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If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - - -Title: Rough and Ready - Life Among the New York Newsboys - - -Author: Horatio Alger - - - -Release Date: July 17, 2017 [eBook #55142] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUGH AND READY*** - - -E-text prepared by David Edwards, readbueno, and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) from page images generously made -available by Internet Archive (https://archive.org) - - - -Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this - file which includes the original illustrations. - See 55142-h.htm or 55142-h.zip: - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/55142/55142-h/55142-h.htm) - or - (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/55142/55142-h.zip) - - - Images of the original pages are available through - Internet Archive. See - https://archive.org/details/roughreadyorlife1897alge - - -Transcriber's note: - - Italicized words and phrases are enclosed by underscores - (_italics_). - - - - - -[Illustration: "DON'T YOU BE IMPUDENT, YOU YOUNG RASCAL."] - - -Ragged Dick Series - -by - -HORATIO ALGER JR. - -ROUGH AND READY - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - - -ROUGH AND READY; - -Or, - -Life Among the New York Newsboys. - -by - -HORATIO ALGER, JR., - -Author of "Ragged Dick," "Fame and Fortune," "Mark, The Match -Boy," "Campaign Series," "Luck and Pluck Series," etc. - - - - - - -Philadelphia: -Henry T. Coates & Co. - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - - FAMOUS ALGER BOOKS. - - RAGGED DICK SERIES. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 6 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - - RAGGED DICK. - FAME AND FORTUNE. - MARK THE MATCH BOY. - ROUGH AND READY. - BEN THE LUGGAGE BOY. - RUFUS AND ROSE. - - - TATTERED TOM SERIES. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 4 vols. 12mo. - Cloth. - - FIRST SERIES. - - - TATTERED TOM. - PAUL THE PEDDLER. - PHIL THE FIDDLER. - SLOW AND SURE. - - - TATTERED TOM SERIES. 4 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - SECOND SERIES. - - - JULIUS. - THE YOUNG OUTLAW. - SAM'S CHANCE. - THE TELEGRAPH BOY. - - - CAMPAIGN SERIES. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 3 vols. - - - FRANK'S CAMPAIGN. - PAUL PRESCOTT'S CHARGE. - CHARLIE CODMAN'S CRUISE. - - - LUCK AND PLUCK SERIES. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 4 vols. 12mo. - Cloth. - - FIRST SERIES. - - - LUCK AND PLUCK. - SINK OR SWIM. - STRONG AND STEADY. - STRIVE AND SUCCEED. - - - LUCK AND PLUCK SERIES. 4 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - SECOND SERIES. - - - TRY AND TRUST. - BOUND TO RISE. - RISEN FROM THE RANKS. - HERBERT CARTER'S LEGACY. - - - BRAVE AND BOLD SERIES. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 4 vols. 12mo. - Cloth. - - - BRAVE AND BOLD. - JACK'S WARD. - SHIFTING FOR HIMSELF. - WAIT AND HOPE. - - - PACIFIC SERIES. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 4 vols. 12mo. - - - THE YOUNG ADVENTURER. - THE YOUNG MINER. - THE YOUNG EXPLORERS. - BEN'S NUGGET. - - - ATLANTIC SERIES. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 4 vols. - - - THE YOUNG CIRCUS RIDER. - DO AND DARE. - HECTOR'S INHERITANCE. - HELPING HIMSELF. - - - WAY TO SUCCESS SERIES. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 4 vols. 12mo. - Cloth. - - - BOB BURTON. - THE STORE BOY. - LUKE WALTON. - STRUGGLING UPWARD. - - - NEW WORLD SERIES. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 3 vols. 12mo. Cloth. - - - DIGGING FOR GOLD. - FACING THE WORLD. - IN A NEW WORLD. - - - _Other Volumes in Preparation._ - ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - -Copyright by A. K. Loring, 1869. - -Copyright, 1897, by Horatio Alger. - - - - - Dedication. - - - TO MY DEAR FRIEND, - - _Theodore Seligman,_ - - THIS VOLUME - - IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED. - - - - - PREFACE. - - -"ROUGH AND READY" is presented to the public as the fourth volume of the -"Ragged Dick Series," and, like two of its predecessors, was contributed -as a serial to the "Schoolmate," a popular juvenile magazine. Its second -title, "Life among the New York Newsboys," describes its character and -purpose. While the young hero may be regarded as a favorable example of -his class, the circumstances of his lot, aggravated by the persecutions -of an intemperate parent, are unfortunately too common, as any one at -all familiar with the history of the neglected street children in our -cities will readily acknowledge. - -If "Rough and Ready" has more virtues and fewer faults than most of his -class, his history will at least teach the valuable lesson that honesty -and good principles are not incompatible even with the greatest social -disadvantages, and will, it is hoped, serve as an incentive and stimulus -to the young people who may read it. - - NEW YORK, Dec. 26, 1869. - - - - - ROUGH AND READY; - - OR, - - LIFE AMONG THE NEW YORK NEWSBOYS. - - - - - CHAPTER I. - INTRODUCES ROUGH AND READY. - - -On the sidewalk in front of the "Times" office, facing Printing-House -Square, stood a boy of fifteen, with a pile of morning papers under his -arm. - -"'Herald,' 'Times,' 'Tribune,' 'World'!" he vociferated, with a quick -glance at each passer-by. - -There were plenty of newsboys near by, but this boy was distinguished by -his quick, alert movements, and his evident capacity for business. He -could tell by a man's looks whether he wanted a paper, and oftentimes a -shrewd observation enabled him to judge which of the great morning -dailies would be likely to suit the taste of the individual he -addressed. - -"Here's the 'Tribune', sir," he said to a tall, thin man, with a -carpet-bag and spectacles, who had the appearance of a country -clergyman. "Here's the 'Tribune,'—best paper in the city." - -"I'm glad you think so, my lad. You may give me one. It's a good sign -when a young lad like you shows that he has already formed sound -political opinions." - -"That's so," said the newsboy. - -"I suppose you've seen Horace Greeley?" - -"In course, sir, I see him most every day. He's a brick!" - -"A what?" inquired the clergyman, somewhat shocked. - -"A brick!" - -"My lad, you should not use such a term in speaking of one of the -greatest thinkers of the times." - -"That's what I mean, sir; only brick's the word we newsboys use." - -"It's a low word, my lad; I hope you'll change it. Can you direct me to -French's Hotel?" - -"Yes, sir; there it is, just at the corner of Frankfort Street." - -"Thank you. I live in the country, and am not very well acquainted with -New York." - -"I thought so." - -"Indeed! What made you think so?" asked the clergyman, with a glance of -inquiry, unaware that his country air caused him to differ from the -denizens of the city. - -"By your carpet-bag," said the boy, not caring to mention any other -reason. - -"What's your name, my lad?" - -"Rough and Ready, sir." - -"What name did you say?" asked the clergyman, thinking he had not heard -aright. - -"Rough and Ready, sir." - -"That's a singular name." - -"My right name is Rufus; but that's what the boys call me." - -"Ah, yes, indeed. Well, my lad, I hope you will continue to cherish -sound political sentiments until the constitution gives you the right to -vote." - -"Yes, sir, thank you.—Have a paper, sir?" - -The clergyman moved off, and Rough and Ready addressed his next remark -to a sallow-complexioned man, with a flashing black eye, and an immense -flapping wide-awake hat. - -"Paper, sir? Here's the 'World'!" - -"Give me a copy. What's that,—the 'Tribune'! None of your Black -Republican papers for me Greeley's got nigger on the brain. Do you sell -many 'Tribunes'?" - -"Only a few, sir. The 'World''s the paper! I only carry the 'Tribune' to -accommodate a few customers." - -"I wouldn't have anything to do with it." And the admirer of the "World" -passed on. - -"Got the 'Herald'?" inquired the next man. - -"Yes, sir, here it is. Smartest paper in the city! Got twice as much -news as all the rest of the papers." - -"That's where you're right. Give me the 'Herald' for my money. It's the -most enterprising paper in America." - -"Yes, sir. James Gordon Bennett's a perfect steam-engine!" - -"Ever see him?" - -"Yes, sir, often. He's a brick!" - -"I believe you." - -"Paper, sir? 'Tribune,' sir?" - -Rough and Ready addressed this question somewhat doubtfully to a -carefully dressed and somewhat portly gentleman, who got out of a Fourth -Avenue car, and crossed to the sidewalk where he was standing. - -"Don't want the 'Tribune.' It's a little too extreme for me. Got the -'Times'?" - -"Yes, sir. Here it is. Best paper in the city!" - -"I am glad you think so. It's a sound, dignified journal, in my -opinion." - -"Yes, sir. That's what I think. Henry J. Raymond's a brick!" - -"Ahem, my lad. You mean the right thing, no doubt; but it would be -better to say that he is a man of statesman-like views." - -"That's what I mean, sir. Brick's the word we newsboys use." - -Just then a boy somewhat larger than Rough and Ready came up. He was -stout, and would have been quite good-looking, if he had been neatly -dressed, and his face and hands had been free from dirt. But Johnny -Nolan, with whom such of my readers as have read "Ragged Dick" and "Fame -and Fortune" are already acquainted, was not very much troubled by his -deficiencies in either respect, though on the whole he preferred whole -garments, but not enough to work for them. - -Johnny was walking listlessly, quite like a gentleman of leisure. - -"How are you, Johnny?" asked Rough and Ready. "Where's your -blacking-box?" - -"Somebody stole it," said Johnny, in an aggrieved tone. - -"Why don't you get another?" - -"I aint got any money." - -"I never knew you when you did have," said the newsboy. - -"I aint lucky," said Johnny. - -"You won't be till you're a little smarter than you are now. What are -you going to do?" - -"I dunno," said Johnny. "I wish Mr. Taylor was in this city." - -"What for?" - -"He used to give me money most every day," said Johnny. - -"I don't want anybody to give me money," said Rough and Ready, -independently. "I can earn my own living." - -"I could get a place to tend a paper-stand, if I had good clo'es," said -Johnny. - -"Why don't you go to work and earn enough money to buy some, then?" said -the newsboy. - -"I can't. I aint got no money." - -"I've sold sixty papers this morning, and made sixty cents," said Rough -and Ready. - -"I aint made nothing," said Johnny, despondently. - -"Come, I'll