the Great Colorado. By +ALFRED R. CALHOUN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This story hinges on a fortune left to Sam Willett, the hero, and the +fact that it will pass to a disreputable relative if the lad dies +before he shall have reached his majority. The story of his father's +peril and of Sam's desperate trip down the great canyon on a raft, and +how the party finally escape from their perils is described in a +graphic style that stamps Mr. Calhoun as a master of his art. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Captured by Apes: The Wonderful Adventures of a Young Animal Trainer. +By HARRY PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Philip Garland, a young animal collector and trainer, sets sail for +Eastern seas in quest of a new stock of living curiosities. The vessel +is wrecked off the coast of Borneo, and young Garland is cast ashore +on a small island, and captured by the apes that overrun the place. +Very novel indeed is the way by which the young man escapes death. Mr. +Prentice is a writer of undoubted skill. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Under Drake's Flag: A Tale of the Spanish Main. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"There is not a dull chapter, nor, indeed, a dull page in the book; +but the author has so carefully worked up his subject that the +exciting deeds of his heroes are never incongruous nor absurd." +—Observer. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War. By G. A. HENTY, With +illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The author has woven, in a tale of thrilling interest, all the details +of the Ashanti campaign, of which he was himself a witness. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mr. Henty keeps up his reputation as a writer of boys' stories. 'By +Sheer Pluck' will be eagerly read."—Athenaeum. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +With Lee in Virginia: A Story of the American Civil War. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"One of the best stories for lads which Mr. Henty has yet written, the +picture is full of life and color, and the stirring and romantic +incidents are skillfully blended with the personal interest and charm +of the story."—Standard. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +By England's Aid; or, The Freeing of the Netherlands (1585-1604). By +G. A HENTY. With illustrations by ALFRED PEARSE. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"It is an admirable book for youngsters. It overflows with stirring +incident and exciting adventure, and the color of the era and of the +scene are finely reproduced. The illustrations add to its +attractiveness."—Boston Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +By Right of Conquest; or, With Cortez in Mexico. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by W. S. STACEY. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.50. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The conquest of Mexico by a small band of resolute men under the +magnificent leadership of Cortez is always rightfully ranked among the +most romantic and daring exploits in history. 'By Right of Conquest' +is the nearest approach to a perfectly successful historical tale that +Mr. Henty has yet published."—Academy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +For Name and Fame; or, Through Afghan Passes. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Not only a rousing story, replete with all the varied forms of +excitement of a campaign, but, what is still more useful, an account +of a territory and its inhabitants which must for a long time possess +a supreme interest for Englishmen, as being the key to our Indian +Empire."—Glasgow Herald. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Bravest of the Brave; or, With Peterborough in Spain. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by H. M. PAGET. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, +price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mr. Henty never loses sight of the moral purpose of his work to +enforce the doctrine of courage and truth, mercy and loving kindness, +as indispensable to the making of a gentleman. Boys will read 'The +Bravest of the Brave' with pleasure and profit; of that we are quite +sure."—Daily Telegraph. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Cat of Bubastes: A Story of Ancient Egypt. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The story, from the critical moment of the killing of the sacred cat +to the perilous exodus into Asia with which it closes, is very +skillfully constructed and full of exciting adventures. It is +admirably illustrated."—Saturday Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Ronald, the hero, is very like the hero of 'Quentin Durward.' The +lad's journey across France, and his hairbreadth escapes, makes up as +good a narrative of the kind as we have ever read. For freshness of +treatment and variety of incident Mr. Henty has surpassed +himself."—Spectator. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +With Clive in India; or, The Beginnings of an Empire. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"He has taken a period of Indian history of the most vital importance, +and he has embroidered on the historical facts a story which of itself +is deeply interesting. Young people assuredly will be delighted with +the volume."—Scotsman. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +In the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster Boy. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by J. SCHONBERG. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, +price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Harry Sandwith, the Westminster boy, may fairly be said to beat Mr. +Henty's record. His adventures will delight boys by the audacity and +peril they depict. The story is one of Mr. Henty's best."—Saturday +Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Lion of the North: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and the Wars of +Religion. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by JOHN SCHONBERG. 12mo, +cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A praiseworthy attempt to interest British youth in the great deeds +Of the Scotch Brigade in the wars of Gustavus Adolphus. Mackey, +Hepburn, and Munro live again in Mr. Henty's pages, as those deserve +to live whose disciplined bands formed really the germ of the modern +British army."—Athenaeum. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Dragon and the Raven; or, The Days of King Alfred By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by C. J. STANILAND 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, +price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"In this story the author gives an account of the fierce struggle +between Saxon and Dane for supremacy in England, and presents a vivid +picture of the misery and ruin to which the country was reduced by the +ravages of the sea-wolves. The story is treated in a manner most +attractive to the boyish reader."—Athenaeum. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Young Carthaginian: A Story of the Times of Hannibal. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by C. J. STANILAND. 12mo, cloth olivine +edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Well constructed and vividly told. From first to last nothing stays +the interest of the narrative. It bears us along as on a stream whose +current varies in direction, but never loses its force."—Saturday +Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"It is written in the author's best style. Full of the wildest and +most remarkable achievements, it is a tale of great interest, which a +boy, once he has begun it, will not willingly put one side."—The +Schoolmaster. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +With Wolfe in Canada; or, The Winning of a Continent By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A model of what a boys' story-book should be. Mr. Henty has a great +power of infusing into the dead facts of history new life, and as no +pains are spared by him to ensure accuracy in historic details, his +books supply useful aids to study as well as amusement."—School +Guardian. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of Independence. By +G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Does justice to the pluck and determination of the British soldiers +during the unfortunate struggle against American emancipation. The son +of an American loyalist, who remains true to our flag, falls among the +hostile red-skins in that very Huron country which has been endeared +to us by the exploits of Hawkeye and Chingachgook."—The Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A. Final Reckoning: A Tale of Bush Life in Australia. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by W. B. WOLLEN. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"All boys will read this story with eager and unflagging interest. The +episodes are in Mr. Henty's very best vein—graphic, exciting, +realistic; and, as in all Mr. Henty's books, the tendency is to the +formation of an honorable, manly, and even heroic character." +—Birmingham Post. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Lion of St. Mark: A Tale of Venice in the Fourteenth Century. By +G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Every boy should read 'The Lion of St. Mark.' Mr. Henty has never +produced a story more delightful, more wholesome, or more +vivacious."—Saturday Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Facing Death; or, The Hero of the Vaughan Pit. A Tale of the Coal +Mines. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, +cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The tale is well written and well illustrated, and there is much +reality in the characters. If any father, clergyman, or schoolmaster +is on the lookout for a good book to give as a present to a boy who is +worth his salt, this is the book we would recommend."—Standard. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Maori and Settler: A Story 01 the New Zealand War. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by ALFRED PEARSE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1,00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"In the adventures among the Maoris, there are many breathless moments +in which the odds seem hopelessly against the party, but they succeed +in establishing themselves happily in one of the pleasant New Zealand +valleys. It is brimful of adventure, of humorous and interesting +conversation, and vivid pictures of colonial life."—Schoolmaster. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +One of the 28th: A Tale of Waterloo. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by W. H. OVEREND. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Written with Homeric vigor and heroic Inspiration. It is graphic, +picturesque, and dramatically effective ... shows us Mr. Henty at his +best and brightest. The adventures will hold a boy enthralled as he +rushes through them with breathless interest 'from cover to cover.' +"—Observer. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Orange and Green: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The narrative is free from the vice of prejudice, and ripples with +life as if what is being described were really passing before the +eye."—Belfast News-Letter. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Through the Fray: A Story of the Luddite Riots. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by H. M. PAGET. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mr. Henty inspires a love and admiration for straightforwardness, +truth and courage. This is one of best of the many good books Mr. +Henty has produced, and deserves to be classed with his 'Facing +Death'"—Standard. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Young Midshipman: A Story of the Bombardment of Alexandria. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1,00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A coast fishing lad, by an act of heroism, secures the interest of a +shipowner, who places him as an apprentice on board one of his ships. +In company with two of his fellow-apprentices he is left behind, at +Alexandria, in the hands of the revolted Egyptian troops, and is +present through the bombardment and the scenes of riot and bloodshed +which accompanied it. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +In Times of Peril. A Tale of India. By G. A, HENTY. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The hero of the story early excites our admiration, and is altogether +a fine character such as boys will delight in, whilst the story of the +campaign is very graphically told."—St. James's Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Cornet of Horse: A Tale of Marlborough's Wars. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mr. Henty not only concocts a thrilling tale, he weaves fact and +fiction together with so skillful a hand that the reader cannot help +acquiring a just and clear view of that fierce and terrible struggle +known as the Crimean War."—Athenaeum. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Young Franc-Tireurs: Their Adventures in the Franco-Prussian War. +By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A capital book for boys. It is bright and readable, and full of good +sense and manliness. It teaches pluck and patience in adversity, and +shows that right living leads to success."—Observer. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Young Colonists: A Story of Life and War in South Africa. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +No boy needs to have any story of Henty's recommended to him, and +parents who do not know and buy them for their boys should be ashamed +of themselves. Those to whom he is yet unknown could not make a better +beginning than with this book. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Young Buglers. A Tale of the Peninsular War. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mr. Henty is a giant among boys' writers, and his books are +sufficiently popular to be sure of a welcome anywhere. In stirring +interest, this is quite up to the level of Mr. Henty's former +historical tales."—Saturday Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Sturdy and Strong; or, How George Andrews Made his Way. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo. cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The history of a hero of everyday life, whose love of truth, clothing +of modesty, and innate pluck, carry him, naturally, from poverty to +affluence. George Andrews is an example of character with nothing to +cavil at, and stands as a good instance of chivalry in domestic +life."—The Empire. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Among Malay Pirates. A Story of Adventure and Peril. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Incident succeeds incident, and adventure is piled upon adventure, +and at the end the reader, be he boy or man, will have experienced +breathless enjoyment in a romantic story that must have taught him +much at its close."—Army and Navy Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Jack Archer. A Tale of the Crimea. BY G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. +12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mr. Henty not only concocts a thrilling tale, he weaves fact and +fiction together with so skillful a hand that the reader cannot help +acquiring a just and clear view of that fierce and terrible +struggle."—Athenaeum. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Friends, Though Divided. A Tale of the Civil War. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"It has a good plot; it abounds in action; the scenes are equally +spirited and realistic, and we can only say we have read it with much +pleasure from first to last."—Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Out on the Pampas; or, The Young Settlers. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations, 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A really noble story, which adult readers will find to the full as +satisfying as the boys. Lucky boys! to have such a caterer as Mr. G. +A. Henty."—Black and White. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Boy Knight: A Tale of the Crusades. By G. A HENTY. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Of stirring episode there is no lack. The book, with its careful +accuracy and its descriptions of all the chief battles, will give many +a schoolboy his first real understanding of a very important period of +history."—St. James's Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Wreck of the Golden Fleece. The Story of a North Sea Fisher Boy. +By ROBERT LEIGHTON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A description of life on the wild North Sea,—the hero being a +parson's son who is appreciated on board a Lowestoft fishing lugger. +The lad has to suffer many buffets from his shipmates, while the +storms and dangers which he braved on board the "North Star" are set +forth with minute knowledge and intense power. The wreck of the +"Golden Fleece" forms the climax to a thrilling series of desperate +mischances. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Olaf the Glorious. A Story of the Viking Age. By ROBERT LEIGHTON. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This story of Olaf the Glorious, King of Norway, opens with the +incident of his being found by his uncle living as a bond-slave in +Esthonia; then come his adventures as a Viking and his raids upon the +coasts of Scotland and England, his victorious battle against the +English at Maidon in Essex, his being bought off by Ethelred the +Unready, and his conversion to Christianity. He then returns to Pagan +Norway, is accepted as king and converts his people to the Christian +faith. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +To Greenland and the Pole. A story of Adventure in the Arctic Regions. +By GORDON STABLES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The unfailing fascination of Arctic venturing is presented in this +story with new vividness. It deals with skilobning in the north of +Scotland, deer-hunting in Norway, sealing in the Arctic Seas, +bear-stalking on the ice-floes, the hardships of a journey across +Greenland, and a successful voyage to the back of the North Pole. This +is, indeed, a real sea-yarn by a real sailor, and the tone is as +bright and wholesome as the adventures are numerous. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Yussuf the Guide. A Story of Adventure in Asia Minor. By GEORGE +MANVILLE FENN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This story deals with the stirring incidents in the career of a lad +who has been almost given over by the doctors, but who rapidly +recovers health and strength in a journey through Asia Minor. The +adventures are many, and culminate in the travellers being snowed up +for the winter in the mountains, from which they escape while their +captors are waiting for the ransom that does not come. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Grettir the Outlaw. A Story of Iceland. By S. BARING-GOULD. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This is the boys' book of the year. That is, of course, as much as to +say that it will do for men grown as well as juniors. It is told in +simple, straightforward English, as all stories should be, and it has +a freshness and freedom which make it irresistible."—National +Observer. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Two Thousand Years Ago. The Adventures of a Roman Boy. By A. J. +CHURCH. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Prof. Church has in this story sought to revivify that most +interesting period, the last days of the Roman Republic. The book is +extremely entertaining as well as useful; there is a wonderful +freshness in the Roman scenes and characters."—Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Nat the Naturalist. A Boy's Adventure in the Eastern Seas. By GEORGE +MANVILLE FENN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Nat and his uncle Dick go on a voyage to the remoter islands of the +Eastern seas, and their adventures are told in a truthful and vastly +interesting fashion. The descriptions of Mr. Ebony, their black +comrade, and of the scenes of savage life, are full of genuine humor. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Log of the Flying Fish. A Story of Peril and Adventure. By HARRY +COLLINGWOOD, 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This story is full of even more vividly recounted adventures than +those which charmed so many boy readers in 'Pirate Island' and 'Congo +Rovers.' ... There is a thrilling adventure on the precipices of Mount +Everest, when the ship floats off and providentially returns by force +of 'gravitation.'"—Academy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Congo Rovers. A Story of the Slave Squadron. By HARRY COLLINGWOOD. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The scene of this tale is laid on the west coast of Africa, and in +the lower reaches of the Congo; the characteristic scenery of the +great river being delineated with wonderful accuracy. Mr. Collingwood +carries us off for another cruise at sea, in 'The Congo Rovers,' and +boys will need no pressing to join the daring crew, which seeks +adventures and meets with any number of them."—The Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Boris the Bear Hunter. A Tale of Peter the Great and His Times. By +FRED WISHAW. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This is a capital story. The characters are marked and lifelike, and +it is full of incident and adventure."—Standard. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Michael Strogoff; or, The Courier of the Czar. By JULES VERNE. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The story is full of originality and vigor. The characters are +lifelike, there is plenty of stirring incident, the interest is +sustained throughout, and every boy will enjoy following the fortunes +of the hero."—Journal of Education. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Mother Carey's Chicken. Her Voyage to the Unknown Isle. By GEORGE +MANVILLE FENN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Undoubtedly one of the best Mr. Fenn has written. The incidents are +of thrilling interest, while the characters are drawn with a care and +completeness rarely found in a boy's book. "—Literary World. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Dick Sand; or, A Captain at Fifteen. By JULES VERNE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Jules Verne himself never constructed a more marvellous tale. It +contains the strongly marked features that are always conspicuous in +his stories—a racy humor, the manly vigor of his sentiment, and +wholesome moral lessons."—Christian Leader. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Erling the Bold. A Tale of the Norse Sea Kings. By R. M. BALLANTYNE. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This volume makes a really fascinating book, worthy of its telling +title. There is, we venture to say, not a dull chapter in the book, +not a page which will not bear a second reading."—Guardian. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Masterman Ready; or, The Wreck of the Pacific. By CAPTAIN MARRYAT. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"As racy a tale of life at sea and adventure as we have met with for +some time. ... Altogether the sort of book that boys will revel +in."—Athenaeum. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Green Mountain Boys. A Tale of the Early Settlement of Vermont. By +D. P. THOMPSON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A. story of very great interest for boys. In his own forcible style +the author has endeavored to show that determination and patriotic +enthusiasm can accomplish marvellous results. This story gives a +graphic account of the early settlers of Vermont, and their patriotic +efforts in defending their homes from the invasions of enemies. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Every Inch a Sailor. By GORDON STABLES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A story which is quite as good in its way as 'Treasure Island,' and +is full of adventure of a stirring yet most natural kind. Although it +is primarily a boys' book, it is a real godsend to the elderly +reader."—Evening Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Golden Galleon. A Narrative of Adventure on Her Majesty's Ship the +Revenge. By ROBERT LEIGHTON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This story should add considerably to Mr. Leighton's high reputation. +Excellent in every respect, it contains every variety of incident. The +plot is very cleverly devised, and the types of the North Sea sailors +are capital."—The Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Gorilla Hunters. A Tale of the Wilds of Africa. By R. M. +BALLANTYNE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"We conscientiously belive that boys will find it capital reading. It +is full of incident and mystery, and the mystery is kept up to the +last moment. It is full of stirring adventure, daring and many +escapes; and it has a historical interest."—Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Gascoyne the Sandalwood Trader. By R. M. BALLANTYNE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"One of the best stories of seafaring life and adventure which have +appeared this season. Entertaining in the highest degree from +beginning to end, and full of adventure which is all the livelier for +its close connection with history."—Spectator. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Two Years Before the Mast. A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea. By R. +H. DANA, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"One of the very best books for boys that we have seen for a long +time: its author stands far in advance of any other writer for boys as +a teller of stories of the sea."—The Standard. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Young Rajah. A Story of Indian Life. By W. H. G. KINGSTON. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This story will place the author at once in the front rank. It is +full of life and adventure, and the interest is sustained without a +break from first to last."—Standard. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +How Jack Mackenzie Won His Epaulettes. A Story of the Crimean War. By +GORDON STABLES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This must rank among the few undeniably good boys' books, He will be +a very dull boy indeed who lays it down without wishing that it had +gone on for at least 100 pages more."—Mail. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The King's Pardon. A Story of Land and Sea. By ROBERT OVERTON. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"An excellent story, the interest being sustained from first to last. +This is, both in its intention and the way the story is told, one of +the best books of its kind which has come before us this +year."—Saturday Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Tinder the Lone Star. A Story of the Revolution in Nicaragua. By +HERBERT HAYNES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"We have not of late come across a historical fiction, whether +intended for boys or for men, which deserves to be so heartily and +unreservedly praised as regards plot, incidents, and spirit as this +book. It is its author's masterpiece as yet."—Spectator. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Geoff and Jim: A Story of School Life. By ISMAY THORN. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This is a prettily told story of the life spent by two motherless +bairns at a small preparatory school. Both Geoff and Jim are very +lovable characters, only Jim is the more so; and the scrapes he gets +into and the trials he endures will, no doubt, interest a large circle +of young readers."—Church Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Jack: A Topsy Turvy Story. By C. M. CRAWLEY-BOEVEY. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The Illustrations deserve particular mention, as they add largely to +the interest of this amusing volume for children. Jack falls asleep +with his mind full of the subject of the fishpond, and is very much +surprised presently to find himself an inhabitant of Waterworld, where +he goes through wonderful and edifying adventures. A handsome and +pleasant book."—Literary World. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Black Beauty. The Autobiography of a Horse. By ANNA SEWELL. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +This Is the life story of a horse; how he was ill treated and well +cared for. The experiences of Black Beauty, Ginger, and Merrylegs are +extremely interesting. Wherever children are, whether boys or girls, +this Autobiography should be. It inculcates habits of kindness to all +members of the animal creation. The literary merit of the book is +excellent. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Mopsa the Fairy. By JEAN INGELOW. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 +cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mrs. Ingelow is, to our mind, the most charming of all living writers +for children, and 'Mopsa' alone ought to give her a kind of +pre-emptive right to the love and gratitude of our young folks. It +requires genius to conceive a purely imaginary work which must of +necessity deal with the supernatural, without running into a mere riot +of fantastic absurdity; but genius Mrs. Ingelow has, and the story of +'Jack' is as careless and joyous, but as delicate as a picture of +childhood."—Eclectic. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Carrots: Just a Little Boy. By MRS. MOLESWORTH. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"One of the cleverest and most pleasing stories it has been our good +fortune to meet with for some time. Carrots and his sister are +delightful little beings, whom to read about is at once to become very +fond of. A genuine children's book; we've seen 'em seize it, and read +it greedily. Children are first-rate critics, and thoroughly +appreciate Walter Crane's illustrations."—Punch. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Larry's Luck. By the author of "Miss Toosey's Mission." 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"It is believed that this story, by this favorably known author of +'Miss Toosey's Mission,' will be found both highly interesting and +instructive to the young. Whether the readers are nine years old, or +twice as old, they must enjoy this pretty volume."—The Examiner. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Child's Christmas: A Sketch of Boy Life. By MRS. MOLESWORTH. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This is another of those delightful juvenile stories of which this +author has written so many. It is a fascinating little book, with a +charming plot, a sweet, pure atmosphere, and teaches a wholesome moral +in the most winning manner."—Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Chunk, Fusky and Snout. A Story of Wild Pigs for Little People. By +GERALD YOUNG. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The story is an extremely interesting one, full of incident, told in +a quiet, healthful way, and with a great deal of pleasantly interfused +information about, wild pigs and their ways. It Is sure to interest +both boys and girls."—Christian Union. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Daddy's Boy. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A charming story of child life. Little Sir Rowland is one of the most +fascinating of the misunderstood child heroes of the day. The quaint +doings and imaginings of this gentle, lovable, but highly original +child are introduced by Mrs. Meade, with all her accustomed +pathos."—Guardian. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Adventures of Prince Prigio. BY ANDREW LANG. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This book has so much charm of style and good writing that It will be +eagerly read by many other than the young folk for whom it is +intended."—Black and White. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Flock of Four. A Story for Boys and Girls. By ISMAY THORN. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"As a gift book for boys It is among the best new books of the kind. +The story is interesting and natural, from first to last."—Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Flat Iron for a Farthing. The Story of an Only Son. By JULIANA +HORATIA EWING. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A very good book it is, full of adventure, graphically told. The +style is just what it should be; simple but not bold, full of pleasant +humor, and with some pretty touches of feeling. Like all Mrs. Ewing's +tales, it is sound, sensible, and wholesome."—Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Greek Heroes. Fairy Tales for My Children. By CHARLES KINGSLEY. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"We do not think these heroic stories have ever been more attractively +told... There is a deep under-current of religious feeling traceable +throughout its pages which is sure to influence young readers +powerfully. One of the children's books that will surely become a +classic." London Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Jackanapes. BY JULIANA HORATIA EWING. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price +75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This is one of Mrs. Ewing's charming little stories for young +children. The narrative ... is full of interest for its real grace and +delicacy, and the exquisiteness and purity of the English In which it +is written."—Boston Advertiser. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Princess and Curdie. By GEORGE MACDONALD. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"One of the cleverest and most pleasing stories it has been our good +fortune to meet with for some time. The Princess and Curdie are +delightful little beings, whom to read about is at once to become very +fond of."—Examiner. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Peter the Pilgrim. The Story of a Boy and His Pet Rabbit. By L. T. +MEADE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Little Peter, with his soft heart, clever head, and brave spirit is +no morbid presentment of the angelic child 'too good to live,' and who +is certainly a nuisance on earth, but a charming creature, if not a +portrait, whom it is a privilege to meet even in fiction."—The +Academy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +We and the World. A Story for Boys. By JULIANA HORATIA EWING. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The author has evidently studied the ways and tastes of children and +got at the secret of amusing them; and has succeeded in what is not so +easy a task as it may seem in producing a really good children's +book."—Daily Telegraph. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Little Ivan's Hero. A Story of Child Life. By HELEN MILMAN. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"We should imagine those queer folk indeed who could not read this +story with eager interest and pleasure, be they boys or girls, young +or old. We highly commend the style in which the book is written, and +the spirit which pervades it."—World. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Dick, Marjorie and Fidge. The Wonderful Adventures of Three Little +People. By G. E. FARROW. 12mo, cloth, illust'd, price 75c. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"...To the young, for whom it is especially intended, this is a most +interesting book of adventures, well told, and a pleasant book to take +up when their wish is to while away a weary half-hour. We have seen no +prettier gift-book for a long time."—Athenaeum. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Wonder Book: For Boys and Girls. Comprising Stories of Classical +Fables. By NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 +cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A beautiful little story. It will be read with delight by every child +into whose hands it is placed."—Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +My Dog Plato: His Adventures and Impressions. By H. M. CORNWALL LEGH. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A capital story, and one we heartily commend to boy readers, both +gentle and simple."—Guardian. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Squib and His Friends. A Story for Children. By ELLEN EVERETT GREEN. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This book will please by its simplicity, its tenderness, and its +healthy interesting motive. It is admirably written."—Scotsman. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Tom's Opinion. The Story of a Boys' School. By the author of "Miss +Toosey's Mission." 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75c. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A beautiful little story. ... It will be read with delight by every +boy into whose hands it is placed."—Pall Mall Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Robin's Ride. A Story for Children. By ELLINOR D. ADAMS. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"It is a first-rate boys' book. It is a capital story; the characters +are well drawn, and the incidents are perfectly natural."—Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Peter and Tom. A Story for Boys. By BELLE S. CRAGIN. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Peter and Tom were unlikely heroes, particularly in the direction of +heroism, but the proper chord was touched in each of their lives, and +through many trials and adventures they developed Christian principles +and successful business traits. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Nurse Heatherdale's Story. By MRS. MOLESWORTH. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"'Nurse Heatherdale's Story' Is all about a small boy, who was good +enough, yet was always getting into some trouble through complications +in which he was not to blame. He is an orphan, though he is cared for +in a way by relations, who are not so very rich, yet are looked on as +well fixed. After many youthful trials and disappointments he falls +into a big stroke of good luck, which lifts him and goes to make +others happy."—Commercial Advertiser. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Last of the Huggermuggers. A Giant Story. By CHRISTOPHER P. +CRATCH. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Fresh and charming in style, with fun that is never forced, pathos +that is always genuine, and with a distinctly wholesome purpose. This +is certain to be a favorite with boys."—Literary World. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Hunting of the Snark. By LEWIS CARROLL, author of "Alice in +Wonderland." 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Whether as regarding author or illustrator, this book is a jewel +rarely to be found nowadays. Not a whit inferior to its predecessor In +grand extravagance of imagination, and delicious allegorical +nonsense."—Quarterly Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +BOOKS FOR GIRLS. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. By LEWIS CARROLL, 12mo, cloth, 42 +illustrations, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"From first to last, almost without exception, this story is +delightfully droll, humorous and illustrated in harmony with the +story."—New York Express. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There. By LEWIS +CARROLL. 12mo, cloth, 50 illustrations, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A delight alike to the young people and their elders, extremely funny +both in text and illustrations."—Boston Express. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe. By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This story is unique among tales intended for children, alike for +pleasant instruction, quaintness of humor, gentle pathos, and the +subtlety with which lessons moral and otherwise are conveyed to +children, and perhaps to their seniors as well."—The Spectator. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Joan's Adventures at the North Pole and Elsewhere. BY ALICE CORKRAN. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Wonderful as the adventures of Joan are, it must be admitted that +they are very naturally worked out and very plausibly presented. +Altogether this is an excellent story for girls."—Saturday Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Count Up the Sunny Days: A Story for Girls and Boys. By C. A. JONES. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"An unusually good children's story."—Glasgow Herald. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Heir of Redclyffe. By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A narrative full of interest from first to last. It is told clearly +and in a straightforward manner, and arrests the attention of the +reader at once, so that one feels afresh the unspeakable pathos of the +story to the end."—London Graphic. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Dove in the Eagle's West. By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Among all the modern writers we believe Miss Yonge first, not in +genius, but in this, that she employs her great abilities for a high +and noble purpose. We know of few modern writers whose works may be so +safely commended as hers."—Cleveland Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Jan of the Windmill. A Story of the Plains. By MRS. J. H. EWING. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Never has Mrs. Ewing published a more charming volume, and that is +saying a very great deal. From the first to the last the book +overflows with the strange knowledge of child-nature which so rarely +survives childhood: and moreover, with inexhaustible quiet humor, +which is never anything but innocent and well-bred, never priggish, +and never clumsy."—Academy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Sweet Girl Graduate. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price +$1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"One of this popular author's best. The characters are well Imagined +and drawn. The story moves with plenty of spirit and the interest does +not flag until the end too quickly comes."—Providence Journal. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Six to Sixteen: A Story for Girls. By JULIANA HORATIA EWING. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"There is no doubt as to the good quality and attractiveness of 'Six +to Sixteen.' The book is one which would enrich any girl's book shelf." +—St. James' Gazette. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Palace Beautiful: A Story for Girls. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A bright and interesting story. The many admirers of Mrs. L. T. Meade +in this country will be delighted with the 'Palace Beautiful' for more +reasons than one. It is a charming book for girls."—New York +Recorder. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A World of Girls: The Story of a School. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"One of those wholesome stories which it does one good to read. It +will afford pure delight to numerous readers. This book should be on +every girl's book shelf."—Boston Home Journal. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Lady of the Forest: A Story for Girls. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This story is written in the author's well-known, fresh and easy +style. All girls fond of reading will be charmed by this well-written +story. It is told with the author's customary grace and +spirit."—Boston Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +At the Back of the North Wind. By GEORGE MACDONALD. 12mo. cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A very pretty story, with much of the freshness and vigor of Mr. +Macdonald's earlier work. ... It is a sweet, earnest, and wholesome +fairy story, and the quaint native humor is delightful. A most +delightful volume for young readers."—Philadelphia Times. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Water Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby. By CHARLES KINGSLEY. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The strength of his work, as well as its peculiar charms, consist in +his description of the experiences of a youth with life under water in +the luxuriant wealth of which he revels with all the ardor of a +poetical nature."—New York Tribune. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Our Bessie. By ROSA N. CAREY. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"One of the most entertaining stories of the season, full of vigorous +action, and strong in character-painting. Elder girls will be charmed +with it, and adults may read its pages with profit."—The Teachers' +Aid. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Wild Kitty. A Story of Middleton School. 67 L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Kitty is a true heroine—warm-hearted, self-sacrificing, and, as all +good women nowadays are, largely touched with the enthusiasm of +humanity. One of the most attractive gift books of the season."—The +Academy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Young Mutineer. A Story for Girls. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"One of Mrs. Meade's charming books for girls, narrated in that simple +and picturesque style which marks the authoress as one of the first +among writers for young people."—The Spectator. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Sue and I. By MRS. O'REILLY. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"A thoroughly delightful book, full of sound wisdom as well as +fun."—Athenaeum. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Princess and the Goblin. A Fairy Story. By GEORGE MACDONALD. