Walking along Eighth Avenue, Scott Walton saw a boy coming out of Ezra Little's store with sad face and eyes red as with weeping. The boy was poorly dressed, and Scott's experience of poverty had been so recent that he felt quick sympathy.
"Are you in trouble? Can I assist you?" he asked, kindly.
Harold turned to see who was addressing him.
"I have just lost my place," he said, briefly.
"Were you working for Mr. Little?"
"Yes."
"How did you lose your place? Tell me, if you don't mind."
"I offended Mr. Little's son, Loammi. He got me discharged."
"I am not surprised to hear it. Loammi got me discharged some months ago."
"You!" exclaimed Harold, in surprise, for he noticed that Scott was handsomely dressed.
"Yes."
"But you are not a poor boy. You do not mind it."
"I was a poor boy then. How much salary did you receive?"
"Three dollars a week."
"I think I can promise you five dollars a week with another firm."
"Can you?" asked Harold, overjoyed. "But how can you? You are only a boy."
Scott smiled.
"I have some influence with the firm of Tower, Douglas & Co. I think they will take you on at my request. But where do you live, and what is your name?"
"I live at 940 Bleecker Street, and my name is Harold Kent."
"You are not related to Robert Kent?" said Scott, in excitement.
"He is my father."
"He is an Englishman, is he not?"
"Yes; do you know him?"
"Not yet, but I mean to. If you are going home, take me with you."
"I shall be glad to do so, but may I ask your name?"
"My name is Scott Walton. Our fathers were friends, and I will be your father's friend."
"I have heard my father speak of your family. He will be delighted to see you—and is your father living?"
"No; father is dead. I judge that you are poor."
"Yes, very poor. My father is an artist, but he has very little to do. Lately he has taken to portrait painting, but he only gets ten dollars for a portrait. Now he is sick with rheumatism and cannot work."
"Cheer up, Harold! Better times are in store for you. I am prosperous, and my father commissioned me to seek you out and help you."
Scott followed Harold up into the poor apartment occupied by his father. As he entered the room, Mr. Kent looked in surprise at his companion. "Is this one of your fellow clerks, Harold?" he asked.
"No, father. I have been discharged from Mr. Little's store, and I have no fellow clerks."
Mr. Kent's countenance fell.
"Then we have no income," he said, sadly. "It only needed this blow. Why were you discharged?"
"It was on account of Loammi Little, but don'tbe troubled, father. I am to have a better place, at five dollars a week."
"Who will give it to you?"
"I will see that he has such a place, Mr. Kent," said Scott.
"But—why should you feel an interest in my poor boy?"
"Because my name is Scott Walton, and you were a friend of my poor father."
"Not John Walton's son?"
"Yes; I have been looking for you for a month. This evening fortune threw your son in my way. He tells me that you have been unfortunate."
"I am sick and out of work, but you—you look prosperous."
"I am."
"Did your father leave property?"
"No, but I have met with good friends."
"Has Ezra Little treated you better than he has Harold?"
"Ezra Little took me into his store, and after a few week discharged me, as a result of Loammi's meanness and falsehood. I met with other friends, secured another situation, and I am able to help you, Mr. Kent. I want you to find better rooms."
"But I cannot pay the rent of these."
Scott drew out his pocketbook and selected five ten-dollar bills.
"Take this," he said, "and when you have moved I will see what more I can do for you."
"Fifty dollars!" ejaculated the artist, in amazement. "Can you afford this?"
"Easily. I will tell you later how I have prospered."
"Won't you stop and eat supper with us, Mr. Walton?" asked Mrs. Kent.
"Gladly, if you will call me Scott. I want to ask Mr. Kent about his early acquaintance with my poor father."
The evening was spent in social chat, and it was ten o'clock before Scott left his new friends.
"I shall expect to see you on Monday morning at the store, Harold," he said, as he went away.
Three days later, in the early evening, Loammi Little met Harold in the street.