tell you what I'll do," said the newsboy. "Here's two -'Tribunes,' two 'Worlds' and 'Times' and three 'Heralds.' Just go round -the corner, and sell 'em, and I'll give you all the profits." - -"All right!" said Johnny, brightening up at the prospect of making -something. "What's the news?" - -"Steamboat exploded on the Mississippi! Five hundred people thrown half -a mile high in the air! One man miraculously saved by falling in a mud -hole! Can you remember all that?" - -"Yes," said Johnny. "Give me the papers." - -Johnny went round to Nassau Street, and began to cry the remarkable news -which had just been communicated to him. - -"That ought to sell the papers," said Rough and Ready to himself. -"Anyway, Johnny's got it exclusive. There aint any other newsboy that's -got it." - -In about half an hour Johnny came back empty handed. - -"Sold all your papers?" asked the newsboy. - -"Yes," said Johnny; "but was that true about the steamboat?" - -"Why?" - -"'Cause people looked for it, and couldn't find it, and one man said -he'd give me a lickin' if I called out news that wasn't true." - -"Well, if it isn't true now, it will be some other day. Explosions is a -permanent institution. Anyhow, it isn't any worse for us to cry news -that aint true, than for the papers to print it when they know it's -false." - -Whatever may be thought of the morality of Rough and Ready's views on -this subject, it must be admitted that in manufacturing news to make his -papers sell, he was only imitating the example of some of our most -prominent publishers. The same may be said of his readiness to adopt the -political views and prejudices of his customers, for commercial profit. -I may as well remark here, that, though Rough and Ready is a favorite of -mine, for his energy, enterprise, and generous qualities, I do not mean -to represent him as a model boy. I shall probably have to record some -things of him which I cannot wholly approve. But then it is to be -considered that he is a newsboy, whose advantages have been limited, who -has been a familiar witness to different forms of wickedness ever since -he was old enough to notice anything, and, notwithstanding, has grown up -to be a pretty good boy, though not a model. - -In fact, one reason why I do not introduce any model boys into my -stories is that I do not find them in real life. I know a good many of -various degrees of goodness; but most of them have more failings than -one,—failings which are natural to boys, springing oftentimes more from -thoughtlessness than actual perverseness. These faults they must -struggle with, and by determined effort they will be able, with God's -help, to overcome them. They have less excuse than the friendless -newsboy, because more care has been bestowed upon their education and -moral training. - -"Here's eleven cents, Johnny," said the newsboy, after receiving from -his assistant the proceeds of his sales. "Isn't it better to earn them -than have somebody give them to you?" - -"I dunno," said Johnny, doubtfully. - -"Well, you ought to, then. I've sold fifteen more. That's seventy-five -I've sold this morning. What are you going to do with your money?" - -"I got trusted for breakfast at the Lodge this mornin'," said Johnny; -"but I must earn some more money, or I can't buy any dinner." - -"Which do you like best,—selling papers, or blacking boots?" - -"I like blackin' boots. 'Taint so hard work." - -"Why didn't you take care of your box?" - -"I laid it down in a doorway. I guess some boy stole it." - -"I'll tell you what I'll do, Johnny. I'll buy you a new box and brush, -and we'll go _whacks_." - -"All right," said Johnny. - -As the allusion may not be understood by some of my young readers, I -will explain that it is a custom among the more enterprising street -boys, who are capitalists to a small amount, to set up their more needy -fellows in business, on condition that they will pay half their earnings -to the said capitalists as a profit on the money advanced. This is -called "going whacks." It need hardly be said that it is a very -profitable operation to the young capitalist, often paying fifty per -cent. daily on his loan,—a transaction which quite casts into the shade -the most tempting speculations of Wall Street. - -It is noteworthy that these young Bohemians, lawless as they often are, -have a strict code of honor in regard to such arrangements, and seldom -fail to make honest returns, setting a good example in so far to older -business operators. - -On receiving Johnny's assent to his proposal, the newsboy proceeded to a -street stand on Nassau Street, and bought the necessary articles for his -companion, and then the two separated. - -Johnny, confiding in his prospects of future profits, stopped at the pie -and cake stand at the north-east corner of Nassau and Fulton Streets, -and bought of the enterprising old woman who has presided over it for a -score of years, a couple of little pies, which he ate with a good -appetite. He then shouldered his box and went to business. - - - - - CHAPTER II. - LITTLE ROSE. - - -Rough and Ready had sold out his stock of morning papers, and would have -no more to do until the afternoon, when the "Evening Post" and "Express" -appeared. The "Mail," "Telegram," and "News," which now give employment -to so many boys, were not then in existence. - -I may as well take this opportunity to describe the newsboy who is to be -the hero of my present story. As already mentioned, he was fifteen years -old, stoutly built, with a clear, fresh complexion, and a resolute, -good-humored face. He was independent and self-reliant, feeling able to -work his own way without help, and possessed a tact and spirit of -enterprise which augured well for his success in life. Though not so -carefully dressed as most of the boys who will read this story, he was -far from being as ragged as many of his fellow-newsboys. There were two -reasons for this: he had a feeling of pride, which made him take some -care of his clothes, and besides, until within a year, he had had a -mother to look after him. In this respect he had an advantage over the -homeless boys who wander about the streets, not knowing where they shall -find shelter. - -But, within a year, circumstances had changed with our young hero. His -mother had been left a widow when he was nine years old. Two years later -she married a man, of whom she knew comparatively little, not from love, -but chiefly that she might secure a comfortable support for her two -children. This man, Martin, was a house-carpenter, and was chiefly -employed in Brooklyn and New York. He removed his new wife and the -children from the little Connecticut village, where they had hitherto -lived, to New York, where he found lodgings for them. - -In the course of a few months, she found that the man she had so hastily -married had a violent, and even brutal, temper, and was addicted to -intemperate habits, which were constantly interfering with his prospects -of steady employment. Instead of her care and labor being lessened, both -were increased. The lodgings to which Martin carried his wife, at first, -were respectable, but after a while there was a difficulty about the -rent, and they were obliged to move. They moved frequently, each time -compelled to take dirtier and shabbier accommodations. - -Rufus was soon taken from school, and compelled, as a newsboy, to do his -part towards supporting the family. In fact, his earnings generally -amounted to more than his stepfather's, who only worked irregularly. A -year before the date of our story, Mrs. Martin died, solemnly intrusting -to her son the charge of his little sister Rose, then six years old. - -"Take good care of her," said the dying mother. "You know what your -stepfather is. Don't let him beat or ill-treat her. I trust her wholly -to you." - -"I'll take care of her, mother," said Rufus, sturdily. "Don't be afraid -for her." - -"God will help you, Rufus," said the poor mother "I am glad you are such -a boy as I can trust." - -"I aint so good as I might be, mother," said Rufus, touched by the -scene; "but you can trust me with Rosie." - -Mrs. Martin knew that Rufus was a sturdy and self-relying boy, and she -felt that she could trust him. So her last moments were more peaceful -than they would have been but for this belief. - -After her death, Rufus continued the main support of the household. He -agreed to pay the rent,—five dollars monthly,—and fifty cents a day -towards the purchase of food. This he did faithfully. He found himself -obliged, besides, to buy clothing for his little sister, for his -stepfather, who spent his time chiefly in bar-rooms, troubled himself -very little about the little girl, except to swear at her when he was -irritated. - -Rough and Ready gained his name partly from its resemblance in sound to -his right name of Rufus, but chiefly because it described him pretty -well. Any of his street associates, who attempted to impose upon him, -found him a rough customer. He had a pair of strong arms, and was ready -to use them when occasion seemed to require it. But he was not -quarrelsome. He was generous and kind to smaller boys, and was always -willing to take their part against those who tried to take advantage of -their weakness. There was a certain Tom Price, a big, swaggering -street-bully, a boot black by profession, with whom Rough and Ready had -had more than one sharp contest, which terminated in his favor, though a -head shorter than his opponent. - -To tell the truth, Rough and Ready, in addition to his strength, had the -advantage of a few lessons in boxing, which he had received from a young -man who had been at one time an inmate of the same building with -himself. This knowledge served him in good stead. - -I hope my young readers will not infer that I am an advocate of -fighting. It can hardly help being brutal under any circumstances; but -where it is never resorted to except to check ruffianism, as in the case -of my young hero, it is less censurable. - -After setting up Johnny Nolan in business, Rough and Ready crossed to -the opposite side of the street, and walked up Centre Street. He stopped -to buy a red-cheeked apple at one of the old women's stalls which he -passed. - -"Rosie likes apples," he said to himself. "I suppose she's waiting to -hear me come upstairs." - -He walked for about quarter of a mile, till he came in sight of the -Tombs, which is situated at the north west corner of Centre and Leonard -Streets, fronting on the first. It is a grim-looking building, built