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"If a child once begins this book, it will get so deeply interested In +it that when bedtime comes it will altogether forget the moral, and +will weary its parents with importunities for just a few minutes more +to see how everything ends."—Saturday Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Pythia's Pupils: A Story of a School. By EVA HARTNER. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"This story of the doings of several bright school girls is sure to +interest girl readers. Among many good stories for girls this is +undoubtedly one of the very best."—Teachers' Aid. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +A Story of a Short Life. By JULIANA HORATIA EWING. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The book is one we can heartily recommend, for it la not only bright +and interesting, but also pure and healthy in tone and teaching." +—Courier. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +The Sleepy King. A Fairy Tale. By AUBREY HOPWOOD AND SEYMOUR HICKS. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Wonderful as the adventures of Bluebell are, it must be admitted that +they are very naturally worked out and very plausibly presented. +Altogether this is an excellent story for girls."—Saturday Review. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Two Little Waifs. By MRS. MOLESWORTH. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price +75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mrs. Molesworth's delightful story of 'Two Little Waifs' will charm +all the small people who find it in their stockings. It relates the +adventures of two lovable English children lost in Paris, and is just +wonderful enough to pleasantly wring the youthful heart."—New York +Tribune. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Adventures in Toyland. By EDITH KING HALL. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"The author is such a bright, cheery writer, that her stories are +always acceptable to all who are not confirmed cynics, and her record +of the adventures is as entertaining and enjoyable as we might +expect."—Boston Courier. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Adventures in Wallypug Land. By G. E. FARROW. 12mo. cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"These adventures are simply inimitable, and will delight boys and +girls of mature age, as well as their juniors. No happier combination +of author and artist than this volume presents could be found to +furnish healthy amusement to the young folks. The book Is an artistic +one in every sense."—Toronto Mail. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +Fussbudget's Folks. A Story for Young Girls. By ANNA F. BURNHAM. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +"Mrs. Burnham has a rare gift for composing stories for children. With +a light, yet forcible touch, she paints sweet and artless, yet natural +and strong, characters."—Congregationalist. +</P> + +<P CLASS="review"> +For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by +the publisher, A. L. BURT, 52-88 Duane Street, New York. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Slow and Sure, by Horatio Alger + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLOW AND SURE *** + +***** This file should be named 25151-h.htm or 25151-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/1/5/25151/ + +Produced by Gary Sandino (text), Al Haines (HTML). 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + +</BODY> + +</HTML> + + diff --git a/25151-h/images/img-front.jpg b/25151-h/images/img-front.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..98f4924 --- /dev/null +++ b/25151-h/images/img-front.jpg diff --git a/25151.txt b/25151.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0cbcd28 --- /dev/null +++ b/25151.txt @@ -0,0 +1,8797 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Slow and Sure, by Horatio Alger + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Slow and Sure + The Story of Paul Hoffman the Young Street-Merchant + +Author: Horatio Alger + +Release Date: April 23, 2008 [EBook #25151] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLOW AND SURE *** + + + + +Produced by Gary Sandino (text), Al Haines (HTML). (This +file was created from images generously made available by +The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + + + + + + +[Frontispiece: Julius made the rope fast, and then boldly got out of +the window and swung off Page 192. _Slow and Sure._] + + + + + + +Slow and Sure + + THE STORY OF PAUL HOFFMAN + THE YOUNG STREET-MERCHANT + + + +By HORATIO ALGER, JR. + +Author of "The Train Boy," "Tony the Hero," "Tom Turner's Legacy," +"Tom the Bootblack," etc., etc. + + + +A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS NEW YORK + + + +PREFACE. + +"SLOW AND SURE" is a volume of the stories of New York street life +inaugurated by Ragged Dick. While it chronicles the advancement of +Paul, the young street merchant, from the sidewalk to the shop, a +large portion of it is devoted to the experiences of a street waif, +who has been brought up by burglars, and passed the greater part of +his time among them, without being wholly spoiled by his corrupt +surroundings. His struggles between gratitude and duty on the one +hand, and loyalty to his vicious guardians on the other, will, it is +hoped, excite the interest and sympathy of the reader. The author has +sought to indicate some of the influences which make it difficult for +the neglected street children to grow up virtuous and well-conducted +members of society. Philanthropy is never more nobly employed than in +redeeming them, and "giving them a chance" to rise to respectability. + + + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + I. SIX MONTHS AFTER. + II. BARNUM'S MUSEUM. + III. THE BURNING OF THE TENEMENT HOUSE. + IV. THE POLICEMAN'S HOME. + V. HOUSE HUNTING. + VI. PAUL TAKES A HOUSE ON MADISON AVENUE. + VII. THE HOUSE ON MADISON AVENUE. + VIII. A GIFT. + IX. JULIUS. + X. A ROOM IN CENTRE STREET. + XI. FREE LUNCH. + XII. A GOOD ACTION MEETS ITS REWARD. + XIII. PAUL MAKES A PURCHASE. + XIV. THE SPOT UPON THE COAT. + XV. SUSPICION. + XVI. LOCKED UP FOR THE NIGHT. + XVII. TRAPPED. + XVIII. THE VALUE OF A CLOTHES-LINE. + XIX. A CURIOSITY SHOP. + XX. THE DISGUISED LISTENER. + XXI. A BRIGHTER PROSPECT FOR JULIUS. + XXII. MARLOWE OVERTAKES HIS VICTIM. + XXIII. A TIMELY RESCUE. + XXIV. THE POOR ARTIST. + XXV. MR. TALBOT'S RETURN. + XXVI. FROM THE SIDEWALK TO THE SHOP. + + + + +SLOW AND SURE. + +------ + +CHAPTER I. + +SIX MONTHS AFTER. + +"It's most time for Paul to come home," said Mrs. Hoffman. "I must be +setting the table for supper." + +"I wonder how he will like my new picture," said Jimmy, a delicate boy +of eight, whose refined features, thoughtful look, and high brow +showed that his mind by no means shared the weakness of his body. +Though only eight years of age he already manifested a remarkable +taste and talent for drawing, in which he had acquired surprising +skill, considering that he had never taken lessons, but had learned +all he knew from copying such pictures as fell in his way. + +"Let me see your picture, Jimmy," said Mrs. Hoffman. "Have you +finished it?" + +She came up and looked over his shoulder. He had been engaged in +copying a humorous picture from the last page of _Harper's Weekly._ It +was an ambitious attempt on the part of so young a pupil, but he had +succeeded remarkably well, reproducing with close fidelity the +grotesque expressions of the figures introduced in the picture. + +"That is excellent, Jimmy," said his mother in warm commendation. + +The little boy looked gratified. + +"Do you think I will be an artist some day?" he asked. + +"I have no doubt of it," said his mother, "if you can only obtain +suitable instruction. However, there is plenty of time for that. You +are only seven years old." + +"I shall be eight to-morrow," said Jimmy, straightening up his slender +form with the pride which every boy feels in advancing age. + +"So you will. I had forgotten it." + +"I wonder whether I can earn as much money as Paul when I get as old," +said Jimmy thoughtfully. "I don't think I can. I shan't be half as +strong." + +"It isn't always the strongest who earn the most money," said his +mother. + +"But Paul is smart as well as strong." + +"So are you smart. You can read unusually well for a boy of your age, +and in drawing I think Paul is hardly your equal, though he is twice +as old." + +Jimmy laughed. + +"That's true, mother," he said. "Paul tried to draw a horse the other +day, and it looked more like a cow." + +"You see then that we all have our different gifts. Paul has a talent +for business." + +"I think he'll be rich some day, mother." + +"I hope he will, for I think he will make a good use of his money." + +While Mrs. Hoffman was speaking she had been setting the table for +supper. The meal was not a luxurious one, but there was no lack of +food. Beside rolls and butter, there was a plate of cold meat, an +apple pie, and a pot of steaming hot tea. The cloth was scrupulously +clean, and I am sure that though the room was an humble one not one of +my readers need have felt a repugnance to sitting down at Mrs. +Hoffman's plain table. + +For the benefit of such as may not have read "Paul the Peddler," I +will explain briefly that Mrs. Hoffman, by the death of her husband +two years previous, had been reduced to poverty, which compelled her +to move into a tenement house and live as best she could on the +earnings of her oldest son, Paul, supplemented by the pittance she +obtained for sewing. Paul, a smart, enterprising boy, after trying +most of the street occupations, had become a young street merchant. By +a lucky chance he had obtained capital enough to buy out a necktie +stand below the Astor House, where his tact and energy had enabled him +to achieve a success, the details of which we will presently give. +Besides his own profits, he was able to employ his mother in making +neckties at a compensation considerably greater than she could have +obtained from the Broadway shops for which she had hitherto worked. + +Scarcely was supper placed on the table when Paul entered. He was a +stout, manly boy of fifteen, who would readily have been taken for a +year or two older, with a frank, handsome face, and an air of +confidence and self-reliance, which he had acquired through his +independent efforts to gain a livelihood. He had been thrown upon his +own resources at an age when most boys have everything done for them, +and though this had been a disadvantage so far as his education was +concerned, it had developed in him a confidence in himself and his own +ability to cope with the world not usually found in boys of his age. + +"Well, mother," said he briskly, "I am glad supper is ready, for I am +as hungry as a wolf." + +"I think there will be enough for you," said his mother, smiling. "If +not, we will send to the baker's for an extra supply." + +"Is a wolf hungry, Paul?" asked Jimmy, soberly accepting Paul's +simile. + +"I'll draw you one after supper, Jimmy, and you can judge," answered +Paul. + +"Your animals all look like cows, Paul," said his little brother. + +"I see you are jealous of me," said Paul, with much indignation, +"because I draw better than you." + +"After supper you can look at my last picture," said Jimmy. "It is +copied from _Harper's Weekly."_ + +"Pass it along now, Jimmy. I don't think it will spoil my appetite." + +Jimmy handed it to his brother with a look of pardonable pride. + +"Excellent, Jimmy. I couldn't do it better myself," said Paul. "You +are a little genius." + +"I like drawing so much, Paul. I hope some time I can do something +else besides copy." + +"No doubt you will. I am sure you will be a famous artist some day, +and make no end of money by your pictures." + +"That's what I would like--to make money." + +"Fie, Jimmy! I had no idea you were so fond of money." + +"I would like to help mother just as you are doing, Paul. Do you think +I will ever earn as much as you do?" + +"A great deal more, I hope, Jimmy. Not but what I am doing well," +added Paul in a tone of satisfaction. "Did you know, mother, it is six +months to-day since I bought out the necktie stand?" + +"Is it, Paul?" asked his mother with interest. "Have you succeeded as +well as you anticipated?" + +"Better, mother. It was a good idea putting in a case of knives. They +help along my profits. Why, I sold four knives to-day, making on an +average twenty-five cents each." + +"Did you? That is indeed worth while." + +"It is more than I used to average for a whole day's earnings before I +went into this business." + +"How many neckties did you sell, Paul?" asked Jimmy. + +"I sold fourteen." + +"How much profit did you make on each?" + +"About fourteen cents. Can you tell how much that makes?" + +"I could cipher it out on my slate." + +"No matter; I'll tell you. It makes a dollar and ninety-six cents. +That added to the money I made on the knives amounts to two dollars +and ninety-six cents." + +"Almost three dollars." + +"Yes; sometimes I sell more neckties, but then I don't always sell as +many knives. However, I am satisfied." + +"I have made two dozen neckties to-day, Paul," said his mother. + +"I am afraid you did too much, mother." + +"Oh, no. There isn't much work about a necktie." + +"Then I owe you a dollar and twenty cents, mother." + +"I don't think you ought to pay me five cents apiece, Paul." + +"That's fair enough, mother. If I get fourteen cents for selling a +tie, certainly you ought to get five cents for making one." + +"But your money goes to support us, Paul." + +"And where does yours go, mother?" + +"A part of it has gone for a new dress, Paul. I went up to Stewart's +to-day and bought a dress pattern. I will show it to you after +supper." + +"That's right, mother. You don't buy enough new dresses. Considering +that you are the mother of a successful merchant, you ought to dash +out. Doesn't Jimmy want some clothes?" + +"I am going to buy him a new suit to-morrow. He is eight years old +to-morrow." + +"Is he? What an old fellow you are getting to be, Jimmy! How many gray +hairs have you got?" + +"I haven't counted," said Jimmy, laughing. + +"I tell you what, mother, we must celebrate Jimmy's birthday. He is +the only artist in the family, and we must treat him with proper +consideration. I'll tell you what, Jimmy, I'll close up my business at +twelve o'clock, and give all my clerks a half-holiday. Then I'll take +you and mother to Barnum's Museum, where you can see all the +curiosities, and the play besides. How would you like that?" + +"Ever so much, Paul," said the little boy, his eyes brightening at the +prospect. "There's a giant there, isn't there? How tall is he?" + +"Somewhere about eighteen feet, I believe." + +"Now you are making fun, Paul." + +"Well, it's either eighteen or eight, one or the other. Then there's a +dwarf, two feet high, or is it inches?" + +"Of course it's feet. He couldn't be so little as two inches." + +"Well, Jimmy, I dare say you're right. Then it's settled that we go to +the museum tomorrow. You must go with us, mother." + +"Oh, yes, I will go," said Mrs. Hoffman, "and I presume I shall enjoy +it nearly as much as Jimmy." + + + +CHAPTER II. + +BARNUM'S MUSEUM. + +Barnum's Museum now lives only in the past. Its successor, known as +Wood's Museum, is situated at the corner of Twenty-ninth street and +Broadway. But at the time of my story the old Barnum's stood below the +Astor House, on the site now occupied by those magnificent structures, +the _Herald_ building and the Park Bank. Hither flowed daily and +nightly a crowd of visitors who certainly got the worth of their +money, only twenty-five cents, in the numberless varied curiosities +which the unequaled showman had gathered from all quarters of the +world. + +Jimmy had often seen the handbills and advertisements of the museum, +but had never visited it, and now anticipated with eagerness the +moment when all its wonders should be revealed to him. In fact, he +waked up about two hours earlier than usual to think of the treat in +store for him. + +Paul, as he had promised, closed up his business at twelve o'clock and +came home. At half-past one the three were on their way to the museum. +The distance was but short, and a very few minutes found them in the +museum. Jimmy's eyes opened wide as they took in the crowded +exhibition room, and he hardly knew what to look at first, until the +approach of a giant eight feet high irresistibly attracted him. It is +a remarkable circumstance that Barnum's giants were always eight feet +high _on the bill,_ though not always by measure. Sometimes the great +showman lavishly provided two or three of these Titans. Where they +came from nobody knew. It has been conjectured by some that they were +got up to order; but upon this point I cannot speak with certainty. As +a general thing they are good-natured and harmless, in spite of their +formidable proportions, and ready to have a joke at their own expense. + +"Oh, see that big man!" exclaimed Jimmy, struck with awe, as he +surveyed the formidable proportions of the giant. + +"He's bigger than you will ever be, Jimmy," said Paul. + +"I wouldn't like to be so tall," said the little boy. + +"Why not? You could whip all the fellows that tried to tease you." + +"They don't tease me much, Paul." + +"Do they tease you at all?" asked his brother quickly. + +"Not very often. Sometimes they call me Limpy, because I am lame." + +"I'd like to catch any boy doing it," said Paul energetically. "I'd +make him see stars." + +"I don't mind, Paul." + +"But I do. Just let me catch the next fellow that calls you Limpy, and +he won't do it again." + +By this time a group had gathered round the giant. Paul and Jimmy +joined it. + +"Was you always so large?" asked a boy at Paul's side. + +"I was rather smaller when I was a baby," said the giant, laughing. + +"How much do you weigh?" + +"Two hundred and seventy-five pounds." + +"That beats you, Jimmy," said Paul. + +"Were you big when you were a boy?" + +"I was over seven feet high on my fifteenth birthday," said the giant. + +"Did the teacher lick you often?" asked one of the boys shyly. + +"Not very often. He couldn't take me over his knee very well." + +"What an awful lot of cloth you must take for your clothes!" said the +last boy. + +"That's so, my lad. I keep a manufactory running all the time to keep +me supplied." + +"Do you think that's true, Paul?" asked Jimmy, doubtfully. + +"Not quite," answered Paul, smiling. + +"Don't you need to eat a good deal?" was the next question. + +"Oh, no, not much. Half a dozen chickens and a couple of turkeys are +about all I generally eat for dinner. Perhaps I could eat more if I +tried. If any of you boys will invite me to dinner I'll do my best." + +"I'm glad you ain't my son," said one of the boys. "I shouldn't like +to keep you in food and clothes." + +"Well, now, I shouldn't mind having you for a father," said the giant, +humorously looking down upon his questioner, a boy of twelve, and +rather small of his age, with a humorous twinkle in his eye. "You +wouldn't whip me very often, would you?" + +Here there was a laugh at the expense of the small boy, and the group +dispersed. + +"Now, you've seen a large man, Jimmy," said Paul. "I'm going next to +show you a small one." + +They moved on to a different part of the building, and joined another +crowd, this time surrounding the illustrious Tom Thumb, at that time +one of the attractions of the museum. + +"There's a little man, smaller than you are, Jimmy," said Paul. + +"So he is," said Jimmy. "Is that Tom Thumb?" + +"Yes." + +"I didn't think he was so small. I'm glad I'm not so little." + +"No, it might not be very comfortable, though you could make a good +deal of money by it. Tom is said to be worth over a hundred thousand +dollars." + +"I guess it doesn't cost him so much for clothes as the giant." + +"Probably not. I don't think he would need to run a manufactory for +his own use." + +But there were multitudes of curiosities to be seen, and they could +not linger long. Jimmy was particularly interested in the waxwork +figures, which at first he thought must be real, so natural was their +appearance. There were lions and tigers in cages, who looked out from +between the gratings as if they would like nothing better than to make +a hearty meal from one or more of the crowd who surrounded the cages. +Jimmy clung to Paul's hand timidly. + +"Couldn't they get out, Paul?" he asked. + +"No, the cages are too strong. But even if they could, I don't think +they would attack you. You would only be a mouthful for them." + +"I don't see how Mr. Barnum dared to put them in the cages." + +"I don't think Barnum would dare to come very near them. But he has +keepers who are used to them." + +But it was time for the afternoon performance to commence. The play +was Uncle Tom's Cabin, which no doubt many of my readers have seen. +They got very good seats, fronting the stage, though some distance +back. When the curtain rose Jimmy's attention was at once absorbed. It +was the first time he had ever seen a play, and it seemed to him a +scene of rare enchantment. To Paul, however, it was much less of a +novelty. He had frequently been to Barnum's and the Old Bowery, though +not as often as those boys who had no home in which to spend their +evenings. Mrs. Hoffman was scarcely less interested than Jimmy in the +various scenes of the play. It was not particularly well acted, for +most of the actors were indifferent in point of talent; but then none +of the three were critics, and could not have told the difference +between them and first-class performers. + +Both laughed heartily over the eccentricities of Topsy, probably the +most original character in Mrs. Stowe's popular story, and Jimmy was +affected to tears at the death of little Eva. To his unaccustomed eyes +it seemed real, and he felt as if Eva was really dying. But, taking it +altogether, it was an afternoon of great enjoyment to Jimmy, whose +pleasures were not many. + +"Well, Jimmy, how did you like it?" asked Paul, as they were working +their way out slowly through the crowd. + +"It was beautiful, Paul. I am so much obliged to you for taking me." + +"I am glad you liked it, Jimmy. We will go again some time." + +They were stepping out on the sidewalk, when a boy about Paul's size +jostled them rudely. + +"There's Limpy!" said he, with a rude laugh. + +"You'd better not say that again, Peter Blake," he said menacingly. + +"Why not?" demanded Peter defiantly. + +"It won't be safe," said Paul significantly. + +"I'll call you Limpy if I like." + +"You may call me so, and I won't mind it. But don't you call my little +brother names." + +"I don't mind, Paul," said Jimmy. + +"But I do," said Paul. "No boy shall call you names when I am near." + +Paul's resolute character was well understood by all the boys who knew +him, and Peter would not have ventured to speak as he did, but he did +not at first perceive that Jimmy was accompanied by his brother. When +he did discover it he slunk away as soon as he could. + +They were walking up Park Row, when Jim Parker, once an enemy, but now +a friend of Paul, met them. He looked excited, and hurried up to meet +them. + +"When were you home, Paul?" he asked abruptly. + +"Two or three hours since. I have just come from Barnum's." + +"Then you don't know what's happened?" + +Paul turned instantly. + +"No. What is it?" + +"Your house has caught fire, and is burning down. The engines are +there, but I don't think they can save it." + +"Let us hurry home, brother," said Paul. "It's lucky I've got my +bank-book with me, so if we are burned out, we can get another home at +once." + +Excited by this startling intelligence, they quickened their steps, +and soon stood in front of the burning building. + + + +CHAPTER III. + +THE BURNING OF THE TENEMENT HOUSE. + +The scene was an exciting one. The occupants of the large tenement +house had vacated their rooms in alarm, each bearing what first came +to hand, and reinforced by a numerous crowd of outsiders, were gazing +in dismay at the sudden conflagration which threatened to make them +homeless. + +"Och hone! och hone! that iver I should see the day!" exclaimed a poor +Irish woman, wringing her hands. "It's ruined intirely I am by the +fire. Is that you, Mrs. Hoffman, and Paul? Indade it's a sad day for +the likes of us." + +"It is indeed, Mrs. McGowan. Do you know how the fire caught?" + +"It's all along of that drunken brute, Jim O'Connel. He was smokin' in +bed, bad luck to him, as drunk as a baste, and the burnin' tobacker +fell out on the shates, and set the bed on fire." + +"Cheer up, Mrs. McGowan!" said the hearty voice of Mrs. Donovan. "We +ain't burnt up ourselves, and that's a comfort." + +"I've lost all my money," said Mrs. McGowan disconsolately. "I had +twenty-siven dollars and thirty cents in the bank, and the bank-book's +burnt up, och hone!" + +"You can get your money for all that, Mrs. McGowan," said Paul. "Just +tell them at the savings-bank how you lost your book, and they will +give you another." + +"Do you think so?" asked Mrs. McGowan doubtfully. + +"I feel sure of it." + +"Then that's something," said she, looking considerably relieved. +"Whin can I get it?" + +"I will go with you to the bank to-morrow." + +"Thank you, Paul. And it's you that's a fine lad intirely." + +"All my pictures will burn up," said Jimmy. + +"You can draw some new ones," said Paul. "I am afraid, mother, you +will never wear that new dress of yours." + +"It's a pity I bought it just at this time." + +"Here's a bundle I took from your room, Mrs. Hoffman," said a boy, +pushing his way through the crowd. + +"My dress is safe, after all," said Mrs. Hoffman in surprise. "It is +the only thing we shall save." + +"You can have it made up and wear it in remembrance of the fire, +mother." + +"I shall be likely to remember that without." + +Meanwhile the fire department were working energetically to put out +the fire. Stream after stream was directed against the burning +building, but the fire had gained too great headway. It kept on its +victorious course, triumphantly baffling all the attempts that were +made to extinguish it. Then efforts were made to prevent its spreading +to the neighboring buildings, and these were successful. But the +building itself, old and rotten, a very tinderbox, was doomed. In less +than an hour the great building, full as a hive of occupants, was a +confused mass of smoking ruins. And still the poor people hovered +around in uncertainty and dismay, in that peculiarly forlorn condition +of mind induced by the thought that they knew not where they should +lay their heads during the coming night. One family had saved only a +teakettle to commence their housekeeping with. A little girl had +pressed close to her breast a shapeless and dirty rag baby, her most +valued possession. A boy of twelve had saved a well-used pair of +skates, for which he had traded the day before, while an old woman, +blear-eyed and wrinkled, hobbled about, groaning, holding in one hand +a looking-glass, an article the most unlikely of all, one would think, +to be of use to her. + +"Did you save nothing, Mrs. Donovan?" asked Paul. + +"Shure and I saved my flatirons, and my tub I threw out of the window, +but some spalpeen has walked off with it. I wish it had fallen on his +head. What'll my Pat say when he comes home from work?" + +"It's lucky no lives were lost." + +"Thrue for you, Mrs. Hoffman. It might have been a dale worse. I don't +mind meself, for I've strong arms, and I'll soon be on my fate again. +But my Pat'll be ravin'. He had just bought a new coat to go to a ball +wid tomorrow night, and it's all burnt up in the fire. Do you see that +poor craythur wid the lookin' glass? I'm glad I didn't save mine, for I +wouldn't know what to do wid it." + +"Well, Mrs. Donovan, we must find a new home." + +"I've got a sister livin' in Mulberry street. She'll take me in till I +can get time to turn round. But I must stay here till my Pat comes +home, or he would think I was burnt up too." + +The crowd gradually diminished. Every family, however poor, had some +relations or acquaintances who were willing to give them a temporary +shelter, though in most cases it fed to most uncomfortable crowding. +But the poor know how to sympathize with the poor, and cheerfully bore +the discomfort for the sake of alleviating the misfortune which might +some day come upon themselves. + +"Where shall we go, mother?" asked Jimmy anxiously. + +Mrs. Hoffman looked doubtfully at Paul. + +"I suppose we must seek shelter somewhere," she said. + +"How will the Fifth Avenue Hotel suit you?" asked Paul. + +"I think I will wait till my new dress is finished," she said, smiling +faintly. + +"Why, what's the matter, Paul? You're not burnt out, are you?" + +Turning at the voice, Paul recognized Sam Norton, a newsboy, who sold +papers near his own stand. + +"Just about so, Sam," he answered. "We're turned into the street." + +"And where are you going to stop over night?" + +"That's more than I know. Mother here isn't sure whether she prefers +the St Nicholas or Fifth Avenue." + +"Paul likes to joke at my expense," said Mrs. Hoffman. + +"Come over and stop with us to-night," said Sam. "My mother'll be glad +to have you." + +"Thank you, Sam," said Mrs. Hoffman, who knew the boy as a friend of +Paul, "but I shouldn't like to trouble your mother." + +"It'll be no trouble," said Sam eagerly. + +"If you think it won't, Sam," said Paul, "we'll accept for to-night. I +am afraid they wouldn't take us in at any of the big hotels with only +one dress, and that not made up, by way of baggage. To-morrow I'll +find some other rooms." + +"Come along, then," said Sam, leading the way. "We'll have a jolly +time to-night, Paul." + +"By way of celebrating the fire. It's jolly enough for us, but I +shouldn't like it too often." + +"I say, Paul," said Sam, wheeling round, "if you're out of stamps, +I've got a dollar or two that I can spare." + +"Thank you, Sam; you're a brick! But I've saved my bank-book, and I've +got plenty to start on. Much obliged to you, all the same." + +It was true that Paul was in an unusually good position to withstand +the blow which had so unexpectedly fallen upon him. He had a hundred +and fifty dollars in the hands of Mr. Preston, a wealthy gentleman who +took an interest in him, and moreover had a hundred dollars deposited +to his credit in a savings-bank, beside his stock in trade, probably +amounting to at least fifty dollars, at the wholesale price. So there +was no immediate reason for anxiety. It would have been rather +awkward, however, to look up a shelter for the night at such short +notice, and therefore Sam Norton's invitation was particularly +welcome. + +Sam led the way to the lodgings occupied by his parents. They were +located on Pearl street, not far from Centre, and were more spacious +and well furnished than any in the burned tenement house. + +"You go up first and tell your mother, Sam," said Paul. "She won't +know what to make of it if we go in without giving her any notice." + +"All right," said Sam. "I'll be down in a jiffy." + +Two minutes were sufficient for Sam to explain the situation. His +mother, a good, motherly woman, at once acknowledged the claim upon +her hospitality. She came downstairs at once, and said heartily to +Paul, whom she knew: + +"Come right up, Paul. And so this is your mother. I am very glad to +see you, Mrs. Hoffman. Come right up, and I'll do all I can to make +you comfortable." + +"I am afraid we shall give you trouble, Mrs. Norton," said Mrs. +Hoffman. + +"Not in the least. The more the merrier, that's my motto. I haven't +got much to offer, but what there is you are very welcome to." + +The room into which they were ushered was covered with a plain, coarse +carpet. The chairs were wooden, but there was a comfortable +rocking-chair, a cheap lounge, and a bookcase with a few books, +besides several prints upon the wall. Sam's father was a policeman, +while his mother was a New England woman of good common-school +education, neat and thrifty, and so, though their means were small, +she managed to make a comfortable home. Mrs. Hoffman looked around her +with pleased approval. It was pleasant to obtain even temporary refuge +in so homelike a place. + +"Is this your little brother who draws such fine pictures?" asked Mrs. +Norton. + +Jimmy looked pleased but mystified. How should Mrs. Norton have heard +of his pictures? + +"You must draw me a picture to-night, won't you?" asked Mrs. Norton. + +"I should like to, if I can have a pencil and some paper. All mine are +burned up." + +"Sam will give you some from his desk. But you must be hungry." + +Sam was drawn aside by his mother, and, after a whispered conference, +was dispatched to the butcher's and baker's, when he soon returned +with a supply of rolls and beefsteak, from which in due time an +appetizing meal was spread, to which all did full justice. + + + +CHAPTER IV. + +THE POLICEMAN'S HOME. + +It was not till later in the evening that Mr. Norton came in. He had +been on duty all day, and to-night he was free. Though one of the +constituted guardians of the public peace, he was by no means fierce +or formidable at home, especially after he had doffed his uniform, and +put on an old coat. + +"Edward," said his wife, "this is Paul's mother, who was burned out +to-day. So I have asked her to stay here till she can find a place of +her own." + +"That is right," said the policeman. "Mrs. Hoffman, I am glad to see +you. Paul has been here before. He is one of Sam's friends." + +"Paul likes to keep in with father," said Sam slyly, "considering he +is on the police." + +"If he is to be known by the company he keeps," said Mr. Norton, "he +might have to steer clear of you." + +Here I may explain why Sam was a newsboy, though his father was in +receipt of a salary as a policeman. He attended school regularly, and +only spent about three hours daily in selling papers, but this gave +him two or three dollars a week, more than enough to buy his clothes. +The balance he was allowed to deposit in his own name at a +savings-bank. Thus he was accumulating a small fund of money, which by +and by might be of essential use to him. + +The group that gathered around the supper-table was a lively one, +although half the party had been burned out. But Paul knew he was in a +position to provide a new home for his mother, and thus was saved +anxiety for the future. + +"You have very pleasant rooms, Mrs. Norton," said Mrs. Hoffman. + +"Yes, we have as good as we can afford. Twenty dollars a month is a +good deal for us to pay, but then we are comfortable, and that makes +us work more cheerfully." + +"How do you like being a policeman, Mr. Norton?" asked Paul. + +"I don't like it much, but it pays as well as anything I can get." + +"I sometimes feel anxious about him," said Mrs. Norton. "He is liable +to be attacked by ruffians at any time. The day he came home with his +face covered with blood, I was frightened then, I can tell you." + +"How did it happen?" + +"I was called in to arrest a man who was beating his wife," said the +policeman. "He was raging with drink at the time. He seized one of his +wife's flatirons and threw it at me. It was a stunner. However, I +managed to arrest him, and had the satisfaction of knowing that he +would be kept in confinement for a few months. I have to deal with +some tough customers. A policeman down in this part of the city has to +take his life in his hand. He never knows when he's going to have a +stormy time." + +"I wish my husband were in some other business," said Mrs. Norton. + +"There are plenty of men that would like my position," said her +husband. "It's sure pay, and just as good in dull times as in good. +Besides, some people think it's easy work, just walking around all +day. They'd better try it." + +"There's one part Mr. Norton likes," said his wife slyly. "It's +showing ladies across the street." + +"I don't know about that," rejoined the policeman. "It gets rather +monotonous crossing the street continually, and there's some danger in +it too. Poor Morgan was run over only three months ago, and injured so +much that he's been obliged to leave the force. Then some of the +ladies get frightened when they're halfway over, and make a scene. I +remember one old woman, who let go my arm, and ran screaming in among +the carriages, and it was a miracle that she didn't get run over. If +she had clung to me, she'd have got over all right." + +"I don't think I'll be a policeman," said Sam. "I might have to take +you up, Paul, and I shouldn't like to do that." + +"Paul isn't bad," said Jimmy, who was very apt to take a joke +seriously, and who always resented any imputation upon his brother. +"He never got took up in his life." + +"Then he wasn't found out, I suppose," said Sam. + +"He never did anything bad," retorted Jimmy indignantly. + +"Thank you, Jimmy," said Paul, laughing. "I'll come to you when I want +a first-class recommendation. If I never did anything bad, I suppose +you won't call that horse bad that I drew the other day." + +"It was a bad picture," said the little boy; "but people don't get +took up for making bad pictures." + +"That's lucky," said Sam, "or I shouldn't stand much chance of keeping +out of the station-house. I move Jimmy gives us a specimen of his +skill. I've got a comic paper here somewhere. He can copy a picture +out of that." + +"Where is it?" asked Jimmy eagerly. + +The paper was found, and the little boy set to work with great +enthusiasm, and soon produced a copy of one of the pictures, which was +voted excellent. By that time he was ready to go to bed. Paul and he +had to take up with a bed on the floor, but this troubled them little. +They felt thankful, under the circumstances, to have so comfortable a +shelter. Indeed, Jimmy troubled himself very little about the future. +He had unbounded faith in Paul, to whom he looked up with as much +confidence as he would have done to a father. + +Early the next morning Mr. Norton was obliged to enter upon his daily +duties. The poor must be stirring betimes, so they all took an early +breakfast. + +"Mother," said Paul, "it won't be much use to look up new rooms before +the middle of the forenoon. I think I will open my stand as usual, and +return at ten, and then we can go out together." + +"Very well, Paul. I will help Mrs. Norton, if she will let me, till +then." + +"There is no need of that, Mrs. Hoffman." + +"I would rather do it. I want to make some return for your kindness." + +So the two women cleared away the breakfast dishes and washed them, +and then Mrs. Hoffman sewed for two hours upon a shirt which his +mother had commenced for Sam. Jimmy amused himself by copying another +picture from the comic paper before mentioned. + +Meantime Paul got out his stock in trade, and began to be on the watch +for customers. He bought a copy of the _Herald_ of his friend Sam, and +began to pore over the advertisements headed "FURNISHED ROOMS AND +APARTMENTS TO LET." + +"Let me see," soliloquized Paul; "here are four elegantly furnished +rooms on Fifth avenue, only fifty dollars a week, without board. Cheap +enough! But I'm afraid it would be rather too far away from my +business." + +"I suppose that's the only objection," said Sam slyly. + +"There might be one or two others, Sam. Suppose you pick out something +for me." + +"What do you say to this, Paul?" said Sam, pointing out the following +advertisement: + +"FURNISHED NEATLY FOR HOUSEKEEPING. Front parlor, including piano, +with front and back bedrooms on second floor; front basement; gas, +bath, hot and cold water, stationary tubs; rent reasonable. West +Twenty-seventh street." + +"That would be very convenient, especially the piano and the +stationary tubs," observed Paul. "If I decide to take the rooms, you +can come round any time and practice on the tubs." + +"Thank you, Paul, I think I'd rather try the piano." + +"I thought you might be more used to the tubs. However, that's too far +up town for me." + +"Are you going to get furnished rooms?" + +"I haven't spoken to mother about it, but as we have had all our +furniture burned up, we shall probably get furnished rooms at first." + +"Perhaps this might suit you, then," said Sam, reading from the paper: + +"TO LET--FOR HOUSEKEEPING, several nicely furnished rooms; terms +moderate. Apply at -- Bleecker street." + +"That must be near where Barry used to live." + +"Would it be too far?" + +"No, I don't think it would. It isn't far to walk from Bleecker +street. But it will depend a little on the terms." + +"Terms moderate," read off Sam. + +"They might call them so, even if they were high." + +"I wish there were some rooms to let in our building." + +"I shouldn't mind taking them if they were as nice as yours. How long +have you lived there?" + +"We only moved on the first day of May." + +"How much do you charge for your neckties, boy?" asked a female voice. + +Looking up, Paul beheld a tall, hard-visaged female, who had stopped +in front of his stand. + +"Twenty-five cents," answered Paul. + +"Seems to me they're rather high," returned the would-be customer. +"Can't you sell me one for twenty cents?" + +"I never take less than twenty-five, madam." + +"I am looking for a nice birthday present for my nephew," said the +hard-visaged lady, "but I don't want to spend too much. If you'll say +twenty cents, I'll take two." + +"I'm sorry, but I have only one price," said the young merchant. + +"I'll give you twenty-two cents." + +"I shall have to charge twenty-five." + +"I suppose I must pay it then," said the lady in a dissatisfied tone. +"Here, give me that blue one." + +The necktie was wrapped up, and the money reluctantly paid. + +"How would you like to be her nephew, Sam?" asked Paul, as soon as she +was out of hearing. "You might get a nice birthday present now and +then." + +"Shouldn't wonder if that twenty-five cents bust the old woman! Do you +often have customers like that?" + +"Not very often. The other day a young man, after wearing a necktie +for a week, came back, and wanted to exchange it for one of a +different color." + +"Did you exchange it?" + +"I guess not. I told him that wasn't my style of doing business. He +got mad, and said he'd never buy anything more of me." + +"That reminds me of a man that bought a _Tribune_ of me early in the +morning, and came back after reading it through and wanted to exchange +it for a _Times._ But I must be goin', or I'll be stuck on some of my +papers." + + + +CHAPTER V. + +HOUSE HUNTING. + +At ten o'clock Paul closed up his business for the forenoon, and +returning to their temporary home, found his mother waiting for him. + +"Well, Paul," she said inquiringly, "have you heard of any good +rooms?" + +"Here is an advertisement of some nicely furnished rooms in Bleecker +street;" and Paul pointed to the _Herald._ + +"They may be above our means, Paul." + +"At any rate we can go and look at them. We must expect to pay more if +we take them furnished." + +"Do you think we had better take furnished rooms?" asked Mrs. Hoffman +doubtfully. + +"I think so, mother, just now. All our furniture is burned, you know, +and it would take too much of our capital to buy new. When we get +richer we will buy some nice furniture." + +"Perhaps you are right, Paul. At any rate we will go and look at these +rooms." + +"If they don't suit us, I have the paper with me, and we can look +somewhere else." + +"May I go, mother?" asked Jimmy. + +"We might have to go about considerably, Jimmy," said Paul. "I am +afraid you would get tired." + +"If Mrs. Norton will let you stay here, I think it will be better," +said his mother. "Are you sure he won't be in your way, Mrs. Norton?" + +"Bless his heart, no," returned the policeman's wife heartily. "I +shall be glad of his company. Mr. Norton and Sam are away most of the +time, and I get lonely sometimes." + +Jimmy felt rather flattered by the thought that his company was +desired by Mrs. Norton, and readily resigned himself to stay at home. +Paul and his mother went out, and got on board a Bleecker street car, +which soon brought them to the desired number. + +The house was quite respectable in appearance, far more so certainly +than the burned tenement house. The time had been when Bleecker street +was fashionable, and lined with the dwellings of substantial and +prosperous citizens. That time had gone by. Still it was several +grades above the streets in the lower part of the city. + +Paul rang the bell, and the door was opened by a maid-servant. + +"I saw an advertisement in the _Herald_ about some rooms to let," said +Paul. "Can we see them?" + +"I'll speak to the mistress," was the reply. "Won't you come in?" + +They entered the hall, and were shown into the parlor, where they took +seats on a hard sofa. Soon the door opened, and a tall lady entered. + +"You would like to look at my rooms?" she inquired, addressing Mrs. +Hoffman. + +"If you please." + +"They are on the third floor--all that I have vacant. If you will +follow me, I will show you the way." + +At the top of the second staircase she threw open the door of a +good-sized room, furnished plainly but neatly. + +"There is another room connected with this," she said, "and a bedroom +on the upper floor can go with it." + +"Is it arranged for housekeeping?" asked Mrs. Hoffman. + +"Yes; you will find the back room fitted for cooking. Come in and I +will show you." + +She opened a door in the rear room, displaying a pantry and sink, +while a cooking-stove was already put up. Both rooms were carpeted. In +the front room there was a sofa, a rocking-chair, some shelves for +books, while three or four pictures hung from the walls. + +"I don't see any sleeping accommodations," said Mrs. Hoffman, looking +around. + +"I will put a bed into either room," said the landlady. "I have +delayed doing it till the rooms were let." + +"How do you like it, mother?" asked Paul. + +"Very well, but----" + +Mrs. Hoffman hesitated, thinking that the charge for such +accommodations would be beyond their means. Paul understood, and asked +in his turn: + +"How much do you ask for these rooms by the month?" + +"With the small room upstairs besides?" + +"Yes." + +"Thirty dollars a month." + +Mrs. Hoffman looked at Paul in dismay. This was more than three times +what they had been accustomed to pay. + +"We can afford to pay more than we have hitherto," he said in a low +voice. "Besides, there is the furniture." + +"But thirty dollars a month is more than we can afford," said his +mother uneasily. + +"My mother thinks we cannot