Katy reached Washington Street once more. She had lost all her timidity, and would not have feared to accost the governor, if she had met him, and request him to purchase a cent's worth of molasses candy.
"Buy some candy?" said she to the first person who passed near her.
"No!" was the prompt and emphatic answer of the gentleman addressed.
"It is very nice," suggested Katy.
"Get out of my may," growled the gentleman, and the little candy merchant deemed it prudent to heed the command.
She was nettled by this rude reception, and would have been disposed to resent it, if there had been any way for her to do so. She had not yet learned to bear up against the misfortunes of trade, and her eye followed the sour gentleman far down the street. Why should he treat her in such a rude and unkind manner? What would he say if she should tell him that her grandfather was a great Liverpool merchant, lived in a big house, and had lots of servants to wait upon him? She was as good as he was, any day.
"Give me a stick of candy," said a nice little girl with a silk dress on, whom a lady was holding by the hand, at the same time placing a cent on her tray.
Katy started at the words, and reproved herself for her want of meekness. She might, perhaps, have sold half a dozen sticks of candy while she had been watching the sour gentleman, and persuading herself that she had been very badly used. She tore off a piece of paper, in which she wrapped up the candy for the purchaser, and handed it to her.
"Thank you," said she, as she picked up the copper, and transferred it to her pocket.
"Your candy looks very nice," added the lady evidently pleased with Katy's polite manners.
"It is very nice, ma'am."
"Have you sold much to-day?"
"No, ma'am; I have but just come out."
"It looks so good, I will take half a dozen sticks for the children at home."
"Thank you, ma'am; you are very kind," replied Katy; and her nimble fingers had soon made a nice little parcel for the lady, who gave her a fourpence.
Here was another avalanche of good fortune, and the little candy merchant could hardly believe her senses. At this rate she would soon become a wholesale dealer in the article.
"Buy some candy?" said she, addressing the next person she met.
"No."
"Buy some candy?" she continued, turning to the next.
"No."
And so she went from one to another, and no one seemed to have the least relish for molasses candy. She walked till she came to State Street, and sold only three sticks. She begun to be a little disheartened, for the success she had met with at the beginning had raised her anticipations so high that she was not disposed to be content with moderate sales. While she was standing at the corner of State Street, waiting impatiently for customers, she saw a man with a basket of apples enter a store. She crossed the street to observe what he did in the store, in order, if possible, to get an idea of his mode of doing business. She saw him offer his apples to the clerks and others in the shop, and she was surprised and gratified to see that nearly every person purchased one or more of them. In her heart she thanked the apple man for the hint he had unconsciously afforded her, and resolved to profit by his example.
Now that commerce was her business, she was disposed to make it her study; and as she reasoned over the matter, she came to understand why she found so few buyers in the streets. Ladies and gentlemen did not like to be seen eating candy in the street, neither would many of them want to put it into their pockets, where it would melt and stick to their clothes. They would eat it in their shops and houses; and with this new idea she was encouraged to make a new effort. Walking along till she came to a store where there appeared to be several clerks she entered.
"Buy some candy?" she said, addressing a salesman near the window, as she raised up her ware so that he could see them.
The clerk made no reply, but coming round from behind the counter, he rudely took her arm, opened the door, and pushed her into the street. Katy's cheek burned with indignation at this unprovoked assault, and she wished for the power of ten men, that she might punish the ill-natured fellow as he deserved. But it was all for the best, for, in pushing her out of the shop, the clerk threw her against a portly gentleman on the street, whose soft, yielding form alone saved her from being tumbled into the gutter. He showed no disposition to resent the assault upon his obesity, and kindly caught her in his arms.
"What is the matter my dear?" said the gentleman, in soothing tones.
"That man pushed me out of the store," replied Katy, bursting into tears, for she was completely overcome by the indignity that had been cast upon her.
"Perhaps you didn't behave well."
"I am sure I did. I only asked him to buy some candy: and he shoved me right out the door, just as though I had been a dog."
"Well, well, don't cry, my dear; you seem to be a very well-behaved little girl, and I wonder at finding you in such low business."
"My mother is sick, and I am trying to earn something to support her," sobbed Katy, who, with her independent notions of trade in general, and of the candy trade in particular, would not have revealed this humiliating truth, except under the severe pressure of a wounded spirit.
"Poor child!" exclaimed the portly gentleman, thrusting his hand deep down into his pocket, and pulling up a handful of silver. "Here is half a dollar for you, for I know you tell the truth."
"O, no, sir; I can't take money as a gift."
"Eh?"
The gentleman looked astonished, and attempted to persuade her; but she steadily protested against receiving his money as a gift.
"You are a proud little girl, my dear."
"I am poor and proud; but I will sell you some candy."
"Well, give me half a dollar's worth."
"I haven't got so much. I have only fourteen cents' worth left."
"Give me that, then."
Katy wrapped up the remainder of her stock in a piece of paper, and handed it to the gentleman, who in payment threw the half-dollar on the tray.
"I can't change it."
"Never mind the change;" and the fat gentleman hurried away.