of -massive stone. Rough and Ready did not quite go up to it, but turned -off, and went down Leonard Street in an easterly direction. - -Leonard Street, between Centre and Baxter Streets, is wretched and -squalid, not as bad perhaps as some of the streets in the -neighborhood,—for example, Baxter Street,—but a very undesirable -residence. - -Here it was, however, that our hero and his sister lived. It was not his -own choice, for he would have gladly lived in a neat, clean street; but -he could not afford to pay a high rent, and so was compelled to remain -where he was. - -He paused in front of a dilapidated brick building of six stories. The -bricks were defaced, and the blinds were broken, and the whole building -looked miserable and neglected. There was a grocery shop kept in the -lower part, and the remaining five stories were crowded with tenants, -two or three families to a floor. The street was generally littered up -with old wagons, in a broken-down condition, and odors far from savory -rose from the garbage that was piled up here and there. - -Crowds of pale, unhealthy-looking children, with dirty faces, generally -bare-headed and bare-footed, played about, managing, with the happy -faculty of childhood, to show light-hearted gayety, even under the most -unpromising circumstances. - -Rough and Ready, who was proud of his little sister, liked to have her -appear more decently clad than most of the children in the street. -Little Rose never appeared without a bonnet, and both shoes and -stockings, and through envy of her more respectable appearance, some of -the street girls addressed her with mock respect, as Miss Rose. But no -one dared to treat her otherwise than well, when her brother was near, -as his prowess was well known throughout the neighborhood. - -Our hero dashed up the dark and rickety stair case, two stairs at a -time, ascending from story to story, until he stood on the fifth -landing. - -A door was eagerly opened, and a little girl of seven called out -joyfully:— - -"Is it you, Rufus?" - -At home, Rough and Ready dropped his street nickname, and was known by -his proper appellation. - -"Yes, Rosie. Did you get tired of waiting?" - -"I'm always tired of waiting. The mornings seem so long." - -"Yes, it must seem long to you. Did you go out and play?" - -"Only a few minutes." - -"Didn't you want to stay?" - -The little girl looked embarrassed. - -"I went out a little while, but the girls kept calling me Miss Rose, and -I came in." - -"I'd like to hear 'em!" said Rufus, angrily. - -"They don't do it when you are here. They don't dare to," said Rose, -looking with pride at her brother, whom she looked upon as a young hero. - -"They'd better not," said the newsboy, significantly. "They'd wish they -hadn't, that's all." - -"You see I wore my new clothes," said Rose, by way of explanation. "That -made them think I was proud, and putting on airs. But they won't do it -again." - -"Why not?" asked her brother, puzzled. - -"Because," said Rose, sadly, "I shan't wear them again." - -"Shan't wear them!" repeated Rough and Ready. "Are you afraid to?" - -"I can't." - -"Why can't you?" - -"Because I haven't got them to wear." - -Rose's lip quivered as she said this, and she looked ready to cry. - -"I don't understand you, Rosie," said the newsboy, looking perplexed. -"Why haven't you got them, I should like to know?" - -"Because father came home, and took them away," said the little girl. - -"_What!_" exclaimed Rough and Ready, quickly. "Took them away?" - -"Yes." - -"What did he do that for?" said the boy, angrily. - -"He said he shouldn't let you waste your money in buying nice clothes -for me. He said that my old ones were good enough." - -"When did he take them away?" said the boy, his heart stirred with -indignation. - -"Only a little while ago." - -"Do you know where he took them, Rosie?" - -"He said he was going to take them to Baxter Street to sell. He said he -wasn't going to have me dressed out like a princess, while he hadn't a -cent of money in his pocket." - -Poor Rufus! He had been more than a month saving up money to buy some -decent clothes for his little sister. He had economized in every -possible way to accomplish it, anticipating her delight when the new hat -and dress should be given her. He cared more that she should appear well -than himself, for in other eyes, besides her brother's, Rose was a -charming little girl. She had the same clear complexion as her brother, -an open brow, soft, silken hair hanging in natural curls, fresh, rosy -cheeks in spite of the unhealthy tenement-house in which she lived, and -a confiding look in her dark blue eyes, which proved very attractive. - -Only the day before, the newsboy had brought home the new clothes, and -felt abundantly rewarded by the delight of his little sister, and the -improvement in her appearance. He had never before seen her looking so -well. - -But now—he could not think of it without indignation—his intemperate -stepfather had taken away the clothes which he had worked so hard to -buy, and, by this time, had probably sold them for one quarter of their -value at one of the old-clothes shops in Baxter Street. - -"It's too bad, Rosie!" he said. "I'll go out, and see if I can't get -them back." - -While he was speaking, an unsteady step was heard on the staircase. - -"He's coming!" said Rose, with a terrified look. - -A hard and resolute look came into the boy's face, as, turning towards -the door, he awaited the entrance of his stepfather. - - - - - CHAPTER III. - A SUDDEN MOVE. - - -Presently the door was opened, and James Martin entered with an unsteady -step. His breath was redolent with the fumes of alcohol, and his face -wore the brutish, stupid look of one who was under the influence of -intoxication. He was rather above the middle height, with a frame -originally strong. His hair and beard had a reddish tinge. However he -might have appeared if carefully dressed, he certainly presented an -appearance far from prepossessing at the present moment. - -Rough and Ready surveyed his stepfather with a glance of contempt and -disgust, which he did not attempt to conceal. Rose clung to his side -with a terrified look. - -"What are you doing here?" demanded Martin, sinking heavily into a -chair. - -"I'm taking care of my sister," said the newsboy, putting his arm -protectingly round Rose's neck. - -"You'd better go to work. I can take care of her," said the stepfather. - -"Nice care you take of her!" retorted the newsboy, indignantly. - -"Don't you be impudent, you young rascal," said Martin, with an unsteady -voice. "If you are, I'll give you a flogging." - -"Don't talk to him, Rufie," said little Rose, who had reason to fear her -stepfather. - -"I must, Rosie," said the newsboy, in a low voice. - -"What are you muttering there?" demanded the drunkard, suspiciously. - -"Where are my sister's new clothes?" asked Rough and Ready. - -"I don't know about any new clothes. She aint got any as I know of." - -"She had some this morning,—some that I bought and paid for. What have -you done with them?" - -"I've sold 'em," said Martin, doggedly, his assumed ignorance ceasing. -"That's what I've done with 'em." - -"What did you sell them for?" demanded the newsboy, persistently. - -"What business has she got with new clothes, when we haven't got enough -to eat, I'd like to know?" - -"If we haven't got enough to eat, it isn't my fault," said the boy, -promptly. "I do my part towards supporting the family. As for you, you -spend all your money for rum, and some of mine too." - -"What business is it of yours?" said the drunkard, defiantly. - -"I want you to bring back my sister's clothes. What have you done with -them?" - -"You're an impudent young rascal." - -"That isn't answering my question." - -"Do you want me to give you a flogging?" asked Martin, looking angrily -at our hero from his inflamed eyes. - -"Don't say any more to him, Rufus," said little Rose, timidly. - -"You ought to be ashamed of yourself, stealing a little girl's clothes, -and selling them for rum," said the newsboy, scornfully. - -This was apparently too much for the temper of Martin, never very good. -He rose from his chair, and made a movement towards the newsboy, with -the purpose of inflicting punishment upon him for his bold speech. But -he had drunk deeply in the morning, and since selling little Rose's -clothes, had invested part of the proceeds in additional liquor, which -now had its effect. He stood a moment wavering, then made a step -forward, but the room seemed to reel about, and he fell forward in the -stupor of intoxication. He did not attempt to rise, but lay where he -fell, breathing heavily. - -"O Rufus!" cried Rose, clinging still more closely to her brother, whom -she felt to be her only protector. - -"Don't be afraid, Rosie," said the newsboy. "He won't hurt you. He's too -drunk for that." - -"But when he gets over it, he'll be so angry, he'll beat me." - -"I'd like to see him do it!" said the newsboy, his eye flashing. - -"I'm so afraid of him, Rufus. He wasn't quite so bad when mother was -alive. It's awful to live with him." - -"You shan't live with him any longer, Rose." - -"What do you mean, Rufus?" said the little girl, with an inquiring -glance. - -"I mean that I'm going to take you away," said the boy, firmly. "You -shan't live any longer with such a brute." - -"Where can we go, Rufus?" - -"I don't know. Any place will be better than here." - -"But will he let me go?" asked Rose, with a timid look at the form -stretched out at her feet. - -"I shan't ask him." - -"He will be angry." - -"Let him be. We've had enough of him. We'll go away and live by -ourselves." - -"That will be nice," said little Rose, hopefully, "somewhere where he -cannot find us." - -"Yes, somewhere where he cannot find us." - -"When shall we go?" - -"Now," said the newsboy, promptly. "We'll go while he is lying there, -and can't interfere with us. Get your bonnet, and we'll start." - -A change of residence with those who have a superfluity of this world's -goods is a formidable affair. But the newsboy and his sister possessed -little or nothing besides what they had on, and a very small bundle, -done up hastily in an old paper on which Rough and Ready had been -"stuck," that is, which he had left on his hands, contained everything -which they needed to take away. - -They left the room, closing the door after them, and went down the -rickety stairs, the little girl's hand being placed confidingly in that -of her brother. At length they reached the foot of the