afford to pay thirty dollars," said Paul. + +"The price is very reasonable," said the landlady. "You won't find +cheaper rooms in this street." + +"I don't complain of your price," said Mrs. Hoffman, "only it is more +than we can afford to pay. Could you take less?" + +"No," said the landlady decidedly. "I am sure to get tenants at that +price." + +"Then, Paul, I think we must look further," said his mother. + +"If you don't find anything to your mind, perhaps you will come back," +suggested the landlady. + +"We may do so. How much would you charge for these two rooms alone?" + +"Twenty-six dollars a month." + +The prices named above are considerably less than the present rates; +but still, as Paul's income from his business only amounted to fifty +or sixty dollars a month, it seemed a good deal for him to pay. + +"We may call again," said Mrs. Hoffman as they went downstairs. "But +we will look around first." + +"How much do you think we can afford to pay, Paul?" asked Mrs. +Hoffman. + +"We can easily afford twenty dollars a month, mother." + +"That is more than three times as much as we pay now." + +"I know it, but I want a better home and a better neighborhood, +mother. When we first took the other rooms, six dollars a month was +all we were able to pay. Now we can afford better accommodations." + +"What other rooms have you got on your list, Paul?" + +"There are some rooms in Prince street, near Broadway." + +"I am afraid they would be too high-priced." + +"At any rate we can go and look at them. They are near by." + +The rooms in Prince street proved to be two in number, well furnished, +and though not intended for housekeeping, could be used for that +purpose. The rent was twenty-five dollars a month. + +"I do not feel able to pay more than twenty dollars," said Mrs. +Hoffman. + +"That is too little. I'll split the difference and say twenty-two and +a half. I suppose you have no other children?" + +"I have one other--a boy of eight." + +"Then I don't think I should be willing to let you the rooms," said +the landlady, her manner changing. "I don't like to take young +children." + +"He is a very quiet boy." + +"No boys of eight are quiet," said the landlady decidedly. "They are +all noisy and troublesome." + +"Jimmy is never noisy or troublesome," said Mrs. Hoffman, resenting +the imputation upon her youngest boy. + +"Of course you think so, as you are his mother," rejoined the +landlady. "You may be mistaken, you know." + +"Perhaps you object to me also," said Paul. "I am more noisy than my +little brother." + +"I look upon you as a young man," said the landlady--a remark at which +Paul felt secretly complimented. + +"I think we shall have to try somewhere else, mother," he said. +"Perhaps we shall find some house where they don't object to noisy +boys." + +It seemed rather a joke to Paul to hear Jimmy objected to as noisy and +troublesome, and for some time afterward he made it a subject for +joking Jimmy. The latter took it very good-naturedly and seemed quite +as much amused as Paul. + +The _Herald_ had to be consulted once more. Two other places near by +were visited, but neither proved satisfactory. In one place the rooms +were not pleasant, in the other case the price demanded was too great. + +"It's twelve o'clock already," said Paul, listening to the strokes of +a neighboring clock. "I had no idea it was so hard finding rooms. I +wonder whether Mrs. Norton would keep us a day longer." + +"Perhaps we can go out this afternoon and prove more successful, +Paul." + +"I've a great mind to consult Mr. Preston, mother. I think I'll call +at his place of business at any rate, as I may need to draw some of +the money we have in his hands. You know we've all got to buy new +clothes." + +"Very well, Paul. Do as you think best. You won't need me." + +"No, mother." + +Mrs. Hoffman returned to her temporary quarters, and reporting her +want of success, was cordially invited by Mrs. Norton to remain as her +guest until she succeeded in obtaining satisfactory rooms. + + + +CHAPTER VI. + +PAUL TAKES A HOUSE ON MADISON AVENUE. + +Paul kept on his way to the office of Mr. Preston. Those who have read +the previous volume will remember him as a gentleman whose +acquaintance Paul had made accidentally. Attracted by our hero's +frank, straightforward manner and manly bearing, he had given him some +work for his mother, and on other occasions had manifested an interest +in his welfare. He now held one hundred and fifty dollars belonging to +Paul, or rather to Mrs. Hoffman, for which he allowed legal interest. + +On entering the mercantile establishment, of which Mr. Preston was at +the head, Paul inquired for him of one of the salesmen. + +"He is in his office," said the latter. + +"Can I see him?" + +"I don't know. Do you want to see him personally?" + +"Yes, if he has time to see me." + +"From whom do you come?" + +"I come on my own business." + +"Then I don't think you can see him," said the clerk, judging that a +boy's business couldn't be very important. + +"If you will be kind enough to carry in my name," said Paul, "Mr. +Preston will decide that." + +Paul happened to have in his pocket a business card of the firm from +which he bought the silk used in making up his neckties. He wrote on +the back his name, PAUL HOFFMAN, and presented it to the clerk. + +The latter smiled a little superciliously, evidently thinking it +rather a joke that a boy of Paul's age should think himself entitled +to an interview with Mr. Preston during business hours, and on +business of his own. However, he took the card and approached the +office. + +"There's a boy outside wishes to see you, Mr. Preston," he said. + +"From whom does he come?" asked his employer, a portly, +pleasant-looking gentleman. + +"On business of his own, he says. Here is his card." + +"Oh, to be sure. Paul Hoffman!" repeated Mr. Preston, glancing at the +card. "Tell him to come in." + +"I wonder what business he can have with Mr. Preston," thought the +clerk, considerably surprised. + +"You can go in," he said on his return. + +Paul smiled slightly, for he observed and enjoyed the other's +surprise. + +"Well, my young friend," said Mr. Preston cordially, "how are you +getting on?" + +"Pretty well in business, sir," answered Paul. "But we got burned out +yesterday." + +"How burned out?" + +"I mean the tenement house in which we lodged was burned down." + +"No one injured, I hope." + +"No, sir; but we lost what little we had there." + +"Were you at home at the time?" + +"No, sir; my mother and little brother and myself were at Barnum's +Museum. But for that we might have saved some of our clothing." + +"Well, have you got a new place?" "No, sir; we are stopping at the +rooms of some friends. I am looking out for some furnished rooms, as I +don't want to buy any new furniture. As all our clothes are burned, I +may have to draw fifty dollars of the money in your hands." + +"How much rent do you expect to pay?" + +"I suppose we must pay as much as twenty dollars a month for +comfortable furnished rooms." + +"Can you afford that?" + +"My business brings me in as much as fifty dollars a month." + +"You haven't engaged rooms yet?" + +"No, sir; my mother and I went out to look at some this morning. We +only saw one place that suited us. That we could have got for +twenty-two dollars and a half rent, but when they heard of my little +brother they wouldn't take us." + +"I see. Some persons object to young children. I am glad you have not +engaged a place yet." + +Paul looked at Mr. Preston inquiringly. + +"A gentleman of my acquaintance," proceeded the merchant, "is about +sailing to Europe with his family. He is unwilling to let his house, +fearing that his furniture would be injured. Besides, the length of +his stay is uncertain, and he would want to go into it at once if he +should return suddenly. What I am coming to is this. He wants some +small family to go in and take care of the house while he is away. +They would be allowed to live in the basement and use the chambers on +the upper floor. In return they would receive the rent free. How would +your mother like to make such an arrangement?" + +"Very much," answered Paul promptly. He saw at a glance that it would +be a great thing to save their rent, amounting, at the sum they +expected to pay, to more than two hundred and fifty dollars a year. +"Where is the house?" + +"It is in Madison avenue, between Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth +streets." + +This was a considerable distance uptown, about three miles away from +his place of business; but then Paul reflected that even if he rode up +and down daily in the cars the expense would be trifling, compared +with what they would save in house-rent. Besides, it would be rather +agreeable to live in so fashionable a street. + +"Do you think my mother can get the chance?" he asked. + +"I think so. The gentleman of whom I spoke, Mr. Talbot, expects to +sail for Europe next Wednesday, by the Cunard Line. So the matter must +be decided soon." + +"Shall I call upon Mr. Talbot," asked Paul, "or shall you see him?" + +"Here he is, by good luck," said Mr. Preston, as the door opened and +an elderly gentleman entered. "Talbot, you are just the man I want to +see." + +"Indeed! I am glad to hear that. What is it?" + +"Have you arranged about your house yet?" + +"No; I came in partly to ask if you knew of any trustworthy family to +put in while I am away." + +"I can recommend some one who will suit you, I think," returned Mr. +Preston. "The young man at your side." + +"He hasn't got a family already?" inquired Mr. Talbot, with a humorous +glance at our hero. "It seems to me he is rather forward." + +"I believe not," said Mr. Preston, smiling; "but he has a mother, a +very worthy woman, and a little brother. As for my young friend +himself, I can recommend him from my own knowledge of his character. +In fact, he has done me the honor of making me his banker to the +extent of a hundred and fifty dollars." + +"So that you will go bail for him. Well, that seems satisfactory. What +is his name?" + +"Paul Hoffman." + +"Are you in a counting-room?" asked Mr. Talbot, turning to Paul. + +"No, sir; I keep a necktie stand below the Astor House." + +"I must have seen you in passing. I thought your face looked familiar. +How much can you make now at that?" + +"From twelve to fifteen dollars a week, sir." + +"Very good. That is a good deal more than I made at your age." + +"Or I," added Mr. Preston. "Paul was burned out yesterday," he added, +"and is obliged to seek a new home. When he mentioned this to me, I +thought at once that you could make an arrangement for your mutual +advantage." "I shall be glad to do so," said Mr. Talbot. "Your +recommendation is sufficient, Mr. Preston. Do you understand the terms +proposed?" he continued, addressing Paul. + +"Yes, sir, I think so. We are to have our rent free, and in return are +to look after the house." + +"That is right. I don't wish the house to remain vacant, as it +contains furniture and articles of value, and an empty house always +presents temptations to rogues. You will be free to use the basement +and the upper floor. When the rest of the house needs cleaning, or +anything of that kind, as for instance when I am about to return, it +will be done under your or your mother's oversight, but I will pay the +bills. Directions will be sent you through my friend Mr. Preston." + +"All right, sir," said Paul. "How soon would you wish us to come?" + +"I would like you and your mother to call up this evening and see Mrs. +Talbot. You can move in next Tuesday, as we sail for Europe on the +following day." + +"Yes, sir," said Paul in a tone of satisfaction. + +"I will expect you and your mother this evening. My number is ----." + +"We will be sure to call, sir." + +Mr. Talbot now spoke to Mr. Preston on another topic. + +"Oh, by the way, Paul," said Mr. Preston in an interval of the +conversation, "you said you wanted fifty dollars." + +"I don't think I shall need it now, Mr. Preston," answered Paul. "I +have some other money, but I supposed I might have to pay a month's +rent in advance. Now that will not be necessary. I will bid you +good-morning, sir." + +"Good-morning, Paul. Call on me whenever you need advice or +assistance." + +"Thank you, sir; I will." + +"That's what I call a good day's work," said Paul to himself in a tone +of satisfaction. "Twenty dollars a month is a good deal to save. We +shall grow rich soon at that rate." + +He determined to go home at once and announce the good news. As he +entered the room his mother looked up and inquired: + +"Well, Paul, what news?" + +"I've engaged a house, mother." + +"A house? Where?" + +"On Madison avenue." + +"You are joking, Paul." + +"No, I am not, or if I am, it's a good joke, for we are really to live +in a nice house on Madison avenue and pay no rent at all." + +"I can't understand it, Paul," said his mother, bewildered. + +Paul explained the arrangement which he had entered into. It is +needless to say that his mother rejoiced in the remarkable good luck +which came to them just after the misfortune of the fire, and looked +forward with no little pleasure to moving into their new quarters. + + + +CHAPTER VII. + +THE HOUSE ON MADISON AVENUE. + +In the evening, as had been agreed, Paul accompanied his mother uptown +to call on Mrs. Talbot and receive directions in regard to the house. +They had no difficulty in finding it. On ringing the bell they were +ushered into an elegantly furnished parlor, the appearance of which +indicated the wealth of the owner. + +"Suppose we give a party, mother, after we move in," said Paul, as he +sat on the sofa beside his mother, awaiting the appearance of Mrs. +Talbot. + +"Mrs. Talbot might have an objection to our using her parlors for such +a purpose." + +"I wonder," said Paul reflectively, "whether I shall ever have a house +of my own like this?" + +"Not unless your business increases," said his mother, smiling. + +"I rather think you are right, mother. Seriously, though, there are +plenty of men in New York, who live in style now, who began the world +with no better advantages than I. You see there is a chance for me +too." + +"I shall be satisfied with less," said his mother. "Wealth alone will +not yield happiness." + +"Still it is very comfortable to have it." + +"No doubt, if it is properly acquired." + +"If I am ever rich, mother, you may be sure that I shall not be +ashamed of the manner in which I became so." + +"I hope not, Paul." + +Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Mrs. Talbot. She +was a stout, comely-looking woman of middle age and pleasant +expression. + +"I suppose this is Mrs. Hoffman," she said. + +Paul and his mother both rose. + +"I am Mrs. Hoffman," said the latter. "I suppose I speak to Mrs. +Talbot?" + +"You are right. Keep your seat, Mrs. Hoffman. Is this your son?" + +Paul bowed with instinctive politeness, and his mother replied in the +affirmative. + +"Mr. Talbot tells me that you are willing to take charge of the house +while we are absent in Europe." + +"I shall be glad to do so." + +"We have been looking out for a suitable family, and as our departure +was so near at hand, were afraid we might not succeed in making a +satisfactory arrangement. Fortunately Mr. Preston spoke to my husband +of you, and this sets our anxiety at rest." + +"I hope I may be able to answer your expectations, Mrs. Talbot," said +Mrs. Hoffman modestly. + +"I think you will," said Mrs. Talbot, and she spoke sincerely. + +She had examined her visitor attentively, and had been very favorably +impressed by her neat dress and quiet, lady-like demeanor. She had +been afraid, when first informed by her husband of the engagement he +had made, that Mrs. Hoffman might be a coarse, untidy woman, and she +was very agreeably disappointed in her appearance. + +"I suppose," she said, "you would like to look over the house." + +"Thank you, I should." + +"I also wish you to see it, that you may understand my directions in +regard to the care of it. Follow me, if you please. We will first go +down into the basement." + +Mrs. Hoffman rose. Paul kept his seat, not sure whether he was +included in the invitation or not. + +"Your son can come, too, if he likes," said Mrs. Talbot, observing his +hesitation. + +Paul rose with alacrity and followed them. He had a natural curiosity +to see the rooms they were to occupy. + +They descended first into the basement, which was spacious and light. +It consisted of three rooms, the one in front quite large and +pleasant. It was plainly but comfortably furnished. The kitchen was in +the rear, and there was a middle room between. + +"These will be your apartments," said Mrs. Talbot. "Of course I have +no objection to your moving in any of your own furniture, if your +desire it." + +"We have only ourselves to move in," said Paul. "We were burned out +early this week." + +"Indeed! You were unfortunate." + +"I thought so at the time," said Mrs. Hoffman, "but if it had not been +for that Paul would not have called upon Mr. Preston and we should not +have heard of you." + +"Were you able to save nothing?" asked Mrs. Talbot. + +"Scarcely anything." + +"If you are embarrassed for want of money," suggested Mrs. Talbot +kindly, "I will advance you fifty dollars, or more if you require it." + +"You are very kind," said Mrs. Hoffman gratefully; "but we have a sum +of money, more than enough for our present needs, deposited with Mr. +Preston. We are not less obliged to you for so kind an offer." + +Mrs. Talbot was still more prepossessed in favor of her visitors by +the manner in which her offer had been declined. She saw that they had +too much self-respect to accept assistance unless actually needed. + +"I am glad to hear that," she said. "It is not all who are fortunate +enough to have a reserve fund to fall back upon. Now, if you have +sufficiently examined the basement, we will go upstairs." + +While passing through the upper chambers, Mrs. Talbot gave directions +for their care, which would not be interesting to the reader, and are +therefore omitted. + +"I had intended," she said, "to offer you the use of the upper +chambers, but they are so far off from the basement that it might be +inconvenient for you to occupy them. If you prefer, you may move down +two bedsteads to the lower part of the house. I have no objection to +your putting one in the dining-room, if you desire it." + +"Thank you, Mrs. Talbot; I should prefer it." + +"Then you may consider yourself at liberty to do it. I believe I have +now said all I wanted to you. Can you come here next Tuesday?" + +"Yes, we will do so." + +"By the way, I forgot to inquire the size of your family." + +"I have only one other child, a little boy of eight." + +Mrs. Talbot heard this with satisfaction, for she was aware of the +destructive propensities of children, and preferred that the family in +charge should be small. + +"I believe I have nothing further to say," said Mrs. Talbot. "Should +anything else occur to me, I will mention it to you on Tuesday when +you come here permanently." + +Paul and his mother took their leave. When they were in the street, +Paul inquired: + +"Well, mother, what do you think of Mrs. Talbot?" + +"I like her very much. She seems to be a real lady." + +"So I think. She seems to be very kind and considerate." + +"We are very fortunate to get so good a home and save the entire +rent." + +"It will save us two hundred and forty dollars a year." + +"We shall be able to save up considerable money every year." + +"But there's one thing I want to say, mother. As we are in so much +better circumstances, there will be no need of your working on +neckties any more." + +"Are you going to discharge me from your employment, Paul?" said his +mother, smiling. + +"Not unless you are willing, mother; but you will have enough to do +looking after the house." + +"I would rather keep on making neckties. It is a work that I like. In +return I will hire my washing done, and all the rougher work." + +"Perhaps that will be better," said Paul; "but you can do both if you +like." + +"I don't mean to lead an idle life, Paul. I should not feel happy if I +did. I was always fond of sewing--that is, in moderation. When I made +shirts for that establishment in Broadway, for such low prices, I +cannot say that I enjoyed that very much. I am glad to be relieved of +such work, though at that time I was glad to get it." + +"Those days have gone by forever, I hope, mother. I am young and +strong, and I don't see why there isn't as good a chance for me to +succeed as for other poor boys who have risen to wealth and eminence. +I am going to work for success, at any rate. But we shall have to make +some purchases before Tuesday." + +"What kind of purchases?" + +"Jimmy and I are out of clothes, you know. My entire wardrobe has been +consumed by the devouring element, as the reporters say. Now, being a +young man of fashion, I don't quite like being reduced to one suit and +one shirt, with other things in proportion." + +"If you could wait, I would make you some shirts." + +"But I can't wait. I shouldn't feel like wearing the shirt I have on +more than a fortnight." + +"I hope not," said his mother, smiling. + +"Suppose I should be invited to a party and be obliged to decline with +thanks, on account of having only one shirt. My reputation as a young +man of fashion would be gone forever." + +"So I should think." + +"To-morrow I will buy a couple of shirts, and these will last me, with +the help of the washerwoman, until you can make me some new ones. Then +I will go to Bookair's tomorrow, and take Jimmy with me and buy new +suits for both." + +"I am afraid you are getting extravagant, Paul." + +"If we live on Madison avenue, we must dress accordingly, you know, +mother. That reminds me, I must buy two trunks also." + +"Two?" + +"Yes; one for you, and the other for Jimmy and myself. At present I +could tie up all my clothes in a handkerchief--that is, if I had a +spare one; but I am going to have some more. You must have some new +things also, mother." + +"I can wait till we get settled in our new home. I am afraid you won't +have money enough for all the articles you mean to buy." + +"I may have to draw some from Mr. Preston. I think I will call on him +to-morrow and do so. I forgot how much we had to buy. I shall close up +business to-morrow and Monday, and spend the time in preparation for +moving." + +Mrs. Hoffman would not, had the matter rested with her, have been in +favor of expending so much money, but she had considerable confidence +in Paul's judgment, and indeed their prospects looked bright enough to +warrant it; so she withdrew her objections, and Paul had his own way, +as he generally did. + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +A GIFT. + +The next forenoon Paul called at Mr. Preston's place of business. On +entering the office he found Mr. Talbot conversing with him. + +"Talbot," said Mr. Preston, "this is your new tenant, Paul Hoffman." + +"Good-morning, Paul," said Mr. Talbot pleasantly. "Mrs. Talbot tells +me that you and your mother called last evening." + +"Yes, sir." + +"I was called away by an engagement, but I am glad to say that Mrs. +Talbot approves my choice." + +"Thank you, sir." + +"I hear from Mr. Preston that you have been unfortunate in being +burned out." + +"Yes, sir, we have been burned out, but we hadn't much to lose." + +"Were you able to save any of your clothing?" + +"My mother saved a new dress she had just bought." + +"Was that all?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"It will cost you considerable to replace what was destroyed." + +"Considerable for me, sir. I called this morning to ask Mr. Preston +for fifty dollars, from the money he has of mine, to spend for clothes +for my mother, and brother, and myself." + +"Will fifty dollars be sufficient?" + +"I have some money on hand. That will be all I shall need to draw." + +"It will be a pity to disturb your savings. Your care of my house will +be worth more than the rent. I will give you fifty dollars besides." + +Suiting the action to the word, Mr. Talbot took out his pocketbook and +drew therefrom five ten-dollar bills, which he placed in Paul's hands. + +"You are very kind," said Paul, in grateful surprise. "We felt well +paid by having our rent free." + +"You are quite welcome, but I ought to tell you that it is to Mrs. +Talbot you are indebted rather than to myself. She suggested my giving +you the money, having been much pleased with your mother's +appearance." + +"I am very much obliged to her also, then," said Paul, "and so will be +my mother when I tell her. We will try to give you satisfaction." + +"I feel sure you will," said Mr. Talbot kindly. + +"That is a fine boy," he said, after Paul had bidden them good-morning +and left the office. + +"He is an excellent boy," said Mr. Preston warmly. "He is +straightforward, manly, and honest." + +"How did you fall in with him?" + +"He fell in with me," said Mr. Preston, laughing. + +"How is that?" + +"As I was turning the corner of a street downtown one day he ran into +me and nearly knocked the breath out of me." + +"Which prepossessed you in his favor?" inquired Mr. Talbot, smiling. + +"Not at first. However, it led to a little conversation, by which I +learned that he was a street candy merchant, and that some young thief +had run off with all his stock in trade. He was then in hot pursuit. +Learning that his mother was a seamstress and a worthy woman, I +employed her to make me some shirts. I have followed the fortunes of +the family, and have been Paul's adviser since then, and latterly his +banker. He is now proprietor of a street-stand, and making, for a boy +of his age, quite a fair income." + +"Your account interests me. If I am as well satisfied as I hope to be +with the family I will hereafter seek out some way of serving him." + +"I am certain you will be satisfied." + +The two gentlemen now conversed of other things, with which the reader +has no concern. + +Paul went home in high spirits, and delighted his mother and Jimmy +with the gift he had received. + +"Now, mother," he said, "get on your bonnet and shawl, and we'll go +out shopping." + +"Won't you take me too, Paul?" asked Jimmy. + +"To be sure I will. I am going to buy you a suit of clothes, Jimmy." + +The little boy clapped his hands. New clothes were a rarity to him, +and the purchase of a new suit, therefore, would be a memorable event. + +I do not propose to detail Paul's purchases. They consisted of new +suits for Jimmy and himself, and a complete outfit of under garments, +closing with the purchase of two plain, substantial trunks. Mrs. +Hoffman deferred her own shopping till Monday. + +When, later in the day, the various articles arrived, Paul regarded +them with much complacency. + +"It looks as if we were getting up in the world," he said. + +"You deserve to succeed, Paul," said his mother. "You have been +industrious and faithful, and God has prospered you." + +"I have had a good mother to encourage me," said Paul, "or I should +not have done so well." + +"You are right to say that, Paul," said Mrs. Norton. "It isn't every +boy that has a good mother." + +"That is true. There are some boys I know who would do well if their +mothers were not shiftless and intemperate. You remember Tommy +O'Connor, mother, don't you?" + +"Yes, Paul." + +"I met him in Nassau street yesterday. He was lounging about in rags, +doing nothing. He asked me to lend him five cents. I asked him why he +was not at work. He said his mother took all his money and spent it +for drink. Then she got quarrelsome and beat him." + +"How can any mother behave in that way?" said Mrs. Hoffman, shuddering. + +"I don't know, but there is more than one mother that does it, though +it's more likely to be the father." + +The next day dawned bright and pleasant. + +"Can I put on my new clothes, Paul?" asked Jimmy. + +"Yes," said Paul. "It's Sunday, and we'll all put on our best clothes +and go to church." + +"I should like that," said the little boy, delighted. + +Mrs. Hoffman readily agreed to the plan. + +If of late the family had remained at home on Sunday, it was at first +for want of good clothing, not from any want of respect for religious +institutions. During Mr. Hoffman's life they had attended regularly, +and Paul had belonged to a Sunday-school, Jimmy being too young. The +church they had formerly attended being in Harlem, they could not of +course go so far, but dropped into one not far from Union Square. They +were shown seats by the sexton, and listened attentively to the +services, though it must be confessed that Jimmy's attention was +occasionally diverted to his new clothes, of which he was not a little +proud. Mrs. Hoffman felt glad once more to find herself enjoying +religious privileges, and determined henceforth to attend regularly. + +As they were leaving the church, Paul suddenly found himself, to his +surprise, next to Mr. and Mrs. Talbot, whom he had not before +observed. + +"Good-morning, Mr. Talbot," he said. + +Mr. Talbot turned on being addressed and said: + +"What, Paul, are you here?" + +"Mr. Talbot, this is my mother," said Paul. + +"Mrs. Hoffman," said Mr. Talbot, with as much courtesy as if he were +addressing his social equal, "I am glad to make your acquaintance. My +dear, this is Mrs. Hoffman." + +Mrs. Talbot greeted both cordially, and made some inquiries about +Jimmy. She observed with pleasure the neat appearance of the entire +family, feeling sure that those who were so careful about their own +appearance would be equally careful of her house. She also thought +more favorably of them for their attendance at church, having herself +a high respect for religious observances. Of course Paul and his +mother thanked her in fitting terms for the gift which had enabled +them to replace their losses by the fire. + +After a brief conversation they parted, Mr. and Mrs. Talbot going +uptown, while Paul and his mother had nearly two miles to walk in a +different direction. + +"Next Sunday we shall be walking uptown also," said Paul. "It will +look well in the Directory, 'Paul Hoffman, merchant; house, Madison +avenue,' won't it?" + +"Yes," said his mother, "so long as it doesn't mention that you live +in the basement." + +"Some time I hope to occupy a whole house of my own." + +"In Madison avenue?" + +"Perhaps so; who knows?" + +"I see, Paul, you are getting ambitious." + +"Where shall I be, Paul?" asked Jimmy, who felt that his future +prospects deserved consideration. + +"Oh, you'll be a famous artist, and have a studio on Fifth avenue." + +"Do you think so, Paul?" asked the little fellow seriously. + +"I hope so. All you want is a little help from me now and then. If I +had time I would give you a course of lessons in drawing." + +"You draw awfully, Paul." + +"Do you draw any better?" + +"Of course I do." + +"Mother," said Paul, with much gravity, "that boy's self-conceit is +unbounded. You ought to talk to him about it." + +But though Paul liked to joke Jimmy, he had already decided, after +they moved uptown, to give him an opportunity of developing his talent +by engaging a drawing teacher for him. The large saving in their +expenses from not being obliged to pay rent would allow him to do this +easily. He had not yet mentioned this to Jimmy, for he meant to +surprise him. + + + +CHAPTER IX. + +JULIUS. + +At the time appointed, Paul and his mother moved into their new home. +It was necessary to buy but a small quantity of new furniture, as Mrs. +Talbot authorized them to take down from the upper rooms anything of +which they had need. She was led to this offer by the favorable +opinion she had formed of Mrs. Hoffman. With the exception, therefore, +of some bedding and a rocking-chair, the latter purchased nothing. + +It took a little time, of course, to get accustomed to their new +quarters. When, however, they had got to feel at home, they enjoyed +them. It was no longer possible, of course, for Paul to come home to +the noonday meal, since the distance between his place of business and +the house on Madison avenue was two miles and a half. He therefore was +accustomed to take his lunch at a restaurant, for his mother had +adopted the common New York custom of having dinner at the end of the +day. + +It was about six weeks after Paul's removal to Madison avenue that one +day, on approaching the restaurant on Fulton street where he proposed +to lunch, his attention was drawn to a famished-looking boy who was +looking in at the window at the viands within. It was impossible to +misinterpret his hungry look. Paul understood it at once, and his +heart was stirred with compassion. His own prosperity had not hardened +him, but rendered him more disposed to lend a helping hand to those +more needy. + +"Are you hungry, Johnny?" he asked. + +The boy turned at the sound of the words. + +"Ain't I just?" he said. + +"Didn't you have any breakfast?" + +"I had a piece of bread." + +"Was that all?" + +"Yes," + +"Could you eat a plate of meat if I gave you some?" + +"Try me and see," was the reply. + +"Come in, then," said Paul. + +"Will you pay for it?" asked the young Arab, almost incredulous. + +"Yes, I will pay for it." + +The boy waited for no further assurance. He was not in a position to +refuse so advantageous a proposal. He shuffled in, therefore, directly +behind Paul. + +It was not an aristocratic eating-house, but its guests were +well-dressed, and the ragged boy at once attracted unfavorable +attention. + +"Get out of here!" said a waiter. + +"He told me to come in," said the boy, beginning to tremble at the +thought of losing the proffered dinner. + +Paul, at whom he pointed, was known at the restaurant. + +"Did this boy come in with you?" asked the waiter. + +"Yes," said Paul; "he's going to dine with me." + +"All right." + +The waiter was rather surprised at Paul's selection of a table +companion, but payment being thus guaranteed, could interpose no +further objections. + +"Sit down there, Johnny," said Paul, indicating a seat at one of the +side tables and taking the seat opposite himself. + +"Now what'll you have?" he asked, handing his young guest the bill of +fare. + +The young Arab took it, and holding it upside down, looked at it in +perplexity. + +"I can't read," said he, handing it back. + +"I suppose you can eat, though," said Paul. "What'll you have?" + +"Anything that's good; I ain't pertikler," said the boy. + +"Do you like stewed oysters?" + +The boy eagerly replied in the affirmative. + +"Stewed oysters for two," ordered Paul. "That'll do to begin on, +Johnny. What's your real name?" + +"Julius." + +"Anything else?" + +"That's all the name I know." + +"You can take another when you need it. Did you ever hear of Julius +Caesar?" + +"Yes," said the boy. + +Paul was a little surprised to discover the boy's range of historical +information. + +"What do you know about him?" he asked. + +"I don't know him; I've seed him," said the boy. + +"Where have you seen him?" asked Paul, rather astonished. + +"Down in Baxter street." + +"Does he live there?" asked Paul. + +"Yes; he keeps a barber shop there." + +Evidently the young Arab supposed that Julius Caesar, colored barber, +within the precincts of the Five Points, was the one referred to by +his questioner. Paul did not explain to him his mistake. + +"Have you got any father or mother?" + +"No," said the boy. + +"Where do you live?" + +"In Centre street." + +"What do you do for a living?" + +"Sometimes I black boots; sometimes I beg." + +"Who do you live with?" + +"Jack Morgan." + +"Is he any relation to you?" + +"I dunno," answered the boy. + +The conversation was here interrupted. The stews were placed on the +table, with a plate of crackers. + +The boy's eyes glistened. He seized the spoon, and attacked his share +with evident appetite. + +"Poor little chap!" thought Paul, sympathetically; "he doesn't often +get a good dinner. To-day he shall have all he can eat." + +When the boy had finished, he said: "Will you have some pudding, or +would you like some more oysters?" + +"I'd like the oysters, if it's all the same to you," answered Julius. + +"Another stew and some apple dumpling," ordered Paul. + +Julius was in appearance about twelve years of age. In reality he was +fourteen, being small of his age. He had black hair and a dark +complexion; his face was thin and his figure slender. He had the +expression of one who was used to privation and knew how to bear it +without much hope of anything better. His clothes were soiled and +ragged, but his face was clean. Water was cheap, and he was +unfashionably neat for the quarter in which he lived. + +The stew was brought, and an extra plate of bread and butter. + +"Now go ahead," said Paul. "Eat all you want." + +Julius needed no other invitation. He proceeded vigorously to +accomplish the work before him, and soon both bread and oysters were +disposed of. + +"Have you got enough?" asked Paul, smiling. + +"Yes," said Julius; "I'm full." + +Have you ever seen the satisfied look of an alderman as he rose from a +sumptuous civic banquet? The same expression was visible on the face +of the young Arab as he leaned back in his chair, with his hands +thrust into his pockets. + +"Then," said Paul, "we may as well be going." + +The boy seized his ragged cap and followed his benefactor from the +eating-house. When they reached the sidewalk, he turned to Paul and +said: + +"That was a bully dinner." + +Paul understood that he intended to thank him, though his gratitude +was not directly expressed. + +"I'm glad you liked it," said he; "but I must be going now." + +Julius looked after him until he turned the corner. "He's been good to +me," he said to himself; "maybe I can do something for him some day." + +The young Arab had had few occasions for gratitude. The world had been +a hard stepmother to him. It was years since he had known father or +mother, and as long as he could remember he had been under the +guardianship of a social outlaw, named Jack Morgan, who preyed upon +the community whenever he got a chance. Whenever he was under the ban +of the law, Julius had shifted for himself, or been transferred to one +of his lawless companions. The chances seemed to be in favor of Julius +growing up such another as his guardian. Had he been differently +constituted he would have been worse than he was. But his natural +instincts were healthful, and when he had been left entirely to +himself he had lived by honest industry, devoting himself to some of +the street occupations which were alone open to him. His most perilous +period was when Jack resumed his guardianship, as he had done a +fortnight previous, on being released from a three months' residence +at Blackwell's Island. + +What the tie was between him and the boy was unknown. Julius knew that +Jack was not his father, for the latter had never made that claim. +Sometimes he vaguely intimated that Julius was the son of his sister, +and consequently his nephew, but as at times he gave a different +account, Julius did not know what to think. But he had always +acquiesced in his guardianship, and whenever Jack was at liberty had +without hesitation gone back to him. + +After a brief pause Julius followed Paul to the corner, and saw him +take his place beside the necktie stand. He then remembered to have +seen him there before. + +"I thought I know'd him," he said; "I'll remember him now." + +He wandered about vaguely, having no regular occupation. He had had a +blacking-box and brush, but it had been stolen, and he had not +replaced it. He had asked Jack to lend him the money requisite to set +him up in the business again, but the latter had put him off, +intimating that he should have something else for him to do. Julius +had therefore postponed seeking any other employment, beyond hovering +about the piers and railway stations on the chance of obtaining a job +to carry a carpetbag or valise. This was a precarious employment, and +depended much more on good fortune than the business of a newsboy or +bootblack. However, in the course of the afternoon Julius earned +twenty-five cents for carrying a carpet-bag to French's Hotel. That +satisfied him, for he was not very ambitious. He invested the greater +part of it in some coffee and cakes at one of the booths in Fulton +Market, and about nine o'clock, tired with his day's tramp, sought the +miserable apartment in Centre street which he shared with Jack Morgan. + + + +CHAPTER X. + +A ROOM IN CENTRE STREET. + +In a room on the third floor of a miserable tenement house in Centre +street two men were sitting. Each had a forbidding exterior, and +neither was in any danger of being mistaken for a peaceful, +law-abiding citizen. One, attired in a red shirt and pants, was +leaning back in his chair, smoking a clay pipe. His hair was dark and +his beard nearly a week old. Over his left eye was a scar, the +reminder of a wound received in one of the numerous affrays in which +he had been engaged. + +This was Jack Morgan, already referred to as the guardian of the boy +Julius. He was certainly a disreputable-looking ruffian, and his +character did not belie his looks. + +The other man was taller, better dressed, and somewhat more +respectable in appearance. But, like Jack, he, too, was a social +outlaw, and the more dangerous that he could more easily assume an air +of respectability, and pass muster, if he chose, as an honest man. + +"Well, Marlowe," said Jack Morgan to the latter, who had just entered, +"how's business?" + +"Not very good," said Marlowe, shaking his head. "I haven't been so +hard up for a long time. You haven't lost much by being shut up." + +"I've had my board and lodging free," said Morgan; "but I'd rather +look out for myself. I don't like free hotels." Marlowe smiled. + +"That's where you're right, Jack. I never tried it but once, and then +I didn't like it any better than you." + +"You're a sharp one. You always cover your tracks." + +"The cops don't often get hold of me," said Marlowe, with pride. "You +remember that big bond robbery a year ago?" + +"Yes. You wasn't in that?" + +"Yes, I was." + +"The rest of the fellows got trapped." + +"That's so; but I heard in time and got off." + +"Did you make anything out of it?" + +"I made sure of a thousand-dollar bond." + +"Did you put it off?" + +"Yes; I sold it for half price." + +"Where is the money?" + +"It lasted me a month," said Marlowe, coolly. "I lived then, you can +bet. But I haven't done much since. Do you see that?" + +He took from his vest pocket a dollar greenback. + +"What of it?" + +"It's my last dollar." + +"Then you've got to do something." + +"Yes." + +"Haven't you thought of anything?" + +"I've got a plan that may work." + +Here Julius entered, and his entrance produced a brief interruption. +"What luck, Julius?" asked Morgan. + +"Nothing much. I got a bundle to carry for a quarter." + +"Have you got the money?" + +"There's ten cents. I bought my supper with the rest." + +"Give it to me." + +Jack Morgan took the ten cents and thrust it into his pocket. + +"You ain't smart, Julius," he said. "You ought to have brought more +than that." + +"Buy me a blacking-box and I will," said Julius. + +"I'll see about it. But, Marlowe, you were just goin' to tell me of +your plan." + +"Shall I tell before him?" asked Marlowe, indicating the boy. + +"Drive ahead. He's one of us." + +"There's a house on Madison avenue that I've heard about. It belongs +to a man that's gone to Europe." + +"Then there isn't much left in it worth taking." + +"That's where you're wrong. I've found out that he has left all his +plate locked up in a safe on the second floor and some bonds, too, +it's most likely." + +"Has he got much?" + +"So I hear." + +"Who told you?" + +"A man that was in his service. He was discharged for drunkenness, and +he owes this Mr. Talbot a grudge." + +"Is he a thief himself?" + +"No, but he is willing to help us, out of revenge." + +"Then you can depend on his information." + +"Yes; there is no doubt of it." + +"Is the house empty?" + +"No; there's a family in charge." + +"That's bad." + +"Not so bad; it's a widow, with two children--one a little boy of +eight or thereabouts, the other sixteen." + +"Do you know anything about them?" + +"The oldest boy is a street peddler. He keeps a necktie stand below +the Astor House." + +Hitherto Julius had not taken much interest in the conversation. That +his disreputable guardian should be planning a burglary did not strike +him with surprise. It seemed only a matter of course. But the last +remark of Marlowe put a different face upon the matter. The +description was so exact that he felt almost certain the boy spoken of +must be his new friend, to whom he had been indebted for the best +dinner he had eaten for many a day. He began to listen now, but not +too obtrusively, as that might awaken suspicion. + +"A boy of sixteen may give trouble," said Jack Morgan. + +"He is easily disposed of," said Marlowe, indifferently. + +"I wish it were only the woman and little boy we had to deal with." + +"We can easily secure the boy's absence for that night." + +"How?" + +"I can't tell yet, but there's plenty of ways. He might be arrested on +a false charge and kept over night in the station-house. Or there's +other ways. But I can't tell till I know more about him. A letter +might be sent him, asking him to go over to Brooklyn." + +"Wouldn't do. His mother would get somebody else in his place." + +"We must find out all about him. How's that boy of yours? Is he +sharp?" + +"He ought to be. He's knocked about for himself long enough." + +"We can try him. Come here, my son." + +Julius rose from his seat and walked up to the pair. + +"Hark you, my lad, can you do as you're told?" + +Julius nodded. + +"We've got something for you to do. It'll lead to money--do you hear?" + +"I hear," said Julius. + +"Have you heard what we were talking about?" + +"I heard, but I didn't mind." + +"Then I want you to hear, and mind, too, now. Have you ever seen a +necktie stand between Dey and Cortlandt streets?" + +"Yes." + +"There's a boy keeps it." + +"I've seed him." + +"So far so good, then. Do you know anything about him?" + +Julius shook his head. + +"Then I want you to find out all you can about him. Find out if he's +got any friends in Brooklyn, or just outside of the city. I'll tell +you what I know about him, and then you must learn as much more as +possible. Do you know his name?" + +"No." + +"It is Paul Hoffman. He and his mother live in a house that they take +care of on Madison avenue. We want to break into that house