Katy was so utterly astounded to find she had disposed of her entire stock, that she did not have the presence of mind to follow him, and the half dollar had to be placed in her treasury. She did not regard it with so much pride and pleasure as she did the two four-pence, and the four coppers, for there was something unmercantile about the manner in which it had come into her possession. She could not feel satisfied with herself, as she walked towards home, till she had argued the matter, and effected a compromise between her pride and her poverty. She had sold candy for the money, and the gentleman had paid her over three cents a stick—rather above the market value of the article; but there was no other way to make the transaction correspond with her ideas of propriety.
Her work was done for the forenoon, though she had plenty of candy at home. It was now eleven o'clock, and she had not time to sell out another stock before dinner. As she walked up the street, on her way home, she encountered Master Simon Sneed, who, with the dignity and stateliness of a merchant prince, was lugging a huge bundle of goods to the residence of some customer.
"I am glad to see you, Simon," said Katy. "Have you seen your friend the mayor?"
"I am sorry to inform you, Katy, that a press of business has prevented my calling on his honor."
"I am sorry for that. I am afraid I shall never see the watch again."
"Depend upon it, you shall. I pledge you my honor that I will use every exertion to recover the lost treasure. Just now our firm require the undivided attention of all in the store."
"I told Mrs. Gordon all about it, and she promised to speak to the mayor."
"It was unnecessary to trouble her with the matter; my influence with the mayor will be quite sufficient."
"I dare say it will; but when shall you see him?"
"Very soon, be patient, Katy."
"Mrs. Gordon promised to take me to the mayor to-day, and tell him all about it."
"Take you to the mayor!" exclaimed Master simon.
"That's what she said."
"You will be afraid of him, and not able to tell your story."
"No, I guess I shan't. I will tell him that I have mentioned the matter to you."
"Perhaps you had better not; his honor, though we have been quite intimate, may not remember my name. But I must leave you now, for the firm gets very uneasy in my absence."
Simon shouldered his bundle again, and moved off, and Katy walked towards home, wondering why a person of so much importance to the Messrs. Sands & Co. should be permitted to degrade himself by carrying bundles. When she got home, she found her mother in a very cheerful frame of mind, the result of her reading and meditation.
"Well. Katy, you come back with an empty tray have you sold all your candy?" asked Mrs. Redburn, as she entered the room.
"Yes, mother, every stick. I have brought back sixty-six cents," replied Katy, emptying her pocket on the bed.
"Sixty-six cents! But you had only thirty sticks of candy."
"You must not blame me for what I have done, mother; I could not help it;" and she proceeded to narrate all the particulars of her forenoon's occupation.
Mrs. Redburn was annoyed at the incident with the fat gentleman; more so than by the rudeness to which Katy had been subjected. The little merchant was so elated at her success, that her mother could not find it in her heart to cast a damper upon her spirits by a single reproach. Perhaps her morning's reflections had subdued her pride so that she did not feel disposed to do so.
After dinner Katy hastened at once to Temple Street again. To her great disappointment she found that Mrs. Gordon and her daughter had been suddenly called to Baltimore by the death of one of her husband's near relatives. But the kind lady had not forgotten her, and that was a great consolation. Michael gave her a note, directed to the mayor, which he instructed her to deliver that day.
With the assistance of Michael, she found the house of the mayor, and though her heart beat violently she resolutely rang the bell at the door.
"Is the mayor in?" asked she of the sleek servant man that answered the summons.
"Well, suppose he is; what of it?" replied the servant, who could not possibly have been aware that Katy's grandfather was a rich Liverpool merchant, or he would have spoken more civilly to her.
"I want to see him."
"He don't see little brats like you," answered the servant, shutting the door in her face.
Katy was indignant. She wished a dozen things all at once; and among other things she wished Master Simon Sneed had been there, that he might report the circumstance to his friend the mayor. What was to be done? It was mean to treat her in that shabby manner, and she would not stand it? She would not, that she wouldn't! Grasping the bell handle with a courageous hand, she gave a pull that must have astonished the occupants of the servants' hall, and led them to believe that some distinguished character had certainly come. The sleek man servant reappeared at the door, ready to make his lowest bow to the great personage, when he beheld the flashing eye of Katy.
"How dare you ring that bell again?" snarled he.
"I want to see the mayor, I have a note for him from Mrs. Gordon, and I won't go away till I see him."
"From Mrs. Gordon! Why didn't you say so? You may come in."
Katy entered at this invitation, and the man bade her wait in the hall till he informed the mayor of her errand. She was not a little pleased with the victory she had gained, and felt quite equal, after it, to the feat of facing the chief magistrate of the city. While she stood there, a little boy having in his hand a stick of molasses candy, with which he had contrived plentifully to bedaub his face, came out of the adjoining room, and surveyed her carefully from head to foot. Katy looked at the candy with attention, for it looked just like one of the sticks she had sold that forenoon. The little fellow who was not more than five or six years of age, seemed to have a hearty relish for the article, and as he turned it over, Katy assured herself that it was a portion of her stock.