last staircase, -and passed through the outer door upon the sidewalk. - -"It's the last time you'll go into that house," said the newsboy. "You -can bid good-by to it." - -"Where are we going now, Rufus?" - -"I am going to see if I can find, and buy back, your new clothes, Rose. -We'll walk along Baxter Street, and maybe we'll see them hanging up in -some shop." - -"But have you got money enough to buy them back, Rufus?" - -"I think I have, Rose. Wouldn't you like to have them again?" - -"Yes, Rufus; but it is too much money for you to pay. Never mind the -clothes. I can get along without them," said Rose, though it cost her a -pang to give up the nice dress which had given her so much innocent -pleasure. - -"No, Rose, I want you to wear them. We are going to live respectably -now, and I don't want to see you wearing that old calico dress." - -Little Rose was dressed in a faded calico gown, which had been made -over, not very artistically, from a dress which had belonged to her -mother. It had been long in use, and showed the effects of long wear. It -had for some time annoyed the newsboy, who cared more that his sister -should appear well dressed than himself. He knew that his sister was -pretty, and he felt proud of her. Feeling as he did, it is no wonder -that his indignation was aroused by the conduct of his stepfather in -selling his little sister's new clothes, which he had bought out of his -scanty earnings. While they had been speaking, they had walked to the -end of the block and turned into Baxter Street. - -Baxter Street is one of the most miserable streets in the most miserable -quarter of the city. It is lined with old-clothing shops, gambling-dens, -tumble-down tenements, and drinking saloons, and at all times it swarms -with sickly and neglected children, bold and wretched women, and the -lowest class of men. One building, which goes by the name of Monkey -Hall, is said to be a boarding-house for the monkeys, which during the -day are carried about by Italian organ-grinders. It was in this street -where Rufus had reason to believe that his sister's clothes might be -found. - -The two children walked slowly on the west side, looking into the -old-clothes shops, as they passed. - -"Come in, boy," said a woman at the entrance of one of the shops. "I'll -fit you out cheap." - -"Have you got any clothes that will do for this little girl?" asked the -newsboy. - -"For the little gal? Yes, come in; I'll fit her out like a queen." - -The shabby little shop hardly looked like a place where royal attire -could be procured. Still it might be that his sister's clothes had been -sold to this woman; so Rough and Ready thought it well to enter. - -The woman rummaged about among some female attire at the back part of -the shop, and brought forward a large-figured de laine dress, of dingy -appearance, and began to expatiate upon its beauty in a voluble tone. - -"That's too large," said Rough and Ready. "It's big enough for me." - -"Maybe you'd like it for yourself," said the woman, with a laugh. - -"I don't think it would suit my style of beauty," said the newsboy. -"Haven't you got anything smaller?" - -"This'll do," persisted the woman. "All you've got to do is to tuck it -up so;" and she indicated the alteration. "I'll sew it up in a minute." - -"No, it won't do," said the newsboy, decidedly. "Come, Rose." - -They went into another shop, where a man was in attendance; but here -again their inquiries were fruitless. - -They emerged from the shop, and, just beyond, came to a basement shop, -the entrance to which was lined with old clothes of every style and -material. Some had originally been of fine cloth and well made, but had -in course of time made their way from the drawing-room to this low -cellar. There were clothes of coarser texture and vulgar cut, originally -made for less aristocratic customers, which perhaps had been sold to -obtain the necessaries of life, or very possibly to procure supplies for -the purchase of rum. Looking down into this under-ground shop, the quick -eyes of Rose caught sight of the new dress, of which she had been so -proud, depending from a nail just inside. - -"There it is," she said, touching the newsboy on the arm. "I can see -it." - -"So it is. Let's go down." - -They descended the stone steps, and found themselves in a dark room, -about twelve feet square, hung round with second-hand garments. The -presiding genius of the establishment was a little old man, with a dirty -yellow complexion, his face seamed with wrinkles, but with keen, sharp -eyes, who looked like a spider on the watch for flies. - -"What can I sell you to-day, young gentleman?" he asked, rubbing his -hands insinuatingly. - -"What's the price of that dress?" asked Rough and Ready, coming straight -to the point. - -"That elegant dress," said the old man, "cost me a great deal of money. -It's very fine." - -"I know all about it," said the newsboy, "for I bought it for my sister -last week." - -"No, no, you are mistaken, young gentleman," said the old man, hastily, -fearing it was about to be reclaimed. "I've had it in my shop a month." - -"No, you haven't," said the newsboy, bluntly; "you bought it this -morning of a tall man, with a red nose." - -"How can you say so, young gentleman?" - -"Because it's true. The man took it from my sister, and carried it off. -How much did you pay for it?" - -"I gave two dollars and a half," said the old man, judging from the -newsboy's tone that it was useless to persist in his denial. "You may -have it for three dollars." - -"That's too much. I don't believe you gave more than a dollar. I'll give -you a dollar and a half." - -The old man tried hard to get more, but as Rough and Ready was firm, -and, moreover, as he had only given fifty cents for the dress an hour -before, he concluded that he should be doing pretty well in making two -hundred per cent. profit, and let it go. - -The newsboy at once paid the money, and asked if his sister could put it -on there. A door in the back part of the shop was opened, revealing an -inner room, where Rose speedily made the change, and emerged into the -street with her old dress rolled up in a bundle. - - - - - CHAPTER IV. - A FORTUNATE MEETING. - - -"Where are we going, Rufus?" asked Rose, as they left the subterranean -shop. - -"That's what I'm trying to think, Rose," said her brother, not a little -perplexed. - -To tell the truth, Rough and Ready had acted from impulse, and without -any well-defined plan in his mind. He had resolved to take Rose from her -old home, if it deserved the name, and for reasons which the reader will -no doubt pronounce sufficient; but he had not yet had time to consider -where they should live in future. - -This was a puzzling question. - -If the newsboy had been a capitalist, or in receipt of a handsome -income, the question would have been a very simple one. He would only -need to have bought a "Morning Herald," and, from the long list of -boarding and lodging houses, have selected one which he judged suitable. -But his income was small, and he had himself and his sister to provide -for. He knew that it must be lonely for Rose to pass the greater part of -the day without him; yet it seemed to be necessary. If only there was -some suitable person for her to be with. The loss of her mother was a -great one to Rose, for it left her almost without a companion. - -So Rough and Ready knit his brows in perplexing thought. - -"I can't tell where we'd better go, Rose, yet," he said at last. "We'll -have to look round a little, and perhaps we'll come across some good -place." - -"I hope it'll be some place where father won't find us," said Rose. - -"Don't call him father," said the newsboy, hastily. "He isn't our -father." - -"No," said Rose, "I know that,—that is not our own father." - -"Do you remember our own father, Rose? But of course you don't, for you -were only a year old when he died." - -"How old were you, Rufus?" - -"I was nine." - -"Tell me about father. Mother used to tell me about him sometimes." - -"He was always kind and good. I remember his pleasant smile whenever he -came home. Once he was pretty well off; but he failed in business, and -had to give up his store, and, soon after, he died, so that mother was -left destitute. Then she married Mr. Martin." - -"What made her?" - -"It was for our sake, Rose. She thought he would give us a good home. -But you know how it turned out. Sometimes I think mother might have been -alive now, if she hadn't married him." - -"Oh, I wish she was," said Rose, sighing. - -"Well, Rose, we won't talk any more of Mr. Martin. He hasn't got any -more to do with us. He can take care of himself, and we will take care -of ourselves." - -"I don't know, Rufie," said the little girl; "I'm afraid he'll do us -some harm." - -"Don't be afraid, Rose; I aint afraid of him, and I'll take care he -don't touch you." - -The little girl's apprehensions were not without good reason. They had -not done with this man Martin. He was yet to cause them considerable -trouble. What that trouble was will be developed in the course of the -story. Our business now is to follow the course of the two orphans. - -They had reached and crossed the City Hall Park, and now stood on the -Broadway pavement, opposite Murray Street. - -"Are we going to cross Broadway, Rufus?" asked his little sister. - -"Yes, Rose. I've been thinking you would feel more comfortable to be as -far away from our old room as possible. If we can get a lodging on the -west side of Broadway somewhere, we shan't be so apt to meet Mr. Martin. -You'd like that better, wouldn't you?" - -"Oh, yes, I should like that better." - -"Now we'll cross. Keep firm hold of my hand Rose, or you'll get run -over." - -During the hours of daylight, except on Sunday, there is hardly a pause -in the long line of vehicles of every description that make their way up -and down the great central thoroughfare of the city. A quick eye and a -quick step are needed to cross in safety. But the practised newsboy -found no difficulty. Dodging this way and that, he led his sister safely -across. - -"Let us go up Broadway, Rufus," said the little girl, who, living always -in the eastern part of the city, was more used to Chatham Street and the -Bowery than the more fashionable Broadway. - -"All right, Rose. We can turn off higher up." - -So the newsboy walked up Broadway, on the west side, his little sister -clinging to his arm. Occasionally, though they didn't know it, glances -of interest were directed towards them. The attractive face of little -Rose, set off by her neat attire, and the frank, open countenance of our -young hero, who looked more manly in his character of guardian to his -little sister, made a pleasant impression upon the passers-by, or at -least such as could spare a thought from the business cares which are -apt to engross the mind to the exclusion of everything. - -"If I only had two such children!" thought a childless millionaire, as -he passed with a hurried step. His coffers were full of gold, but his -home was empty of comfort and happiness. He might easily have secured it -by diverting a trifling rill, from his full stream of riches, to the -channel of charity; but this never entered his mind. - -So the children walked up the street, jostled by hurrying multitudes, -little Rose gazing with childish interest at the shop windows, and the -objects they presented. As for Rough and Ready, Broadway was no novelty -to him. His busy feet had traversed every portion of the city, or at -least the lower part, and he felt at home everywhere. While his sister -was gazing at the shop windows, he was engaged in trying to solve the -difficult question which was still puzzling him,—"Where should he find a -home for his sister?" - -The solution of the question was nearer than he anticipated. - -As they passed a large clothing-house, the little girl's attention was -suddenly attracted to a young woman, who came out of the front entrance -with a large bundle under her arm. - -"O Miss Manning," she cried, joyfully, "how do you do?" - -"What, little Rose!" exclaimed the seamstress, a cordial smile lighting -up her face, pale from confinement and want of exercise. - -"How are you, Miss Manning?" said the newsboy, in an off-hand manner. - -"I am glad to see you, Rufus," said the young woman, shaking hands with -him. "How you have grown!" - -"Have I?" said Rough and Ready, pleased with what he regarded as a -compliment. "I'm glad I'm getting up in the world that way, if I can't -in any other." - -"Do you sell papers now, Rufus?" - -"Yes. I expect all the newspaper editors would fail if I didn't help 'em -off with their papers." - -"You are both looking fresh and rosy." - -"Particularly Rose," said the newsboy, laughing. "But you are not -looking very well, Miss Manning." - -"Oh, I'm pretty well," said the seamstress; "but I don't get much chance -to get out into the air." - -"You work too hard." - -"I have to work hard," she replied, smiling faintly. "Sewing is not very -well paid, and it costs a great deal to live. Where are you living now?" - -"We are not living anywhere," said Rose. - -"We are living on Broadway just at present," said Rough and Ready. - -The seamstress looked from one to the other in surprise, not -understanding what they meant. - -"Where is your father now?" she asked. - -"I have no father," said the newsboy. - -"Is Mr. Martin dead, then?" - -"No, he's alive, but he isn't my father, and I won't own him as such. If -you want to know where he is, I will tell you. He is lying drunk on the -floor of a room on Leonard Street, or at least he was half an hour ago." - -The newsboy spoke with some bitterness, for he never could think with -any patience of the man who had embittered the last years of his -mother's life, and had that very morning nearly deprived his little -sister of the clothing which he had purchased for her. - -"Have you left him, then?" asked the seamstress. - -"Yes, we have left him, and we do not mean to go near him again." - -"Then you mean to take the whole care of your little sister, Rufus?" - -"Yes." - -"It is a great responsibility for a boy like you." - -"It is what I have been doing all along. Mr. Martin hasn't earned his -share of the expenses. I've had to take care of us both, and him too, -and then he didn't treat us decently. I'll tell you what he did this -morning." - -Here he told the story of the manner in which his little sister had been -robbed of her dress. - -"You don't think I'd stand that, Miss Manning, do you?" he said, lifting -his eyes to hers. - -"No, Rufus; it seemed hard treatment. So you're going to find a home -somewhere else?" - -"Yes." - -"Where do you expect to go?" - -"Well, that is what puzzles me," said the newsboy. "I want some place in -the west part of the city, so as to be out of Martin's way. Where do you -live?" - -"In Franklin Street, not far from the river." - -"Is it a good place?" - -"As good as I can expect. You know that I am poor as well as you." - -"Is there any chance for us in the house?" asked Rufus, with a sudden -idea touching the solution of the problem that had troubled him. - -"No, there is no room vacant, I believe," said the seamstress, -thoughtfully. "If there were only Rose, now," she added, "I could take -her into the room with me." - -"That's just the thing," said Rufus, joyfully. "Rose, wouldn't you like -to be with Miss Manning? Then you would have company every day." - -"Yes," said Rose, "I should like it ever so much; but where would you -be?" she asked, doubtfully. - -"I'll go to the Newsboys' Lodging House to sleep, but I'll come every -afternoon and evening to see you. I'll give Miss Manning so much a week -for your share of the expenses, and then I'll feel easy about you. But -wouldn't she be a trouble to you, Miss Manning?" - -"A trouble," repeated the seamstress. "You don't know how much I shall -enjoy her company. I get so lonely sometimes. If you'll come with me -now, I'll show you my room, and Rose shall find a home at once." - -Much relieved in mind, Rough and Ready, with his sister still clinging -to his arm, followed the seamstress down Franklin Street towards her -home near the river. - - - - - CHAPTER V. - A NEW HOME. - - -Miss Manning paused before a house, not indeed very stylish, but -considerably more attractive than the tenement house in Leonard Street. - -"This is where I live," she said. - -"Is it a tenement house?" asked the newsboy. - -"No, there's a woman keeps it,—a Mrs. Nelson. Some of the rooms are -occupied by boarders, but others only by lodgers. I can't afford to pay -the board she asks; so I only hire a room, and board my self." - -While she was speaking, the two children were following her upstairs. - -The entries were dark, and the stairs uncarpeted, but neither Rough and -Ready nor his sister had been used to anything better, and were far from -criticising what might have been disagreeable to those more fastidious. - -Miss Manning kept on till she reached the fourth story. Here she paused -before a door, and, taking a key from her pocket, opened it. - -"This is where I live," she said. "Come in, both of you." - -The room occupied by the seamstress was about twelve feet square. Though -humble enough in its appearance, it was exquisitely neat. In the centre -of the floor was a strip of carpeting about eight feet square, leaving, -of course, a margin of bare floor on all sides. - -"Why, you've got a carpet, Miss Manning!" said Rose, with pleasure. - -"Yes," said the seamstress, complacently; "I bought it at an auction -store one day, for only a dollar and a half. I couldn't well spare the -money; but it seemed so nice to have a carpet, that I yielded to the -temptation, and bought it." - -"It seems more respectable to have a carpet," said the newsboy. - -"It's more comfortable," said Miss Manning, "and it seems as if the room -was warmer, although it doesn't cover the whole floor." - -"What a nice little stove!" said Rose, admiringly, "Can you cook by it?" - -She pointed to a small square stove, at one end of the apartment. - -"Oh, yes, I can boil eggs, and do almost anything. I bought it at a -junk-shop for only two dollars. I don't have a fire all the time, -because I can't afford it. But it is pleasant, even when I am feeling -cold, to think that I can have a fire when I want to." - -In the corner of the room was a bedstead. There was also a very plain, -and somewhat battered, bureau, and a small glass of seven inches by nine -hanging over it. On a small table were placed half-a-dozen books, -including the Bible, which years ago Miss Manning had brought from her -country home, the gift of a mother, now many years dead. The poor -seamstress never let a day pass without reading a chapter in the good -book, and, among all her trials and privations, of which she had many, -she had never failed to derive comfort and good cheer from it. - -"How nice your room looks, Miss Manning!" said Rose, admiringly. - -"Yes, it's jolly," said the newsboy. - -"I try to make it as comfortable as I can; but my means are small, and I -cannot do all I wish." - -"And are you willing to let Rose come and live with you?" - -"I shall be very glad to have her. She will be so much company for me." - -"You'd like to come, Rosie, wouldn't you?" - -"Ever so much," said the little girl; "that is, if I can see you every -day." - -"Of course you will. I'll come up to see how you're gettin' along." - -"Then it's all settled," said the seamstress, cheerfully. "Take off your -bonnet, Rose, and I'll tell you where to put it." - -"It isn't all settled yet," said Rough and Ready. "I must find out about -how much it's going to cost for Rose, and then I can pay you so much -every week. How much rent do you pay for this room?" - -"It costs me a dollar a week." - -"Maybe they'll charge more if there are two in it." - -"I think not much. I could go and ask Mrs. Nelson." - -"I wish you would." - -The seamstress went downstairs, and saw the landlady. She returned with -the intelligence that Mrs. Nelson would be willing to have her receive -Rose on the payment of twenty-five cents additional. - -"That will make a dollar and a quarter for the two," said the newsboy. -"Then I'll pay sixty-two cents a week for Rose's share." - -"No," said the seamstress,—"only twenty-five cents. That is all that is -charged extra for her." - -"Rose must pay her half of the expenses," said the newsboy, decidedly. -"That'll be sixty-two cents a week for the rent." - -"But you've got yourself to provide for, as well as your little sister," -said the seamstress. - -"I can do it," said Rough and Ready, confidently. "Don't you worry about -that." - -"But it seems as if I was making money out of Rose." - -"No more'n she is making money out of you. It's the same for both, as -far as I can see," said the newsboy. "Now, how much does it cost you for -eatin' a week?" - -"About a dollar and a quarter," said the seamstress, after a little -thought. - -"That's a very little. What can you get for that?" - -"There's a small loaf of bread every day. I get that at the baker's -round the corner. I don't