some night +next week and carry off some plate and bonds that are in the safe. If +we make the haul we'll do well by you." + +"I understand," said Julius, nodding intelligently. + +"What we want," pursued Marlowe, "is to have the boy sleep out of the +house the night we make the attempt. That will leave the coast clear. +If the woman wakes up and discovers us, we'll threaten to kill her if +she makes any fuss. Do you hear?" + +Julius nodded again. + +"Do you think you can do what we want?" + +"Yes." + +"That's well. We'll wait for the boy's report before we lay our plans, +Jack. Now that's settled, we'll send out for some whisky and drink +success to the job." + +"Then you must find the money, Marlowe, for I'm dead broke." + +"Here, boy, take this," said Marlowe, handing Julius the bill he had +recently displayed, "and bring back a pint of whisky." + +"All right," said Julius. + +"And mind you bring back the change, or I must go without breakfast +to-morrow morning." + +"I'll remember," said Julius. + +When he had gone out, Marlowe said: "Where did you pick up that boy, +Jack? He isn't your son, is he?" + +"No; I have no son. I picked him up one day when he was a little chap. +He didn't seem to belong to nobody; so I took him home, and he's been +with me ever since." + +"Where does he go when you are shut up, Jack? That's a good part of +the time, you know." + +"Into the streets. He picks up a living there somehow. I don't ask +how." + +"And he always comes back to you when you get out again?" + +"Yes." + +"Loves you like a father, eh?" said Marlowe, laughing. + +"He's used to me," said Jack, indifferently. + +Not being sentimental, he never troubled himself to expect affection +from his young ward, and would not have felt very deeply afflicted if +he had deserted him. Still, he, too, had got used to the society of +Julius, who was the only living thing that clung to him, and probably +would have felt a degree of regret at his loss. There are few, however +callous, who do not feel some satisfaction in companionship. + +Marlowe laughed. + +"What are you laughing at?" said Jack. + +"I was thinking, Jack, that you wasn't exactly the right sort to train +up a boy in the way he should go, and all that. If he takes pattern by +you, it's easy to tell where he'll fetch up." + +"He ain't a bad sort," said Jack. + +"Has he ever been over to the island?" + +"No." + +"Then he hasn't followed your teaching, that's all I can say." + +"Never mind about the boy," said Jack, who had grown weary of the +subject. "He can take care of himself." + +Here Julius reappeared with the whisky. Both men brightened up at the +sight of their favorite beverage. + +"Have you got a pack of cards?" asked Marlowe. + +"Are there any cards?" asked Jack, appealing to Julius. + +The boy found some hidden away in the cupboard, and the men taking +them were soon intent upon a game of poker. Julius looked on for a +time, for he, too, knew something of the game; but after a time he +became drowsy, and threw himself upon a pallet in the corner, which he +shared with his guardian. He didn't sleep immediately, however, for +now that his attention was drawn away from the game, he began to +consider how he should act in the matter which had been confided to +him. Should he prove true to his guardian and treacherous to Paul, or +should he repay the latter for the kindness he had received at his +hands? It was a difficult question. While he was pondering it his eyes +closed and he fell asleep. + +The men continued to play for about two hours, for penny stakes. The +game had no interest for them unless something was staked upon it, and +the winner pocketed his winnings with as much satisfaction as if it +had been a thousand times as large. + + + +CHAPTER XI. + +FREE LUNCH. + +About seven o'clock the next morning Julius awoke. Jack Morgan was +still asleep and breathing heavily. His coarse features looked even +more brutal in his state of unconsciousness. The boy raised himself on +his elbow and looked thoughtfully at him as he slept. + +"How did I come to be with him?" This was the question which passed +through the boy's mind. "He ain't my father, for he's told me so. Is +he my uncle, I wonder?" + +Sometimes, but not often, this question had suggested itself to +Julius; but in general he had not troubled himself much about +ancestry. A good dinner was of far more importance to him than to know +who his father or grandfather had been. He did not pretend to have a +warm affection for the man between whom and himself existed the only +tie that bound him to any fellow-creature. They had got used to each +other, as Jack expressed it, and that served to keep them together +when the law did not interfere to keep them apart. In general Julius +had obeyed such orders as Jack gave him, but now, for the first time, +a question of doubt arose in his mind. He was called upon to do +something which would injure Paul, whose kindness had produced a +strong impression upon him. Should he do it? This led him to consider +how far he was bound to obey Jack Morgan. He could not see that he had +anything to be grateful for. If Jack was flush he received some slight +advantage. On the other hand, he was expected to give most of his +earnings to his guardian when they were living together. While he was +thinking the man opened his eyes. + +"Awake, eh?" he asked. + +"Yes," said Julius. + +"What time is it?" + +"The clock has gone seven." + +"I can tell that by my stomach. I've got a healthy appetite this +morning. Have you got any money?" + +"Not a penny, Jack." + +"That's bad. Just feel in the pocket of my breeches; there they are on +the floor. See if you can find anything." + +Julius rose from the pallet and did as he was ordered. + +"There's twelve cents," he said. + +"Good. We'll divide. We can get a breakfast at Brady's Free Lunch +Saloon. Take six cents of it. I ain't going to get up yet." + +"All right," said the boy. + +"You must look sharp and pick up some money before night, or we shall +go to bed hungry. Do you hear?" + +"Yes, Jack." + +"When Marlowe and I get hold of that gold and plate in Madison avenue +we'll have a grand blow-out. You remember what Marlowe told you last +night?" + +"About the boy that keeps the necktie stand near Dey street?" + +"Yes." + +"I am to find out all I can about him." + +"Yes. See if you can find out if he has any friends out of the city." + +Julius nodded. + +"We want to have the coast clear, so that we can break in next Monday +night. The sooner the better. I'm dead broke and so is Marlowe, but I +guess we can stand it till then." + +"All right." + +Jack Morgan turned over and composed himself to sleep again. He had +said all he thought necessary, and had no pressing business to call +him up. Julius opened the door and went out, down the rickety stairs +and out through a narrow covered alleyway to the street, for the room +which Jack Morgan and he occupied was in a rear tenement house. +Several dirty and unsavory-looking children--they could not well be +otherwise in such a locality--barefooted and bareheaded, were playing +in the court. Julius passed them by, and sauntered along toward the +City Hall Park. He met several acquaintances, newsboys and bootblacks, +the former crying the news, the latter either already employed or +looking for a job. + +"Where are you goin', Julius?" asked a bootblack of his acquaintance. + +"Goin' to get breakfast." + +"Got any stamps?" + +"Sixpence." + +"You can't get a square meal for that." + +"I'm goin' to 'free-lunch places.'" + +"That's good if you're hard up. What are you doin' now?" + +"Nothin' much." + +"Why don't you black boots?" + +"Haven't got any box or brush." + +"You can borrow mine, if you'll give me half you make." + +"What are you goin' to do?" + +"I'll try sellin' papers for a change." + +"I'll do it," said Julius, promptly, for he saw that the arrangement +would, under the circumstances, be a good one for him. "Where will I +see you to-night?" + +"I'll be here at six o'clock." + +"All right. Hand over your box." So the business arrangement was +concluded--an arrangement not uncommon among street professionals. It +is an illustration, on a small scale, of the advantage of capital. The +lucky possessor of two or three extra blacking-boxes has it in his +power to derive quite a revenue--enormous, when the amount of his +investment is considered. As a general thing, such contracts, however +burdensome to one party, are faithfully kept. It might be supposed +that boys of ordinary shrewdness would as soon as possible save up +enough to buy a box and brush of their own; but as they only receive +half profits, that is not easy, after defraying expenses of lodging +and meals. + +Julius obtained one job before going to breakfast. He waited for +another, but as none seemed forthcoming, he shouldered his box and +walked down Nassau street till he reached a basement over which was +the sign, FREE LUNCH. He went downstairs and entered a dark basement +room. On one side was a bar, with a variety of bottles exposed. At the +lower end of the apartment was a table, containing a couple of plates +of bread and butter and slices of cold meat. This was the free lunch, +for which no charge was made, but it was understood to be free to +those only who had previously ordered and paid for a drink. Many came +in only for the drinks, so that on the whole the business was a paying +one. + +Julius walked up to the bar and called for a glass of lager. + +"Here, Johnny," said the barkeeper. + +While he was drinking, a miserable-looking man, whose outward +appearance seemed to indicate that Fortune had not smiled upon him +lately, sidled in, and without coming to the bar, walked up to the +table where the free lunch was spread out. + +"What'll you have to drink, my friend?" asked the barkeeper, +pointedly. + +The man looked rather abashed, and fumbled in his pockets. + +"I'm out of money," he stammered. + +"Then keep away from the lunch, if you please," said the proprietor of +the establishment. "No lunch without a drink. That's my rule." + +"I'm very hungry," faltered the man, in a weak voice. "I haven't +tasted food for twenty-four hours." + +"Why don't you work?" + +"I can't get work." + +"That's your lookout. My lunch is for those who drink first." + +Julius had listened to this conversation with attention. He knew what +it was to be hungry. More than once he had gone about with an empty +stomach and no money to buy food. He saw that the man was weak and +unnerved by hunger, and he spoke on the impulse of the moment, placing +five cents in his hand. + +"Take that and buy a drink." + +"God bless you!" uttered the man, seizing the coin. + +"What'll you have?" asked the barkeeper. + +"Anything the money will buy." + +A glass of lager was placed in his hands and eagerly quaffed. Then he +went up to the table and ate almost ravenously, Julius bearing him +company. + +"God bless you, boy!" he said. "May you never know what it is to be +hungry and without a penny in your pocket!" + +"I've knowed it more'n once," said Julius. + +"Have you--already? Poor boy! What do you do for a living?" + +"Sometimes one thing--sometimes another," said Julius. "I'm blackin' +boots now." + +"So I am relieved by the charity of a bootblack," murmured the other, +thoughtfully. "The boy has a heart." + +"Can't you get nothin' to do?" asked Julius, out of curiosity. + +"Yes, yes, enough to do, but no money," said the other. + +"Look here," said the barkeeper, "don't you eat all there is on the +table. That won't pay on a five-cent drink--that won't." + +He had some cause for speaking, for the man, who was almost famished, +had already eaten heartily. He desisted as he heard these words, and +turned to go out. + +"I feel better," he said. "I was very weak when I came in. Thank you, +my boy," and he offered his hand to Julius, which the latter took +readily. + +"It ain't nothin'," he said, modestly. + +"To me it is a great deal. I hope we shall meet again." + +Street boy as he was, Julius had found some one more destitute than +himself, and out of his own poverty he had relieved the pressing need +of another. It made him feel lighter-hearted than usual. It was the +consciousness of having done a good action, which generally brings its +own reward, however trifling it may have been. + +Though himself uneducated, he noticed that the man whom he had +relieved used better language than was common among those with whom he +was accustomed to associate, and he wondered how such a man should +have become so poor. + +"I don't want to see that man again," said the barkeeper. "He spends +five cents and eats twenty cents' worth. If all my customers were like +that, I should soon have to stop business. Do you know him?" + +"Never seed him afore," said Julius. + +He shouldered his box and ascended the steps to the sidewalk above. He +resolved to look out for business for the next two hours, and then go +around to the necktie stand of Paul Hoffman. + + + +CHAPTER XII. + +A GOOD ACTION MEETS ITS REWARD. + +Paul Hoffman was standing beside his stock in trade, when all at once +he heard the question, so common in that neighborhood, "Shine yer +boots?" + +"I guess not," said Paul, who felt that his income did not yet warrant +a daily outlay of ten cents for what he could easily do himself. + +"I'll shine 'em for nothin'," said the boy. + +Such a novel proposition induced Paul to notice more particularly the +boy who made it. + +"Why for nothing?" he asked, in surprise, not recognizing Julius. + +"You gave me a dinner yesterday," said Julius. + +"Are you the boy?" asked Paul, with interest. + +"I'm the one," answered Julius. "Will you have a shine?" + +"I don't want any pay for the dinner," said Paul. "You're welcome to +it." + +"I'd rather give you a shine," persisted Julius. + +"All right," said Paul, pleased by his grateful spirit, and he put out +his foot. + +"Won't you let me pay for it?" asked Paul, when the job was finished +and his boots were resplendent with a first-class polish. + +"No," said Julius, hastily drawing back. + +"Thank you, then. Have you had good luck this morning?" + +"I got four shines," said Julius. + +"I once blacked boots myself, for a little while," said Paul. + +"You're doin' better now." + +"Yes, I'm doing better now. So will you some day, I hope." + +"Do you live in a house on Madison avenue?" asked Julius, abruptly. + +"Yes," said Paul, surprised. "Who told you?" + +"You take care of the house for a gentleman as has gone to Europe, +don't you?" + +"How do you know it?" demanded Paul. + +"I want to tell you something" said Julius, "only don't you never let +on as I told you." + +"All right. Go ahead!" said Paul, more and more mystified. + +"Ain't there some gold and bonds kept in the house?" + +"Why do you ask?" demanded Paul, eying the boy with suspicion. + +"There's a couple of chaps that's plannin' to rob the house," said +Julius, sinking his voice almost to a whisper, and looking cautiously +about him to guard against being overheard. + +"Who are they? How do you know it?" asked Paul, startled. + +"One is Jack Morgan, the man I live with; the other is a friend of +his, Tom Marlowe." + +"Did you hear them talking about it?" + +"Yes; last night." + +"Did they tell you about it?" + +"They wanted me to find out all about you--if you'd got any friends in +Brooklyn, or anywheres round. They want to get you off the night +they're goin' to break in." + +"When is that?" + +"Next Monday." + +"What made you tell me all this?" + +"'Cause you was good to me and give me a dinner when I was hungry." + +"Give me your hand," said Paul, his heart warming toward the boy who +exhibited so uncommon a feeling as gratitude. + +"It's dirty," said Julius, showing his hand stained with blacking. + +"Never mind," said Paul, grasping it warmly. "You're a good fellow, +and I'd rather take your hand than a good many that's cleaner." + +Julius, rough Arab as he was, looked gratified, and his face +brightened. He felt that he was appreciated, and was glad he had +revealed the plot. + +"Now," said Paul, "you have told me about this man's plans; are you +willing to help me further? Are you willing to let me know anything +more that you find out about the robbery?" + +"Yes, I will," said Julius, unhesitatingly. + +"Then I'll depend upon you. What sort of a man is this that you live +with? What's his name?" + +"His name is Jack Morgan. He's a bad sort, he is. He's shut up most of +the time." + +"What makes you stay with him?" + +"I'm used to him. There ain't nobody else I belong to." + +"Is he your father?" + +"No, he ain't." + +"Any relation?" + +"Sometimes he says he's my uncle, but maybe it ain't so--I dunno." + +"Is he a strong man?" + +"Yes; he's a hard customer in a fight." + +"How about the other man?" + +"That's Marlowe. He's the same sort. I like Jack best." + +"Do you think they will try to break in next Monday night?" + +"If they think you are away." + +"What will you tell them?" + +"What do you want me to tell them?" asked Julius, looking at him +earnestly. + +"I don't know," said Paul, thoughtfully. "If you should say I was +going to be away, they'd want to know where, and how you found out. +They might suspect something." + +"That's so," said Julius. + +"Suppose they heard that I would remain in the house, what would they +do to prevent it?" + +"They might get you took up on a false charge and put in the +station-house over night, or maybe they'd seize you if they got a +chance and lock you up somewhere." + +"How could they have heard that Mr. Talbot left any valuables in the +house?" + +Julius shook his head. On that point he could give no information. + +"You may tell them," said Paul, after a moment's thought, "that I +have an aunt, Mrs. Green, living in Brooklyn." + +"Whereabouts in Brooklyn?" + +"No. 116 Third avenue," said Paul, at a venture. "Can you remember?" + +"Yes." + +"They will probably send a message from her late Monday evening for me +to go over there." + +"Will you go?" + +"I will leave the house, for they will probably be watching; but I +shall not go far, and I shall leave the house well guarded." + +Julius nodded. + +"I'll tell 'em," he said. + +He was about to go, when Paul called him back. + +"Won't you get yourself into trouble?" he said. "I should not want to +have any harm come to you." + +"They won't know I'm in the game," answered Julius. + +"Will you come to-morrow and let me know what they say?" + +"Yes." + +Julius crossed Broadway and turned into Fulton street, leaving Paul +full of thought. He felt what a great advantage it was to be +forewarned of the impending danger, since being forewarned was +forearmed, as with the help of the police he could prepare for his +burglarious visitors. He saw that the money he had paid for a dinner +for a hungry boy was likely to prove an excellent investment, and he +determined that this should not be the last favor Julius received from +him. + +Meanwhile Julius returned to business. With the help of his blacking +materials he succeeded in earning a dollar before the close of the +day. Unluckily, half of this was to be given to the young capitalist +who had supplied him with a box and brush; but still fifty cents was +more than he would probably have earned if he had been compelled to +depend upon chance jobs. At six o'clock he met his young employer and +handed over fifty cents, which the other pocketed with much +satisfaction. + +"Do you want to take the box ag'in to-morrow?" he asked. + +"Yes," said Julius. + +"All right. You can keep it then. You can take it home with you and +bring me the stamps to-morrow night at this same hour." + +So the contract was continued, and Julius, having treated himself to +some supper, went home. + +Jack Morgan was already there. He looked up as Julius entered. + +"Where'd you get that box?" he asked. + +"I borrored it." + +"Of a boy?" + +"Yes; I give him half I makes." + +"How much did you make to-day?" + +"Ten shines. That was a dollar." + +"And half of it went to you?" + +"Yes, Jack." + +"Where is it?" + +"I had to get my dinner and supper. There's all that's left." + +He handed Jack ten cents. + +"Why didn't you keep the whole of the money?" grumbled Jack. "You +needn't have paid the boy." + +"He'd have licked me." + +"Then I'd lick him." + +Julius shook his head. + +"That would be cheatin'," he said. "I wouldn't want to cheat him when +he give me the box." + +"Oh, you're gettin' mighty particular," sneered Jack, not very well +satisfied at having so large a portion of the boy's earnings diverted +from himself. + +"If I had a box and brush of my own I could keep all the stamps I +made," said Julius. + +"I'm dead broke. I can't give you no money to buy one. Did you go to +see that boy I told you of?" + +"Paul Hoffman?" + +"Yes, if that's his name." + +"Yes, I went to see him." + +"And did you find out anything?" asked Jack, with eagerness. + +"Yes." + +"Well, out with it, then. Don't let me do all the talking." + +"He's got an aunt as lives in Brooklyn." + +"Whereabouts?" + +"No. 116 Third avenue." + +"How did you find out?" + +"I got 'him to talkin'." + +"That's good. And did he suspect you?" + +"No," said Julius. + +"No. 116 Third avenue," repeated Jack. "I must put that down. Did he +tell you the name?" + +"Mrs. Green." + +"That's good. We'll trump up a message from her late Monday evening. I +wish I knew how things was arranged in the house." + +"Maybe I could go there," said Julius. + +"What, to the house?" + +"Yes. I could go there in the evenin' and ask him if he'd let me have +some old clothes. Maybe he'd invite me upstairs, and--" + +"You could use your eyes. That's a good idea, but I don't believe +you'd get a chance to go up." + +"Shall I try?" + +"Yes; you may try to-morrow night. If we make a haul, you shall have +your share. Halloo, Marlowe!" + +These last words were addressed to Marlowe, who entered +unceremoniously without knocking. + +"I'm in luck," said Marlowe. "Here's a fiver," and he displayed a +five-dollar greenback. "Come out and we'll have a jolly supper." + +Jack accepted the invitation with alacrity, communicating to his +companion as they walked along the information Julius had picked up. + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +PAUL MAKES A PURCHASE. + +It is not very pleasant to be informed that your house is to be +entered by burglars. Still, if such an event is in prospect, it is +well to know it beforehand. While Paul felt himself fortunate in +receiving the information which Julius gave him, he also felt anxious. +However well he might be prepared to meet the attack, he did not like +to have his mother and Jimmy in the house when it was made. Burglars +in nearly every case are armed, and if brought to bay would doubtless +use their arms, and the possible result of a chance shot was to be +dreaded. On Monday night, therefore, if that should be the one decided +upon by the burglars, he made up his mind that his mother and Jimmy +should sleep out of the house. He lost no time in proposing this plan +to his mother. + +"Mother," said he on reaching home, "I have had some news to-day." + +"Not bad, I hope?" said Mrs. Hoffman. + +"I leave you to judge," answered Paul, with a smile. "We are to have +visitors next Monday evening." + +"Visitors, Paul? Who are they?" + +"Mr. Jack Morgan and Mr. Marlowe." + +"Are they friends of yours? I never heard you mention them." + +"I never saw them that I know of." + +"Then why did you invite them here?" + +"They invited themselves." + +"I don't understand it, Paul. If you don't know them, why should they +invite themselves here?" + +"Perhaps you'll understand me better, mother, when I tell you their +business." + +"What is it?" + +"They are burglars." + +"Burglars!" repeated Mrs. Hoffman, turning suddenly pale and sinking +back into a chair, for she had been standing. + +"Yes, mother. They have found out, though I can't tell how, that there +are some bonds and plate in the safe upstairs, and that is their +reason for coming." + +"How did you find out, Paul? What a dreadful thing!" gasped Mrs. +Hoffman. + +"It will be worse for them than for us, I am thinking," said Paul. "It +was a boy told me--a boy that lives with them. I'll tell you about +it." + +He gave his mother an account of what had already been communicated to +him. + +"Oh, dear, we shall be murdered in our beds!" exclaimed his mother, in +dismal accents. + +Upon this Jimmy began to cry, but Paul only laughed. + +"I thought you were braver, Jimmy," he said. "If I buy you a pistol, +will you promise to use it?" + +"I don't know," said Jimmy, dubiously. "I should be afraid to shoot a +great big man. Would he have a pistol, too?" + +"Probably." + +At this Jimmy began to cry again, and Paul hastened to say: "Don't be +afraid; I don't mean to have you sleep in the house that night." + +"Where can we go?" + +"I think Mrs. Norton will let you stop with her that night." + +"And you will come, too, Paul?" said Mrs. Hoffman. + +"And let the house be robbed, mother? What would Mr. Talbot think of +that?" + +"But you will be killed. What can you do against such bad men?" + +"What would you recommend, mother?" asked Paul. + +"You might write a letter to them, telling them you knew all about +their plan and you would have them arrested if they came." + +"I don't think, mother," said Paul, laughing, "that that would be the +best course. I want to get them here and catch them. Then they can be +shut up, and we shall be safe from any further attempts. I am going to +police headquarters, and they will tell me what to do. Probably two or +three officers will be concealed in the house, and when the burglars +are fairly in will arrest them." + +"You needn't stay, Paul." + +"It is my duty, mother. We are left by Mr. Talbot in charge of the +house and what it contains. Some of us ought to be here at such a +time. I will take care not to get into danger." + +Mrs. Hoffman was a woman and a mother, and it was with difficulty that +Paul could convince her that it was his duty to remain. At length, +however, she acquiesced, and agreed to go and see Mrs. Norton the next +day and ask permission to remain with her on Monday night. + +The next day Julius came to Paul's stand. + +"Is there any news, Julius?" asked Paul. + +"Nothin' much," said Julius. "Jack wants me to call up to your house +and find out where the gold is kept." + +"How does he think you are going to do it without my suspecting?" + +"He told me to go up and ask for some old clothes. Then, if you didn't +let me into the house, I was to ask for something to eat." + +"A good plan." said Paul. "When are you coming?" + +"To-night." + +"Very well; I'll be ready for you. Is there any change in the +evening?" + +"No. They're comin' Monday night." + +"I'll be ready for them," said Paul. + +"What are you goin' to do?" asked Julius, and he fixed a pair of +sharp, black eyes on Paul. + +"Can I trust you, Julius?" demanded Paul, with a keen glance at the +boy. + +"Yes," said Julius. + +"Then," said Paul, "I mean to have them arrested. They'll walk into a +trap." + +Julius looked thoughtful. + +"Don't you like it, Julius?" + +"I dunno," said the boy, slowly. + +"Do you like this man Morgan?" + +"I don't like him. I'm used to him." + +"And you don't like the idea of his being arrested through your +means?" + +Julius nodded. + +"I know how you feel, but I don't see how it can be helped. If he +didn't rob us he would rob somebody else. Did he ever do any honest +work?" + +"Not as I knows on." + +"How does he live?" + +"By stealin' and gamblin'." + +"I hope he won't teach you to follow his example, Julius." + +"I don't want to be like him." + +"Why not?" + +"I want to be respectable, like you." + +"You know it's wrong to steal." + +"Yes," said Julius, but without any great depth of conviction. The +fact is, stealing was too familiar to his observation to excite in him +detestation or horror. But he was a sharp boy. He knew that his +guardian for the last five years had spent more than half the time in +confinement. Even when free he lived from hand to mouth. Julius had +made up his mind that it did not pay. He saw that an honest mechanic +got a good deal more comfort and enjoyment out of life than Jack, and +he had a vague wish to become respectable. This was encouraging, as +far as it went. Higher considerations might come by and by. + +"If you want to be respectable, Julius, I'll help you," said Paul. + +"Will you?" said Julius. + +"Yes; you are doing me a great favor. I shall be in your debt, and +that's the way I will pay you. You mustn't grow up like the man you +live with." + +"I don't want to." + +"We'll talk about that after Monday. We shall have more time then." + +"Shall I come up to-night, then?" + +"Yes, come." + +Julius strolled away with his blacking-box, and Paul was left to his +reflections. + +"He'll make a good boy if he's only encouraged," said Paul to himself. +"I don't know what would have become of me if I'd been brought up by +burglars like him. There's nothing like having a good mother. There +ain't any excuse for a boy going wrong if he's got a good mother." + +Paul was right. Our destinies are decided more than we know by +circumstances. If the street boys, brought up to a familiarity with +poverty, and often with vice and crime, go astray, we should pity as +well as condemn, and if we have it in our power to make the conditions +of life more favorable for any, it is our duty, as the stewards of our +common Father, to do what we can. + +It occurred to Paul that he had no old clothes to give Julius, all his +wardrobe, not very extensive at the best, having been burned up in the +fire which consumed his old home. As he had told Julius to come up, it +was necessary that he should have something to give him, and he +therefore decided to provide himself at a second-hand clothing store. +He knew well enough where they were to be found. His old street +companions used to go to Chatham street and Baxter street in search of +clothing, and these localities, though not distinguished for fashion, +are at least reasonable in their scale of prices. + +A little earlier than usual Paul closed his stand, and walked across +the City Hall Park and up Chatham street to a store he had frequently +seen. Like most of its class, it had a large portion of its stock +displayed outside, where the proprietor stood, keen-eyed and watchful, +on the lookout for customers. + +"Can I sell you something this afternoon?" he asked, obsequiously, as +Paul halted in front of his store. + +"That depends upon whether I see anything that suits me," answered +Paul. + +Before he had finished, the dealer had seized his arm, and, hurrying +him into the store, pulled down a coat, on the merits of which he +began to expatiate with voluble tongue. + +"I don't want anything for myself," said Paul. "I want to buy a coat +for a boy of twelve. Have you got anything of the right size?" + +Paul need not have asked. The trader was keen at a sale, and if +Barnum's giant had called for a second-hand suit, would have sworn +boldly that he had the very thing. In the present case Paul found a +coat which, as well as he could judge, would about fit Julius. At any +rate, the street boy was not likely to be fastidious as to the quality +or exact fit of a coat, which, at all events, would be a decided +improvement upon the one he was now wearing. + +"What is the price of this?" asked Paul. + +"Five dollars," was the reply. + +Paul was too well accustomed to the ways of Chatham street to pay the +first price demanded, or the second or third. Finally he succeeded in +getting the coat for one dollar and a half, which was cheap, although +the dealer made a fair profit even at this price. Before the bargain +was concluded, a tall man strayed in, and watched the bargaining with +slight interest. Paul would have been not a little surprised had he +known that this man was one of the burglars against whom he was +contriving measures of defense. It was, indeed, Marlowe, who, having +dexterously picked the pocket of a passenger on the Third avenue cars +an hour before, found himself thirty dollars richer by the operation, +and being himself out at elbows, had entered this shop on an errand +similar to Paul's. + +"What can I sell you?" asked the shopkeeper, to his new customer. + +"I want a coat," said Marlowe, roughly; "good and cheap. Don't try any +of your swindling tricks on me, for I won't stand them." + +With the details of the negotiation that followed we have nothing to +do. It is enough to say that this chance meeting between Paul and +Marlowe was not without its results, though neither knew the other. + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +THE SPOT UPON THE COAT. + +When Julius went home at six o'clock he found Marlowe and his guardian +(if Jack Morgan deserves the title) sitting over a game of cards. They +looked up as he entered the room. + +"Well, Julius, how are you getting on?" asked Jack. "Have you found +out anything more?" + +"Not yet, Jack." + +"Then it's time you did." + +"I'm goin' up to the house to-night." + +"Does he know it?" + +"Yes; he told me to come." + +"What made him do that?" + +"I axed him for some old clothes. He told me to come up to-night and +he'd give me some." + +"That's good," said Jack, approvingly. "Mind you keep your eyes open +when you're there. Find out where the swag is kept. It'll save me and +Marlowe some trouble." + +Julius nodded. + +"I'll do my best," he said. + +"What time are you going up?" + +"In an hour or so." + +"I hope we'll make a haul, Marlowe," said Jack. "I haven't been in +luck lately. If I could raise a thousand or so I'd clear out of these +diggings. The cops know me too well." + +"Where would you go, supposin' you got the money?" asked his +companion. + +"I'd go to California. They don't know me there. Something might turn +up for me." + +"I'll go with you, Jack, if you go. I've got tired of New York, and, +as you say, they know me too well hereabouts. Will you take the boy?" + +"No," said Jack carelessly. "He knows how to take care of himself. +He'll be better off here." + +Julius listened to this conversation, thoughtfully watching the +speaker as he spoke, and it helped him to a decision in a matter that +had troubled him somewhat. He could not help seeing that Jack Morgan +cared nothing for him, except so far as it suited his convenience to +have his companionship. Looking back, he could not see that he owed +him any gratitude. The balance of favors was on the other side. He had +done more for Jack than Jack for him. He asked himself if he wanted to +go with Jack Morgan on this journey, and he answered his own question +in the negative. It was better that he should leave him now forever. +With him he could only look forward to a future of shame and disgrace. + +"What are you thinking about, boy?" asked Marlowe. "Do you want to go +to California with Jack and me?" + +"No," answered Julius. + +"Why not?" + +"I'd rather stay here," answered Julius shortly. + +"When I was a lad I'd have liked to go off on a journey like that." + +"I like stayin' here." + +"He's used to the streets," said Jack. "He likes 'em. That's best, as +he can't go." + +"Can you take care of yourself?" asked Marlowe. + +"I always has," said Julius. + +"That's so," said Jack, laughing. "You ain't given me much trouble, +Julius." + +The men resumed their game, and the boy looked on silently. After +awhile seven o'clock struck, and Julius rose from his seat. + +"I'm goin'," he said. + +"All right, Julius. Keep your eyes open." + +"I know," said the boy. + +He had saved enough money to pay for a ride uptown. He took the Fourth +avenue cars, and in half an hour found that he had reached the cross +street nearest to his destination. Five minutes later he rang the +basement bell of the house in Madison avenue. + +Paul saw him enter the area, and went himself to open the door. + +"Come in, Julius," he said. "I have been expecting you. Have you had +any supper?" + +"I bought some coffee and cakes." + +"I think you can eat a little more," said Paul, smiling. "Mother, +can't you give Julius some dinner?" + +"Is this the boy you expected, Paul?" + +"Yes, mother." + +"I saved some for him. Sit down at the table, Julius," she said +hospitably. + +Julius did as he was told, and directly Mrs. Hoffman took from the +oven a plate of meat and vegetables, which had thus been kept warm, +and poured out a cup of tea also. These were placed before the young +Arab. His eyes lighted up with pleasure at the tempting feast, and the +vigor of his assaults showed that the coffee and cakes which he had +partaken had by no means destroyed his appetite. Mrs. Hoffman and Paul +looked on with pleasure, glad that they had been able to give pleasure +to their young visitor. Jimmy, who had heard them speak of Julius, +hovered near, surveying him with curiosity. He wanted to "interview" +Julius, but hardly knew how to begin. Finally he ventured to ask: "Are +you the boy that lives with the robbers?" + +"Jimmy!" said his mother reprovingly. + +But Julius was not sensitive. + +"Yes," he answered. + +"Ain't you afraid of them?" continued Jimmy. + +"What for?" asked Julius. + +"Because robbers are bad men." + +"They wouldn't hurt me," said the young Arab indifferently. + +"You ain't a robber, are you?" + +"No," said Julius in a matter-of-fact tone. + +"What makes you live with them?" + +"I haven't got anybody else to live with," said Julius. + +"Are they going to rob this house?" + +"Jimmy, you are talking too much," said Paul reprovingly. "I suppose +they haven't changed their plans, have they, Julius?" + +"No." + +"They mean to come next Monday?" + +"Yes." + +"Did they know you were coming up here this evening?" + +"Yes; I told 'em you were goin' to give me some clo'es." + +"Yes," said Paul. "I've got a coat for you." + +He opened a bundle and displayed the purchase he had made that +afternoon in Chatham street. + +"Try it on, Julius," he said. + +Julius took off the ragged coat he had on and tried on the one Paul +had purchased. + +"It is an excellent fit," said Mrs. Hoffman. + +"Look at yourself in the glass," said Paul. + +Julius surveyed himself with satisfaction. Though second-hand, the +coat was decidedly superior to the one he had taken off. + +"It's a bully coat," he said. "Thank you." + +"You are quite welcome, Julius. You may as well wear it. You can put +your old one in a paper and take it back with you." + +"Jack wanted me to find out where the money was kept," said Julius. + +"You may tell him it is in a safe in the front room on the second +floor. But how did he expect you would find out?" + +"He left that to me." + +"And what will you tell him?" + +"I dunno. I'll think of something." + +"He won't suspect you, will he?" + +"I guess not." + +"Suppose he did?" + +"He'd kill me," said Julius. + +"What a dreadful man he must be!" exclaimed Mrs. Hoffman, shuddering. +"How do you dare to live with him?" + +"I shan't live with him much longer," said Julius. "He said to-night +he'd go to Californy if he got swag enough here." + +"What is swag?" asked Mrs. Hoffman, bewildered. + +"He means money, or articles of value," explained Paul. "I don't think +he'll go to California, Julius. I think he'll go somewhere else." + +"I guess I'll go," said Julius, moving toward the door. + +"You need not be in a hurry. We should like to have you stay longer." + +"He'll expect me," said Julius. + +"Go, then, if you think it best. But it is a long distance downtown, +and you must be tired. Here is money to pay your fare in the cars." + +"Thank yer," said Julius. + +He accepted the money, and went out, first, however, promising to call +upon Paul the next day at his stand and let him know whether there was +any change in Jack Morgan's plans. + +"I pity the poor boy," said Mrs. Hoffman, after he went out. "What a +dreadful thing it is to live with such a desperate man!" + +"I will see what I can do to help him next week," said Paul. "We shall +owe him something for letting us know of the robbery." + +"I shudder to think what might have happened if we had been taken by +surprise. We might have been murdered in our beds." + +Jimmy looked so frightened at this suggestion that Paul laughed. + +"It is no laughing matter, mother," he said; "but Jimmy looked so +thoroughly scared that I couldn't help being amused. Don't be alarmed, +Jimmy. We'll take good care of you." + +Meanwhile Julius was returning to the miserable room which he called +home. He was thinking how he could communicate the information agreed +upon without arousing the suspicions of the two confederates. Finally +he decided upon a story which seemed to him satisfactory. + +It was nine o'clock when he entered the room where Jack Morgan and +Marlowe, having got tired of playing cards, were leaning back against +the wall in their chairs, smoking clay pipes. The room was full of the +odor of a villainous quality of cheap tobacco when Julius reappeared. + +"Well, Julius," said Jack, removing his pipe from his mouth and +regarding him eagerly, "what luck?" + +"Good," said Julius briefly + +"What have you found out?" + +"I found out that the swag is in a safe upstairs on the second floor." + +"Good!" exclaimed Jack, admiringly. "Didn't I tell you he was a sharp +one, Marlowe?" + +"How did you find that out?" asked Marlowe keenly. "You didn't ask, +did you?" + +"I ain't a fool," answered Julius. + +"You haven't answered my question." + +"They give me some supper," said Julius, who had got his story ready, +"and while I was eatin' I heard Mrs. Hoffman tell Paul that she had +got some men to move the safe from the front room on the second floor +into the bathroom. She didn't say what was in it, but it's likely the +money's there." + +"The boy's right, Marlowe," said Jack. + +"Did they give you anything else besides supper?" asked Marlowe. + +"Yes; they give me this coat," answered Julius, indicating the coat he +had on. "Ain't it a bully fit?" + +"Maybe they'd like to adopt you," said Jack jocosely. "If me and +Marlowe go to Californy, you can go there." + +Meanwhile Marlowe's attention had been drawn to the coat. It struck +him that he had seen it before. He soon remembered. Surely it was the +one that he had seen purchased in Chatham street the same afternoon. +Coats in general are not easily distinguishable, but he had noticed a +small round spot on the lapel of that, and the same reappeared on the +coat which Julius brought home. + + + +CHAPTER XV. + +SUSPICION. + +Julius had been about the streets all day, and felt tired. He threw +himself down in the corner, and was soon asleep. Marlowe and Jack +kept on with their game, the latter wholly unconscious of the thoughts +that were passing through the mind of his companion. + +Finally Marlowe, at the conclusion of a game, said: "I won't play any +more to-night, Jack." + +"Tired, eh?" + +"Tired of playing, but I've got something to say to you." + +"Out with it," said Morgan, tilting his chair back against the wall. + +"Wait a minute." + +Saying this, Marlowe rose from his seat, and advancing to the corner, +leaned over the sleeping boy, and listened intently to his deep +regular breathing. + +"What's up?" asked Morgan, surprised. + +"I wanted to make sure that the boy was asleep," answered Marlowe. + +"Why? Don't you want him to hear?" + +"No, I don't; for what I have to say is about him." + +"Go ahead." + +"I mistrust that he's going to sell us, Jack." + +"What!" exclaimed Morgan. + +"Don't speak so loud. You might wake him." + +As he spoke, Marlowe came back and resumed his seat, bending over and +speaking to Jack in a low tone. + +"What have you got into your head, Marlowe?" said Jack incredulously. +"Julius sell us! Impossible!" + +"Why impossible?" + +"He'd never think of such a thing. What put it into your head?" + +"I'll tell you. Do you see that coat he brought home?" + +"Yes. What of it?" + +"The boy--Paul Hoffman--gave it to him. I saw him buy it this +afternoon in a secondhand store in Chatham street." + +"Are you sure the coat is the same?" + +"Yes; I know it by a spot I noticed at the time. Now, what should he +take the trouble to buy a coat for unless the boy had done him some +service? It's different from giving him an old coat he had thrown +aside." + +"That's so," said Jack thoughtfully. "Perhaps he's took a fancy to +Julius." + +"Perhaps he has," repeated Marlowe incredulously. "You know he ain't +rich enough to buy coats to give away." + +"I can't think the boy would betray us," said Jack slowly. + +"Perhaps he wouldn't; I ain't sure; but we must guard against it." + +"How?" + +"We must attack the house sooner than we meant. Suppose we say +Saturday night?" + +"The boy will be in the house." + +"It can't be helped. If he makes trouble we must silence him." + +"I'd rather have a clear field Monday night." + +"So would I; but suppose the cops are waiting for us?" + +"If I thought Julius would do that," said Jack, scowling at the +sleeping boy, "I'd kill him myself." + +"I don't see why we can't do it Saturday night. We can easily +overpower young Hoffman. As for Julius, he'll be asleep. Of course, he +mustn't know of our change of plan." + +"If you think it best," said Morgan in a tone of indecision; "but I'm +almost sure I can trust the boy." + +"I trust nobody," said Marlowe. "I wouldn't trust my own brother, if +he had an interest in goin' against me." + +"Do you trust me?" asked Jack, smiling. + +"Yes, I trust you, for we are both in the same boat. It wouldn't do +you any good to betray me." + +"Yes, we're both in the same boat, but you're steerin'. Well, Marlowe, +just make your plans, and count me in. You always had a better +headpiece than I." + +"Then Saturday night let it be. To-day's Thursday." + +"Then we have only two days to get ready." + +"It will do." + +"We'll lock the boy in that night, so he can't make mischief if he +wakes up and finds that we are gone." + +During this conversation Julius remained fast asleep. Jack soon lay +down, and Marlowe also, the latter having taken up his quarters with +his friend. The next morning Julius was the first to wake. He leaned +on his elbow and looked carelessly at the sleepers. Big, bloated, with +a coarse, ruffianly face, Jack lay back with his mouth open, anything +but a sleeping beauty. Julius had never thought much of his +appearance, but now that he had himself begun to cherish some faint +aspirations to elevate himself above his present condition, he looked +upon his associates with different eyes, and it struck him forcibly +that his guardian had a decidedly disreputable look. + +"I won't stay with him long," thought Julius. "If he's