"My pa brought home lots of candy," said the little fellow, after he had satisfied himself with the survey of Katy's person.
"Do you like it?" asked she, willing to cultivate his acquaintance.
"Don't I, though!"
"Where did your father get it?"
"He bought it of a little girl; she was poor and proud," replied the little gentleman, transferring half an inch of the candy to his mouth.
"Dear me!" exclaimed Katy.
But her conversation was interrupted by the return of the servant, who directed Katy to follow him up-stairs.
Katy followed the servant man, whose name was John, up-stairs; but at the first turn he stopped, and begged her not to mention that he had shut the door upon her.
"I don't know," said Katy. "I gave you no reason to treat me in that ugly manner."
"You didn't, but, you see, I thought you was some beggar, coming to disturb his honor."
"Do I look like a beggar?" asked Katy.
"Indeed you don't; that was a bad blunder of mine. If you mention it, I shall lose my place."
"Well, I won't say a word then; but I hope you will learn better manners next time."
"Thank you, miss; and be sure I'll treat you like a lady next time."
John then conducted her up-stairs into a room the walls of which were almost covered with books. Katy thought what a wise man the mayor must be, for she had never seen so many books before in her life, and took it for granted the mayor had read them all. As she entered the apartment she saw a fat gentleman sitting at the desk, very busy examining a great pile of papers. When he turned his head, Katy was not much surprised to see that it was the nice gentleman who had given her half a dollar for fourteen cents' worth of candy.
"Ah, my dear, is it you!" exclaimed the mayor, as he recognized the little candy merchant.
"Yes, sir; if you please, it is me," stammered Katy, making her obeisance, and feeling very mush confused, for it was the first time she had ever come into the presence of a great man, and she could not exactly tell whether she ought to get down on her knees, as she had read that people did when they approached a king, or to remain standing.
"Well my dear, what is your name?" continued the mayor.
"Katy Redburn, if you please, sir," replied Katy with another courtesy.
"I am glad you have come to me with this business, Katy. Mrs. Gordon speaks very handsomely of you."
"She is very kind, sir."
"You have lost your watch—have you, Katy?"
"My father's watch, if you please, sir," and having gained a little confidence from the kind tones of the mayor, she proceeded to tell him the whole story of her adventure in the pawnbroker's shop.
The mayor listened attentively to the artless recital, and promised to do all in his power to regain the watch.
"Were you alone, Katy, when you went to the pawnbroker's?"
"No, sir; there was one of your friends with me," replied she with a simple smile.
"One of my friends?"
"Yes, sir; and he promised to see you about it."
"I am afraid you have been imposed upon, Katy."
"No, sir; he has often spoken to me about his friend the mayor."
"But who was he?"
"Master Simon Sneed."
"Sneed? Sneed?" mused the mayor.
"Yes, sir; Master Simon Sneed."
"Master? What is he? A schoolmaster?"
"O, no, sir. Everybody calls him master. He keeps store."
"Sneed? I never heard the name before. Where is his store?"
"In Washington Street. It says Sands & Co. on the sign."
"O, you mean the boy that makes the fires, sweeps out, and does the errands. I remember him now," said the mayor, laughing heartily at poor Katy's account of Simon. "I never heard his name before; but he is the oldest boy of his age I ever saw."
"He was very kind to me."
"No doubt he is a very good boy; but I supposed from your account of him that he was a member of the firm."
"Master Simon says the firm would not be able to get along without him," replied Katy, who began to have some doubts whether Simon was so great a man as he had represented himself to be.
"Master Simon is very kind to stay with them then, and I hope the Messrs. Sands will properly appreciate his merit. Now, Katy," continued the mayor, who had been writing while he questioned his visitor, "you may take this note to the City Hall and deliver it to the city marshal, he will do all he can to recover your lost treasure."
"Thank you, sir," replied Katy, as she took the note.
"Now, good-by, Katy, and I hope you will always be as good as your candy is."
"I will try; good-by, sir;" and she left the library and passed down-stairs.
John let her out very civilly and seemed very grateful to her that she had not exposed his rudeness. She hastened to the City Hall, sure almost of recovering the watch, and gladdening her mother with the sight of it on her return home.
Simon Sneed, after parting with Katy, had felt a little uneasy in relation to the watch. He was jealous of his own good credit, for he foresaw that Katy could not very well avoid telling the mayor that he had been with her at the time of the unfortunate transaction. Besides, he did not exactly like the idea of Katy's going to the mayor at all. Katy Redburn going to see the mayor! By and by everybody would know his honor, and there would be no glory in being acquainted with him!
His conscience seemed to reprove him because he had done nothing towards the recovery of the watch. What would his friend the mayor say if Katy should happen to tell him of his neglect?
"Here I am," said Master Simon to himself, as he entered the store, "a person of influence, enjoying the friendship of the chief magistrate of the city and have not exerted my influence, or used my powerful friend, to redress the injury which this poor girl has received. I will correct my error at once, for if the mayor should happen to invite me to dinner some time, very likely he would reproach me for my neglect."