often get butter, but I keep a little on hand, -so that when my appetite is poor I can use it. When eggs are cheap, I -boil one for my breakfast." - -"Don't you ever eat meat?" - -"Sometimes I buy half a pound of steak at the market. That lasts me two -days. It strengthens me up wonderfully." - -"Half a pound of meat in two days!" repeated Rough and Ready, -wonderingly. "I guess you don't know what it is to have a newsboy's -appetite." - -"No," said the seamstress, smiling. "I never was a newsboy that I -remember." - -"Rufie can sell papers as fast as anything," said Rose, who had a high -appreciation of her brother's merits. "I stood by him one morning when -he was selling. He knew just what paper everybody wanted, and made them -buy, whether they wanted to or not." - -"Oh, I'm a rouser at selling papers," said the newsboy. "I can sell more -in a mornin' than any boy on the street." - -"You look like a smart boy." - -"Do I? I wish other people thought so; but I tried for a place once, and -the man looked at me as if he thought I'd start off early some mornin' -with his cash-box, and declined engagin' me. Maybe he thought I looked -too smart." - -"Rufie wouldn't steal for anything!" said Rose, with indignant emphasis. - -"I don't know about that. I've stolen you this mornin'. I expect Mr. -Martin will open his eyes wider'n usual when he finds you are gone. I'll -tell you what I'll do, Miss Manning," he continued, turning to the -seamstress. "As near as I can make out, Rose will cost about three -dollars a week." - -"That's too much. Sixty-two cents and a dollar and a quarter make not -quite two dollars." - -"I know that, but you will want to live a little better than you have -done. You must have meat oftener, and will want fire all the time when -it's cold. Then it won't do you any hurt to have a good cup of tea every -night." - -"But three dollars seem a good deal for you to pay," expostulated Miss -Manning. - -"Don't trouble yourself about that. I can work more cheerful, if I know -that Rose is comfortable. Maybe, if I'll buy her a book, you'll teach -her a little every day." - -"I will, and with great pleasure." - -"Then I'll bring the book along to-night." - -"Oh, there's one thing more," said Rough and Ready, suddenly. "Don't you -want to take another boarder?" - -"Another boarder?" - -"Yes, I'd like to come round, and take supper with you every night. -Breakfast I'll get at the Lodgin' House, and dinner at a restaurant, but -it would be pleasant to come round, and eat supper with you and Rose." - -"It would be pleasant for us also," said Miss Manning. - -"I guess that'll cost you a dollar a week more, so I'll pay you four -dollars a week." - -"I don't like to have you pay so much. I feel as if I were making money -out of you." - -"I'll take care you don't. You don't know what an appetite I've got. -I'll come round at six every evening, or before; only six can be the -hour for supper." - -"Very well, Rufus, but you must promise me one thing." - -"What is it?" - -"That if you find it is too hard on you to pay so much money, you will -let me know." - -"All right. So it's all settled?" - -"Yes." - -"Good!" said the newsboy, with an air of satisfaction. "Now I must be -goin' to business. I don't know exactly what time it is, as I left my -gold watch lyin' on the sofy in Leonard Street." - -"Oh, what a story, Rufie!" said Rose. "He hasn't got any gold watch, -Miss Manning, and we didn't have any sofy in Leonard Street." - -"That's the way she's always exposin' me, Miss Manning," said the -newsboy, laughing. - -"Well, Rosy, good-by. It's time for the evenin' papers to be out, and I -must be on hand, as the other boys." - -He kissed his little sister, and hurried downstairs. As he was making -his way towards the offices of the evening papers, he felt great -satisfaction in thinking of his unexpected good fortune in finding so -desirable a home for his little sister. Hitherto he had felt a great -deal of anxiety about her, during his necessary absence during the day, -knowing only too well the character of his stepfather. He had known that -there was danger of little Rose being abused in his frequent fits of -intoxication, and more than once his heart was filled with apprehension, -as he ascended the stairs to the cold and cheerless room in Leonard -Street, which he had been forced to call home for the lack of a better. - -But now there was a great change for the better. He knew that Miss -Manning would be kind to little Rose, and would take good care of her, -as well as provide her with pleasant company, while he was on the street -selling papers. It was pleasant to him also to reflect that the -arrangement would be an advantageous one for the seamstress. He had -noticed her pale cheek, and he felt sure that it proceeded, not only -from steady and confining work, but also from a lack of nourishing food. -She would now be able to live better and more comfortable, and without -exceeding the sum which she had hitherto been accustomed to expend. In -the first place, she would have to pay thirty-eight cents less weekly -for rent, and though this may seem a very small sum to the boys and -girls who may read my story, it represented to the poor seamstress the -proceeds of an entire day's work, beginning at early morning, and -extending for fourteen hours. So, while Rough and Ready thought -principally of his sister, it pleased him to feel that in benefiting her -he was also benefiting the one who had agreed to take charge of her. - -Then, as to himself, although he would pass his nights at the Lodging -House, and eat breakfast there, once a day he would be at the little -room in Franklin Street, and this would make him feel that he had some -share in his sister's home. - -He made his way to the offices of the evening papers, obtained a supply, -and was soon busily engaged in disposing of them. While he is thus -engaged, we must go back to Leonard Street, which the newsboy and his -sister have left, as they hope, forever. - - - - - CHAPTER VI. - MARTIN'S AWAKENING. - - -James Martin lay in a drunken stupor for about an hour after Rough and -Ready and his sister left the room. Then he roused a little, and -muttered "Rose." - -But there was no answer. - -"Rose," he repeated, not stirring from his recumbent position, "have you -got anything to eat in the house?" - -But the little girl whom he addressed was already in her new home on -Franklin Street. - -"Why don't you answer?" demanded he, angrily. "I'll give you a licking." - -As this threat also elicited no response, he turned over and rose -slowly. - -"The gal isn't here," he said, after looking about him. "She's gone out -with her scamp of a brother. He's an obstinate young rascal. I'll give -him a flogging some time." - -Martin had often had the disposition to inflict punishment upon our -hero, but there was a sturdy courage and firmness about Rough and Ready -that promised a determined opposition. So he had escaped where a weaker -and more timid boy would have suffered bad treatment. - -Though Martin missed Rose he had no idea yet that she had left him for -good, as the saying is. He supposed that she had gone out to stand by -her brother when he was selling papers. He had often been drunk before, -and probably expected to be often again. He felt no particular shame at -disposing of the little girl's clothes for rum. He had somehow formed -the idea that it was the newsboy's duty to support the family, and felt -that he had no business to spend so much money on his sister's dress. He -could not understand, therefore, why Rough and Ready should be so angry. - -"Dressing up Rose like a princess!" he muttered. "We're too poor to -spend money on good clothes I have to go about in rags, and why -shouldn't she?" - -Martin wore a suit which had done long and hard service. He wore a -jacket of green cloth, frayed and dirty, while his other garments, -originally black, were stained and patched. He wore no collar or -necktie. On his head was a tall hat, which had already reached that -outward condition when it is usually considered fit only to supply the -place of a broken pane. - -Such was the stepfather of the newsboy and his sister, and when to the -description I add inflamed eyes, a red face, and swollen nose, I think -my young readers will hardly wonder that the children had long lost all -respect and attachment for him, if indeed they had ever felt any. When I -think of the comfortable home he might have had, for he was a skilful -workman and capable of earning good wages, I feel out of patience with -him for preferring to lead a life so degraded and useless, doing harm -both to himself and to others. But, in a great city like New York, there -are many men who lead lives no better than James Martin, who, for the -brief pleasure of the intoxicating cup, throw away their own happiness -and welfare, and spoil the happiness of others. Think of this picture, -boy-reader, and resolve thus early that such a description shall never -apply to you! - -Feeling hungry, Martin looked into the cupboard, and discovered part of -a loaf of bread. He was disappointed to find no cold meat, as he had -hoped. - -"This is pretty poor living," he muttered. "That boy must pay me more -money. He don't work hard enough. How can he expect three people to live -on fifty cents a day?" - -It did not seem to occur to Martin that he ought to have contributed -something himself to the support of the family. So, while he was eating -the bread, he continued to rail against our hero, and resolved to exact -from him in future sixty cents daily. - -"He can pay it,—a smart boy like him," he muttered. "He's lazy, that's -what's the matter. He's got to turn over a new leaf." - -Having eaten up the bread, and feeling still hungry, he explored the -contents of his pocket-book. It contained twenty-five cents, being half -of the money he had received from the old-clothes dealer for the little -girl's dress. - -"That'll buy me a drink and a plate of meat," he thought; "only there -won't be any left. Money don't go far in these days." - -But persons who get money as this was got, are not very apt to be -disturbed much by economical thoughts. "Easy come, easy go," is an old -adage and a true one. So Martin, reflecting that the newsboy was out -earning money, of which he would receive the benefit, saw nothing to -prevent his using the balance of the money to gratify the cravings of -appetite. - -He accordingly went to a neighboring saloon, where he soon invested his -money, and then, thrusting his hands in