took by the +cops, I'll set up for myself and never go back to him." + +Marlowe lay alongside of his companion, not so disreputable as he in +appearance, but not a whit better as regards character. He was the +abler of the two mentally, and so was the more dangerous. As Julius +looked at him carelessly, he was startled to hear Marlowe talk in his +sleep. He was prompted by a natural curiosity to listen, and this was +what he heard: + +"Don't trust the boy! Make it Saturday night." + +These words fastened the attention of Julius. His heart beat quicker +as it was revealed to him that his want of fidelity was discovered, or +at least suspected. He lay quite still, hoping to hear more. But +Marlowe said nothing in addition. Indeed, these words were the +precursor of his waking. + +Julius saw the indications of this, and prudently closed his own eyes +and counterfeited sleep. So when Marlowe in turn looked about him he +saw, as he thought, that both his companions were asleep. He did not +get up, for there was nothing to call him up early. He was not one of +the toiling thousands who are interested in the passage of eight-hour +laws. Eight hours of honest industry would not have been to his taste. +He turned over, but did not again fall asleep. + +Meanwhile Julius, after a sufficient interval, appeared to wake up. He +rose from his couch, and gave himself a general shake. This was his +way of making his morning toilet. + +"Are you awake, Julius?" asked Marlowe. + +"Yes." + +"You sleep sound don't you?" + +"Like a top." + +"How did they treat you at that house in Madison avenue?" + +"They was kind to me. They gave me some supper." + +"Did they ask you if you had a father?" + +"Yes." + +"What did you tell 'em?" + +"That I hadn't got none." + +"Did they ask who you lived with?" + +"Yes," said Julius, after a slight pause. + +"And you told 'em?" + +"I told 'em I lived with a friend some of the time, when he wasn't +absent in the country," said Julius, grinning, as he referred to +Jack's frequent terms of enforced seclusion. + +"Was you ever at the Island, Julius?" + +"No." + +"That's odd! You don't do credit to Jack's teaching." + +"Likely I'll go some time," said Julius, who, knowing that he was +suspected, thought it would not do to seem too virtuous. + +"It ain't so bad when you're used to it. Let me see that coat." + +Julius tossed it over to Marlowe. It was the only part of his clothing +which he had taken off when he went to bed. + +"It's a good coat." + +"Yes, a bully one." + +"The boy--young Hoffman--used to wear it, didn't he?" + +"Likely he did, but he's a good deal too big to wear it now." + +"How big is he?" + +"Most as tall as Jack," said Julius, Jack being considerably shorter +than Marlowe. + +"Big enough to make trouble. However, he'll get a telegram Monday, to +go over to Brooklyn, that'll get him out of the way." + +"That's a good plan, that is!" said Julius, knowing very well that it +was only said to deceive him. + +"Shall you see him to-day?" + +"If you want me to." + +"I don't know," said Marlowe. "Do you know where he sleeps?" + +"No," said Julius. "You didn't tell me to ask." + +"Of course not. It would only make him suspect something. But I didn't +know but you heard something said, as you did about the safe." + +He eyed Julius keenly as he spoke, and the boy perceiving it, +concluded that this was the cause of the sudden suspicion which +appeared to have been formed in Marlowe's mind. Of course he knew +nothing of the coat, as Paul had not told him of having purchased it. + +"I didn't hear nothin' said about it," he answered. "If he's away, you +won't mind." + +"That's true. I suppose you didn't find out where his mother sleeps." + +"Yes, I did. It's the front basement. There was a bed in the room." + +Marlowe asked no further questions, and the conversation dropped. +Julius threw his blacking-box over his back, and opening the door went +out. His mind was busily occupied with the revelation which he had +unexpectedly overhead. It seemed clear that the plans of the burglars +had been changed, and that the attack was to be made on Saturday +night, and not on Monday night, as first proposed. He must tell Paul +Hoffman, for he had made his choice between his new friend and his old +guardian. On the one side was respectability; on the other a +disreputable life, and Julius had seen enough of what it had brought +to Jack not to relish the prospect in his own case. He determined to +acquaint Paul with the change of plan, and went around to Broadway for +that purpose. But Paul had not got opened for business. He had delayed +in order to do an errand for his mother. + +"I can go later," thought Julius. "It will do just as well." + +In this he was mistaken, as we shall see. + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +LOCKED UP FOR THE NIGHT. + +About nine o'clock, after a comfortable breakfast, for which he had +paid out of his morning's earnings, Julius went round again to Paul's +necktie stand. He had just opened for business when the boy came up. + +"You're late this mornin'," said Julius. "I was here before." + +"Yes; I was detained at home. Is there anything new?" + +"Yes, there is," said Julius. + +"What is it?" + +"They suspect somethin'." + +"Who?" + +"Jack and Marlowe. They think I ain't to be trusted." + +"How do you know? Did they tell you so?" inquired Paul, with interest. + +"No; Marlowe talked in his sleep." + +"What did he say?" + +"'Don't trust the boy! Make it Saturday night.'" + +"Saturday night!" repeated Paul in excitement. "Why, that's to-morrow +night." + +Julius nodded. + +"Do they know you overheard?" + +"No." + +"So you came and told me. You're a good fellow, Julius. You have done +me a great favor." + +"You've been good to me," said Julius. "That's why I did it." + +"I shall be ready for them to-morrow night, then," said Paul. + +This conference was watched, though neither Julius nor Paul was aware +of it. Marlowe, on leaving the room some time after Julius, had come +into the vicinity with the design of getting a view of Paul and +ascertaining whether he was the boy whom he had seen purchasing the +coat. He came up a moment after Julius reached the stand. Of course he +identified Paul, and his suspicions as to the good understanding +between him and Julius were confirmed by seeing them together. He +listened intently, hoping to catch something of their conversation, +but though not far off, the street noises were such as to render this +impossible. + +"The young viper!" he said to himself. "He's sold us, as sure as my +name's Marlowe. I'll wring his neck for him. He'll find he's got into +dangerous business." + +He went back and reported to Jack what he had seen. + +"If I thought the boy was playin' us a trick," growled Jack, "I'd +strangle him; but I ain't sure. You didn't hear what he said?" + +"No; I couldn't hear, but it stands to reason that he's sold us." + +"What do you want me to do?" + +"Nothing yet. The boy don't know that we have changed our plans. He +thinks we trust him. Let him think so, and when we get ready to go out +Saturday night, we'll tie him hand and foot, so he can't stir. Then +we'll go up to the house and take 'em unprepared." + +"All right," said Jack. "Your head's longer than mine, Marlowe. You +know best." + +"Of course I do," said Marlowe. "You've got the strength and I've got +the brain." + +Jack Morgan extended his arms, and watched his muscular development +with satisfaction. He was not sensitive about the slight to his +understanding. He was content to be thought what he was, a strong and +dangerous animal. + +What preparations were necessary to be made were made during that day +and the next by the two confederates. They were made during the +absence of Julius, that he might know nothing of what was going on. +Further to mislead him, the two spoke two or three times on the +previous evening of their expedition of Monday night. Julius fathomed +their design, and was sharp enough not to appear particularly +interested. + +So Saturday night came. At six o'clock Julius entered the room and +found the two seated together. He had had half a mind not to appear at +all, but to cut loose from them forever; but this would lead to +suspicion, and he changed his mind. Though he had not seen Paul since, +he had reason to believe that he had made preparations to receive the +two burglars. In all probability they would be arrested, and this +would be their last meeting. + +"How are you, Jack?" he said, as he entered the room, with a little +qualm at the thought that this man, bad as he was, was so near falling +into the hands of justice, and by his means. + +Jack looked at him, but did not answer. His expression was menacing, +as Julius perceived, and his heart beat more quickly, as he thought, +"Has he found out anything?" + +But luckily for him neither Jack nor Marlowe knew anything definite. +Had it been so, the boy's life would have been in peril. + +"Have you seen young Hoffman to-day?" asked Marlowe. + +"No." + +"He don't know we're going to call Monday night, does he?" + +"No," said Julius, and he answered truly. "Where could he find out?" + +"You might say something to let him know." + +"What would make me do that?" said Julius boldly. + +"You might think he'd pay you for telling him." + +"He ain't rich," said Julius. + +"Do you know what I'd do to you if I found out as you'd sold us," here +broke in Jack Morgan, his dull eyes gleaming fiercely. "I'd kill you." + +"What makes you say that to me, Jack?" said Julius, not showing the +fear he felt. + +"Oh, it ain't nothin' to you, then?" + +"No, it isn't." + +Of course this was a falsehood, but it would have been idle to expect +the truth from one like Julius, under such circumstances. He knew Jack +well enough to understand that he was quite capable of carrying out +his threat, and it decided him, when the two went out, to go out +himself and not to return. They might find out that he had been +dealing falsely with them, and if so his life was in danger. It was +yet early, and he decided to go out at once, as he usually did, for it +was not very agreeable to pass an entire evening in the miserable +tenement rooms. + +"Where are you going?" asked Marlowe, as he lifted the latch of the +door. + +"I'm goin' out. I haven't had any supper." + +"You can do without supper to-night, eh, Jack?" + +"Yes, he can do without supper to-night." + +"Why? What's up?" demanded the boy. + +"Never mind what's up," answered Marlowe. "You ain't goin' out +to-night." + +"I'm hungry." + +"We'll bring you some supper. We're goin' out ourselves." + +"You never kept me in before," said Julius, who felt that it was best +to show surprise at the action of the confederates, though it did not +surprise him. + +"That's neither here nor there. You ain't goin' out to-night." + +"All right," said Julius, "if you say so; only bring a feller some +grub." + +"We'll bring you some," said Jack, who was not as fully convinced as +his comrade of Julius' treachery. + +They left the room, carefully locking the door behind them. + +Julius sat down on the bed, and began to review the situation. +Evidently he was to be locked up in the room through the night, while +Jack and Marlowe were robbing the house on Madison avenue. In all +probability they would be arrested, and prevented from returning. But +suppose one or both escaped from the trap in which they were expected +to fall. If their suspicions of his fidelity were aroused now they +would be confirmed by the discovery of the police. Knowing the +desperate character of both, Julius reflected with a shudder that his +life would possibly be sacrificed. It would not do for him to remain +here. He must escape by some means. + +But how? This was a difficult question to answer. The room was on the +third floor, with a solitary window looking out into a small, dirty +court. It was too high up to jump with safety, and there was nothing +in the room by which he could descend. + +He was still considering this question an hour later, when the two +returned. + +Jack had in his hand a couple of apples. + +"There," said he, tossing them to Julius. "That'll do you till +mornin'." + +"Thank you," said Julius. + +It was true that he had had no supper, and he ate the apples with a +good appetite. The two men sat down, and, producing the same old, +greasy pack of cards which they had before used, began to play. It was +not until a late hour that they could go about the business which they +had planned. Twelve o'clock was as early as they could venture to +attempt entering the house. To prime them for the task, they had +brought in with them a plentiful supply of whisky, of which they +partook at frequent intervals. They offered none to Julius. + +By and by Julius went to bed. He knew they would not go out till +eleven, probably, and he would like to have kept awake till then. But +this would have been unusual, and perhaps have increased suspicion. So +after awhile he lay quiet, and pretended to be asleep. The men kept on +playing cards till half-past ten. Then Marlowe spoke: + +"We'll hold up now. It's time to be goin'." + +"What time is it?" + +"Most eleven." + +"The boy's asleep." + +"Is he?" + +Marlowe went to the bed and leaned over. Julius felt his breath on his +face, but gave no sign that he was still awake. He was filled with +curiosity to know whether Marlowe and Jack meant to carry out their +plan this evening. + +"He seems to be asleep," said Marlowe, "but we'll lock him in, to make +sure. In three hours we'll be back, if all goes well, with plenty of +swag." + +"I hope so, Marlowe. I've got tired of livin' this way; we'll go to +California if we come out right." + +"I'm with you, Jack, on that. A pal of mine went out to the mines and +got rich. Then he swore off and turned respectable." + +"So would I, if I had plenty of tin." + +"I've no objection myself, with plenty of money to back me. Money's +what makes the difference between people in this world. Give me a +hundred thousand, and instead of bein' Tom Marlowe I would be Thomas +Marlowe, Esq., our eminent fellow-citizen, and you would be the Hon. +John Morgan, eh, Jack?" + +Jack laughed at the unfamiliar title, though possibly he was no more +undeserving of it than some who flaunt it in the face of society. + +"I'm the figger for an Honorable," he said. "But it's time to be +goin'. Here's good luck!" and he poured down a glass of the whisky at +one gulp. + +They carefully locked the door behind them, and their heavy steps were +heard descending the rickety stairs. + +Julius listened till the sound was no longer heard. Then he jumped up +from the pallet on which he had been counterfeiting sleep, and said to +himself, "It ain't safe to stay here any longer. How shall I get out?" + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +TRAPPED. + +It was close upon midnight when Marlowe and Jack approached the house +in Madison avenue. There was one thing connected with the position of +the house, not before mentioned, which favored their attempt. It was a +corner house, and in the rear a high wall separated the area from the +street. The two confederates judged that this would be the most +feasible way of entrance. + +"Boost me up, Marlowe, first," said Jack Morgan. "You're lighter'n me, +and can get up alone. I'm fat and clumsy, and I couldn't 'go it alone' +to save my neck." + +"All right, Jack. Are you ready?" + +"Yes. Shove away." + +Jack, raised by his companion, got firm hold of the top of the wall, +and by an effort clambered over. + +"I'm over, all right," he said, in a low voice. "Get over yourself." + +Marlowe looked cautiously up and down the street, till he was +satisfied no policeman was in sight, then, making a leap, seized the +wall, and, by the exercise of his strength, drew himself up, and then, +of course, easily descended into the area. + +"Here we are," said Jack, in a tone of satisfaction. "Now for work." + +"The lights are all out," said Marlowe, softly. "I hope they are all +asleep." + +"It's likely they are." + +"Did Julius say whether any of them slept in the basement?" + +"He didn't find out." + +"Well, we must risk it. We'll reconnoiter a little and see what's the +best way to get in." + +At length it was decided that a particular window afforded the easiest +ingress. Of course it was fastened inside; but they were not novices, +and this presented not the slightest difficulty to their practiced +hands. With an instrument pointed with a diamond, they cut out the +pane of glass just beneath, and, thrusting in a hand, Marlowe turned +back the fastening. Then the window was softly raised, and both +entered. + +They were now in the kitchen. It was dangerous to grope about in the +dark, for some article of furniture might be overturned, and that +would probably create an alarm which would be fatal to their plans. +The first thing, therefore, was to strike a light. + +They had a dark lantern with them, and this was speedily lighted. Then +both removed their shoes, and one after the other filed into the +entry. + +"Take care, Jack," said Marlowe. "The woman may be sleeping in the +front basement, and might hear you if you make the least noise." + +"Suppose she does?" + +"We must gag her. If it's the boy, I'll dispose of him pretty quick." + +All was still as death. Neither had the slightest idea that their plan +was known, and that preparations of a most unwelcome character had +been made for their reception--that, in fact, they had ventured into a +trap. But on the previous evening Paul had called at the nearest +police station, and, communicating what he knew in regard to the +intended attack, had asked for a guard. One of the force had been +instructed to go back with him and carefully examine the house, the +better to provide, not only for defense, but for the capture of the +burglars. + +"They will enter through the back area window," said the officer at +once. "Where do you sleep?" + +"My mother and little brother sleep in the front basement. I sleep +upstairs." + +"The basement must be left vacant." + +"Certainly. I wouldn't trust mother and Jimmy there such a night." + +"You had better all go upstairs--to the upper floor, if you like--and +we will conceal ourselves on the second floor." + +"We will do as you think best. I will stay with you." + +"No, Paul," said Mrs. Hoffman, terrified. + +"I can't think of your exposing yourself to so much danger." + +"I'm not afraid, mother. I think it is my duty." + +"You can do no good," said the officer. "There will be enough of us to +take care of them." + +With some reluctance Paul gave up his plan. He was bold and +courageous, and, like most boys of his age, he was fond of adventure. +An encounter with burglars promised no little excitement, and he +wanted to be present, and have his share in it. But when he saw how +uneasy and alarmed his mother was, he yielded his desire, as I am sure +you, my boy reader, would have done in his place, even had your wish +been as strong as his. + +Jimmy was now fast asleep; but neither Mrs. Hoffman nor Paul could so +readily compose themselves to slumber under the circumstances. They +were standing at the head of the attic stairs, listening intently for +the slightest sound from below which might indicate the arrival of the +expected visitors. At length they heard a pistol shot, then a shriek, +then confused noises of feet and voices, and they knew that the +encounter had taken place. We must go back and explain what had +happened. Carrying their shoes in their hands, the two burglars crept +up the basement stairs. Their hopes were high. Their entrance had not +yet been observed, and even if it were, they were two strong men +against a woman and two boys, the oldest only half-grown. There seemed +nothing to fear. + +"Now for the safe," said Marlowe. "It's somewhere on the second +floor." + +"The door of the room may be locked." + +"Then it'll take us longer, that's all." + +But the door was not locked, and the safe was in the front room on the +second floor. In the back room the police were concealed, and were +listening intently to the movements of the burglars. Should the latter +discover them they were ready for an immediate attack, but they hoped +the visitors would get to work first. In this hope they were +gratified. + +By chance the two confederates entered the front room first. + +"Here's the safe, Marlowe," whispered Jack, in tones of satisfaction. +"Now, if luck's on our side, we'll make a raise." + +"You talk too much," cautioned his companion. "Work first, and talk +afterward." + +They approached the safe, and Jack kneeled down before it and prepared +to effect an entrance. Marlowe was about to follow his example, when +his ear, made acute by necessity, distinguished a footstep outside. + +"Jack," said he in a sharp whisper, "I hear a step outside." + +Instantly Jack Morgan was on his feet. + +"Do you think we are heard?" + +"Perhaps so. If we are we must secure ourselves. It may be the boy. If +it is, we'll quiet him pretty quickly." + +They never dreamed of any opposition which they would be unable to +withstand. Paul was, of course, no match for them, and as to Mrs. +Hoffman, she might go into a fit of hysterics, or might give the +alarm. It would be easy to dispose of her. Since, therefore, there was +nothing to fear, the two confederates thought it best to face the +enemy at once and put him _hors de combat._ + +Thereupon Marlowe opened the door at once, and, to his dismay, found +himself confronted by four stalwart policemen. + +"The game's up, Jack!" he shouted. "Save yourself!" + +He made a spring, eluding the grasp of the officers, and plunged +downstairs at a breakneck rate. Meanwhile Jack had snapped a pistol at +one of the policemen, but it missed fire. By a return shot he was +wounded in the shoulder, and his right arm hung useless. He broke into +a volley of execrations. + +"Do you surrender?" demanded the officer, at whom he had fired. + +"I must," said Jack, in a surly tone. "You're four to one." + +Only one policeman had followed Marlowe downstairs. Circumstances +favored the escape of this, the more dangerous villain of the two. At +the foot of the basement stairs was a door, and on the outside was a +bolt. This Marlowe had noticed on going up, and the knowledge stood +him in good stead. He got downstairs sufficiently in advance of the +policeman to bolt the door and so obstruct his progress. This gave him +time, and time was all-important to him. While the officer was kicking +at the door and trying to burst it open, as he finally did, Marlowe +dashed through the kitchen and got out at the open window. Then he had +to scale the wall; but this was easy to do on the inside, for there +was a narrow ledge midway. In less than a minute he was on the +pavement outside, and fleeing from the danger under cover of the +darkness. + +When he had got far enough to dare to slacken his pace time also came +for thought, and he was able to consider how it happened that four +officers were concealed in the house. There was but one possible +explanation. + +"It was that cursed boy!" he muttered, grinding his teeth in a fierce +rage. "He betrayed us. He upset the likeliest plan I've joined in for +years. He shall suffer for it, curse it! Before I go to sleep this +night I'll give him a lesson. He won't need but one." + +His soul thirsting for revenge, he hurried back to the miserable room +in which Julius was confined. He had no doubt of finding him, for he +was satisfied the boy could not get out. + +Meanwhile Jack Morgan was compelled, by superior force, to surrender +at discretion. The blood was trickling from the wound in his shoulder, +and on the whole, he looked the burglar to perfection. While they were +slipping on the handcuffs the officer who had pursued Marlowe returned +and reported that he had escaped. + +"Bully for him!" said Jack. "He's smart, Marlowe is!" + +"So his name is Marlowe, is it?" + +"You knew it before," said Jack, in a surly tone. "Who told you about +our coming here to-night?" + +"Never mind!" said the officer. "It was our business to find out, and +we found out." + +"I know well enough who blabbed," growled Jack. "Curse him! I'd like +to strangle him." + +"I don't know whom you suspect, my man," said the officer; "but I +think it'll be some time before you'll have a chance to carry out your +benevolent purpose." + +"Perhaps it will," returned Jack; "but Marlowe ain't took yet. He'll +attend to the business for both of us;" and there wis a look of +malignant joy on his face as he thought of the sure retribution that +would overtake Julius. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +THE VALUE OF A CLOTHES-LINE. + +When Julius found himself alone and understood that his companions had +actually started on their illegal expedition, he felt that there was +pressing need of action. He must escape by some means. While the +prospect was that they would be captured, and so prevented from +returning, on the other hand, one or both might escape, and in that +case he knew enough of their savage and brutal character to realize +that he would be in the greatest danger. He rose from his bed, and +began to devise ways and means of escape. + +The first and most obvious outlet, of course, was the door. But this +was locked, and the key was in Marlowe's possession. Then there was +the solitary window. It was on the third floor, and looked out into a +court. It was too high to jump from, and the only other way was by a +rope, but there was no rope in the room. Had there been a bedstead of +the right kind, the bedcord would have served his purpose, but there +was no bedstead at all. With a democratic contempt for such a luxury, +all three slept on the floor. The prospect was not encouraging. + +"I wonder if I could hang out of the window?" thought Julius. + +He looked out, and decided that he would run the risk of breaking a +limb if he attempted it. So that plan had to be given up. + +Julius sat down and reflected. It occurred to him that perhaps Mrs. +O'Connor's key (she roomed just beneath) would open the door. At any +rate it was worth trying. + +He stamped on the floor with such force that, as he expected, it +attracted the attention of those beneath. Listening intently, he heard +the woman ascending the staircase. He began to jump up and down with +renewed vigor. + +"What's the matter wid ye?" called Mrs. O'Connor through the keyhole. +"Are you drunk?" + +"I'm sick," returned Julius. + +"Is it the jumpin' toothache ye have?" asked the Irish woman. + +"I'm awful sick. I don't know what it is." + +"Open the door, and I'll come in." + +"I can't. The door's locked, and Jack has gone away." + +Here Julius began to groan again. + +"Poor bye!" said the compassionate woman. "What will I do for ye?" + +"Try the door with your key. Perhaps it will open it." + +"I'll do that same." + +She drew out a key, and tried to put it in the lock, but to no +purpose. It would not fit. + +"I can't open it," she said. + +This was a severe disappointment to Julius, who saw his chances of +success fade away one by one. + +"Have you got a clothes-line, Mrs. O'Connor?" he asked, suddenly. + +"Yes," said the good woman, rather astonished, with a vague idea that +Julius expected to cure himself by means of it. "And what for do you +want it?" + +"If you will go down to the court and throw it up to me, I'll get out +of the window." + +"And what good will that do you?" + +"I will go for the doctor." + +"I'll go meself, and save you the trouble." + +"But he can't get through the keyhole." + +"Thrue for you. Wait a bit, and I'll do it." + +Mrs. O'Connor descended, and, obtaining from her room a well-worn +clothes-line, went below, and, after two or three futile attempts, +succeeded in throwing it up so that Julius could seize it. + +"Thank you, Mrs. O'Connor," said the boy in exultation. "I'll come +down directly." + +He soon had it secured, and then boldly got out of the window and +swung off. In a minute he was by the side of his friend. + +"How do ye feel now?" asked the good woman, in a tone of sympathy. + +"Better," said Julius. + +"What made them lock ye up?" + +"They didn't think I'd want to go out till mornin'. Good-bye, Mrs. +O'Connor; I'm goin' for the doctor. You can get your line in the +mornin'." + +He left the house with a quick, alert step, showing no further +evidence of pain. Mrs. O'Connor noticed it, and wondered that he +should have got over his sickness so soon. Julius had been tempted to +take her into his confidence and explain the real state of the case, +but in the uncertain issue of the burglary he decided that it would +not be best. + +"Good-bye, old house!" he said, looking back to it in the indistinct +light; "I shall never come back and live here again. I'll go down to +the wharves and find a place to sleep the rest of the night." + +He turned his steps in the direction of the East River. He found an +out-of-the-way corner on one of the piers, where he disposed himself +for sleep. It was nothing new to him. Scores of times he had spent the +night in similar places, and never found fault with the +accommodations. They might be poor, but the best of it was there was +nothing to pay, and he must be indeed unreasonable who could complain +under such circumstances. He fell asleep, but the shadow of recent +events was upon him. He dreamed that Marlowe had him by the throat, +and woke up in terror to find a dock-hand shaking him by the shoulder. + +"Avast there!" said the man, who had caught some phrases from the +sailors; "wake up and pay for your lodgin's." + +"All my money's in the bank," said Julius. "I can't get at it till the +bank opens." + +"Not then, either," said the dock-hand, good-humoredly. "Well, I'll +let you off this time. Your wife's expectin' you home." + +"Are you sure of that?" said Julius. "I told her I was goin' to a +party, and she needn't expect me home till mornin'." + +"Well, the party's broke up, and you'd better be going," returned the +other, good-naturedly. + +Meanwhile let us go back to Marlowe, whom we left hurrying home a +little past midnight, intent upon wreaking his vengeance on Julius for +his treachery. Had he found the boy it would have gone hard with him. +The ruffianly instinct of the burglar was predominant, and he might +have killed him in the intensity of his blind rage. But the foresight +and prudent caution of Julius defeated his wrathful purpose, and when +he reached the shabby room which he called home his intended victim +had escaped. + +Marlowe did not at once discover the boy's flight. He unlocked the +door, but it was dark within, for the window looked out upon an +inclosed court, and permitted only a scanty light to enter. Before +striking a light he locked the door again and put the key in his +pocket. This was to prevent the boy's escape on the one hand, and any +outside interference on the other. Then he drew a match from his +pocket and lighted a fragment of candle upon the table. This done he +turned his eyes toward the bed with stern exultation. But this was +quickly turned into angry surprise. + +"The boy's gone!" he exclaimed, with an oath. "How could he have got +out, with the door locked?" + +The open window and the rope hanging from it revealed the method of +escape. + +Marlowe strode to the window with a feeling of keen disappointment. +Was he to be robbed of his revenge, after all? He had depended upon +this with certainty, and meant to have it, though he should be +arrested the next minute, and he knew that, though he had escaped from +the house of his meditated crime, he was still in great peril. +Doubtless Julius had given full information to the police of his name +and residence, and even now they might be in pursuit of him. He ground +his teeth when he thought of this, and clinched his fist in the +impotent desire for vengeance. + +"If I had him here," he muttered, "I'd crush him as I would a spider," +and he stamped angrily upon the floor. + +But where could he have got the rope? that was the next question. He +knew that there was none in the room, and how one could have been +smuggled in with the door locked was something that puzzled him. +Julius himself could not very well have brought one in, as on account +of its bulk it would have attracted the attention either of Jack +Morgan or himself. Perhaps the woman downstairs might know something +about it, he reflected, and this led him to go down and knock at Mrs. +O'Connor's door. + +After a little pause Mrs. O'Connor came to the door and opened it. + +"What's wanted?" she asked. Then, recognizing her visitor as one of +the lodgers in the room above, she added, "Is it the boy?" + +"Yes; where is he?" demanded Marlowe, abruptly. + +"It's gone to the doctor he is." + +"Gone to the doctor!" repeated Marlowe, mystified. "What do you mean?" + +"He was taken sick jist after you wint away, and as he couldn't open +the door which was locked, he pounded on the floor. My key wouldn't +fit, so he asked me to throw up a clothes-line, which I did, and the +poor crayther got out of the winder, and wint for the doctor. He'll be +back soon, I'm thinkin'." + +"No, he won't," growled Marlowe. "He's a thief and a villain, and he's +run away." + +"Did I iver hear the likes?" exclaimed Mrs. O'Connor. "Who'd have +thought it, shure?" + +"I've a good mind to wring your neck, for helping him off," said +Marlowe, forgetting in his anger the politeness due to the fair sex. + +"Would you, thin?" exclaimed Mrs. O'Connor, incensed. "Then my husband +would do the same to you, you brute! I am glad the boy's gone, so I +am, and I hope he'll never get into your clutches again, you monster! +Tim, wake up there, and defind yer wife from the thafe that's insulted +her!" + +Before Tim O'Connor aroused from his sleep at his wife's call, +Marlowe, with a smothered execration, retreated to his own room, and +began to consider his position. He must fly. There was no doubt of +that. Remaining in his old haunts, he would, unquestionably, fall into +the hands of the police, now probably on his track. He must get away, +and that very night. Any delay would be dangerous. He must leave the +city and remain in hiding for the present. + +While he was making hurried preparations steps were heard on the +stairs, and there was a loud knocking on the door. + +"Who's there?" demanded Marlowe. + +"Open, in the name of the law!" was the reply of the officers, who had +tracked him to his lair. + +"Wait a minute," said Marlowe. + +He rushed to the window and descended swiftly by the same rope which +had given Julius deliverance (it had escaped the attention of the +officers, on account of the darkness), and while the officers were +waiting for the door to be opened he eluded their vigilance and made +his escape. + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +A CURIOSITY SHOP. + +Marlowe realized that he had made the city too hot to hold him. The +police, with whom he had a more intimate acquaintance than he desired, +were already on his track, and it was doubtful if he could escape. The +affair in which he was implicated was a serious one, and if arrested +and tried he could hardly hope for less than ten years' imprisonment. +This is rather a long term of confinement to be taken out of a man's +life, and must be avoided if possible. But one way of escape seemed +feasible, and this Marlowe tried, as a desperate experiment. + +He made his way swiftly through the darkness to a tumble-down building +not far from Baxter street. The front door was unlocked. He opened it, +and feeling his way up--for there were no lights--knocked in a +peculiar way at a door just at the head of the stairs. His knock was +evidently heard, for shuffling steps were heard within, a bolt was +drawn, and Marlowe confronted a little old man, of feeble frame and +deeply furrowed face, who scanned the face of his visitor by the light +of a candle which he held above his head. + +"Why, it's Marlowe!" he said. + +"Hush, Jacob! don't mention my name! I'm in trouble." + +"What's in the wind now?" + +"Shut the door and I'll tell you." + +I may as well say that the conversation which ensued was interlarded +with expressions common to the lawless class which Marlowe +represented, but I prefer to translate them into common speech. The +room which they entered seemed full of odds and ends of wearing +apparel, and might have been taken for a pawnbroker's shop, or +second-hand clothing store. Or it might have been taken for a +dressing-room to a theatre, but that the articles displayed had long +since seen their best days, with few exceptions. + +"What have you been up to?" asked Jacob, varying the form of his +question. + +"Jack Morgan and I tried to break into a house on Madison avenue +to-night." + +"Couldn't you get in?" + +"Yes; but the police were in waiting for us. They nabbed Jack, but I +got away. They followed me to Jack's room, but I got out of the +window. They're on my track now." + +"They didn't see you come in here?" asked the old man, alarmed. + +"No, I have given them the slip. But they'll have me unless you help +me." + +"My son, I'll do what I can. What is your plan?" + +"To disguise myself so that my own mother wouldn't know me. See what +you can do for me." + +My reader will now understand the character of the old man's business. +Thieves, and others who had rendered themselves amenable to the law, +came to him for disguises, paying heavily for the use of what articles +he supplied them. In many cases he was obliged to give them credit, +but the old adage, "There is honor among thieves," was exemplified +here, for he seldom failed, sooner or later, to receive full payment. +It might be, and probably was, from motives of policy that his +customers were so honorable; for if unfaithful to their agreements +they could hardly expect to be accommodated a second time, and this +was a serious consideration. + +When appealed to by Marlowe, Jacob understood that the details of the +disguise were left to his judgment. He raised his candle, and took a +good look at his customer. Then he dove under a heap of clothing on +the floor, and fished out a dirty sailor's dress. "Try it on," he +said. + +"I don't know about that," said Marlowe, hesitating. "I don't know any +sailor's lingo." + +"That's no matter. You can say, 'shiver 'my timbers,' can't you?" + +"Yes, I can do that." + +"That's enough. It's all I know myself. But it won't do any harm to pick +up something else; the police won't never think of you as a sailor." + +"I don't know but you're right, Jacob, shiver my timbers if I don't!" +and he laughed as he used the expression. + +"Try it on. I guess it'll be about right," said the old man. + +Marlowe quickly stripped off the suit he wore, and arrayed himself in +the strange and unfamiliar garb presented. By good luck it had +originally been made for a man of about his size, and there was no +discrepancy likely to excite suspicion. + +"Let me look at myself," said he. + +Jacob produced a small cracked glass, and the ex-burglar surveyed his +transformed figure. + +"What do you think of it?" asked the dealer. + +"The dress is well enough, but they'll know my face." + +"Sit down." + +"What for?" + +"I must cut your hair." + +"What then?" + +"I'll give you a red wig. There's nothing will disguise you so quick +as different colored hair." + +"Have you got a wig?" + +"Yes, here it is." + +"It's ugly enough." + +"Better wear it than your own hair at Sing Sing." + +"That's where you're right, old man! Go ahead. You understand your +business. I'll put myself in your hands." + +Marlowe sat down in a wooden chair with a broken back, and the old man +proceeded, with trembling hands, to cut his black locks with a pair of +large shears, which he kept for this and other purposes. + +"You're cutting it pretty close, Jacob. I shall look like a +scarecrow." + +"All the better," said the old man, laconically. + +When the operation was over, Marlowe surveyed his closely-cropped head +in the cracked mirror with some disgust. + +"You've made a beauty of me," he said. "However, it had to be done. +Now where's that wig?" + +He was adjusting it awkwardly, when Jacob took it from his hands and +put it on properly. + +"Now look at yourself," he said. + +Marlowe did look, and, as the old man had predicted, found his looks +so transformed that he hardly knew himself. + +"That's good," he said, in a tone of satisfaction. "It don't improve +my beauty, but then I ain't vain. I care more for my liberty. If it +hadn't been for that cussed boy there wouldn't have been any need of +this." + +"What boy?" + +"Jack Morgan's boy--Julius." + +"What did he do?" + +"He split on us--gave warning of our attempt. That's how we came to be +taken. I'd give something to get at him." + +"Maybe you will." + +"I'll try, at any rate. If not now, my revenge will keep. Is that +all?" + +"Not quite. Sit down again." + +The old man stained the face of his visitor so adroitly that he +appeared to be deeply pitted with smallpox. + +"Your own mother wouldn't know you now," he said with pride. + +"That's so, Jacob! you're a regular genius," replied Marlowe. "I ain't +sure about it's being me. You're sure about it?" + +"Shiver your timbers!" said the old man. + +"Shiver my timbers, but I forgot about it! Do you think I'll do?" + +"Yes; but you mustn't wash your face till it is dry." + +"I sometimes forget to do it now. I guess I can get along without it +for a day or two. Now, how much are you going to ask for all this?" + +"Seventy-five dollars." + +"It's a good deal." + +"How long would you get if you got took?" asked Jacob, significantly. + +"You're right. It's worth the money. But I can't pay you now, Jacob." + +"You won't forget it," said the old man, composedly, for he expected +this, since Marlowe's attempt at burglary had been unsuccessful. +"You'll pay me when you can." + +"Shiver my timbers, messmate, but I will!" + +"Good!" said the old man. "You're getting it." + +"I don't think those landlubbers--the cops--will know me in this +rig-out." + +"Better. You'll do." + +"Well, Jacob, I'll pay you as soon as I can. By the way, haven't you +any place where you can stow me for the night? It won't do for me to +go back to Jack's room; it's too hot for me." + +"Lay down anywhere," said Jacob. "I haven't got any bed; I lie down on +the clothes." + +"That'll do; I ain't used to bridal-chambers or silk counterpanes. I +am as tired as a dog. Here goes!" + +He flung himself down in a corner on an indiscriminate pile of +clothing, and in five minutes was breathing deeply, and fast asleep. +Had he been a novice in his illegal profession, the two narrow escapes +he had just had, and the risk which, in spite of his disguise he at +present run, would have excited him and prevented his sleeping; but he +was an old hand and used to danger. It was not the first time he had +eluded the authorities, and was not likely to be the last, so he fell +asleep upon his strange couch, and slept as unconcernedly as an +infant. The old man did not immediately lie down. He held up and +examined attentively the suit Marlowe had thrown oft, which, according +to custom, became his perquisite, in addition to the cash payment +demanded, and was gratified to find it in good condition. He next +plunged his hands into the pockets, but Marlowe had transferred their +contents to his new attire. However, Jacob would have been little +richer had his visitor neglected to do so. Having finished his +scrutiny the old man blew out the candle and lay down in the corner +opposite Marlowe. + + + +CHAPTER XX. + +THE DISGUISED LISTENER. + +On the Monday morning succeeding the attempt at burglary so happily +defeated, Paul thought he ought to go round to the counting-room of +Mr. Preston and acquaint him with the particulars. He accordingly +deferred opening his place of business--if I may use so ambitious a +phrase of the humble necktie stand over which he presided--and bent +his steps toward Mr. Preston's counting-room. The latter had just +arrived. + +"Good-morning, Paul," said Mr. Preston, smiling. "I know all about +it." + +"About what, sir?" inquired Paul, surprised. + +"About the burglary." + +"Who told you?" our hero asked, in astonishment. + +"Didn't you know it was in the papers?" + +"No, sir." + +"I read it on my way downtown. These reporters get hold of everything. +Read that." + +Mr. Preston put into Paul's hands a morning paper, pointing to the +following paragraph: + +"On Saturday evening an attempt was made to rob the house of Nathaniel +Talbot, No. -- Madison avenue. The attempt was made by two well-known +burglars, familiarly known as Jack Morgan and Tom Marlowe. The +enterprise promised to be successful, as Mr. Talbot is absent in +Europe with his family. During his absence the house is taken care of +by a Mrs. Hoffman, whose son Paul, a boy of sixteen, keeps a necktie +stand below the Astor House. Paul, who seems to be possessed of +courage and coolness, learned that the attempt was about to be made, +and determined not only to frustrate it, but to get hold of the +burglars. He gave information at police headquarters, and when the +brace of worthies arrived they met a reception as unexpected as it was +unwelcome. They were permitted to effect an entrance, and met with no +drawback till they reached the second story. Then the police made +their appearance on the scene and effected the capture of Morgan. +Marlowe succeeded in effecting his escape, but the police are on his +track, and his haunts in the city being known, there is every reason +to believe that he will be captured. Great credit is due to the boy +Paul, through whose bravery and good judgment Mr. Talbot's house has +been saved from robbery, and probably two noted desperadoes captured." + +Paul read this paragraph with pleasure, as may readily be supposed. He +was glad to find that his efforts in Mr. Talbot's behalf were likely +to secure recognition. + +"I never thought of getting into the papers," he said, looking up. "I +don't see how the reporters found out about it." + +"Oh, the reporters are everywhere. Probably they call every evening at +police quarters and obtain information of all such cases. You see, +Paul, you are getting famous." + +"I only did what I ought to do," said Paul, modestly. + +"I agree to that, but that is more than many of us can say. If we all +could say it with justice, we should have a very different world from +what we have at present." + +"Besides," said Paul, who, though he liked praise, wanted to be just, +"there is some one else, a boy, too, who had more to do with the +affair than I." + +"Who was that?" + +"The boy who told me the