Having thus resolved to preserve his credit with the chief magistrate of the city, there was fortunately a lull in the waves of the Messrs. Sand & Co.'s affairs which enabled him to be absented for half an hour without serious injury to their business. He hastened to the pawnbroker's at which the robbery had been committed.
"I presume you know me, sir?" said Simon.
"I haven't that honor," replied the broker.
"Perhaps you may be able to recall the circumstance of a little girl presenting herself here with a silver watch."
"Well, I do."
"I was with her."
"Then I suppose you helped her steal it."
"Such an insinuation, sir, is unworthy a gentleman, I have come, sir, with a benevolent purpose, as I came before. In half an hour the history of that transaction will be conveyed to the mayor who, allow me to inform you, is my friend."
"Your friend!" sneered the broker who was not particularly impressed by the magnificent manners and the magnificent speech of Master Simon.
"The little girl has just gone with a note from Mrs. Gordon of Temple Street to seek redress of the mayor. I doubt not you will be prosecuted at once. You have an opportunity to save yourself."
"What do you mean by that, you young puppy?" said the broker, angrily. "Do you mean to say I stole the watch?"
"By no means; only that you took what did not belong to you," replied Master Simon, blandly.
"Get out of my shop!"
"Understand me, sir; I come as your friend."
"You are a fool, I believe."
"You have an undoubted right to your opinion, as I have to mine; but if you do not restore the watch within half an hour, you will be arrested for stealing—I beg your pardon, for taking what did not belong to you."
There was something in the earnest manner of Simon which arrested the attention of the broker, in spite of the former's high-flown speech. He was satisfied that something had been done, and he was disposed to avoid any unpleasant consequences.
"I spoke to a policeman about the watch," said the man. "I told him I had it, and if he found that such a watch had been stolen, it could be found at my shop."
"And if he did not find that watch had been stolen, you meant to keep it yourself," answered Master Simon, whose earnestness made him forget for a moment to use his high-flown words.
"Keep a civil tongue in your head," growled the broker. "I notified the police that I had it; that's enough."
"Perhaps it is I will ask my friend the mayor about it;" and Simon moved towards the door.
"Stop a moment."
"Can't stop now."
"Here! I will go up to the city marshal with you. May be I made a mistake in keeping the watch; but if I did, it was only to prevent it from falling into the hands of some one less scrupulous than myself."
"Do I look like a thief?" asked Master Simon, indignantly.
"It don't do to judge by appearances," replied the broker, locking his shop door, and walking towards the City Hall with Simon. "There are some very respectable thieves about."
Master Simon Sneed was satisfied with this explanation. He did not care to quarrel with any one who acknowledged his respectability. In a few moments they reached the City Hall, and ascended the stone steps to the vestibule. As they did so, Katy entered from the opposite door.
"How glad I am to find you, Master Simon!" exclaimed she. "Can you tell me where the city marshal's office is?"
"Here it is, Katy," replied Simon, pointing to the door. "But what are you going to do?"
"I have got a note for the city marshal. The mayor gave it to me."
"You hear that, sir," said Master Simon to the broker, with becoming dignity. "This, Katy, is the man that has your silver watch; and he has consented to deliver it to the rightful owner."
"Let me see the note," said the broker.
"No, I won't," replied Katy, pretty sharply. "You are a naughty man, and I won't trust you with it."
"But I will give you, the watch."
"Give it to me, and then I will show you the note," replied Katy, who was thinking more of getting the precious relic than of having the broker punished.
The broker took the watch from his pocket and handed it to her, and in return she produced the mayor's note.
"I suppose there is no need of your delivering this note now?" continued the broker, with a cunning smile.
"No; I don't care anything about it, now that I have got the watch," replied Katy, rejoiced beyond measure to recover the treasure.
"Well, then, I am somewhat acquainted with the marshal, and I will hand him the note, and explain the circumstances. He will be perfectly satisfied."
Katy didn't care whether he was satisfied or not, so long as she had the watch. But the broker entered the marshal's office, and they could not see him put the note in his pocket.
"I am so glad I got it!" exclaimed Katy.
"I doubt whether you could have recovered it if I had not used my influence in your favor," remarked Simon, complacently. "I went to his office, and assured him my friend the mayor had already taken the matter in hand. I talked pretty severely to him, and he got frightened. After all, the best way is to use very pointed language to these fellows."
"I thank you very much, Master Simon, and I hope I shall be able to do something for you some time."
But Messrs. Sands & Co.'s affairs were suffering, perhaps, and Simon hastened back to the store, and Katy ran home to cheer her mother with the sight of the recovered relic.
Now that she had recovered the precious watch Katy had nothing to engage her attention but the business of selling candy. The success that had attended her forenoon's exertions was gratifying beyond her expectations, and she felt as though she had already solved the problem; that she was not only willing but able to support her mother. She had originated a great idea, and she was proud of it.
Just as soon, therefore, as she had told her mother all about the recovery of the watch, she prepared another tray of candy, resolved to sell the whole of it before she returned. Her mother tried to induce her to stay in the house and rest herself, but her impatience to realize the fruits of her grand idea would not permit her to remain inactive a single hour.