his empty pockets, strolled -listlessly about the streets. Passing through the City Hall Square, he -saw Rough and Ready, at a little distance, selling his papers. - -"Rose isn't with him," said Martin to himself. "Maybe she's gone home." - -However, this was a point in which he felt very little interest. There -was no particular object in addressing the newsboy on the subject, so he -wandered on in a listless way wherever caprice led. - -Strolling down Broadway, he turned into Dey Street, though he had no -definite object in so doing. All at once he felt a touch upon his -shoulder. - -"Well, Martin, how goes it?" said a stout, active-looking man, of much -more respectable appearance than Martin himself. - -"Hard luck!" said Martin. - -"Well, you don't look very prosperous, that's a fact. Where are you at -work now?" - -"Nowhere." - -"Can't you find work?" - -"No," said Martin. - -The fact was that he had not tried, preferring to live on the earnings -of his stepson. - -"That's strange," said the new-comer. "Carpenters are in demand. There's -a good deal of building going on in Brooklyn just now. I'll give you -employment myself, if you'll come over to-morrow morning. I'm putting up -three houses on Fourth Avenue, and want to hurry them through as soon as -possible, as they are already let, and the parties want to move in. -Come, what do you say?" - -"I didn't think of going to work just yet," said Martin, reluctantly. -"The fact is, I don't feel quite strong." - -"Perhaps there's a reason for that," said the other, significantly. - -"I don't feel well, and that's all about it." - -"Perhaps you drink a little too often." - -"I don't drink enough to hurt me. It's all that keeps me up." - -"Well, that's your affair, not mine. Only, if you make up your mind to -go to work, come over to-morrow morning to Brooklyn, and I'll have -something for you to do." - -To this Martin assented, and the builder, for such was his business, -passed on. Martin had very little thought of accepting the proposal; -but, as we shall see, circumstances soon brought it to his mind, and -changed his determination. - -It is not necessary to follow Martin in his afternoon wanderings. He -took no more drink, for the simple reason that he was out of money, and -his credit was not good; so when evening came he was comparatively free -from the influence of his earlier potations. About six o'clock he went -back to the room in Leonard Street. It was about that time that Rough -and Ready usually went home to eat his supper, and, as he was still -hungry, he proposed to eat supper with the children. - -But when he opened the door of the room, he was surprised to find it -empty. He expected to find Rose there, at all events, even if her -brother had not yet returned home. - -"Rose," he cried out, "where are you?" - -There was no answer. - -"If you're hiding anywhere, you'd better come out, or I'll give you -something you don't like." - -"This is strange," he said to himself when again there was no reply. - -He went across the landing, and knocked at the door opposite. - -A stout woman, with her sleeves rolled up, opened the door. - -"Have you seen anything of my two children, Mrs. Flanagan?" asked -Martin. - -"I saw them this morning." - -"I mean since morning." - -"No; the boy took the little girl out about the middle of the day, and I -haven't seen either one of 'em since." - -"They didn't say anything to you about going out, did they?" - -"Shure they didn't, and why should they? They go out every day, for that -matter." - -"Well, it's time for them to be home now." - -"They'll be comin' soon, it's likely;" and Mrs. Flanagan closed her -door, and went back to washing,—for this was her business. - -Martin returned to the lonely room, not altogether satisfied with what -he had learned. It was, as he knew, quite unusual for Rose to be gone -out all the afternoon, or, at any rate, not to be back at this hour. -Besides, as he called to mind, she was not with Rough and Ready when he -saw him in the afternoon. Where, then, could she be? - -It was from no particular affection for Rose that Martin put to himself -these queries. But it was through Rose that he retained his hold upon -Rufus and his earnings. Besides, Rose, though only seven years old, had -been accustomed to get the supper, and make tea at times when Martin had -not money enough to buy any beverage more stimulating. So, on the whole, -he felt rather uncomfortable, and resolved to go out and find the -newsboy, and learn from him where Rose was. He descended the stairs, -therefore, and made his way to the sidewalk in front of the "Times" -office, where Rough and Ready was usually to be found. But here he -looked for him in vain. The fact was that our hero had sold off his -papers, and a large number of them, with greater rapidity than usual, -and was at this very moment sitting at Miss Manning's little table with -Rose, eating a comfortable, though not very extravagant, supper. - -Martin went back to Leonard Street, therefore, still with a vague hope -that he might find the children at home. But he was destined to be -disappointed. The room was as dark and cheerless and lonely as ever. - -"What does it all mean?" thought Martin. "Has the young rascal given me -the slip?" - -He had been in the room only five minutes, when there was a knock at the -door. - -It proved to be the landlord's agent, who collected the rent. - -"Your month's rent is due, Mr. Martin," he said. - -"I haven't got any money." - -"That answer won't do," said the man, shortly. - -"You'll have to come again to-morrow, at any rate. My boy's got the -money for the rent, and he isn't in now." - -"You must be ready to-morrow, or move out." - -"I guess it'll be move then, if the boy doesn't come back," muttered -Martin. "One good thing, he can't escape me. I can catch him to-morrow -morning when he's selling papers. Rent or no rent, I'll get one more -night's rest in this room." - -Although it was yet early he lay down, and did not rise till the morning -light entered the room. Then, feeling the cravings of appetite, he got -up, and went out in search of the newsboy. - -"He won't find it quite so easy to get rid of me as he thinks for," -muttered Martin, with a scowl. - - - - - CHAPTER VII. - THE NEWSBOY AND HIS STEPFATHER. - - -Rough and Ready passed the night at the Lodging House, as he had -previously determined. The bed which he obtained there was considerably -better than the one he had usually rested upon in the room in Leonard -Street. He slept soundly, and only awoke when the summons came to all -the boys to get up. As our hero lifted up his head, and saw the rows of -beds, with boys sitting up and rubbing their eyes, the thought of his -freedom from the sway of his stepfather recurred to his mind, and he -jumped up in very good spirits. He breakfasted at the Lodge, paying only -six cents for the meal, and then hastened to the offices of the morning -papers to secure a supply of merchandise. - -He began to estimate his probable weekly expenses. He had agreed to pay -Miss Manning four dollars a week for Rose's board and his own supper. -His expenses at the Lodging House would be seventy-two cents a week. His -dinner would perhaps amount to a dollar more. This would be five dollars -and seventy-two cents, which he must earn at any rate. But, besides -this, both Rose and himself would need clothes. Probably these would -cost annually fifty dollars apiece, averaging, for the two, two dollars -per week. Thus his entire expenses footed up seven dollars and -seventy-two cents, or about one dollar and twenty-nine cents per working -day. - -"That is considerable," thought the newsboy. "I wonder if I can do it." - -Some boys might have been frightened at this estimate. But Rough and -Ready had good courage. He felt that his sister and he could not live -comfortably for less, and he resolved that if he could not make it all -by selling papers, he would get a chance to do errands, or manage in -some other way to eke out the necessary amount. But he resolved to make -his newspaper trade pay as much of it as possible. He went to work, -therefore, with a good deal of energy, and the pile of morning papers, -with which he started, melted away fast. At last he had but one left. -Looking out for a purchaser for that, he saw advancing towards him an -old woman, dressed in quaint, old-fashioned costume. - -"Won't you let me look at that paper of yourn?" asked the old lady. - -"Certainly, ma'am," said Rough and Ready; "it's made to be looked at." - -"Wait a minute. I dunno as I've got my specs," said she, diving her hand -into a pocket of great depth, and bringing up first a snuff-box, and -next a red cotton handkerchief. - -"There, I know'd I'd mislaid 'em," she said, in a tone of -disappointment. "Can you read, boy?" - -"More or less," said Rough and Ready. "What is it you wanted?" - -"Why, you see I live to Danbury when I'm at home, and I heerd tell that -Roxanna Jane Pinkham was married, and I want to know ef it's true. Maybe -you'll find it in the marriages." - -"All right, ma'am," said Rough and Ready, glancing over the paper till -he came to the list of marriages. - -"Is this it, ma'am?" asked the newsboy, reading, "In Danbury, Miss -Roxanna Jane Pinkham to Pompey Smith, a very respectable colored man -from New York." - -"Massy sakes!" ejaculated the old lady. "Has Roxanna married a nigger? -Well, she must have been put to't for a husband. Thank you, boy. I'd buy -your paper, but I only wanted to know for certain if Roxanna was -married. That does beat me,—her marryin' a colored person!" - -"That's a profitable customer," thought the newsboy. "I guess she won't -find that marriage in any of the other papers. This one has got it -exclusive." - -Immediately upon her return, the old lady spread the news of Roxanna -Pinkham's strange marriage, and wrote comments upon it to her daughter -in Danbury. When the report was indignantly denied by the lady most -interested, and she threatened to sue the old lady for circulating a -slanderous report, the latter stoutly asserted that she heard it read -from a New York paper, and she had no doubt there was something in it, -or it wouldn't have got into print. - -This trick was hardly justifiable in the newsboy; but he was often -troubled by people who wanted to look at his papers, but were not -willing to buy them, and he repaid himself by some imaginary news of a -startling description. - -After disposing of his last paper, he procured a fresh supply, and was -engaged in selling these, when, on