house was to be entered." + +"Tell me all about it. I told you I knew all about it, but there is +one thing the paper does not explain how you found out the plans of +those villains." + +"I will tell you, sir. One day I saw a boy in front of the +eating-house where I usually dine, who looked hungry. I have known +what it was to be hungry myself, and I pitied him. So I asked him in +and gave him some dinner. I think it was the next day that he came +round and asked me if I did not live in Mr. Talbot's house on Madison +avenue. He said the man he lived with and another were intending to +break into it and rob the safe. They seemed to know that my mother and +myself were the only ones who occupied it." + +"How old a boy was he?" + +"I don't know his age. He looks about twelve, but he may be older." + +"What do you suppose made him bring you the information?" + +"I think he felt grateful for the dinner I gave him." + +"Did you see him more than once?" + +"Yes, several times. It seems the two men intended at first to make +the attempt this evening, but for some reason they came to distrust +the boy, who was acquainted with their plans, and fixed it for +Saturday. They didn't intend to let him know of their change of plan, +but he overheard one of them talking in his sleep. He came and told +me. This was lucky, as otherwise I should not have been ready for +them." + +"What is the name of this boy?" + +"Julius." + +"He has certainly done you and Mr. Talbot great service. What is your +opinion of him? Has he been spoiled by living with thieves?" + +"I don't think he has. If he could have a chance to do better, I think +he would." + +"He shall have a chance. I suppose you will see him soon." + +"I shouldn't wonder if he would come round to my stand to-day." + +"If he does, bring him here." + +"Yes, sir, I will." + +"What you have told me, Paul," continued Mr. Preston, "does not lessen +your own merits. But for your kindness to this poor boy you would have +heard nothing of the intended burglary, and been unable to take the +measures which have proved so happily successful." + +"You are determined to praise me, Mr. Preston," said Paul. + +"Because you deserve it. I shall take care to write particulars to Mr. +Talbot, who will doubtless have seen the paragraph you have just read, +and will be interested to hear more. I shall not forget your part in +the affair." + +"Thank you, sir. I shall be glad to have Mr. Talbot know that I am +faithful to his interests." + +"He shall know it." + +A boy entered the office at this point, with a number of letters from +the post office, and Mr. Preston began to read them. Paul saw that it +was time to go, and bade him good-morning. + +"Good-morning, Paul," said his patron. "Don't forget to bring me the +boy, Julius." + +"I won't forget, sir." + +Paul was not likely to forget, for he, too, felt grateful to Julius, +and was glad to think the poor boy was likely to receive a reward for +his services. Through the arrest of Jack Morgan he would be thrown +upon his own exertions, and aid would doubtless be welcome. Paul felt +an honorable satisfaction in knowing that he was rising in the world, +and he was unselfish enough to desire to see others prosper also. + +He was not mistaken in supposing Julius would call upon him. About +eleven o'clock he came up to the stand. + +"Good-morning, Julius," said Paul, cordially. + +"Good-morning," said the smaller boy. "Was Jack and Marlowe round to +your house last night?" + +"Yes." + +"Was they took?" asked Julius, anxiously. + +"Morgan was captured, but Marlowe escaped." + +The boy's countenance fell, and he looked alarmed. + +"Do you think they'll take him?" + +"They are on his track. I don't think that he can escape." + +"If he does he'll kill me," said Julius; "he suspected me afore. Now +he'll know I let out about him and Jack." + +"He won't dare to come near you." + +"Why won't he?" + +"He knows the police are after him; he'll hide somewhere." + +"I don't know," said Julius, thoughtfully. + +"He'll be awful mad with me. He'll try to do me some harm if he can." + +"I should be sorry to have any harm come to you, Julius," said Paul, +earnestly. "If Marlowe is arrested it will be all right." + +"He shut me up last night before he went away; Jack and he did." + +"How was that?" + +Julius gave an account of his confinement, and how he escaped through +the help of Mrs. O'Connor. He did not know of Marlowe's subsequent +visit to the room, and his disappointment at finding the bird flown. +He did not know of this, not having dared to go round there since, +lest he should come upon Jack or Marlowe. Now he knew it was only the +latter he had to fear. + +"You managed it pretty well about getting away," said Paul. "It +reminds me of something that happened to me--I was locked up in a +hotel once the same way," and he gave Julius a little account of his +adventure at Lovejoy's Hotel, with the jeweler from Syracuse, as +narrated in an earlier volume of this series, "Paul the Peddler." +Julius was interested in the story. + +"Have you got any money, Julius?" asked Paul, when he had finished. + +"I've got ten cents. I didn't have much luck this mornin'. I left my +blackin'-box in the room, and I didn't dare to go after it, as I +thought I might meet Marlowe or Jack." + +"Haven't you had any breakfast, then?" + +"Yes, I went down to the Long Branch boat and got a chance to carry a +carpet-bag. The gentleman gave me a quarter; I spent fifteen cents for +breakfast, and I've got ten left." + +"You must stop and go to dinner with me, Julius. It is twenty minutes +to eleven already. I shall go at twelve." + +"You spend too much money on me," said Julius. + +"Never mind that. Where would I be if you hadn't told me about this +burglary? I should have known nothing about it, and I might have been +murdered. I've told about you to Mr. Preston, a friend of Mr. Talbot, +whose house I live in, and he wants me to bring you round to his +counting-room. He is going to do something for you." + +Julius brightened up. He had never had any friend excepting Jack +Morgan, and the reader can form some idea of the value of such a +friend as Jack. + +"When does he want me to come to his room?" he asked. + +"I'll go round with you after dinner. You want to rise in the world, +don't you, Julius?" + +"I'd like to, but I ain't had any chance." + +"I think Mr. Preston will give you a chance. You can be thinking what +you would like to do, and he will help you to it." + +"I would like to go out West. I'm afraid to stay here. Marlowe might +find me." + +"I don't know but you are right, Julius. Out West there is more of a +chance to rise. You can tell Mr. Preston what you wish." + +While the boys were talking a man stood near by, who listened +attentively to what was said, hearing every word. Neither Paul nor +Julius remarked him. He was a tall man, with red hair, and a face +marked by the smallpox. He was dressed in the garb of a sailor. Of +course this was Marlowe. It was imprudent for him to post himself in +so public a place, but he trusted to his disguise, and he wanted to +hear for himself the conversation between the two boys. He learned, +what he suspected before, that to the boy, Julius, he was indebted for +the failure of his attempt at burglary. When the two boys went to +dinner he followed them. + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +A BRIGHTER PROSPECT FOR JULIUS. + +After dinner Paul went again to Mr. Preston's place of business, +accompanied by Julius. The disguised sailor, who had lingered outside +the restaurant, followed the two at a safe distance. Had not Paul and +Julius been so occupied with their own affairs, they might have +noticed Marlowe. As it was, they were quite unconscious of being +followed. + +They were fortunate in finding Mr. Preston in his office, and at +leisure. + +"Mr. Preston," said Paul, "this is the boy I spoke to you about." + +"What is your name, my lad?" asked the merchant. + +"Julius," answered the street boy. + +"My young friend, Paul, tells me that you have done him and his +employer a great service. Did you live with the men who were engaged +in the burglary?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"I suppose they have been in prison at different times?" + +"Yes, sir, more'n half the time." + +"What did you do then?" + +"Worked for myself." + +"What did you do?" + +"Blacked boots or sold papers. When I got a chance I smashed baggage." + +"Did you get paid for that?" asked Mr. Preston, with a smile. + +"He means carried bundles or carpet-bags," explained Paul. + +"I understand. Did these men ever want you to steal, or join them in +burglary?" + +"Sometimes. They was goin' to take me last night, but they was afraid +I'd peach, and locked me up at home." + +"I hope you have no desire to become a burglar?" + +"No, sir; I want to be respectable, like Paul." + +"You are right, there, my lad. Now, have you any plans for the +future?" + +"I'd like to go out West." + +"Would you rather go there than remain in New York?" + +"Yes, sir. He's here." + +"Who is here?" + +"Marlowe. He wasn't took. He'll murder me if he gets hold of me." + +"Marlowe is one of the burglars, I suppose?" + +"Yes, sir; he's the worst." + +"I hope he will be taken. Probably he will find it hard to escape, as +the police are on his track. But I don't know but you are right about +going out West. Many boys like yourself have been sent out by the +Children's Aid Society." + +"I know some of 'em," said Julius. + +"You will stand a better chance of succeeding there than here. I am +willing to help you, if you wish to go out." + +Mr. Preston took out his pocketbook, and drew therefrom a roll of +bills. + +"Here are fifty dollars," he said. + +"For me?" asked Julius, in almost incredulous surprise. + +"Yes, for you. I hope you will make a good use of it." + +Julius selected a five-dollar bill, which he thrust into his vest +pocket, and handed the remainder to Paul. + +"Keep it for me, Paul," he said; "I might lose it." + +"You have done well," said Mr. Preston, approvingly. "Until you leave +the city, it will be best to leave the money in Paul's hands. Now, my +lad, I must bid you good-morning, as business claims my attention. Try +to lead a good life, and you have my best wishes for your welfare." + +He offered his hand, which Julius took shyly. + +The two boys went out, and again Marlowe followed them and tried to +overhear what they said. + +"Don't you feel rich, Julius?" he heard Paul say. + +"He was very good to me," said Julius. + +"Fifty dollars is a good deal of money for a boy like you." + +"Fifty dollars!" said Marlowe to himself. "So the young dog got fifty +dollars for selling Jack 'n' me? He thinks he's done a good thing. +We'll see! we'll see!" + +He instantly conceived the design of getting hold of this fifty +dollars. As we know, he was almost penniless, and money he sorely +needed to effect his escape from the city, where he was placed in +hourly peril. To take it from Julius would give him more pleasure than +to obtain it in any other way, for it would be combining revenge with +personal profit. Not that this revenge would content him. His +resentment was too deep and intense to be satisfied with any such +retaliation. He wanted to make the boy suffer. He would hardly have +shrunk from taking his life. He was, in fact, a worse man than Jack +Morgan, for the latter was not naturally cruel, though, under +temptation, he might be led to desperate acts. + +"Now tell me what you want to do, Julius," said Paul. + +"I want to go out West." + +"You are rather young to travel alone. Besides, you don't know +anything about the West, do you?" + +Julius admitted that he did not. His education had been very much +neglected. He probably could not have named half a dozen States, and +had the vaguest idea of the West. He had heard it spoken of, and some +boys whom he used to know about the streets had gone out there. But +beyond that he knew nothing. + +"How far do you think it is to the West?" asked Paul. + +"About a hundred miles." + +"It is all of that," said Paul, laughing. "Now I'll tell you what I +would do if I were in your place." + +"What?" + +"Were you ever in the Newsboys' Lodging House?" + +"Lots of times." + +"Then you know Mr. O'Connor, the superintendent?" + +"Yes; he's very kind to us boys." + +"Well, suppose we go round and ask him when the next company of boys +starts for the West. You could go with them, and he will find you a +place out there. What do you say?" + +"I would like to do that," said Julius, with evident satisfaction. + +"Then we will go up at once. I guess my business can wait a little +longer." + +"You're very kind to me," said Julius, gratefully. "You'll lose money +goin' round with me so much." + +"No matter for that. It won't ruin me. Besides, you've done me a great +service. I ought to be willing to do something for you." + +"That ain't nothin'." + +"I think different. Come along; we'll settle this matter at once." + +The two boys kept on their way till they reached the lodging house. +All was quiet; for in the day-time the boys are scattered about the +streets, earning their livelihood in different ways. Only at +supper-time they come back, and in the evening the rooms are well +filled. Paul had been here before, not as a guest, for he had always +had a home of his own; but he had called in the evening at different +times. Julius had often passed the night there, during the lengthened +intervals of Jack's enforced residence in public institutions. + +They met Mr. O'Connor just coming out. + +"How do you do, Paul? I hope you're well, Julius," said the +superintendent, who has a remarkable faculty for remembering the names +and faces of the thousands of boys that from time to time frequent the +lodging house. "Do you want to see me?" + +"Yes, sir," answered Paul; "but we won't detain you long." + +"Never mind about that; my business can wait." + +"Julius wants to go out West," proceeded Paul. "Now, what we want to +find out is, when you are going to send a party out." + +"This day week." + +"Who is going out with it?" + +"It is not quite decided. I may go myself," said the superintendent. + +"Can Julius go out with you?" + +"Yes; we haven't got our full number. He can go." + +"Then you're all right, Julius," said Paul. + +"What gave you the idea of going out West, Julius?" asked Mr. +O'Connor. + +"Marlowe's after me," said Julius, briefly. + +The superintendent looked mystified, and Paul explained. + +"Didn't you read in the papers," he asked, "about the burglary on +Madison avenue?" + +"At Mr. Talbot's house?" + +"Yes." + +"Had Julius anything to do with that?" + +"Through his means the burglars were prevented from carrying out their +designs, and one of them was captured. This was Jack Morgan, with whom +Julius lived. The other, a man named Marlowe, got off. As he suspected +Julius beforehand of betraying them, and is a man of revengeful +disposition, Julius is afraid of staying in the city while he is at +large. We both think he had better go West. There he may have a chance +of doing well." + +"No doubt. Why, some of our boys who have gone out there have grown +rich. Others have persevered in seeking an education, and there are +lawyers, ministers and doctors, as well as merchants, now prosperous +and respected, who graduated from the streets of New York, and were +sent out by our society." + +The face of Julius brightened as he heard these words. + +"I hope I'll do well," he said. + +"It depends a good deal on yourself, my boy," said the superintendent, +kindly. "Firmly resolve to do well, and you will very likely succeed. +You've had a rough time of it so far, and circumstances have been +against you; but I'll try to find a good place for you, where you'll +have a chance to learn something and to improve. Then it will be your +own fault if you don't rise to a respectable place in society." + +"I'll try," said Julius, hopefully, and he meant what he said. He had +lived among social outlaws all his life, and he realized the +disadvantages of such a career. He shuddered at the idea of following +in the steps of Jack Morgan or Marlowe--a considerable portion of +whose time was spent in confinement. He wanted to be like Paul, for +whom he felt both respect and attachment, and the superintendent's +words encouraged and made him ambitious. + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +MARLOWE OVERTAKES HIS VICTIM. + +On emerging into the street the two boys parted company. It was time +for Paul to go back to his business. Julius was more indifferent to +employment. He had five dollars in his pocket, and forty-five dollars +deposited with Paul. Accustomed to live from hand to mouth, this made +him feel very rich. It was a bright, pleasant day, and it occurred to +him that it would be very pleasant to make an excursion somewhere, it +made little difference to him where. The first place that occurred to +him was Staten Island. It is six miles from the city or half an hour +by water. The boats start from a pier near the Battery. + +"Where's he going, I wonder?" thought Marlowe, following at a little +distance. + +As no conversation had passed between the boys about the excursion, he +was quite in the dark; but he was determined to follow where-ever it +might be. He soon ascertained. Julius met a street acquaintance--Tom +Barker, a newsboy--and accosted him. + +"Tom, come with me." + +"Where you goin'?" + +"To Staten Island." + +"What's up?" + +"Nothin'. I'm goin' for the benefit of my health. Come along." + +"I can't come." + +"Haven't you got the stamps? I'll pay." + +"I've got to go to Twenty-seventh street on an errand. I'll go with +you to-morrow." + +"Can't wait," said Julius. "I must go alone." + +"Goin' to Staten Island," thought Marlowe, in exultation. "I'll get a +chance at him there." + +Marlowe had not much money with him, but he had enough to pay the fare +to Staten Island--ten cents. So he kept on the track of Julius, and +passed the wicket just behind him. The boat was approaching the pier, +and they had not long to wait. Julius went to the forward part of the +boat, and took a seat just in front of the boiler. Marlowe took a +position near, but not too near. He had considerable confidence in his +disguise, but did not want to run any unnecessary risk of recognition. +It so happened that a few steps from him was a genuine specimen of the +profession he was counterfeiting. With the sociability characteristic +of a sailor, he undertook to open a conversation with Marlowe. + +"Hollo, shipmate!" he said. + +"Hollo, yourself!" said the counterfeit, not over pleased with the +salutation. + +"I thought I'd hail you, seein' we both foller the sea. Have you been +long ashore?" + +"Not long," answered Marlowe. + +"Where was your last v'y'ge?" + +"To Californy," answered Marlowe, hesitating. + +"What craft?" + +Here was an embarrassing question. Marlowe wished his questioner at +the North Pole, but felt compelled to answer. + +"The--Sally Ann," he answered. + +"You don't say!" said the other, with animation. "I was aboard the +Sally Ann myself, one v'y'ge." + +"Confound you, I'm sorry to hear it!" thought the impostor. + +"There's more than one Sally Ann, it's likely," he said. "Who was your +captain?" + +"Captain Rice." + +"Mine was Captain Talbot." + +"How long was your v'y'ge, shipmate?" + +Now Marlowe had no knowledge of the number of days such a voyage ought +to take. He knew that the California steamers came in in three or four +weeks, and the difference of speed did not occur to him, not to speak +of the vastly greater distance round Cape Horn. + +"Thirty days," he answered, at random. + +"Thirty days!" exclaimed the sailor, in amazement. "Did you go round +the Horn in thirty days?" + +"Yes, we had favorable winds," explained Marlowe. + +"He must be crazy, or he's no sailor," thought the true son of +Neptune. + +He was about to ask another question, when Marlowe, who suspected that +he had made a blunder, turned abruptly, and walked away. + +"He ain't no sailor," said the questioner to himself. "He never lived +in the forecastle, I know by his walk." + +Marlowe had not the rolling gait of a seaman, and the other detected +it at once. + +"Went round the Horn in thirty days!" soliloquized the sailor. "That +yarn's too tough for me to swallow. What's he got on that rig for?" + +Meanwhile, Julius looked around him with enjoyment. Cheap as the +excursion was, he had but once made it before. It had been seldom that +he had even twenty cents to spare, and when he had money, he had +preferred to go to the Old Bowery or Tony Pastor's for an evening's +entertainment. Now he felt the refreshing influence of the sea breeze. +He was safe from Marlowe, so he thought. He had left danger behind him +in the great, dusty city. Before him was a vision of green fields, and +the delight of an afternoon without work and without care. He was sure +of a good supper and a comfortable bed; for had he not five dollars in +his pocket? Julius felt as rich as Stewart or Vanderbilt, and so he +was for the time being. But he would have felt anxious, could he have +seen the baleful glance of the disguised sailor; for Marlowe, though +he had changed his seat, still managed to keep Julius in sight. But +there was another who in turn watched him, and that was the genuine +sailor. The latter was bent on finding out the meaning of the +disguise, for disguise he knew it to be. He was not long in +discovering that Marlowe was watching Julius with a malignant glance. + +"He hates the lad," thought the sailor. "Does he mean him harm?" + +He was making an excursion of pleasure, but he had another object in +view. He had a cousin living on Staten Island, and he was intending to +make him a call; but this business was not imperative, and he resolved +to follow out the present adventure. + +"If he tries to harm the lad," said the kindhearted sailor, "he'll +have to take me too." + +So while Marlowe watched Julius, he was watched in turn. + +The boat reached the first landing, and some of the passengers got +off. But Julius made no motion to disembark, and of course Marlowe did +not. Shortly afterward the second landing was reached; but it was not +until the boat touched the third that Julius rose from his seat and +descended the stairs to the lower deck. The two sailors followed. + +Julius walked up the road that leads to the pier. He had no particular +destination. He cared little where he went, his main object being to +get back into the country. The sailor soon perceived that Marlowe had +no object except to follow Julius. All his movements depended upon the +boy's. When Julius turned, he turned also. + +"What has he got ag'in the boy?" thought the sailor. "He shan't harm +him if Jack Halyard can prevent it." + +Marlowe was tall and strong, and a formidable opponent. The sailor was +three inches shorter, but he was broad-shouldered, and had an immense +chest. It was clear that he was very powerful. He was thoroughly brave +also. Fear was a stranger to him, and he did not hesitate for a moment +to encounter Marlowe in the boy's defense. + +Julius kept on. At one place he stopped to watch two boys who were +pitching ball to each other. He asked them if he might join in the +game; but the boys looked contemptuously at his shabby clothes, and +one of them said, rudely: + +"We don't play with ragamuffins." + +"I ain't a ragamuffin!" said Julius. + +"Perhaps you're a gentleman in disguise," said one, with a sneer. + +"I'm as much of a gentleman as you are," retorted Julius, angrily. + +"Clear out, you beggar! We don't want you here," said the second boy, +arrogantly. + +Julius walked on indignantly. + +"They insult me because I am poor," he said to himself. "I'll be rich +some time, perhaps." + +The possibility of becoming rich had never occurred to him before +to-day; but Mr. O'Connor's words, and the fifty dollars which had been +given him, made him hopeful and ambitious. He had heard that some of +the rich men who owned warehouses in the great city had once been poor +boys like himself. Might he not rise like them? For the first time in +his life he seemed to be having a chance. + +Marlowe saw him leave the boys with satisfaction. Had Julius stopped +to play with them his scheme of vengeance would have been delayed, +perhaps frustrated. It would not do for him to attack the boy in the +presence of others. But Julius w r as walking away from the village +into the interior. If he only went far enough he would be at his +mercy. + +What should he do to him? He might kill him, but killing is rather a +dangerous game to play at in a civilized community. + +"I'll take his money," thought Marlowe, "and beat him within an inch +of his life. I'll teach him to betray me!" + +At length Julius wandered to a spot solitary enough to suit his +purpose. Strange to say, the boy had not turned, or noticed his +pursuer. Marlowe was quite out of his thoughts. Who would think of +finding him in this quiet scene? But he was destined to be rudely +awakened from his dream of security. All at once he felt a hand upon +his shoulder. Turning quickly, he saw one whom he supposed to be a +sailor. + +"What's wanted?" he asked. + +"You're wanted." + +"What for?" asked Julius, not yet recognizing his enemy. + +"Don't you know me?" asked Marlowe. + +"No." + +"But I know you, you young villain!" exclaimed Marlowe, unable longer +to repress his fury. "I'm the man you sold along with Jack Morgan. +I've got a reckoning with you, my lad, and it's goin' to be a heavy +one. I haven't followed you all the way from New York for nothing." + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. + +A TIMELY RESCUE. + +Julius was filled with a terrible fear, when in the man who stood over +him menacingly he recognized Tom Marlowe. He knew the man's brutal +disposition, and that he was very much incensed against him. He looked +wildly around him for help, but he could see no one. The sailor had +hidden behind a large tree, and was not visible. + +"You're looking for help, are you?" sneered Marlowe. "Look all you +want to. You're in my power. Now tell me, you treacherous young dog, +why shouldn't I kill you?" + +Julius regarded him in silent terror. + +"You didn't think I'd get away from the cops you set on my track, did +you? You thought you'd get rid of me, did you? Where's that money you +got for selling us, eh?" + +"I didn't sell you," said Julius, trembling. + +"Don't lie to me. I know all about it. I followed you when you went +with that boy that keeps the necktie stand. I know how much you got. +It was fifty dollars." + +Julius was bewildered. He did not understand how Marlowe could have +gained this information. + +"Do you deny this?" demanded Marlowe. + +"I didn't know I was to get any money," stammered Julius. "I wouldn't +have told of you, but Paul had been kind to me." + +"So you forgot all about Jack Morgan and me. You were ready to sell +your best friends. But you didn't count the cost, my chicken! We +generally pay up for such favors. I promised Jack I'd settle our +account, and I'm goin' to do it." + +"Is Jack took?" asked Julius, shrinking under the man's fierce glance. + +"Yes, he is, curse you! If it hadn't been for your blabbing tongue +we'd both have got off with the swag. Now hand over that money, and be +quick about it." + +"What money?" faltered Julius. + +"You know well enough--the fifty dollars." + +Julius felt thankful now that he had deposited the greater part with +Paul. + +"I haven't got it." + +"You lie!" exclaimed Marlowe, brutally. + +"I gave it to Paul, all except five dollars." "I don't believe you. +Empty your pockets." + +Julius did so, but only five dollars were found. Marlowe was badly +disappointed. Fifty dollars would have been of essential service to +him, and they had dwindled to five. + +"What business had you to give the money to him?" he demanded, +harshly. + +"I was afraid I might lose it." + +"Give me the five dollars." + +Julius reluctantly handed the bill to his enemy, who thrust it into +his pocket. + +"Now," said he, seizing Julius by the shoulder with a dark and +menacing look, "I'll give you a lesson you'll remember to the last day +of your life." + +He threw Julius upon the ground, and was about savagely to kick the +helpless boy, who would in all probability have died from the brutal +treatment he was likely to receive, when he was seized by the collar, +and sent whirling backward by a powerful hand. + +"Avast there, you lubber!" said the sailor, who had felt it time to +interfere. "What are you about?" + +Marlowe turned furiously upon his unexpected assailant. + +"I'll soon let you know, if you don't leave here pretty sudden. What +business is it of yours?" he said, furiously. + +"It's always my business," said the sailor, manfully, "when I see a +big brute pitching into a youngster like that. I ain't the man to +stand by and see it done." + +"He wants to kill me. Don't let him," implored Julius. + +"That I won't, my lad. He'll have to kill me, too, if that's what he's +after. He'll find me a tough customer, I reckon." + +"This is my boy. I shall beat him as I please," said Marlowe, angrily. + +"I am not his boy," said Julius, fearing the sailor would credit the +statement. + +"Don't you be afraid, my lad. If you were his boy ten times over, he +shouldn't beat you while I am by." + +Marlowe was terribly enraged. He saw his victim slipping from his +grasp just as he was about to glut his vengeance upon him. He was a +man of violent passions, and they got the better of his prudence. + +"Stand back!" he shouted, advancing toward the intrepid sailor, "or I +will serve you and the boy alike." + +"I'm ready," said the other, coolly, squaring off scientifically. + +Marlowe aimed a heavy blow at his head, which, had it taken effect, +would have prostrated and perhaps stunned him. But it was warded off, +and a counter blow returned, which took better effect. Marlowe +staggered under it, but it only maddened him. Half-blinded, he rushed +once more upon his opponent, but received a well-directed blow full in +the chest, which stretched him at the sailor's feet. The latter +forbore to take an unmanly advantage of his foe's position, but calmly +waited for him to rise. + +"Do you want more?" he asked, coolly. + +Marlowe, had he been wise, would have desisted, but he was filled with +a blind, unreasoning rage, and advanced again to the attack. But he +was no match for the stout sailor. He fared this time no better than +before, but again was stretched at the sailor's feet. + +By this time the conflict had attracted attention. Several men came +running up, among them a member of the local police. + +"What's the meaning of all this?" demanded the latter. + +"Ask the boy," said the sailor. + +Julius, thus appealed to, answered: + +"That man wanted to kill me, but the sailor stopped him." + +"It's a lie!" growled Marlowe. "He's my boy, and I was punishing him." + +"Are you his boy?" asked the policeman, turning to Julius. + +"No." + +"Where do you live?" + +"In New York." + +"Do you know him?" + +"Yes." + +"Who is he?" + +Marlowe saw that it was getting dangerous for him, and was anxious to +get away. + +"The boy may shift for himself," he said. "If you take so much +interest in him you can take care of him." + +These last words were addressed to the sailor. + +He turned on his heel, and hoped to get away without further trouble. + +"Stop, there!" said the officer. "We haven't done with you yet." + +"What do you want?" demanded Marlowe, endeavoring to conceal his alarm +under an air of surly bravado. + +"I want to know who you are." + +"I'm a sailor." + +"Then you're a land sailor," retorted the true son of Neptune. + +"Is he a sailor?" asked the officer of Julius. + +"No, sir." + +"What is his name?" + +"His name is Marlowe," answered Julius, in spite of the black and +menacing looks of his enemy, intended to intimidate him. + +"Marlowe? The man implicated in the burglary in Madison avenue?" + +Julius was not required to answer this, for at the question, showing +that he was known, Marlowe with an oath took to flight, closely +pursued by all present. He had run half a mile before he was secured. +But his pursuers at length caught up with him, and after a sharp +struggle, in which they were materially assisted by the powerful +sailor, he was taken and bound. + +"If I ever get free, I'll kill you!" he muttered, between his teeth, +to Julius. "You'll rue this day's work." + +Julius, secure as he was at present, could not help shuddering as he +heard these threatening words. But he felt thankful that he had +escaped the present danger. The peril was over for the time; but +Julius could not help feeling that he was not wholly safe as long as +Marlowe was at large. I may as well add here that the burglar was +delivered to the New York authorities, and in due time had his trial, +was convicted and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment in the prison +at Sing Sing. + +This adventure, and the excitement attending it, spoiled the enjoyment +of Julius for the afternoon. He returned to the pier and took passage +on the boat bound for the city. He called on Paul at his stand, and +surprised him with the news of Marlowe's capture, and his own narrow +escape. + +"I am glad to hear it, Julius," said Paul. "So that sailor that +followed you was Marlowe." + +"Yes. Did you see him?" + +"I noticed him two or three times, but had no idea he was following +us." + +"I never should have known him, he looked so different." "He might +have got away if he hadn't been so anxious to revenge himself on you." + +"He's got my five dollars," said Julius, regretfully. + +"It might have been much worse. You've got forty-five dollars left +yet. Do you want any of it?" + +"You may give me five more." + +Paul drew a five-dollar bill from his pocket and handed it to Julius. + +"By the way, Julius," he said "where do you expect to sleep to-night?" + +"In the lodgin' house." + +"Come up and stop with me. We can find room for you. Besides, my +mother will give you a good supper." + +"You are very kind to me, Paul," said Julius, gratefully. + +"I ought to be. You did us all a great service. You must stay with us +till it is time for you to go out West." + +Julius made some faint objections, out of bashfulness; but he was so +pleasantly received by Mrs. Hoffman, and treated with so much +kindness, that he came to feel quite at home, and needed no urging +after the first night. Jimmy asked him a multitude of questions about +the burglars, how they looked and how they lived, to which Julius +answered patiently. + +"When you are out West, you must write to us how you are getting +along, Julius," said Mrs. Hoffman, kindly. + +Julius blushed, and did not answer. He seemed much embarrassed. + +"Won't you?" asked Jimmy. + +"I don't know how to write!" said Julius at last, feeling suddenly +ashamed of his ignorance. + +"Such a big boy as you can't write?" said Jimmy, in amazement. + +"There is plenty of time to learn," said Paul, cheerfully. "Julius has +had no chance to learn yet, but after he gets to the West he will make +it up." + +The mortification which Julius felt at his ignorance made him +determine to study hard whenever he could. He felt that if he wanted +to occupy a respectable position in society, he must, at least, know +how to read and write. + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. + +THE POOR ARTIST. + +A week later Julius started for the West with a company of boys who +went out under the auspices of the Children's Aid Society. His +adventures out West will make the subject of another volume. + +On the day succeeding his departure Paul was at his stand, when his +attention was drawn to a man of respectable appearance, but poorly +clad, and thin and emaciated, who, after a little hesitation, accosted +a gentleman who was passing, in these words: "Sir, I hope you will +excuse my liberty in addressing you, but I have been sick, and am +without money. Can you spare me a trifle?" + +"I never give to street beggars," said the gentleman, coldly. + +The applicant shrank back abashed, and a look of pain and +mortification overspread his features. Paul noticed it, and his heart +was filled with compassion. He saw that the man was not a common +street beggar; that, except under the pressure of necessity, he would +not have asked help. Stepping up to him as he was slowly moving away, +Paul said, gently: "Can I assist you in any way, sir?" + +The other turned at the words. + +"I am in great need of help," he said. "I am without money, and I have +a little daughter at home who wants bread." + +As he said this he came near breaking down. + +"Let me help you," said Paul; and he drew a dollar from his pocket and +passed it to the applicant. + +"A thousand thanks for your generous kindness!" said the stranger, +gratefully; "but"--and here he glanced at Paul's humble place of +business--"can you spare this money?" + +"Easily," said Paul. "I am doing very well, and saving up money every +week." + +"Then I will accept it. There are some kind hearts in the world. I +felt very much depressed by the refusal I just received. It was a +great sacrifice of pride for me to ask help of any one, but the +thought of my little daughter removed all my scruples. I could bear +privation and hunger myself, but I could not bear to see her suffer." + +"Where do you live?" asked Paul. + +"In Centre street. It is a miserable place, but all I can afford." + +"May I ask your business?" + +"I am an artist. I came from England, my native country, some months +since, hoping to better my fortune here. But I fell sick in a short +time, and continued so until a week since." + +"You are not looking well." + +"I have overcome my disease, but I need nourishing food, and I have +not been able to buy it." + +"How did you pay your expenses while you were sick?" + +"I brought over with me a small sum of money, and by great economy I +made it last till a week since. I am unknown, and, though I have two +pictures finished, I cannot sell them. I was told that America was a +good country for the poor; but I do not find it so for me." + +"It may be, after you are known." + +"But what shall I do in the meantime?" + +Here an idea came to Paul. He had long intended to obtain a teacher of +drawing for Jimmy. It would be a charity to employ this poor artist if +he were competent. + +"Did you ever give lessons in drawing?" he asked. + +"Yes; I gave lessons in England. I would gladly find scholars here, +but I am not known." + +"I have a little brother who has a great taste for drawing," said +Paul. "You may begin with him." + +"Thank you," said the stranger, warmly. "You give me new hope. I will +teach him gladly, and leave the price of the lessons to you." + +"If you will tell me where you live I will call there at noon. You +will want to buy some food for your little girl." + +"Yes, poor little Mary, I must not leave her waiting any longer. I +shall be very glad to see you at my poor room. It is No. -- Centre +street, back room, third floor. Ask for Mr. Henderson." + +"I will be sure to call." + +The artist made his way to a baker's where he bought a loaf of bread. +Also at a shop near by he obtained a pint of milk, and, provided with +these, he hastened home to his hungry child. + +At noon, after taking lunch, Paul found his way to the address given +him by the artist. The room was dark and scantily furnished. Mr. +Henderson sat before an easel, trying to work. He got up hastily as +Paul entered. + +"I am glad to see you, my good young friend," he said. "Take a seat." + +"Is this your little daughter?" asked Paul. + +"Come here, Mary, and speak to the gentleman," said her father. + +Mary Henderson was a delicate looking little girl of eight years, with +dark hair and eyes. She would have been pretty if she had been +stronger and more healthy. A few weeks of good food and country air +would bring back the roses to her cheeks, and fill out her emaciated +form. + +"Have you any pictures finished?" asked Paul. + +"I have two small ones. Would you like to see them?" + +"Very much." + +The artist went to a closet, and produced two small pictures unframed. +One was an English country landscape, pretty in design, and executed, +as Paul thought, with taste. + +"I like that," he said. + +"The other is better," said Mr. Henderson. + +He exhibited the other canvas. It was a simple sketch of a brother and +sister on their way to school. The faces were bright and pretty, the +attitudes natural and graceful, and all the details were well carried +out. + +"You are right," said Paul. "This is the best picture. The girl's face +looks familiar. It is your own little girl, is it not?" + +"Then you see the resemblance?" + +"Yes, it is very like, but----" + +"But it represents a blooming, healthful child, while my poor Mary is +thin and pale. Yet when the picture was painted, before I left +England, it was an exact likeness. You see what privation and the bad +air of the city have done for her." + +"She will look like it again. A few weeks will bring her back." + +"I hope so." + +"You ought to get a good price for these pictures, Mr. Henderson." + +"If I had a name, I could." + +"If you are willing to trust me with them, I will see what I can do +for you." + +"Thank you a thousand times." + +"I may not be able to sell them, but I will try. Have you set a price +on them?" + +"No; I will sell them for anything they will fetch--for five dollars +even, if no more can be obtained." + +"I hope to get more." + +"Mary, wrap up the pictures for the gentleman," said her father. + +The little girl did so. + +"If you can call on me this evening at half-past seven, Mr. +Henderson," said Paul, "I will make arrangements about your giving +lessons to my little brother." + +"I will certainly do so." + +"You will not be afraid to leave your little girl alone?" + +"She can stay with a neighbor." + +"Then I will expect you." + +Paul wrote down his address, and took his leave, with the pictures +under his arm. + +He had thought of a customer. He knew that Mr. Preston was not only +rich, but kindhearted and charitable. Even if he did not want the +pictures, he thought he would be willing to give a small sum for them; +and even a little would be of great service to the poverty-stricken +artist. + +He therefore made his way to Mr. Preston's counting-room, and was +admitted to his presence. + +"Are you busy, Mr. Preston?" asked our hero. + +"Not particularly. I can spare you a few minutes." + +He looked inquiringly at the parcel Paul carried under his arm. + +"I have come to sell you some pictures, Mr. Preston." + +"You haven't turned artist?" said the merchant, surprised. + +"No; but I am acting as agent for a poor artist, who is in great need +of money." + +"A poor artist in both senses of the word, eh, Paul?" + +"No, I think not. I am not a judge of pictures, but these seem to me +very good." + +"Let me see them." + +Paul unrolled the bundle and displayed them. Mr. Preston took them in +his hands, and examined them with interest. + +"They are good pictures," he said, after a pause. "Who is the artist?" + +"An Englishman named Henderson. I will tell you all I know of his +story. He has been very unfortunate, and is now in pressing need of +assistance." + +Mr. Preston listened to the story with which the reader is already +familiar. When it was concluded he said, "We must help him." + +"I am going to take him as teacher for my little brother Jimmy." + +"I will purchase the picture of the children for fifty dollars." + +"It will be a fortune to the poor man," said Paul, joyfully. + +"When shall you see him?" + +"To-night." + +"Then I will give you the money to hand to him. Besides, I will give +him a note to Goupil, who will allow him to exhibit the other picture +in his store. That may secure its sale." + +"Thank you, Mr. Preston. You will do him a great kindness." + +Paul left the picture of which he had disposed, and, taking the other +under his arm, went back to the necktie stand. He felt an honest +pleasure in the thought of the happiness he was about to confer upon +the poor artist. "It will set him on his feet," he thought. + + + +CHAPTER XXV. + +MR. TALBOT'S RETURN. + +"Jimmy," said Paul, on reaching home, "there is a gentleman coming to +see you this evening." + +"A gentleman--to see me?" repeated the little boy, in surprise. + +"Yes. Mr. Henderson." + +"But I don't know him." + +"You will know him very soon. He is an artist, and is going to give +you lessons." + +"How good you are, Paul!" said Jimmy, joyfully; "but," he added, +considerately, "won't you have to pay him a good deal?" + +"No; he is a poor man, and it is partly to help him that I have +engaged him to give you lessons. I expect him in an hour. So get out +your best drawings, so that he will see how far you are advanced." + +"Does he paint pictures? I should like to see some of them." + +"I have one with me." + +"Oh, let me see it!" + +Paul removed the paper from the painting he had brought with him, and +displayed it to his little brother. + +"It is beautiful, Paul. I wonder if I can ever paint such a nice +picture." + +"No doubt you can, if you study faithfully. I brought away another of +Mr. Henderson's pictures, which I like better than this, but I have +sold it to Mr. Preston." + +"How much did you get for it?" + +"Fifty dollars." + +"Isn't that a large price?" asked Mrs. Hoffman. + +"Not for a good picture. I dare say Jimmy will by and by be charging +as much as that for a picture." + +"I hope so, Paul. I would like to earn some money." + +"You are too young to earn money now, Jimmy. That will come in good +time." + +Soon after the supper table was cleared Mr. Henderson called. + +"I am glad to see you, Mr. Henderson," said Paul, cordially. "This is +my mother, Mrs. Hoffman, and here is the young scholar I told you of." + +Jimmy looked up shyly. + +"He has seen your picture and likes it. By the way, I have sold one of +your pictures--the one introducing the children." + +"Thank you for your kindness," said the artist, his face brightening. +"You have done what I could not do, and it will give me very welcome +aid." + +"I hope the price will be satisfactory," said Paul. + +"I did not expect much," said Mr. Henderson, who inferred that the +price obtained was small. "I am unknown, and I have no right to expect +much for my work." + +"I sold it to a friend of mine for fifty dollars," continued Paul. + +"Fifty dollars!" exclaimed the poor artist, hardly crediting the +testimony of his ears. + +"Yes," said Paul, enjoying his surprise. "Is it satisfactory?" + +"Satisfactory! It