"Now, mother, I shall sell all this candy before dark; so don't be uneasy about me. I am going to make lots of money, and you shall have everything you want in a few weeks," said Katy, as she put on her bonnet.
"I wish you would stay at home, and rest yourself; you have done enough for one day."
"I am not tired a bit, mother; I feel just as if I could walk a hundred miles."
"That's because you have got a new notion in your head. I am afraid you will be sick, and then what should we do?"
"O, I shan't get sick; I promise you I won't," replied Katy, as she left the room.
Unfortunately for the little candy merchant it was Wednesday afternoon, and as the schools did not keep, there were a great many boys in the street, and many of them were very rude, naughty boys. When she passed up the court, some of them called out to her, and asked her where she was going with all that candy. She took no notice of them, for they spoke very rudely, and were no friends of hers. Among them was Johnny Grippen, whose acquaintance the reader made on the pier of South Boston bridge. This young ruffian led half a dozen others down the court in pursuit of her, for possibly they were not satisfied with the cavalier manner in which Katy had treated them.
"Where are you going with all that candy?" repeated the juvenile bully, when he overtook her in Essex Street.
"I am going to sell it," replied Katy, finding she could not escape.
"Give us a junk, will you?" said Johnny.
"I can't give it away; I am going to sell it, to get money for my mother."
"Won't you give a feller a piece?"
"I can't now; perhaps I'll give you some another time."
Katy's heart beat violently, for she was very much alarmed, knowing that Johnny had not followed her for nothing. As she made her firm but conciliatory reply, she moved on, hoping they would not attempt to annoy her. It was a vain hope, for Johnny kept close to her side, his eyes fixed wistfully on the tempting array of sweets she carried.
"Come, don't be stingy, Katy," continued Johnny.
"I don't mean to be; but I don't think I owe you anything," replied Katy, gathering courage in her desperate situation.
"What do you mean by that?" demanded the little ruffian, as he placed himself in front of her, and thus prevented her further progress.
"Don't stop me; I'm in a hurry," said Katy.
"Gi' me some candy, then."
"No, I won't!" answered Katy, losing her patience.
"Won't you?"
Johnny made a dive at the tray, with the intention of securing a portion of the candy; but Katy adroitly dodged the movement, and turning up a narrow alley way, ran off. Johnny was not to be balked, and followed her; and then she found she had made a bad mistake in getting off the street, where there were no passers-by to interfere in her favor.
"Johnny!" shouted one of the bully's companions. "Johnny, Tom Howard is coming."
"Let him come!" replied Johnny, doggedly.
He did not half like the insinuation conveyed in the words of his associates; for to tell him, under the circumstances, that Tommy was coming, was as much as to say he was afraid of him. Now, as we have said, Johnny Grippen was a "fighting character," and had a reputation to maintain. He gloried in the name of being able to whip any boy of his size in the neighborhood. He was always ready to fight, and had, perhaps, given some hard knocks in his time; but he sustained his character rather by his talent for bullying, than by any conquests he had won. On the whole he was a miserable, contemptible little bruiser whom no decent boy could love or respect. He talked so big about "black eyes," "bloody noses" and "smashed heads," that few boys cared to dispute his title to the honors he had assumed. Probably some who felt able to contest the palm with him, did not care to dirty their fingers upon the bullying cub.
Sensible people, whether men or boys, invariably despise the "fighting character," be he young or old. Nine times out of ten he is both a knave and a fool, a coward and a bully.
On the other hand, Tommy Howard was one of those hearty, whole-souled boys, who are the real lions of the playground. He was not a "fighting character;" and being a sensible boy, he had a hearty contempt for Johnny Grippen. He was not afraid of him, and though he never went an inch out of his way to avoid a fight with him, it so happened they had never fought. He was entirely indifferent to his threats, and had no great opinion of his courage. Johnny had "stumped" him to fight, and even taken off his coat and dared him to come; but Tommy would laugh at him, tell him to put on his coat or he would catch cold; and, contrary to the general opinion among boys, no one ever thought the less of him for the true courage he exhibited on these occasions.
Johnny did not like to be told that Tommy was coming, for it reminded him that, as the king bully of the neighborhood, one of his subjects was unconquered and rebellious. But Johnny had discretion—and bullies generally have it. He did not like that cool, independent way of the refractory vassal; it warned him to be cautious.
"What's the matter, Katy?" asked Tommy, as he came with quick pace up the court, without deigning to cast even a glance at the ruffian who menaced her.
"Stand by, fellers, and see fair play, and I'll lick him now," said Johnny, in a low tone, to his companions.
"He won't let me go," replied Katy, pointing to her assailant.
"Go ahead, Katy; don't mind him."
"Won't you give me some candy?" said Johnny, stepping up before her again.
"Go ahead, Katy," repeated Tommy, placing himself between her and the bully. "Don't mind him, Katy."
As she advanced, Johnny pushed forward, and made another dive at the tray, but Katy's champion caught him by the arm and pulled him away.