"Hi, you boy!" he said, with malicious pleasure; "you lost your place at my father's store, didn't you?"
"Yes," answered Harold, calmly.
"That will teach you to treat me with respect hereafter."
"I suppose I am indebted to you for getting me discharged."
"Yes," answered Loammi, with a smile.
"Then I want to thank you."
"To thank me!" exclaimed Loammi, in surprise.
"Yes, for I have now a better place."
"Where?"
"With Tower, Douglas & Co."
"Did Scott Walton get it for you?" asked Loammi, quickly.
"Yes."
"Then he had better mind his own business. My father may get him discharged from his place there."
"That is more than he can do. Mr. Tower puts great confidence in Scott."
"Do you know what he pays him?"
"Forty dollars a week."
"Nonsense!" said Loammi, angrily.
"It is true."
"Then Mr. Tower is a fool."
"Why don't you call and tell him so?"
A really mean person can receive no heavier blow than to find his malicious attempt to injure another of no avail. This was the case with Loammi.
When he was forced to believe that Scott really received the high salary he had contemptuously scoffed at, he became more discontented than ever. He tried to get his father to increase his allowance, but without success. He was mortified to find that even Harold vied with him in dress.
"How these beggarly upstarts are coming up!" he said to himself, bitterly. "It makes me sick."
But a heavier blow was in store for him. Dull times came in business, retail trade fell off, and onemorning it was announced in the papers that the great house of Ezra Little had suspended.
Mr. Little made desperate efforts to secure financial assistance, but in vain. No one liked him, and it looked as if he was irretrievably ruined.
When things looked darkest, a plain-looking old man entered the store, and asked to see Mr. Little.
"Seth Lawton!" exclaimed the merchant. "I can't see you. I am very busy."
"I hear you are in trouble," said Cousin Seth.
"And I suppose you are glad of it," replied Ezra, bitterly.
"No, I have come to help you," responded Mr. Lawton.
"You help me!" repeated Ezra, scornfully. "What good will a few hundred dollars do?"
"How much help do you need?"
"With forty thousand dollars I could weather the storm handsomely," replied Mr. Little.
"You shall have it, if you will secure me well."
"Have you got forty thousand dollars? I thought you a poor man."
"It isn't the only mistake you have made, Cousin Ezra. At the time you looked down upon me I was richer than yourself. But I will only help you on conditions."
"I will agree to any conditions," said Ezra, his pride humbled. "Only help me out of my present trouble."
So the house of Ezra Little was saved, and its head received a lesson. His pride had had a fall. Those whom he looked down upon proved to surpass him in the only thing on which he prided himself—the possession of money.
One of Cousin Seth's conditions was that Loammi should go into his father's store, and exchange his elegant leisure for honest work. He complained a good deal, but Seth Lawton and his father insisted. He may in time become a useful, hard-working man of business, but he has a good deal to learn first.
Scott continues to prosper, and next year will become a partner in the firm of Tower, Douglas & Co. Harold is earning a good salary now, and his father's troubles are over. He gets more remunerative work at his profession, and, with his family, occupies a pleasant home in Bayonne.
Mr. Lawton has leased a handsome house uptown, and Scott lives with him. He is rich—how rich no one knows—and Scott is generally supposed to be his heir.
THE END.
52-58 Duane Street, New York
BOOKS FOR BOYS.
Joe's Luck: A Boy's Adventures in California. ByHoratio Alger, Jr.12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00.
The story is chock fell 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. ByHoratio 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.ByHoratio 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. ByHoratio 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. ByHoratio 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.ByHoratio 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.ByHoratio 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.ByHoratio 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.ByHoratio 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. ByHoratio 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. ByHoratio 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. ByHoratio 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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. ByJames 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.
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publisher,A. L. BURT, 52-58 Duane Street, New York.
For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the publisher,A. L. BURT, 52-58 Duane Street, New York.