is ten times as much as I expected. How can I ever +thank you?" said Mr. Henderson, seizing Paul's hand in his fervent +gratitude. + +"The purchaser is rich, and he has promised to speak a word to Goupil +in your favor." + +"Heaven sent you to my help," said the artist. "What a change has a +single day wrought! This morning I woke without a penny, and my poor +child without bread. To-night I am rich, and Hope has once more +visited me. I owe all my good fortune to you. Will you permit me to +give lessons to your brother without charge?" + +"No," said Paul, decidedly. "I think every one ought to be paid for +their work. What I have done for you has given me very little trouble. +I am glad that I could help you. I know what it is to be poor, and +most people would call me poor now; but I can earn enough for our +expenses, and lay up something besides, so I do not feel poor. Now, +Jimmy, go and bring your drawings, and show the gentleman." + +The drawings were brought, and, to Jimmy's delight, elicited warm +approval from the artist. + +"Your brother has great talent," said he. "I shall be very glad to +have him for a pupil. It is much pleasanter to teach where the scholar +has taste and talent. When would you like the lessons to begin?" + +"As soon as possible. To-morrow, if you can come." + +"And at what time?" + +"At any time. I suppose the day would be better." + +"Yes, it would be better, on account of the light. Besides, I like to +be with my little daughter in the evening." + +"Have you a little daughter?" asked Mrs. Hoffman. + +"Yes, madam. She must be nearly the age of my young pupil here." + +"Bring her with you at any time," said motherly Mrs. Hoffman. "I shall +be glad to have her come." + +"If she would not be in the way." + +"Not at all. We have plenty of room, and Jimmy has no playmate. We +shall be very glad to see her." + +"Mary will enjoy coming," said her father. "I appreciate your kindness +in inviting her." + +"By the way, Mr. Henderson," suggested Paul, "why don't you move into +the upper part of the city? It will be more convenient for you, +especially if you get other pupils." + +"It is a good plan," said the artist. "I could not do so before, +because I had no money. Now, thanks to your kindness, I can do so." + +It was arranged that Jimmy should take two lessons a week, for which +Paul agreed to pay a dollar each. The sum was small, but to Mr. +Henderson it was an important help. I will anticipate the future so +far as to say that, after a while, through the persistent efforts of +Paul, aided by Mr. Preston, he obtained three other pupils, from whom +he was able to obtain a higher price, and occasionally he effected the +sale of a picture, so that he was able to occupy more comfortable +rooms, and provide himself with better clothing. The days of his +adversity were over, and he now enjoyed a moderate degree of +prosperity. Little Mary regained her lost flesh and color, and once +more looked as she did when she sat for the figure of the girl in her +father's picture, which Paul had sold to Mr. Preston. She came often +with her father, when he was to give a lesson to Jimmy, and sometimes +Mrs. Hoffman called to invite her to accompany Jimmy and herself to +Central Park. + +As to Jimmy, he surprised his teacher by the rapid progress which he +made. He would have devoted all his time to drawing if his mother had +permitted, but she was not willing that he should neglect his school +studies--for Jimmy now attended school. His health, too, had improved, +and he no longer looked weak and delicate. + +So several months passed away. Paul's business continued good. It did +not increase much, for there was not an opportunity for that. But he +averaged fifteen dollars a week profit, and that, he justly felt, was +a very good income from such a limited business. Mrs. Hoffman +continued to make ties for Paul, so she, too, earned three or four +dollars a week, and as they had no house rent to pay, they were able +not only to live very comfortably, paying all the bills promptly, but +to save up money besides. In addition to the money in Mr. Preston's +hands, Paul had an account at a downtown savings-bank, which already +amounted to over two hundred dollars. + +"We must save money now, mother," said Paul; "for Mr. Talbot will be +coming home by and by, and then we shall have to look up other rooms, +and pay rent." + +"Do you know when he means to come home? Has Mr. Preston told you?" + +"No, mother. I think I will call round in the morning and inquire. He +has already been away more than a year." + +When Paul entered Mr. Preston's counting-room the next morning that +gentleman looked up from his desk, and said, "I was just about to +write you a letter, Paul." + +"Indeed, sir." + +"Yes; I am in receipt of a letter from Mr. Talbot, in which he +announces his immediate return home. He will be here in four weeks, +and he desires your mother to engage women to clean the house +thoroughly, and put it in order for his occupation. Of course, you +will keep an account of all you have to expend in this way, and you +can hand me the bill." + +"Yes, sir. I will see that it is done." + +Paul heard, with some regret, of Mr. Talbot's speedy return. It would +curtail his income considerably. Still he felt that Mr. Talbot would +be satisfied with the manner in which his mother and himself had +acquitted themselves of their trust, and that was a source of +satisfaction. + +He gave his mother immediate notice of the approaching return of Mr. +Talbot, and she began to look about for rooms to which to remove. At +length she found a very comfortable place at twenty dollars a month. +Half that sum would have obtained them shelter in a poor tenement +house, but both Paul and his mother had become fastidious, and felt +that such economy would be out of place. They must have a respectable +and comfortable home, even if they were prevented thereby from adding +so much to their account at the savings-bank. + +At length the steamer in which the Talbots had taken passage arrived. +A coach brought them from the pier to the house. Mrs. Hoffman and Paul +were in waiting to receive them. Mrs. Talbot expressed herself pleased +with the neat appearance of the house, and Mr. Talbot called Paul +aside. + +"My young friend," he said, "I deferred, till my return home, the +acknowledgment of your very creditable conduct in the defense of my +house. You showed a coolness and good judgment remarkable in one of +your age. In return for this, and in acknowledgment of the generally +satisfactory manner in which you and your mother have kept my house, I +ask your acceptance of this pocketbook, with its contents." + +When Paul opened it he was astonished and delighted to find that it +contained two one-hundred dollar bills. + +"One of them properly belongs to you, mother," he said. But Mrs. +Hoffman refused to take it. + +"No, Paul," she said, "you are the treasurer of our little household. +Take this money and add to your savings. Some time you will find it +useful in enlarging your business, or entering upon a new one." + +"I will put it in the savings-bank, as you recommend, mother; but you +must remember that the fund there is yours as much as mine." + +"I will promise to call for money, Paul, whenever I want it. I like to +think that we have so large a fund to draw upon in case of need." + + + +CHAPTER XXVI. + +FROM THE SIDEWALK TO THE SHOP. + +One morning, some months later, Paul was looking over the advertising +columns of the _Herald._ As his eye glanced carelessly over the +Chances for Business, his attention was drawn to the following: + +"FOR SALE The stock and fixtures of a gentlemen's small furnishing +store. Good reasons for selling. Apply at No. -- Sixth avenue." + +"I wonder how much it would cost," thought Paul. "I wish I had a small +store instead of a stand. I could make more money. Besides, it would +be more comfortable in cold and stormy weather." + +It was a raw morning in November. Paul had his hands in his pockets, +and had much ado to keep warm. But he knew that worse days were to +come. The winter before he had suffered not a little on some days when +he felt the necessity of keeping at his business. + +"Let me see," he reflected. "I have about six hundred dollars. That is +something, but it wouldn't go far toward stocking a store. Still, I +have a great mind to go up and look at the place, and inquire about +terms." + +The more Paul thought about it, the more he felt a desire to go. He +accordingly got a boy, in whom he felt confidence, to attend his +stand, while he himself jumped on a Sixth avenue car and rode up to +the shop advertised. + +On entering he found it small, but neat, and to all appearance a good +stand for business. The proprietor, a man of thirty-five or +thereabouts, came forward. + +"What can I show you?" he asked. + +"I saw your advertisement in the _Herald,"_ said Paul, "and came to +inquire about it. You want to sell out?" + +"Yes. It is on account of my wife's health. The doctor says the city +air doesn't agree with her, and orders her into the country. I don't +want to be separated from her, and, besides, I have a chance to open a +store in a country town where my uncle lives." + +"Is this a good stand for business?" + +"Excellent. I am making more money here than I can expect to outside +of the city; but of course that is not to be put in the scale against +my wife's health. Were you thinking of going into the business?" + +"I should like to, but I have not much capital. At what price do you +value your stock?" + +"At two thousand dollars." + +"That is more money than I have got." + +"I'll tell you what I will do. If you will give me a thousand dollars +down, and give me good security for the balance, payable a year hence, +I will sell out to you." + +"What is the rent?" + +"A thousand dollars." + +"Isn't that a good deal?" + +"In proportion to the value of my stock, it is, but I keep turning it +over. Last year, after paying rent and all expenses, including wages +to a boy of seventeen, who assisted me, I cleared two thousand +dollars." + +To Paul this seemed considerable. It would be a great improvement upon +his present position, and he would enjoy much more being the owner of +a store than of a street stand. But where would he get the money? + +"Couldn't you take less than a thousand dollars down?" he asked. + +The man shook his head. + +"I need that amount at once," he said. "You had better accept my +terms. You can't do better. Can't you raise the money somewhere?" + +"I will see," said Paul. + +He had thought of Mr. Preston. He knew that Mr. Preston was his +friend, and that he was fully able to assist him. He would go and see +him, and consult him about the matter, not directly asking him for +help, but giving him an opportunity to offer. + +"I will come back to-morrow and give you my answer," he said. + +"Come to-night, if you can." + +"Very well, I will, if possible." + +Paul was fortunate enough to find Mr. Preston in. + +"Good-morning, Paul," said the merchant, pleasantly; "what can I do +for you this morning?" + +"I want to consult you on a matter of business, Mr. Preston." + +"I shall be glad to advise you as well as I can." + +Hereupon Paul explained the matter, first displaying the +advertisement. + +"Do you think the shop favorably situated for business?" asked Mr. +Preston. + +"Yes, sir." + +"Is it pretty well stocked?" + +"Yes, sir. If I had it I might want to increase the stock a little." + +"So the man asks a thousand dollars cash?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"How much money have you?" + +"Six hundred." + +"Well, Paul, I think favorably of your plan. If you want to take the +shop, I will lend you the money you need, and stand security for the +remainder." + +"Thank you, sir," said Paul, joyfully. + +"Wait a minute till you hear my conditions. This is strictly a +business arrangement between us. I expect you to pay me interest at +the legal rate, and to pay it punctually as it falls due. You +understand that?" + +"Yes, sir, that is only fair." + +"As you say, it is only fair, yet borrowers are apt to forget it. They +will make all sorts of promises when they want to borrow, and break +them afterward. Even honest men will think it is enough to pay +interest whenever it is convenient, forgetting that by their neglect +they are injuring their credit. Some years since I helped two former +clerks to establish themselves in business. Both were honest; but +while one was prompt in all his engagements, and waited upon me on the +very day the interest came due with the money ready, the other obliged +me to send for it, and then put me off on every occasion, though he +paid finally. The result was, that after a while I assisted the first +cheerfully to extend his business. The second, hearing of it, made a +similar application, which I promptly refused. Do you wonder at it?" + +"Not at all, sir. I think you were perfectly right." + +"Be prompt in all your engagements. That is a good rule in business, +and in everything else. I have confidence in your integrity, and shall +be very glad to assist you. Go and finish your negotiation, and when +you want the money come to me." + +"Thank you, sir, not only for your kind offer, but for your advice." + +"He is going to succeed," said the merchant, as Paul went out. "He +will some day be a prosperous man." + +The merchant was pleased at the respect with which his advice was +received. Young America is very apt to regard the counsel of the old +and experienced as of slight value; but in this they make a great +mistake. There are plenty of young men, who, from their own +self-sufficiency and impatience of good advice, go to financial ruin +every year. He shows wisdom who avails himself of the experience of +other men, avoiding their errors, and imitating what in them is worthy +of imitation. + +Paul returned to the shop and made a careful examination of the stock. +He came to the conclusion that the price asked was not excessive, and +agreed to pay it. In the course of two days the transfer was +concluded, and Paul transferred the small stock of his necktie stand +to the shop which he had taken. During all this time he had said +nothing to his mother of the change he had made. He wanted to surprise +her. + +"Mother," he said, on the second morning of his possession, "I want +you to take a little walk with me this morning." + +"May I go too, Paul?" asked Jimmy. + +"Yes, Jimmy, I meant to invite you. So get your cap." + +"Where shall we walk to, Paul?" asked his mother. + +"I don't mean to tell you just yet. You will soon know." + +"Is it a secret?" asked Mrs. Hoffman, smiling. + +"Yes; it is a great secret." + +"Then I will try to stifle my curiosity for a time." + +"What is it, Paul? Whisper it to me," said Jimmy. + +"You must wait, too," said Paul. "I believe you are more curious than +mother." + +They had not far to walk. When they reached the shop the sign told +them nothing, for Paul had not yet had time to have his own put up. He +had given the order to a sign-painter, but it would take time to +fulfill it. + +"I want to go in here a minute," he said. + +"Shall we wait outside?" asked his mother. + +"No; come in. I would like to have you see the shop." + +The three entered. A young clerk, who had been in the employ of the +former proprietor, and whom Paul had agreed to retain at the same +wages, was behind the counter. + +"Good-morning, Mr. Hoffman," he said. + +"Have you sold anything this morning?" asked Paul. + +"Yes, sir; I have entered the sales on the slate." + +"Let me see them." + +"A new style of necktie is out. I think it will be well to get it. It +was asked for this morning." + +"Very well. Just make a memorandum of it." + +"Paul," said Mrs. Hoffman, who had listened to the conversation in +surprise, "have you anything to do with this store?" + +"I am the proprietor," answered Paul, smiling. + +"Is it true? How did it happen?" + +"I wanted to surprise you, mother, and so I told you nothing about +it." + +"When did you come into it?" + +"This is only the second day. Mr. Preston helped me, or I could not +have carried out the arrangement." + +"Do you think you can pay all your expenses and make money?" asked +Mrs. Hoffman, a little frightened when she heard of the rent which +Paul had agreed to pay. + +"I mean to try, mother. I don't feel much afraid. I shall devote +myself faithfully to business, and if I don't do well it won't be my +fault." + +------ + +We have kept our promise, and shown how Paul advanced slowly but +surely from the humble position of a street merchant to be the +proprietor of a shop. Now that several years have elapsed, I am able +to say that he succeeded, even beyond his anticipations. At the end of +two years he took a larger shop and engaged two extra clerks. Prompt +in his engagements, and of thorough integrity, he is likely to be even +more prosperous as the years roll on. + +His mother is no longer dependent upon him. Mr. Henderson, the English +artist, now able to obtain purchasers for his pictures at remunerative +prices, asked her to become his wife and a mother to his little girl, +and, after a little hesitation, she consented, partly, I think, +because Jimmy liked the artist so much. Mr. Henderson took pains to +instruct Jimmy and develop his talent, with such encouraging success +that Paul's prediction seems likely to be fulfilled, and I shall not +be surprised if the name of James Hoffman should, before many years, +rank among the most prominent in the list of our artists. + +Julius, as I have already stated, left the streets of New York for a +home in the West. His old enemies, Jack Morgan and Tom Marlowe, were +sentenced to a long imprisonment in Sing Sing. Marlowe threatens +vengeance upon Julius whenever he gets free from prison. Whether he +will have an opportunity of carrying out his threat I cannot tell. + + + + +THE END. + + + + + + +A. L. Burt's Catalogue of Books for Young People by Popular Writers, +52-58 Duane Street, New York + +BOOKS FOR BOYS. + +Joe's Luck: A Boy's Adventures in California. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +The story is chock full of stirring incidents, while the amusing +situations are furnished by Joshua Bickford, from Pumpkin Hollow, and +the fellow who modestly styles himself the "Rip-tail Roarer, from Pike +Co., Missouri." Mr. Alger never writes a poor book, and "Joe's Luck" +is certainly one of his best. + +Tom the Bootblack; or, The Road to Success. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +A bright, enterprising lad was Tom the Bootblack. He was not at all +ashamed of his humble calling, though always on the lookout to better +himself. The lad started for Cincinnati to look up his heritage. Mr. +Grey, the uncle, did not hesitate to employ a ruffian to kill the lad. +The plan failed, and Gilbert Grey, once Tom the bootblack, came into a +comfortable fortune. This is one of Mr. Alger's best stories. + +Dan the Newsboy. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price +$1.00. + +Dan Mordaunt and his mother live in a poor tenement, and the lad is +pluckily trying to make ends meet by selling papers in the streets of +New York. A little heiress of six years is confided to the care of the +Mordaunts. The child is kidnapped and Dan tracks the child to the +house where she is hidden, and rescues her. The wealthy aunt of the +little heiress is so delighted with Dan's courage and many good +qualities that she adopts him as her heir. + +Tony the Hero: A Brave Boy's Adventure with a Tramp. By HORATIO ALGER, +JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Tony, a sturdy bright-eyed boy of fourteen, Is under the control of +Rudolph Rugg, a thorough rascal. After much abuse Tony runs away and +gets a job as stable boy in a country hotel. Tony is heir to a large +estate. Rudolph for a consideration hunts up Tony and throws him down +a deep well. Of course Tony escapes from the fate provided for him, +and by a brave act, a rich friend secures his rights and Tony is +prosperous. A very entertaining book. + +The Errand Boy; or, How Phil Brent Won Success. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. +12mo, cloth illustrated, price $1.00. + +The career of "The Errand Boy" embraces the city adventures of a smart +country lad. Philip was brought up by a kind-hearted innkeeper named +Brent. The death of Mrs. Brent paved the way for the hero's subsequent +troubles. A retired merchant in New York secures him the situation of +errand boy, and thereafter stands as his friend. + +Tom Temple's Career. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price $1.00. + +Tom Temple is a bright, self-reliant lad. He leaves Plympton village +to seek work In New York, whence he undertakes an important mission to +California. Some of his adventures in the far west are so startling +that the reader will scarcely close the book until the last page shall +have been reached. The tale is written in Mr. Alger's most fascinating +style. + +Frank Fowler, the Cash Boy. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +Frank Fowler, a poor boy, bravely determines to make a living for +himself and his foster-sister Grace. Going to New York he obtains a +situation as cash boy in a dry goods store. He renders a service to a +wealthy old gentleman who takes a fancy to the lad, and thereafter +helps the lad to gain success and fortune. + +Tom Thatcher's Fortune. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +Tom Thatcher is a brave, ambitious, unselfish boy. He supports his +mother and sister on meagre wages earned as a shoe-pegger in John +Simpson's factory. Tom is discharged from the factory and starts +overland for California. He meets with many adventures. The story is +told in a way which has made Mr. Alger's name a household word in so +many homes. + +The Train Boy. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price +$1.00. + +Paul Palmer was a wide-awake boy of sixteen who supported his mother +and sister by selling books and papers on the Chicago and Milwaukee +Railroad. He detects a young man in the act of picking the pocket of a +young lady. In a railway accident many passengers are killed, but Paul +is fortunate enough to assist a Chicago merchant, who out of gratitude +takes him into his employ. Paul succeeds with tact and judgment and is +well started on the road to business prominence. + +Mark Mason's Victory. The Trials and Triumphs of a Telegraph Boy. By +HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Mark Mason, the telegraph boy, was a sturdy, honest lad, who pluckily +won his way to success by his honest manly efforts under many +difficulties. This story will please the very large class of boys who +regard Mr. Alger as a favorite author. + +A Debt of Honor. The Story of Gerald Lane's Success in the Far West. +By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +The story of Gerald Lane and the account of the many trials and +disappointments which he passed through before he attained success, +will interest all boys who have read the previous stories of this +delightful author. + +Ben Bruce. Scenes in the Life of a Bowery Newsboy. By HORATIO ALGER, +JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Ben Bruce was a brave, manly, generous boy. The story of his efforts, +and many seeming failures and disappointments, and his final success, +are most interesting to all readers. The tale is written In Mr. +Alger's most fascinating style. + +The Castaways; or, On the Florida Reefs. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +This tale smacks of the salt sea. From the moment that the Sea Queen +leaves lower New York bay till the breeze leaves her becalmed off the +coast of Florida, one can almost hear the whistle of the wind through +her rigging, the creak of her straining cordage as she heels to the +leeward. The adventures of Ben Clark, the hero of the story and Jake +the cook, cannot fail to charm the reader. As a writer for young +people Mr. Otis Is a prime favorite. + +Wrecked on Spider Island; or, How Ned Rogers Found the Treasure. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Ned Rogers, a "down-east" plucky lad ships as cabin boy to earn a +livelihood. Ned is marooned on Spider Island, and while there +discovers a wreck submerged in the sand, and finds a considerable +amount of treasure. The capture of the treasure and the incidents of +the voyage serve to make as entertaining a story of sea-life as the +most captious boy could desire. + +The Search for the Silver City: A Tale of Adventure in Yucatan. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Two lads, Teddy Wright and Neal Emery, embark on the steam yacht Day +Dream for a cruise to the tropics. The yacht is destroyed by fire, and +then the boat is cast upon the coast of Yucatan. They hear of the +wonderful Silver City, of the Chan Santa Cruz Indians, and with the +help of a faithful Indian ally carry off a number of the golden images +from the temples. Pursued with relentless vigor at last their escape +is effected in an astonishing manner. The story is so full of exciting +incidents that the reader is quite carried away with the novelty and +realism of the narrative. + +A Runaway Brig; or, An Accidental Cruise. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +This is a sea tale, and the reader can look out upon the wide +shimmering sea as it flashes back the sunlight, and imagine himself +afloat with Harry Vandyne, Walter Morse, Jim Libby and that old +shell-back, Bob Brace, on the brig Bonita. The boys discover a +mysterious document which enables them to find a buried treasure. They +are stranded on an island and at last are rescued with the treasure. +The boys are sure to be fascinated with this entertaining story. + +The Treasure Finders: A Boy's Adventures in Nicaragua. By JAMES OTIS. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Roy and Dean Coloney, with their guide Tongla, leave their father's +indigo plantation to visit the wonderful ruins of an ancient city. The +boys eagerly explore the temples of an extinct race and discover three +golden images cunningly hidden away. They escape with the greatest +difficulty. Eventually they reach safety with their golden prizes. We +doubt if there ever was written a more entertaining story than "The +Treasure Finders." + +Jack, the Hunchback. A Story of the Coast of Maine. By JAMES OTIS. +Price $1.00. + +This is the story of a little hunchback who lived on Cape Elizabeth, +on the coast of Maine. His trials and successes are most interesting. +From first to last nothing stays the interest of the narrative. It +bears us along as on a stream whose current varies in direction, but +never loses its force. + +With Washington at Monmouth: A Story of Three Philadelphia Boys. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine edges, illustrated, price +$1.50. + +Three Philadelphia lads assist the American spies and make regular and +frequent visits to Valley Forge in the Winter while the British +occupied the city. The story abounds with pictures of Colonial life +skillfully drawn, and the glimpses of Washington's soldiers which are +given shown that the work has not been hastily done, or without +considerable study. The story is wholesome and patriotic in tone, as +are all of Mr. Otis' works. + +With Lafayette at Yorktown: A Story of How Two Boys Joined the +Continental Army. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine +edges, illustrated, price $1.50. + +Two lads from Portmouth, N. H., attempt to enlist In the Colonial +Army, and are given employment as spies. There is no lack of exciting +incidents which the youthful reader craves, but it is healthful +excitement brimming with facts which every boy should be familiar +with, and while the reader is following the adventures of Ben Jaffrays +and Ned Allen he is acquiring a fund of historical lore which will +remain in his memory long after that which he has memorized from +textbooks has been forgotten. + +At the Siege of Havana. Being the Experiences of Three Boys Serving +under Israel Putnam in 1762. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, +olivine edges, illustrated, price $1.50. + +"At the Siege of Havana" deals with that portion of the island's +history when the English king captured the capital, thanks to the +assistance given by the troops from New England, led in part by Col. +Israel Putnam. + +The principal characters are Darius Lunt, the lad who, represented as +telling the story, and his comrades, Robert Clement and Nicholas +Vallet. Colonel Putnam also figures to considerable extent, +necessarily, in the tale, and the whole forms one of the most readable +stories founded on historical facts. + +The Defense of Fort Henry. A Story of Wheeling Creek in 1777. By JAMES +OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine edges, illustrated, price $1.50. + +Nowhere in the history of our country can be found more heroic or +thrilling incidents than in the story of those brave men and women who +founded the settlement of Wheeling in the Colony of Virginia. The +recital of what Elizabeth Zane did is in itself as heroic a story as +can be imagined. The wondrous bravery displayed by Major McCulloch and +his gallant comrades, the sufferings of the colonists and their +sacrifice of blood and life, stir the blood of old as well as young +readers. + +The Capture of the Laughing Mary. A Story of Three New York Boys in +1776. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.50. + +"During the British occupancy of New York, at the outbreak of the +Revolution, a Yankee lad hears of the plot to take General +Washington's person, and calls in two companions to assist the patriot +cause. They do some astonishing things, and, incidentally, lay the way +for an American navy later, by the exploit which gives its name to the +work. Mr. Otis' books are too well known to require any particular +commendation to the young."--Evening Post. + +With Warren at Bunker Hill. A Story of the Siege of Boston. By JAMES +OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine edges, illustrated, price $1.50. + +"This is a tale of the siege of Boston, which opens on the day after +the doings at Lexington and Concord, with a description of home life +in Boston, introduces the reader to the British camp at Charlestown, +shows Gen. Warren at home, describes what a boy thought of the battle +of Bunker Hill, and closes with the raising of the siege. The three +heroes, George Wentworth. Ben Scarlett and an old ropemaker, incur the +enmity of a young Tory, who causes them many adventures the boys will +like to read."--Detroit Free Press. + +With the Swamp Fox. The Story of General Marion's Spies. By JAMES +OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +This story deals with General Francis Marion's heroic struggle in the +Carolinas. General Marion's arrival to take command of these brave men +and rough riders is pictured as a boy might have seen it, and although +the story Is devoted to what the lads did, the Swamp Fox is ever +present in the mind of the reader. + +On the Kentucky Frontier. A Story of the Fighting Pioneers of the +West. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. + +In the history of our country there is no more thrilling story than +that of the work done on the Mississippi river by a handful of +frontiersmen. Mr. Otis takes the reader on that famous expedition from +the arrival of Major Clarke's force at Corn Island, until Kaskaskia +was captured. He relates that part of Simon Kenton's life history +which is not usually touched upon either by the historian or the story +teller. This is one of the most entertaining books for young people +which has been published. + +Sarah Dillard's Ride. A Story of South Carolina in in 1780. By JAMES +OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"This book deals with the Carolinas in 1780, giving a wealth of detail +of the Mountain Men who struggled so valiantly against the king's +troops. Major Ferguson is the prominent British officer of the story, +which is told as though coming from a youth who experienced these +adventures. In this way the famous ride of Sarah Dillard is brought +out as an incident of the plot."--Boston Journal. + +A Tory Plot. A Story of the Attempt to Kill General Washington. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo. cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"'A Tory Plot' is the story of two lads who overhear something of the +plot originated during the Revolution by Gov. Tryon to capture or +murder Washington. They communicate their knowledge to Gen. Putnam and +are commissioned by him to play the role of detectives in the matter. +They do so, and meet with many adventures and hairbreadth escapes. The +boys are, of course, mythical, but they serve to enable the author to +put into very attractive shape much valuable knowledge concerning one +phase of the Revolution."--Pittsburgh Times. + +A Traitor's Escape. A Story of the Attempt to Seize Benedict Arnold By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"This is a tale with stirring scenes depicted in each chapter, +bringing clearly before the mind the glorious deeds of the early +settlers in this country. In an historical work dealing with this +country's past, no plot can hold the attention closer than this one, +which describes the attempt and partial success of Benedict Arnold's +escape to New York, where he remained as the guest of Sir Henry +Clinton. All those who actually figured in the arrest of the traitor, +as well as Gen. Washington, are included as characters."--Albany +Union. + +A Cruise with Paul Jones. A Story of Naval Warfare in 1776. By JAMES +OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"This story takes up that portion of Paul Jones' adventurous life when +he was hovering off the British coast, watching for an opportunity to +strike the enemy a blow. It deals more particularly with his descent +upon Whitehaven, the seizure of Lady Selkirk's plate, and the famous +battle with the Drake. The boy who figures in the tale is one who was +taken from a derelict by Paul Jones shortly after this particular +cruise was begun."--Chicago Inter-Ocean. + +Corporal Lige's Recruit. A Story of Crown Point and Ticonderoga. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1,00. + +"In 'Corporal Lige's Recruit,' Mr. Otis tells the amusing story of an +old soldier, proud of his record, who had served the king In '58, and +who takes the lad, Isaac Rice, as his 'personal recruit.' The lad +acquits himself superbly. Col. Ethan Allen 'In the name of God and the +continental congress,' infuses much martial spirit into the narrative, +which will arouse the keenest interest as it proceeds. Crown Point, +Ticonderoga, Benedict Arnold and numerous other famous historical +names appear in this dramatic tale."--Boston Globe. + +Morgan, the Jersey Spy. A Story of the Siege of Yorktown in 1781. By +JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"The two lads who are utilized by the author to emphasize the details +of the work done during that memorable time were real boys who lived +on the banks of the York river, and who aided the Jersey spy in his +dangerous occupation. In the guise of fishermen the lads visit +Yorktown, are suspected of being spies, and put under arrest. Morgan +risks his life to save them. The final escape, the thrilling encounter +with a squad of red coats, when they are exposed equally to the +bullets of friends and foes, told in a masterly fashion, makes of this +volume one of the most entertaining books of the year."--Inter-Ocean. + +The Young Scout: The Story of a West Point Lieutenant. By EDWARD S. +ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +The crafty Apache chief Geronimo but a few years ago was the most +terrible scourge of the southwest border. The author has woven, in a +tale of thrilling interest, all the incidents of Geronimo's last raid. +The hero is Lieutenant James Docker, a recent graduate of West Point. +Ambitious to distinguish himself the young man takes many a desperate +chance against the enemy and on more than one occasion narrowly +escapes with his life. In our opinion Mr. Ellis is the best writer of +Indian stories now before the public. + +Adrift in the Wilds: The Adventures of Two Shipwrecked Boys. By EDWARD +S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Elwood Brandon and Howard Lawrence are en route for San Francisco. Off +the coast of California the steamer takes fire. The two boys reach the +shore with several of the passengers. Young Brandon becomes separated +from his party and is captured by hostile Indians, but is afterwards +rescued. This is a very entertaining narrative of Southern California. + +A Young Hero; or, Fighting to Win. By EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +This story tells how a valuable solid silver service was stolen from +the Misses Perkinpine, two very old and simple minded ladies. Fred +Sheldon, the hero of this story, undertakes to discover the thieves +and have them arrested. After much time spent in detective work, he +succeeds in discovering the silver plate and winning the reward. The +story is told in Mr. Ellis' most fascinating style. Every boy will be +glad to read this delightful book. + +Lost in the Rockies. A Story of Adventure in the Rocky Mountains. By +EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. + +Incident succeeds incident, and adventure is piled upon adventure, and +at the end the reader, be he boy or man, will have experienced +breathless enjoyment in this romantic story describing many adventures +in the Rockies and among the Indians. + +A Jaunt Through Java: The Story of a Journey to the Sacred Mountain. +By EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +The interest of this story is found in the thrilling adventures of two +cousins, Hermon and Eustace Hadley, on their trip acrosss the Island +of Java, from Samarang to the Sacred Mountain. In a land where the +Royal Bengal tiger, the rhinoceros, and other fierce beasts are to be +met with, it is but natural that the heroes of this book should have a +lively experience. There is not a dull page in the book. + +The Boy Patriot. A Story of Jack, the Young Friend of Washington. By +EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, illustrated, price $1.50. + +"There are adventures of all kinds for the hero and his friends, whose +pluck and ingenuity in extricating themselves from awkward fixes are +always equal to the occasion. It is an excellent story full of honest, +manly, patriotic efforts on the part of the hero. A very vivid +description of the battle of Trenton is also found In this +story."--Journal of Education. + +A Yankee Lad's Pluck. How Bert Larkin Saved his Father's Ranch in +Porto Rico. By WM. P. CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"Bert Larkin, the hero of the story, early excites our admiration, and +is altogether a fine character such as boys will delight in, whilst +the story of his numerous adventures is very graphically told. This +will, we think, prove one of the most popular boys' books this +season."--Gazette. + +A Brave Defense. A Story of the Massacre at Fort Griswold in 1781. By +WILLIAM P. CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Perhaps no more gallant fight against fearful odds took place during +the Revolutionary War than that at Fort Griswold, Groton Heights, +Conn., in 1781. The boys are real boys who were actually on the muster +rolls, either at Fort Trumbull on the New London side, or of Fort +Griswold on the Groton side of the Thames. The youthful reader who +follows Halsey Sanford and Levi Dart and Tom Malleson, and their +equally brave comrades, through their thrilling adventures will be +learning something more than historical facts; they will be imbibing +lessons of fidelity, of bravery, of heroism, and of manliness, which +must prove serviceable in the arena of life. + +The Young Minuteman. A Story of the Capture of General Prescott in +1777. By WILLIAM P. CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +This story Is based upon actual events which occurred during the +British occupation of the waters of Narragansett Bay. Darius Wale and +William Northrop belong to, "the coast patrol." The story is a strong +one, dealing only with actual events. There is, however, no lack of +thrilling adventure, and every lad who is fortunate enough to obtain +the book will find not only that his historical knowledge is +increased, but that his own patriotism and love of country are +deepened. + +For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by S. J. SOLOMON. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +"Mr. Henty's graphic prose picture of the hopeless Jewish resistance +to Roman sway adds another leaf to his record of the famous wars of +the world. The book is one of Mr. Henty's cleverest efforts."--Graphic. + +Roy Gilbert's Search: A Tale of the Great Lakes. By WM. P. CHIPMAN. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +A deep mystery hangs over the parentage of Roy Gilbert. He arranges +with two schoolmates to make a tour of the Great Lakes on a steam +launch. The three boys visit many points of interest on the lakes. +Afterwards the lads rescue an elderly gentleman and a lady from a +sinking yacht. Later on the boys narrowly escape with their lives. The +hero is a manly, self-reliant boy, whose adventures will be followed +with interest. + +The Slate Picker: The Story of a Boy's Life in the Coal Mines. By +HARRY PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +This is a story of a boy's life in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. Ben +Burton, the hero, had a hard road to travel, but by grit and energy be +advanced step by step until he found himself called upon to fill the +position of chief engineer of the Kohinoor Coal Company. This is a +book of extreme interest to every boy reader. + +The Boy Cruisers; or, Paddling in Florida. By ST. GEORGE RATHBORNE. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Andrew George and Rowland Carter start on a canoe trip along the Gulf +coast, from Key West to Tampa, Florida. Their first adventure is with +a pair of rascals who steal their boats. Next they run into a gale in +the Gulf. After that they have a lively time with alligators and +Andrew gets into trouble with a band of Seminole Indians. Mr. +Rathborne knows just how to interest the boys, and lads who are in +search of a rare treat will do well to read this entertaining story. + +Captured by Zulus: A Story of Trapping in Africa. By HARRY PRENTICE. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +This story details the adventures of two lads, Dick Elsworth and Bob +Harvey, in the wilds of South Africa. By stratagem the Zulus capture +Dick and Bob and take them to their principal kraal or village. The +lads escape death by digging their way out of the prison hut by night. +They are pursued, but the Zulus finally give up pursuit. Mr. Prentice +tells exactly how wild-beast collectors secure specimens on their +native stamping grounds, and these descriptions make very entertaining +reading. + +Tom the Ready; or, Up from the Lowest. By RANDOLPH HILL. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +This is a dramatic narrative of the unaided rise of a fearless, +ambitious boy from the lowest round of fortune's ladder to wealth and +the governorship of his native State. Tom Seacomb begins life with a +purpose, and eventually overcomes those who oppose him. How he manages +to win the battle is told by Mr. Hill in a masterful way that thrills +the reader and holds his attention and sympathy to the end. + +Captain Kidd's Gold: The True Story of an Adventurous Sailor Boy. By +JAMES FRANKLIN FITTS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +There is something fascinating to the average youth in the very idea +of buried treasure. A vision arises before his eyes of swarthy +Portuguese and Spanish rascals, with black beards and gleaming eyes. +There were many famous sea rovers, but none more celebrated than Capt. +Kidd. Paul Jones Garry inherits a document which locates a +considerable treasure buried by two of Kidd's crew. The hero of this +book is an ambitious, persevering lad, of salt-water New England +ancestry, and his efforts to reach the island and secure the money +form one of the most absorbing tales for our youth that has come from +the press. + +The Boy Explorers: The Adventures of Two Boys in Alaska. By HARRY +PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Two boys, Raymond and Spencer Manning, travel to Alaska to join their +father in search of their uncle. On their arrival at Sitka the boys +With an Indian guide set off across the mountains. The trip is fraught +with perils that test the lads' courage to the utmost. All through +their exciting adventures the lads demonstrate what can be +accomplished by pluck and resolution, and their experience makes one +of the most interesting tales ever written. + +The Island Treasure; or, Harry Darrel's Fortune. By FRANK H. CONVERSE. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Harry Darrel, having received a nautical training on a school-ship, is +bent on going to sea. A runaway horse changes his prospects. Harry +saves Dr. Gregg from drowning and afterward becomes sailing-master of +a sloop yacht. Mr. Converse's stories possess a charm of their own +which is appreciated by lads who delight in good healthy tales that +smack of salt water. + +Guy Harris: The Runaway. By HARRY CASTLEMON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price $1.00. + +Guy Harris lived in a small city on the shore of one of the Great +Lakes. He is persuaded to go to sea, and gets a glimpse of the rough +side of life in a sailor's boarding house. He ships on a vessel and +for five months leads a hard life. The book will interest boys +generally on account of its graphic style. This is one of Castlemon's +most attractive stories. + +Julian Mortimer: A Brave Boy's Struggle for Home and Fortune. By HARRY +CASTLEMON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. + +The scene of the story lies west of the Mississippi River, in the days +when emigrants made their perilous way across the great plains to the +land of gold. There is an attack upon the wagon train by a large party +of Indians. Our hero is a lad of uncommon nerve and pluck. Befriended +by a stalwart trapper, a real rough diamond, our hero achieves the +most happy results. + +By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Rise of the Dutch Republic. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by MAYNARD BROWN. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. + +"Boys with a turn for historical research will be enchanted with the +book, while the rest who only care for adventure will be students in +spite of themselves."--St. James's Gazette. + +St. George for England: A Tale of Cressy and Poitiers. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +"A story of very great interest for boys. In his own forcible style +the author has endeavored to show that determination and enthusiasm +can accomplish marvellous results; and that courage is generally +accompanied by magnanimity and gentleness."--Pall Mall Gazette. + +Captain Bayley's Heir: A Tale of the Gold Fields of California. By G. +A. HENTY. With illustrations by H. M. PAGET. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. + +"Mr. Henty is careful to mingle instruction with entertainment; and +the humorous touches, especially in the sketch of John Holl, the +Westminster dustman, Dickens himself could hardly have excelled." +--Christian Leader. + +Budd Boyd's Triumph; or, The Boy Firm of Fox Island. By WILLIAM P. +CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +The scene of this story is laid on the upper part of Narragansett Bay, +and the leading incidents have a strong salt-water flavor. The two +boys, Budd Boyd and Judd Floyd, being ambitious and clear sighted, +form a partnership to catch and sell fish. Budd's pluck and good sense +carry him through many troubles. In following the career of the boy +firm of Boyd & Floyd, the youthful reader will find a useful lesson +that industry and perseverance are bound to lead to ultimate success. + +Lost in the Canyon: Sam Willett's Adventures on the Great Colorado. By +ALFRED R. CALHOUN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. + +This story hinges on a fortune left to Sam Willett, the hero, and the +fact that it will pass to a disreputable relative if the lad dies +before he shall have reached his majority. The story of his father's +peril and of Sam's desperate trip down the great canyon on a raft, and +how the party finally escape from their perils is described in a +graphic style that stamps Mr. Calhoun as a master of his art. + +Captured by Apes: The Wonderful Adventures of a Young Animal Trainer. +By HARRY PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +Philip Garland, a young animal collector and trainer, sets sail for +Eastern seas in quest of a new stock of living curiosities. The vessel +is wrecked off the coast of Borneo, and young Garland is cast ashore +on a small island, and captured by the apes that overrun the place. +Very novel indeed is the way by which the young man escapes death. Mr. +Prentice is a writer of undoubted skill. + +Under Drake's Flag: A Tale of the Spanish Main. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +"There is not a dull chapter, nor, indeed, a dull page in the book; +but the author has so carefully worked up his subject that the +exciting deeds of his heroes are never incongruous nor absurd." +--Observer. + +By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War. By G. A. HENTY, With +illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +The author has woven, in a tale of thrilling interest, all the details +of the Ashanti campaign, of which he was himself a witness. + +"Mr. Henty keeps up his reputation as a writer of boys' stories. 'By +Sheer Pluck' will be eagerly read."--Athenaeum. + +With Lee in Virginia: A Story of the American Civil War. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. + +"One of the best stories for lads which Mr. Henty has yet written, the +picture is full of life and color, and the stirring and romantic +incidents are skillfully blended with the personal interest and charm +of the story."--Standard. + +By England's Aid; or, The Freeing of the Netherlands (1585-1604). By +G. A HENTY. With illustrations by ALFRED PEARSE. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. + +"It is an admirable book for youngsters. It overflows with stirring +incident and exciting adventure, and the color of the era and of the +scene are finely reproduced. The illustrations add to its +attractiveness."--Boston Gazette. + +By Right of Conquest; or, With Cortez in Mexico. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by W. S. STACEY. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.50. + +"The conquest of Mexico by a small band of resolute men under the +magnificent leadership of Cortez is always rightfully ranked among the +most romantic and daring exploits in history. 'By Right of Conquest' +is the nearest approach to a perfectly successful historical tale that +Mr. Henty has yet published."--Academy. + +For Name and Fame; or, Through Afghan Passes. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by GORDON BROWNE, 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"Not only a rousing story, replete with all the varied forms of +excitement of a campaign, but, what is still more useful, an account +of a territory and its inhabitants which must for a long time possess +a supreme interest for Englishmen, as being the key to our Indian +Empire."--Glasgow Herald. + +The Bravest of the Brave; or, With Peterborough in Spain. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by H. M. PAGET. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, +price $1.00. + +"Mr. Henty never loses sight of the moral purpose of his work to +enforce the doctrine of courage and truth, mercy and loving kindness, +as indispensable to the making of a gentleman. Boys will read 'The +Bravest of the Brave' with pleasure and profit; of that we are quite +sure."--Daily Telegraph. + +The Cat of Bubastes: A Story of Ancient Egypt. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"The story, from the critical moment of the killing of the sacred cat +to the perilous exodus into Asia with which it closes, is very +skillfully constructed and full of exciting adventures. It is +admirably illustrated."--Saturday Review. + +Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tale of Fontenoy and Culloden. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. + +"Ronald, the hero, is very like the hero of 'Quentin Durward.' The +lad's journey across France, and his hairbreadth escapes, makes up as +good a narrative of the kind as we have ever read. For freshness of +treatment and variety of incident Mr. Henty has surpassed +himself."--Spectator. + +With Clive in India; or, The Beginnings of an Empire. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +"He has taken a period of Indian history of the most vital importance, +and he has embroidered on the historical facts a story which of itself +is deeply interesting. Young people assuredly will be delighted with +the volume."--Scotsman. + +In the Reign of Terror: The Adventures of a Westminster Boy. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by J. SCHONBERG. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, +price $1.00. + +"Harry Sandwith, the Westminster boy, may fairly be said to beat Mr. +Henty's record. His adventures will delight boys by the audacity and +peril they depict. The story is one of Mr. Henty's best."--Saturday +Review. + +The Lion of the North: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus and the Wars of +Religion. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by JOHN SCHONBERG. 12mo, +cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"A praiseworthy attempt to interest British youth in the great deeds +Of the Scotch Brigade in the wars of Gustavus Adolphus. Mackey, +Hepburn, and Munro live again in Mr. Henty's pages, as those deserve +to live whose disciplined bands formed really the germ of the modern +British army."--Athenaeum. + +The Dragon and the Raven; or, The Days of King Alfred By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by C. J. STANILAND 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, +price $1.00. + +"In this story the author gives an account of the fierce struggle +between Saxon and Dane for supremacy in England, and presents a vivid +picture of the misery and ruin to which the country was reduced by the +ravages of the sea-wolves. The story is treated in a manner most +attractive to the boyish reader."--Athenaeum. + +The Young Carthaginian: A Story of the Times of Hannibal. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations by C. J. STANILAND. 12mo, cloth olivine +edges, price $1.00. + +"Well constructed and vividly told. From first to last nothing stays +the interest of the narrative. It bears us along as on a stream whose +current varies in direction, but never loses its force."--Saturday +Review. + +In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +"It is written in the author's best style. Full of the wildest and +most remarkable achievements, it is a tale of great interest, which a +boy, once he has begun it, will not willingly put one side."--The +Schoolmaster. + +With Wolfe in Canada; or, The Winning of a Continent By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +"A model of what a boys' story-book should be. Mr. Henty has a great +power of infusing into the dead facts of history new life, and as no +pains are spared by him to ensure accuracy in historic details, his +books supply useful aids to study as well as amusement."--School +Guardian. + +True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of Independence. By +G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. + +"Does justice to the pluck and determination of the British soldiers +during the unfortunate struggle against American emancipation. The son +of an American loyalist, who remains true to our flag, falls among the +hostile red-skins in that very Huron country which has been endeared +to us by the exploits of Hawkeye and Chingachgook."--The Times. + +A. Final Reckoning: A Tale of Bush Life in Australia. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by W. B. WOLLEN. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +"All boys will read this story with eager and unflagging interest. The +episodes are in Mr. Henty's very best vein--graphic, exciting, +realistic; and, as in all Mr. Henty's books, the tendency is to the +formation of an honorable, manly, and even heroic character." +--Birmingham Post. + +The Lion of St. Mark: A Tale of Venice in the Fourteenth Century. By +G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE 12mo, cloth, olivine +edges, price $1.00. + +"Every boy should read 'The Lion of St. Mark.' Mr. Henty has never +produced a story more delightful, more wholesome, or more +vivacious."--Saturday Review. + +Facing Death; or, The Hero of the Vaughan Pit. A Tale of the Coal +Mines. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, +cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"The tale is well written and well illustrated, and there is much +reality in the characters. If any father, clergyman, or schoolmaster +is on the lookout for a good book to give as a present to a boy who is +worth his salt, this is the book we would recommend."--Standard. + +Maori and Settler: A Story 01 the New Zealand War. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by ALFRED PEARSE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1,00. + +"In the adventures among the Maoris, there are many breathless moments +in which the odds seem hopelessly against the party, but they succeed +in establishing themselves happily in one of the pleasant New Zealand +valleys. It is brimful of adventure, of humorous and interesting +conversation, and vivid pictures of colonial life."--Schoolmaster. + +One of the 28th: A Tale of Waterloo. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by W. H. OVEREND. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +"Written with Homeric vigor and heroic Inspiration. It is graphic, +picturesque, and dramatically effective ... shows us Mr. Henty at his +best and brightest. The adventures will hold a boy enthralled as he +rushes through them with breathless interest 'from cover to cover.' +"--Observer. + +Orange and Green: A Tale of the Boyne and Limerick. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +"The narrative is free from the vice of prejudice, and ripples with +life as if what is being described were really passing before the +eye."--Belfast News-Letter. + +Through the Fray: A Story of the Luddite Riots. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations by H. M. PAGET. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"Mr. Henty inspires a love and admiration for straightforwardness, +truth and courage. This is one of best of the many good books Mr. +Henty has produced, and deserves to be classed with his 'Facing +Death'"--Standard. + +The Young Midshipman: A Story of the Bombardment of Alexandria. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1,00. + +A coast fishing lad, by an act of heroism, secures the interest of a +shipowner, who places him as an apprentice on board one of his ships. +In company with two of his fellow-apprentices he is left behind, at +Alexandria, in the hands of the revolted Egyptian troops, and is +present through the bombardment and the scenes of riot and bloodshed +which accompanied it. + +In Times of Peril. A Tale of India. By G. A, HENTY. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"The hero of the story early excites our admiration, and is altogether +a fine character such as boys will delight in, whilst the story of the +campaign is very graphically told."--St. James's Gazette. + +The Cornet of Horse: A Tale of Marlborough's Wars. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1. + +"Mr. Henty not only concocts a thrilling tale, he weaves fact and +fiction together with so skillful a hand that the reader cannot help +acquiring a just and clear view of that fierce and terrible struggle +known as the Crimean War."--Athenaeum. + +The Young Franc-Tireurs: Their Adventures in the Franco-Prussian War. +By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price +$1.00. + +"A capital book for boys. It is bright and readable, and full of good +sense and manliness. It teaches pluck and patience in adversity, and +shows that right living leads to success."--Observer. + +The Young Colonists: A Story of Life and War in South Africa. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +No boy needs to have any story of Henty's recommended to him, and +parents who do not know and buy them for their boys should be ashamed +of themselves. Those to whom he is yet unknown could not make a better +beginning than with this book. + +The Young Buglers. A Tale of the Peninsular War. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1. + +"Mr. Henty is a giant among boys' writers, and his books are +sufficiently popular to be sure of a welcome anywhere. In stirring +interest, this is quite up to the level of Mr. Henty's former +historical tales."--Saturday Review. + +Sturdy and Strong; or, How George Andrews Made his Way. By G. A. +HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo. cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"The history of a hero of everyday life, whose love of truth, clothing +of modesty, and innate pluck, carry him, naturally, from poverty to +affluence. George Andrews is an example of character with nothing to +cavil at, and stands as a good instance of chivalry in domestic +life."--The Empire. + +Among Malay Pirates. A Story of Adventure and Peril. By G. A. HENTY. +With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"Incident succeeds incident, and adventure is piled upon adventure, +and at the end the reader, be he boy or man, will have experienced +breathless enjoyment in a romantic story that must have taught him +much at its close."--Army and Navy Gazette. + +Jack Archer. A Tale of the Crimea. BY G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. +12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"Mr. Henty not only concocts a thrilling tale, he weaves fact and +fiction together with so skillful a hand that the reader cannot help +acquiring a just and clear view of that fierce and terrible +struggle."--Athenaeum. + +Friends, Though Divided. A Tale of the Civil War. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1. + +"It has a good plot; it abounds in action; the scenes are equally +spirited and realistic, and we can only say we have read it with much +pleasure from first to last."--Times. + +Out on the Pampas; or, The Young Settlers. By G. A. HENTY. With +illustrations, 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"A really noble story, which adult readers will find to the full as +satisfying as the boys. Lucky boys! to have such a caterer as Mr. G. +A. Henty."--Black and White. + +The Boy Knight: A Tale of the Crusades. By G. A HENTY. With +illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. + +"Of stirring episode there is no lack. The book, with its careful +accuracy and its descriptions of all the chief battles, will give many +a schoolboy his first real understanding of a very important period of +history."--St. James's Gazette. + +The Wreck of the Golden Fleece. The Story of a North Sea Fisher Boy. +By ROBERT LEIGHTON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. + +A description of life on the wild North Sea,--the hero being a +parson's son who is appreciated on board a Lowestoft fishing lugger. +The lad has to suffer many buffets from his shipmates, while the +storms and dangers which he braved on board the "North Star" are set +forth with minute knowledge and intense power. The wreck of the +"Golden Fleece" forms the climax to a thrilling series of desperate +mischances. + +Olaf the Glorious. A Story of the Viking Age. By ROBERT LEIGHTON. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +This story of Olaf the Glorious, King of Norway, opens with the +incident of his being found by his uncle living as a bond-slave in +Esthonia; then come his adventures as a Viking and his raids upon the +coasts of Scotland and England, his victorious battle against the +English at Maidon in Essex, his being bought off by Ethelred the +Unready, and his conversion to Christianity. He then returns to Pagan +Norway, is accepted as king and converts his people to the Christian +faith. + +To Greenland and the Pole. A story of Adventure in the Arctic Regions. +By GORDON STABLES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. + +The unfailing fascination of Arctic venturing is presented in this +story with new vividness. It deals with skilobning in the north of +Scotland, deer-hunting in Norway, sealing in the Arctic Seas, +bear-stalking on the ice-floes, the hardships of a journey across +Greenland, and a successful voyage to the back of the North Pole. This +is, indeed, a real sea-yarn by a real sailor, and the tone is as +bright and wholesome as the adventures are numerous. + +Yussuf the Guide. A Story of Adventure in Asia Minor. By GEORGE +MANVILLE FENN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +This story deals with the stirring incidents in the career of a lad +who has been almost given over by the doctors, but who rapidly +recovers health and strength in a journey through Asia Minor. The +adventures are many, and culminate in the travellers being snowed up +for the winter in the mountains, from which they escape while their +captors are waiting for the ransom that does not come. + +Grettir the Outlaw. A Story of Iceland. By S. BARING-GOULD. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"This is the boys' book of the year. That is, of course, as much as to +say that it will do for men grown as well as juniors. It is told in +simple, straightforward English, as all stories should be, and it has +a freshness and freedom which make it irresistible."--National +Observer. + +Two Thousand Years Ago. The Adventures of a Roman Boy. By A. J. +CHURCH. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"Prof. Church has in this story sought to revivify that most +interesting period, the last days of the Roman Republic. The book is +extremely entertaining as well as useful; there is a wonderful +freshness in the Roman scenes and characters."--Times. + +Nat the Naturalist. A Boy's Adventure in the Eastern Seas. By GEORGE +MANVILLE FENN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. + +Nat and his uncle Dick go on a voyage to the remoter islands of the +Eastern seas, and their adventures are told in a truthful and vastly +interesting fashion. The descriptions of Mr. Ebony, their black +comrade, and of the scenes of savage life, are full of genuine humor. + +The Log of the Flying Fish. A Story of Peril and Adventure. By HARRY +COLLINGWOOD, 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. + +"This story is full of even more vividly recounted adventures than +those which charmed so many boy readers in 'Pirate Island' and 'Congo +Rovers.' ... There is a thrilling adventure on the precipices of Mount +Everest, when the ship floats off and providentially returns by force +of 'gravitation.'"--Academy. + +The Congo Rovers. A Story of the Slave Squadron. By HARRY COLLINGWOOD. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"The scene of this tale is laid on the west coast of Africa, and in +the lower reaches of the Congo; the characteristic scenery of the +great river being delineated with wonderful accuracy. Mr. Collingwood +carries us off for another cruise at sea, in 'The Congo Rovers,' and +boys will need no pressing to join the daring crew, which seeks +adventures and meets with any number of them."--The Times. + +Boris the Bear Hunter. A Tale of Peter the Great and His Times. By +FRED WISHAW. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"This is a capital story. The characters are marked and lifelike, and +it is full of incident and adventure."--Standard. + +Michael Strogoff; or, The Courier of the Czar. By JULES VERNE. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"The story is full of originality and vigor. The characters are +lifelike, there is plenty of stirring incident, the interest is +sustained throughout, and every boy will enjoy following the fortunes +of the hero."--Journal of Education. + +Mother Carey's Chicken. Her Voyage to the Unknown Isle. By GEORGE +MANVILLE FENN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"Undoubtedly one of the best Mr. Fenn has written. The incidents are +of thrilling interest, while the characters are drawn with a care and +completeness rarely found in a boy's book. "--Literary World. + +Dick Sand; or, A Captain at Fifteen. By JULES VERNE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +"Jules Verne himself never constructed a more marvellous tale. It +contains the strongly marked features that are always conspicuous in +his stories--a racy humor, the manly vigor of his sentiment, and +wholesome moral lessons."--Christian Leader. + +Erling the Bold. A Tale of the Norse Sea Kings. By R. M. BALLANTYNE. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"This volume makes a really fascinating book, worthy of its telling +title. There is, we venture to say, not a dull chapter in the book, +not a page which will not bear a second reading."--Guardian. + +Masterman Ready; or, The Wreck of the Pacific. By CAPTAIN MARRYAT. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"As racy a tale of life at sea and adventure as we have met with for +some time. ... Altogether the sort of book that boys will revel +in."--Athenaeum. + +The Green Mountain Boys. A Tale of the Early Settlement of Vermont. By +D. P. THOMPSON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. + +A. story of very great interest for boys. In his own forcible style +the author has endeavored to show that determination and patriotic +enthusiasm can accomplish marvellous results. This story gives a +graphic account of the early settlers of Vermont, and their patriotic +efforts in defending their homes from the invasions of enemies. + +Every Inch a Sailor. By GORDON STABLES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price $1.00. + +"A story which is quite as good in its way as 'Treasure Island,' and +is full of adventure of a stirring yet most natural kind. Although it +is primarily a boys' book, it is a real godsend to the elderly +reader."--Evening Times. + +The Golden Galleon. A Narrative of Adventure on Her Majesty's Ship the +Revenge. By ROBERT LEIGHTON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"This story should add considerably to Mr. Leighton's high reputation. +Excellent in every respect, it contains every variety of incident. The +plot is very cleverly devised, and the types of the North Sea sailors +are capital."--The Times. + +The Gorilla Hunters. A Tale of the Wilds of Africa. By R. M. +BALLANTYNE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"We conscientiously belive that boys will find it capital reading. It +is full of incident and mystery, and the mystery is kept up to the +last moment. It is full of stirring adventure, daring and many +escapes; and it has a historical interest."--Times. + +Gascoyne the Sandalwood Trader. By R. M. BALLANTYNE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +"One of the best stories of seafaring life and adventure which have +appeared this season. Entertaining in the highest degree from +beginning to end, and full of adventure which is all the livelier for +its close connection with history."--Spectator. + +Two Years Before the Mast. A Personal Narrative of Life at Sea. By R. +H. DANA, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"One of the very best books for boys that we have seen for a long +time: its author stands far in advance of any other writer for boys as +a teller of stories of the sea."--The Standard. + +The Young Rajah. A Story of Indian Life. By W. H. G. KINGSTON. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"This story will place the author at once in the front rank. It is +full of life and adventure, and the interest is sustained without a +break from first to last."--Standard. + +How Jack Mackenzie Won His Epaulettes. A Story of the Crimean War. By +GORDON STABLES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated price $1.00. + +"This must rank among the few undeniably good boys' books, He will be +a very dull boy indeed who lays it down without wishing that it had +gone on for at least 100 pages more."--Mail. + +The King's Pardon. A Story of Land and Sea. By ROBERT OVERTON. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"An excellent story, the interest being sustained from first to last. +This is, both in its intention and the way the story is told, one of +the best books of its kind which has come before us this +year."--Saturday Review. + +Tinder the Lone Star. A Story of the Revolution in Nicaragua. By +HERBERT HAYNES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"We have not of late come across a historical fiction, whether +intended for boys or for men, which deserves to be so heartily and +unreservedly praised as regards plot, incidents, and spirit as this +book. It is its author's masterpiece as yet."--Spectator. + +Geoff and Jim: A Story of School Life. By ISMAY THORN. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"This is a prettily told story of the life spent by two motherless +bairns at a small preparatory school. Both Geoff and Jim are very +lovable characters, only Jim is the more so; and the scrapes he gets +into and the trials he endures will, no doubt, interest a large circle +of young readers."--Church Times. + +Jack: A Topsy Turvy Story. By C. M. CRAWLEY-BOEVEY. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"The Illustrations deserve particular mention, as they add largely to +the interest of this amusing volume for children. Jack falls asleep +with his mind full of the subject of the fishpond, and is very much +surprised presently to find himself an inhabitant of Waterworld, where +he goes through wonderful and edifying adventures. A handsome and +pleasant book."--Literary World. + +Black Beauty. The Autobiography of a Horse. By ANNA SEWELL. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +This Is the life story of a horse; how he was ill treated and well +cared for. The experiences of Black Beauty, Ginger, and Merrylegs are +extremely interesting. Wherever children are, whether boys or girls, +this Autobiography should be. It inculcates habits of kindness to all +members of the animal creation. The literary merit of the book is +excellent. + +Mopsa the Fairy. By JEAN INGELOW. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 +cents. + +"Mrs. Ingelow is, to our mind, the most charming of all living writers +for children, and 'Mopsa' alone ought to give her a kind of +pre-emptive right to the love and gratitude of our young folks. It +requires genius to conceive a purely imaginary work which must of +necessity deal with the supernatural, without running into a mere riot +of fantastic absurdity; but genius Mrs. Ingelow has, and the story of +'Jack' is as careless and joyous, but as delicate as a picture of +childhood."--Eclectic. + +Carrots: Just a Little Boy. By MRS. MOLESWORTH. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"One of the cleverest and most pleasing stories it has been our good +fortune to meet with for some time. Carrots and his sister are +delightful little beings, whom to read about is at once to become very +fond of. A genuine children's book; we've seen 'em seize it, and read +it greedily. Children are first-rate critics, and thoroughly +appreciate Walter Crane's illustrations."--Punch. + +Larry's Luck. By the author of "Miss Toosey's Mission." 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"It is believed that this story, by this favorably known author of +'Miss Toosey's Mission,' will be found both highly interesting and +instructive to the young. Whether the readers are nine years old, or +twice as old, they must enjoy this pretty volume."--The Examiner. + +A Child's Christmas: A Sketch of Boy Life. By MRS. MOLESWORTH. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"This is another of those delightful juvenile stories of which this +author has written so many. It is a fascinating little book, with a +charming plot, a sweet, pure atmosphere, and teaches a wholesome moral +in the most winning manner."--Gazette. + +Chunk, Fusky and Snout. A Story of Wild Pigs for Little People. By +GERALD YOUNG. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"The story is an extremely interesting one, full of incident, told in +a quiet, healthful way, and with a great deal of pleasantly interfused +information about, wild pigs and their ways. It Is sure to interest +both boys and girls."--Christian Union. + +Daddy's Boy. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"A charming story of child life. Little Sir Rowland is one of the most +fascinating of the misunderstood child heroes of the day. The quaint +doings and imaginings of this gentle, lovable, but highly original +child are introduced by Mrs. Meade, with all her accustomed +pathos."--Guardian. + +Adventures of Prince Prigio. BY ANDREW LANG. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price 75 cents. + +"This book has so much charm of style and good writing that It will be +eagerly read by many other than the young folk for whom it is +intended."--Black and White. + +A Flock of Four. A Story for Boys and Girls. By ISMAY THORN. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"As a gift book for boys It is among the best new books of the kind. +The story is interesting and natural, from first to last."--Gazette. + +A Flat Iron for a Farthing. The Story of an Only Son. By JULIANA +HORATIA EWING. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"A very good book it is, full of adventure, graphically told. The +style is just what it should be; simple but not bold, full of pleasant +humor, and with some pretty touches of feeling. Like all Mrs. Ewing's +tales, it is sound, sensible, and wholesome."--Times. + +The Greek Heroes. Fairy Tales for My Children. By CHARLES KINGSLEY. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"We do not think these heroic stories have ever been more attractively +told... There is a deep under-current of religious feeling traceable +throughout its pages which is sure to influence young readers +powerfully. One of the children's books that will surely become a +classic." London Review. + +Jackanapes. BY JULIANA HORATIA EWING. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price +75 cents. + +"This is one of Mrs. Ewing's charming little stories for young +children. The narrative ... is full of interest for its real grace and +delicacy, and the exquisiteness and purity of the English In which it +is written."--Boston Advertiser. + +Princess and Curdie. By GEORGE MACDONALD. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price 75 cents. + +"One of the cleverest and most pleasing stories it has been our good +fortune to meet with for some time. The Princess and Curdie are +delightful little beings, whom to read about is at once to become very +fond of."--Examiner. + +Peter the Pilgrim. The Story of a Boy and His Pet Rabbit. By L. T. +MEADE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"Little Peter, with his soft heart, clever head, and brave spirit is +no morbid presentment of the angelic child 'too good to live,' and who +is certainly a nuisance on earth, but a charming creature, if not a +portrait, whom it is a privilege to meet even in fiction."--The +Academy. + +We and the World. A Story for Boys. By JULIANA HORATIA EWING. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"The author has evidently studied the ways and tastes of children and +got at the secret of amusing them; and has succeeded in what is not so +easy a task as it may seem in producing a really good children's +book."--Daily Telegraph. + +Little Ivan's Hero. A Story of Child Life. By HELEN MILMAN. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"We should imagine those queer folk indeed who could not read this +story with eager interest and pleasure, be they boys or girls, young +or old. We highly commend the style in which the book is written, and +the spirit which pervades it."--World. + +Dick, Marjorie and Fidge. The Wonderful Adventures of Three Little +People. By G. E. FARROW. 12mo, cloth, illust'd, price 75c. + +"...To the young, for whom it is especially intended, this is a most +interesting book of adventures, well told, and a pleasant book to take +up when their wish is to while away a weary half-hour. We have seen no +prettier gift-book for a long time."--Athenaeum. + +A Wonder Book: For Boys and Girls. Comprising Stories of Classical +Fables. By NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 +cents. + +"A beautiful little story. It will be read with delight by every child +into whose hands it is placed."--Gazette. + +My Dog Plato: His Adventures and Impressions. By H. M. CORNWALL LEGH. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"A capital story, and one we heartily commend to boy readers, both +gentle and simple."--Guardian. + +Squib and His Friends. A Story for Children. By ELLEN EVERETT GREEN. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"This book will please by its simplicity, its tenderness, and its +healthy interesting motive. It is admirably written."--Scotsman. + +Tom's Opinion. The Story of a Boys' School. By the author of "Miss +Toosey's Mission." 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75c. + +"A beautiful little story. ... It will be read with delight by every +boy into whose hands it is placed."--Pall Mall Gazette. + +Robin's Ride. A Story for Children. By ELLINOR D. ADAMS. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"It is a first-rate boys' book. It is a capital story; the characters +are well drawn, and the incidents are perfectly natural."--Times. + +Peter and Tom. A Story for Boys. By BELLE S. CRAGIN. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. + +Peter and Tom were unlikely heroes, particularly in the direction of +heroism, but the proper chord was touched in each of their lives, and +through many trials and adventures they developed Christian principles +and successful business traits. + +Nurse Heatherdale's Story. By MRS. MOLESWORTH. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"'Nurse Heatherdale's Story' Is all about a small boy, who was good +enough, yet was always getting into some trouble through complications +in which he was not to blame. He is an orphan, though he is cared for +in a way by relations, who are not so very rich, yet are looked on as +well fixed. After many youthful trials and disappointments he falls +into a big stroke of good luck, which lifts him and goes to make +others happy."--Commercial Advertiser. + +The Last of the Huggermuggers. A Giant Story. By CHRISTOPHER P. +CRATCH. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"Fresh and charming in style, with fun that is never forced, pathos +that is always genuine, and with a distinctly wholesome purpose. This +is certain to be a favorite with boys."--Literary World. + +The Hunting of the Snark. By LEWIS CARROLL, author of "Alice in +Wonderland." 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"Whether as regarding author or illustrator, this book is a jewel +rarely to be found nowadays. Not a whit inferior to its predecessor In +grand extravagance of imagination, and delicious allegorical +nonsense."--Quarterly Review. + + + +BOOKS FOR GIRLS. + +Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. By LEWIS CARROLL, 12mo, cloth, 42 +illustrations, price 75 cents. + +"From first to last, almost without exception, this story is +delightfully droll, humorous and illustrated in harmony with the +story."--New York Express. + +Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There. By LEWIS +CARROLL. 12mo, cloth, 50 illustrations, price 75 cents. + +"A delight alike to the young people and their elders, extremely funny +both in text and illustrations."--Boston Express. + +Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe. By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"This story is unique among tales intended for children, alike for +pleasant instruction, quaintness of humor, gentle pathos, and the +subtlety with which lessons moral and otherwise are conveyed to +children, and perhaps to their seniors as well."--The Spectator. + +Joan's Adventures at the North Pole and Elsewhere. BY ALICE CORKRAN. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"Wonderful as the adventures of Joan are, it must be admitted that +they are very naturally worked out and very plausibly presented. +Altogether this is an excellent story for girls."--Saturday Review. + +Count Up the Sunny Days: A Story for Girls and Boys. By C. A. JONES. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"An unusually good children's story."--Glasgow Herald. + +The Heir of Redclyffe. By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +"A narrative full of interest from first to last. It is told clearly +and in a straightforward manner, and arrests the attention of the +reader at once, so that one feels afresh the unspeakable pathos of the +story to the end."--London Graphic. + +The Dove in the Eagle's West. By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +"Among all the modern writers we believe Miss Yonge first, not in +genius, but in this, that she employs her great abilities for a high +and noble purpose. We know of few modern writers whose works may be so +safely commended as hers."--Cleveland Times. + +Jan of the Windmill. A Story of the Plains. By MRS. J. H. EWING. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"Never has Mrs. Ewing published a more charming volume, and that is +saying a very great deal. From the first to the last the book +overflows with the strange knowledge of child-nature which so rarely +survives childhood: and moreover, with inexhaustible quiet humor, +which is never anything but innocent and well-bred, never priggish, +and never clumsy."--Academy. + +A Sweet Girl Graduate. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price +$1.00. + +"One of this popular author's best. The characters are well Imagined +and drawn. The story moves with plenty of spirit and the interest does +not flag until the end too quickly comes."--Providence Journal. + +Six to Sixteen: A Story for Girls. By JULIANA HORATIA EWING. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"There is no doubt as to the good quality and attractiveness of 'Six +to Sixteen.' The book is one which would enrich any girl's book shelf." +--St. James' Gazette. + +The Palace Beautiful: A Story for Girls. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price 1.00. + +"A bright and interesting story. The many admirers of Mrs. L. T. Meade +in this country will be delighted with the 'Palace Beautiful' for more +reasons than one. It is a charming book for girls."--New York +Recorder. + +A World of Girls: The Story of a School. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +"One of those wholesome stories which it does one good to read. It +will afford pure delight to numerous readers. This book should be on +every girl's book shelf."--Boston Home Journal. + +The Lady of the Forest: A Story for Girls. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"This story is written in the author's well-known, fresh and easy +style. All girls fond of reading will be charmed by this well-written +story. It is told with the author's customary grace and +spirit."--Boston Times. + +At the Back of the North Wind. By GEORGE MACDONALD. 12mo. cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +"A very pretty story, with much of the freshness and vigor of Mr. +Macdonald's earlier work. ... It is a sweet, earnest, and wholesome +fairy story, and the quaint native humor is delightful. A most +delightful volume for young readers."--Philadelphia Times. + +The Water Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby. By CHARLES KINGSLEY. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"The strength of his work, as well as its peculiar charms, consist in +his description of the experiences of a youth with life under water in +the luxuriant wealth of which he revels with all the ardor of a +poetical nature."--New York Tribune. + +Our Bessie. By ROSA N. CAREY. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"One of the most entertaining stories of the season, full of vigorous +action, and strong in character-painting. Elder girls will be charmed +with it, and adults may read its pages with profit."--The Teachers' +Aid. + +Wild Kitty. A Story of Middleton School. 67 L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +"Kitty is a true heroine--warm-hearted, self-sacrificing, and, as all +good women nowadays are, largely touched with the enthusiasm of +humanity. One of the most attractive gift books of the season."--The +Academy. + +A Young Mutineer. A Story for Girls. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +"One of Mrs. Meade's charming books for girls, narrated in that simple +and picturesque style which marks the authoress as one of the first +among writers for young people."--The Spectator. + +Sue and I. By MRS. O'REILLY. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"A thoroughly delightful book, full of sound wisdom as well as +fun."--Athenaeum. + +The Princess and the Goblin. A Fairy Story. By GEORGE MACDONALD. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"If a child once begins this book, it will get so deeply interested In +it that when bedtime comes it will altogether forget the moral, and +will weary its parents with importunities for just a few minutes more +to see how everything ends."--Saturday Review. + +Pythia's Pupils: A Story of a School. By EVA HARTNER. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +"This story of the doings of several bright school girls is sure to +interest girl readers. Among many good stories for girls this is +undoubtedly one of the very best."--Teachers' Aid. + +A Story of a Short Life. By JULIANA HORATIA EWING. 12mo, cloth, +illustrated, price $1.00. + +"The book is one we can heartily recommend, for it la not only bright +and interesting, but also pure and healthy in tone and teaching." +--Courier. + +The Sleepy King. A Fairy Tale. By AUBREY HOPWOOD AND SEYMOUR HICKS. +12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"Wonderful as the adventures of Bluebell are, it must be admitted that +they are very naturally worked out and very plausibly presented. +Altogether this is an excellent story for girls."--Saturday Review. + +Two Little Waifs. By MRS. MOLESWORTH. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price +75 cents. + +"Mrs. Molesworth's delightful story of 'Two Little Waifs' will charm +all the small people who find it in their stockings. It relates the +adventures of two lovable English children lost in Paris, and is just +wonderful enough to pleasantly wring the youthful heart."--New York +Tribune. + +Adventures in Toyland. By EDITH KING HALL. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, +price 75 cents. + +"The author is such a bright, cheery writer, that her stories are +always acceptable to all who are not confirmed cynics, and her record +of the adventures is as entertaining and enjoyable as we might +expect."--Boston Courier. + +Adventures in Wallypug Land. By G. E. FARROW. 12mo. cloth, +illustrated, price 75 cents. + +"These adventures are simply inimitable, and will delight boys and +girls of mature age, as well as their juniors. No happier combination +of author and artist than this volume presents could be found to +furnish healthy amusement to the young folks. The book Is an artistic +one in every sense."--Toronto Mail. + +Fussbudget's Folks. A Story for Young Girls. By ANNA F. BURNHAM. 12mo, +cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. + +"Mrs. Burnham has a rare gift for composing stories for children. With +a light, yet forcible touch, she paints sweet and artless, yet natural +and strong, characters."--Congregationalist. + +For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by +the publisher, A. L. BURT, 52-88 Duane Street, New York. + + + + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Slow and Sure, by Horatio Alger + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SLOW AND SURE *** + +***** This file should be named 25151.txt or 25151.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/5/1/5/25151/ + +Produced by Gary Sandino (text), Al Haines (HTML). 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