"You mind out!" growled the bully, doubling up his fists, and placing himself in the most approved attitude, in front of the unwhipped vassal.
"Go ahead, Katy; clear out as fast as you can," said Tommy, who, though his bosom swelled with indignation, still preserved his wonted coolness; and it was evident to the excited spectators that he did not intend to "mind out."
"Come on, if you want to fight!" shouted Johnny, brandishing his fists.
"I don't want to fight; but you are a mean, dirty blackguard, or you wouldn't have treated a girl like that," replied Tommy, standing as stiff as a stake before the bully.
"Say that again, and I'll black your eye for you."
"Once is enough, if you heard me; but I will tell your father about it."
"Will you? Just say that again."
Somehow, it often happens that bullies want a person to say a thing over twice, from which we infer that they must be very deaf or very stupid. Tommy would not repeat the offensive remark, and Johnny's supporters began to think he was not half so anxious to fight as he seemed, which was certainly true. I have no doubt, if they had been alone, he would have found a convenient excuse for retiring from the field, leaving it unsullied by a black eye or a bloody nose.
My young friends will excuse me from digressing so far as to say that, in more than a dozen years with boys, in school and out, I have never heard of such a thing as two boys getting up a fight and having it out alone. There must be a crowd of bruisers and "scallewags" around, to keep up the courage of the combatants. Therefore, those who look on are just as bad as those who fight, for without their presence the fight could not be carried through.
Tommy Howard had said all he had to say, and was therefore ready to depart. He turned to do so, and walked several steps down the alley, though he kept one eye over his shoulder to guard against accidents.
"Hit him, Johnny!" cried one of the vagabond troops that followed in the train of the bully.
"He darsen't fight," replied Johnny.
"Nor you, nuther," added another of the supporters.
This was too much for Johnny. It cut him to the quick, and he could not stand it. If he did not thrash Tommy now, his reputation would be entirely ruined.
"Darsen't I?" exclaimed he. "Come back here;" but as Tommy did not come, he ran up behind him, and aimed a blow at the side of his head.
Katy's intrepid defender, who had perhaps read in some Fourth of July oration that "eternal vigilance is the price of liberty," was not to be surprised, and facing about, he warded off the blow. Johnny's imperiled reputation rendered him desperate. He had gone too far to recede, and he went into action with all the energy and skill of a true bruiser. Tommy was now fully roused, and his blows, which were strictly in self-defense, fell rapidly and heavily on the head of his assailant. But I am not going to give my young readers the particulars of the fight; and I would not have let Tommy engage in such a scene, were it not to show up Johnny as he was, and finish the portrait of him which I had outlined; to show the difference between the noble, generous, brave, and true-hearted boy, and the little bully, whom all my young friends have seen and despised.
In something less than two minutes, Johnny Grippen, after muttering "foul play," backed out with bloody nose, as completely whipped, and as thoroughly "cowed down," as though he had been fighting with a royal Bengal tiger. His supremacy was at an end, and there was danger that some other bold fellow might take it into his head to thrash the donkey after the lion's skin had been stripped from his shoulders.
"If you are satisfied now, I'll go about my business," said Tommy, as he gazed with mingled pity and contempt upon his crest-fallen assailant.
"You don't fight fair," grumbled Johnny, who could not account for his defeat in any other way. "If you're a mind to fight fair, I'll try it again with you some time."
"I don't fight for the fun of it. I only fight when some cowardly bully like you comes at me, and I can't help myself. When you feel like whipping me again, you needn't stop to let me know it beforehand. But I will tell you this much: if you ever put your hand on Katy Redburn, or meddle with her in any way, I promise to pound you as handsomely as I know how, fair or foul, the very next time I meet you, if it isn't for seven years. Just bear that in mind."
Johnny made no reply; he was not in a condition to make a reply, and the victor in the conquest departed, leaving the bully to explain his defeat as best he could to his admirers and supporters.
"He did not hurt you—did he?" asked Katy, as Tommy joined her at the foot of the alley, where she had been anxiously waiting the result of the encounter.
"Not a bit, Katy. He talks very loud, but he is a coward. I'm sorry I had to thrash him though I think it will do him good."
"I was afraid he'd hurt you. You were very kind to save me from him, Tommy. I shall never forget you, as long as I live, and I hope I shall be able to do something for you one of these days."
"Oh, don't mind that, Katy. He is an ugly fellow, and I wouldn't stand by and see him insult a girl. But I must go now. I told Johnny if he ever meddled with you again I should give him some; if he does, just let me know."
"I hope he won't again," replied Katy, as Tommy moved towards home.
This was Katy's first day in mercantile life; it had been full of incidents, and she feared her path might be a thorny one. But her light heart soon triumphed over doubts and fears, and when she reached Washington Street, she was as enthusiastic as ever, and as ready for a trade.
"Buy some candy?" said Katy to the first gentleman she met.
He did not even deign to glance at her; and five or six attempts to sell a stick of candy were failures; but when she remembered the success that had followed her disappointment in the morning, she did not lose her courage. Finding that people in the street would not buy, she entered a shop where the clerks seemed to be at leisure, though she did not do so without thinking of the rude manner in which she had been ejected from a store in the forenoon.
"Buy some candy?" said she to a good-natured young gentleman, who was leaning over his counter waiting for a customer.
"How do you sell it?"
"Cent a stick; it is very nice. I sold fourteen sticks of it to the mayor this forenoon. He said it was good."
"You don't say so? Did he give you a testimonial?"
"No; he gave me half a dollar."
The clerk laughed heartily at Katy's misapprehension of his word, and his eye twinkled with mischief. It was plain that he was not a great admirer of molasses candy, and that he only wanted to amuse himself at Katy's expense.
"You know what they do with quack medicines—don't you?"
"Yes, I do; some folks are fools enough to take them," replied Katy, smartly.
"That's a fact; but you don't understand me. Dr. Swindlehanger, round the corner, would give the mayor a hundred dollars to say his patent elixir is good. Now, if you could only get the mayor's name on a paper setting forth the virtues of your candy, I dare say you could sell a thousand sticks in a day. Why don't you ask him for such a paper?"
"I don't want any paper, except to wrap up my candy in. But you don't want to buy any candy, I see;" and Katy moved towards some more clerks at the other end of the store.
"Yes, I do; stop a minute. I want to buy six sticks for my children!"
"For what?"
"For my grandchildren."
"You are making fun of me," said Katy, who could see this, though the young man was so pleasant and so funny, she could not be offended with him. "I don't believe your mother would like it, if she should hear you tell such a monstrous story."
The young man bit his lip. Perhaps he had a kind mother who had taught him never to tell a lie, even in jest. He quickly recovered his humor, however, though it was evident that Katy's rebuke had not been without its effect.
"For how much will you sell me six sticks?" continued the clerk.
"For six cents."
"But that is the retail price; when you sell goods at wholesale you ought not to ask so much for them."
"You shall have them for five cents then," replied Katy, struck with the force of the suggestion.
"I can't afford to give so much as that. I am a poor man. I have to go to the theater twice a week, and that costs me a dollar. Then a ride Sunday afternoon costs me three dollars. So you see I don't have much money to spend upon luxuries."
"I hope you don't go out to ride Sundays," said Katy.
"But I do."
"What does your mother say to it?"
The clerk bit his lip again. He did not like these allusions to his mother, who perhaps lived far away in the country, and had taught him to "remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." Very likely his conscience smote him, as he thought of her and her blessed teachings in the far-off home of his childhood.
"I will give you two cents," said the clerk.
"I can't take that; it would hardly pay for the molasses, to say nothing of firewood and labor."
"Call it three cents, then."
"No, sir; the wholesale price is five cents for six sticks."
"But I am poor."
"You wouldn't be poor if you saved up your money, and kept the Sabbath. Your mother——"
"There, there! that's enough. I will take a dozen sticks!" exclaimed the young man, impatiently interrupting her.
"A dozen?"
"Yes, a dozen, and there are twelve cents."
"But I only ask ten."
"No matter, give me the candy, and take the money," he replied, fearful, it may be, that she would again allude to his mother.
Katy counted out the sticks, wrapped them up in a paper, and put the money in her pocket. If she had stopped at the door to study the young man's face, she might have detected a shadow of uneasiness and anxiety upon it. He was a very good-hearted, but rather dissolute, young man, and the allusions she had made to his mother burned like fire in his heart, for he had neglected her counsels, and wandered from the straight road in which she had taught him to walk. If she could have followed him home, and into the solitude of his chamber, she could have seen him open his desk, and write a long letter to his distant mother—a duty he had too long neglected. We may not follow the fortunes of this young man, but if we could, we might see how a few words, fitly spoken, even by the lips of an innocent youth; will sometimes produce a powerful impression on the character; will sometimes change the whole current of a life, and reach forward to the last day of existence.
Katy, all unconscious of the great work she had done, congratulated herself on this success, and wished she might find a few more such customers. Glancing into the shop windows as she passed along, to ascertain whether there was a good prospect for her, she soon found an inviting field. It was a crockery ware store that she entered this time, and there were several persons there who seemed not to be very busy.
"Buy some candy?" said she, presenting the tray to the first person she met.
"Go home and wash your face," was the ill-natured response.
Was it possible she had come out with a dirty face? No; she had washed herself the last thing she had done. It is true her clothes were shabby, there was many a patch and darn upon her dress, and its colors had faded out like the "last rose of summer;" but then the dress was clean.
"Buy some candy?" said she to another, with a sudden resolution not to be disturbed by the rudeness of those she addressed.
He took a stick, and threw down a cent, without a word. One more did her a similar favor, and she left the store well satisfied with the visit. Pretty soon she came to a large piano-forte manufactory, where she knew that a great many men were employed. She went up-stairs to the counting-room, where she sold three sticks, and was about to enter the work-room, when a sign, "No admittance except on business," confronted her. Should she go on? Did the sign refer to her? She had business there, but perhaps they would not be willing to admit that her business was very urgent, and she dreaded the indignity of being turned out again. Her mother had told her there was always a right way and a wrong way. It certainly was not right to enter in the face of a positive prohibition, and at last she decided to return to the office and ask permission to visit the workshop.
"Please may I go into the workshop?" said she, addressing the man who had purchased the candy.
"Go in? why not?" replied he, placing his pen behind his ear, and looking at her with a smile of curiosity.
"Why, it says on the door, 'No admittance except on business.'"
"So it does. Well, I declare, you have got an amount of conscience beyond your station. No one thinks of taking any notice of that sign. Peddlers and apple men go in without a question."
"I thought you wouldn't let people go in."
"We don't like to have visitors there, for they sometimes do injury, and generally take off the attention of the men from their work. But you have got so much conscience about the matter, that you shall not only go in, but I will go with you, and introduce you."
"Thank you, sir; I won't give you all that trouble. I can introduce myself."
But the bookkeeper led the way to the door, and they entered a large room in which a great many men were busily at work.
"Here is a very honest little girl," said her friend, "who has the very best molasses candy I ever ate. If any of you have a sweet tooth, or any children at home, I advise you to patronize her."
The bookkeeper laughed, and the workmen laughed, as they began to feel in their pockets for loose change. It was evident that the friendly introduction was to be of great service to her. She passed along from one man to another, and almost every one of them bought two or three sticks of candy, and before she had been to all of them her stock was entirely exhausted. Katy was astonished at her good fortune, and the men were all exceedingly good-natured. They seemed disposed to make a pleasant thing of her visit, and to give her a substantial benefit.
"Now, my little girl," said the bookkeeper, "when you wish to visit the workshop again, you may enter without further permission; and I am sure the men will all be very glad to see you."
"But I want some of that candy," said one of the workmen. "My little girl would jump to get a stick."
"Then she shall have some," replied Katy, "for I will go home and get some more;" and she left the building and hastened home for a further supply of the popular merchandise.
"O mother! I have sold out all my candy, and I want a lot more!" exclaimed she, as she rushed into the room, full of excitement and enthusiasm.
"Be calm, child; you will throw yourself into a fever," replied Mrs. Redburn. "You must learn to take things more easily."
"O dear! I have only twenty sticks left. I wish I had a hundred, for I am sure I could sell them."
"Perhaps it is fortunate you have no more."
"But I must make some more to-night for to-morrow."
"Don't drive round so, Katy. Be reasonable, and don't think too much of your success."
But Katy could not stop to argue the matter, though, as she walked along the street, she thought of what her mother had said, and tried to calm the excitement that agitated her. It was hard work to keep from running every step of the way; but her mother's advice must be heeded, and to some extent she succeeded in controlling her violent impulses. As it was, she reached the piano-forte manufactory quite out of breath, and rushed into the workroom as though she had come on an errand of vital importance to its occupants.
It required but a few minutes to dispose of her small stock of candy. The workmen all hoped she would come again, and she departed highly elated at her success.
"There, mother, I have sold all the candy. What do you think of that?" said she, as she entered her mother's room, and threw off her bonnet and shawl.
"You have done very well, I had no idea that you could sell more than twenty or thirty sticks in a day."
"It's a great day's work, mother; and if I can sell half as much in a day, I shall be satisfied. Don't you think I shall be able to support you?"
"At this rate you can do much more; but, Katy, I tremble for you."
"Why, mother?"
"You get so excited, and run so, I am afraid it will make you sick."
"O, no, it won't, mother. I feel as strong as a horse. I am not tired in the least."
"You don't feel so now, because you are so excited by your success."
"I shall get used to it in a little while."
"I hope so, if you mean to follow this business."
"If I mean to? Why mother, what else could I do to make so much money? See here;" and she poured the money she had taken upon the bed-quilt before her mother. "One dollar and thirty-six cents, mother! Only think of it! But I won't jump so another day; I will take it easy."
"I wish you would."
"I will try very hard; but you can't think how happy I feel! Dear me! I am wasting my time, when I have to make the candy for to-morrow."
"But, Katy, you must not do any more to-night. You will certainly be sick."
"I must make it, mother."
"Your hands are very sore now."
"They are better; and I don't feel tired a bit."
"I will tell you what you may do, if you must make the candy to-night. When you have got the molasses boiled, you may ask Mrs. Colvin, the washerwoman, to come in and pull it for you; for you are not strong enough to do it yourself."
"I should not like to ask her. She's a poor woman, and it would be just the same as begging to ask her to give me her work."
"You don't understand me, Katy. She goes out to work whenever she can get a chance. Her price is ten cents an hour. You can engage her for one or two hours, and pay her for her labor. This is the only way you can get along with this business."
"I will do that. It won't take more than an hour."
Mrs. Colvin was accordingly engaged, though at first she positively refused to be paid for her services; but when Katy told her she should want her for one or two hours every day, she consented to the arrangement. Early in the evening the candy was all made, and Katy's day's work was finished. Notwithstanding her repeated declaration that she was not tired, the bed "felt good" to her, and she slept all the more soundly for the hard work and the good deeds she had done.