looking up, he saw advancing towards -him James Martin, his stepfather. - -Before chronicling the incidents of the interview between them, we must -go back to the time of Martin's awaking in the room in Leonard Street. - -He remembered, at once, the visit of the landlord's agent the day -previous, and felt that the time for action had arrived. He knew that -the scanty furniture in the room was liable to seizure for rent, and -this he resolved the landlord should not get hold of. Accordingly, -dressing hastily, he went round to Baxter Street, and accosted the -proprietor of a general second-hand establishment, with whom he had -previously had some dealings. - -"I've got some furniture to sell," he said. "Do you want to buy?" - -"I don't know," said the other. "Trade is very dull. I don't sell a -dollar's worth in a day." - -"Come, you shall have them cheap," said Martin. - -"What have you got?" - -"Come and see." - -"Where is it?" - -"In Leonard Street, just round the corner." - -The dealer, always ready for a bargain, was induced to climb up to the -attic room, and take a look at the cheap wooden bedstead, with its -scanty bedding, and the two chairs, which were about all the furniture -the room contained. - -"It's not worth much," he said. - -"Well, I suppose it's worth something," said Martin. - -"What'll you take for it?" - -"Three dollars." - -"I'll give you one dollar." - -"That's too bad. You ought to give me two dollars, at any rate." - -At length, after considerable chaffering, the dealer agreed to give a -dollar and a quarter, which Martin pocketed with satisfaction. - -Just as he had effected the sale, the landlord's agent appeared. - -"Have you got your rent ready?" he asked of Martin. - -"No, I haven't," said Martin. - -"Then you must move out." - -"I'm just moving." - -"But I shall seize the furniture," said the agent. "I can't allow you to -move that." - -"Take it, if you want to," said Martin, in a coarse laugh. "I've just -sold it to this man here." - -"I don't believe it," said the agent, angrily. - -"Oh, well, it's nothing to me. Settle it between you," said Martin, -carelessly, going downstairs, leaving the dealer and the agent to an -animated and angry dispute over the broken-down bedstead. - -"That was neatly done," thought Martin, laughing to himself. "I don't -care which gets it. I suppose they'll have a fight about it. Now I must -have a good breakfast, and then for a talk with that young rebel. He -thinks he's cheated me cleverly, but I'm not through with him yet." - -Martin strayed into a restaurant at the lower end of Chatham Street, -where he made a satisfactory breakfast, with as little regard to expense -as if his resources were ample. Indeed, he felt little trouble about the -future, being fully determined that in the future, as in the past, Rufus -should support him. - -"Aint I entitled to his earnings, I'd like to know till he comes of -age?" thought Martin. - -So he convinced himself readily that law and right were on his side, and -it was with no misgivings as to the result that he approached the -newsboy whom, from some distance away, he saw actively engaged in plying -his business. - -"'Herald,' 'Tribune,' 'Times,' 'World'!" cried Rough and Ready, looking -about him for possible customers. - -"So I've found you at last," said James Martin, grimly addressing the -newsboy. - -"I haven't been lost that I know of," said Rough and Ready, coolly. - -"Where were you last night?" - -"At the Newsboys' Lodge." - -"What made you leave home?" - -"I didn't like staying there." - -"You're a mighty independent young man. How old do you pretend to be?" - -"Fifteen, as near as I can remember," said the newsboy. - -"I didn't know but you were twenty-one, as you claim to be your own -master," sneered Martin. - -"I don't see why I shouldn't be my own master," said Rough and Ready, -"as long as I have to support myself." - -"Aint I your father?" - -"No, you aint," said the newsboy, bitterly. "You married my mother, and -killed her with your ill-treatment. I don't want to have anything more -to do with you." - -"Oh, you're mighty smart. What have you done with your sister?" - -"She's safe," said the newsboy, shortly. - -"What business had you to take her away from her home?" demanded Martin, -angrily. - -"I've got the care of her." - -"She's my child, and you must bring her back again." - -"Your child!" said Rufus, contemptuously. "You did not give a cent -towards supporting her. What little you earned you spent for rum. I had -to pay all the expenses, and when I bought my sister some new clothes, -you were mean enough to carry them off and sell them. If it hadn't been -for that, I would have left her a little while longer. But that was more -than I could stand, and I've carried her where you won't find her." - -"Tell me, instantly, where you have carried her," said James Martin, -stung by the newsboy's reproaches, and doggedly resolved to get the -little girl back, at all hazards. - -"I don't mean to tell you," said Rough and Ready. - -"Why not?" - -"Because she is in a good place, where she will be taken care of, and I -don't mean that you shall get hold of her again." - -"You'd better take care what you say," said Martin, his red nose growing -redder still, in his angry excitement. - -"I'm not afraid of your threats," said the newsboy, quietly. - -"I've a great mind to give you a flogging on the spot." - -"I wouldn't advise you to try it, unless you want me to call a copp." - -James Martin had no great love for the police, with whom he had before -now got into difficulty. Besides, he knew that Rufus, though not as -strong as himself, was strong enough to make a very troublesome -resistance to any violence, and that the disturbance would inevitably -attract the attention of the police. So he forbore to attack him, though -he found it hard to resist the impulse. But he shook his fist menacingly -at Rufus, and said, "Some day I'll get hold of your sister, you may be -sure of that, and when I do, I'll put her where you'll never set eyes on -her again. Just remember that!" - -He went off muttering, leaving Rufus a little troubled. He knew that his -stepfather had an ugly spirit, and he feared that he would keep on the -watch for Rose, and some day might get hold of her. The very thought was -enough to make him tremble. He determined to warn Miss Manning of the -danger which threatened his little sister, and request her to be very -careful of her, keeping her continually under her eye. - - - - - CHAPTER VIII. - ROSE IN HER NEW HOME. - - -At the close of the afternoon the newsboy, counting up his gains, found -that he had made a dollar and a half by selling papers, and twenty-five -cents besides, by an errand which he had done for a shopkeeper whose boy -was sick. If he could keep up this rate of wages every day, he would be -able to get along very well. But, in the first place, it was not often -that he made as much as a dollar and a half by selling papers, nor was -there a chance to do errands every day. When it was rainy his sales of -papers fell off, as there were not so many people about Rufus began to -feel like a family man, with the responsibility of supporting a family -on his hands. - -He was determined that his little sister should not be obliged to go out -into the street to earn anything, though there are many girls, no older -than she, who are sent out with matches, or papers, or perhaps to beg. -But Rufus was too proud to permit that. - -"A stout boy like me ought to earn money enough to take care of two -persons," he said to himself. - -About half-past five he started for Franklin Street, for it will be -remembered that he had arranged to take supper with his sister and Miss -Manning. - -Rose had been listening for his step, and as soon as she heard it on the -stairs, she ran out on the landing, and called out, joyfully, "Is that -you, Rufie?" - -"Yes, Rosie," said the newsboy. "What have you been doing to-day?" - -"I've had such a nice time, Rufie," said the little girl, clinging to -her brother's arm. "Miss Manning began to teach me my letters to-day." - -"How does she get along, Miss Manning?" asked Rough and Ready, who by -this time had entered the room. - -"Famously," said Miss Manning. "She's very quick. I think she'll be able -to read in three months, if she keeps on doing as well as to-day." - -"That's good," said the newsboy, with satisfaction. "I've always been -afraid that she would grow up ignorant, and I shouldn't like that." - -"I'm no great scholar," said Miss Manning, modestly; "but I shall be -glad to teach Rose all I can." - -"I am afraid it will be a good deal of trouble for you." - -"No, it is very little. Rose sits beside me, learning, while I am -sewing." - -"But you have to leave off to hear her." - -"Leaving off now and then rests me. Besides, as you pay part of my rent, -I do not need to work so steadily as I used to do." - -"I've a great mind to ask you to teach me a little, too, Miss Manning," -said the newsboy. - -"I'll do it with pleasure, as far as I am capable. How much do you -know?" - -"Precious little," said Rufus. "I can read some, but when I get out of -easy reading I can't do much." - -"Can you write?" - -"A little, but not much." - -"I will help you all I can." - -"Then I'll bring a writing book to-morrow evening, and a book to read -out of." - -Rough and Ready, though not as ignorant as many in his situation in -life, had long deplored his ignorance, and wished that he knew more. But -he had been obliged to work early and late, and his stepfather was not -one to give him assistance, or take any interest in his improvement. So -he had grown up ignorant, though possessed of excellent abilities, -because he saw no way of obtaining the knowledge he desired. Now, -however, he thought, with Miss Manning's help, he might enter upon a -career of improvement. - -"Have you seen father yet, Rufie?" asked Rose, uneasily. - -"I saw Mr. Martin this morning," said the newsboy, emphasizing the name, -for he would not recognize any relationship between them. - -"I mean Mr. Martin," said Rose. "What did he say?" - -"He wanted to know where you were." - -"Did he?" asked Rose, looking frightened. - -"Don't be afraid, Rosie," said her brother, putting his arm round his -little sister's neck. "He doesn't know, and I shan't let him find out." - -[Illustration: ROSE AND HER ENEMY.] - -"But if he should find out," said Rose, in terror. "You won't let him -carry me off." - -"No, I won't. Don't be frightened. Do you like this better than Leonard -Street, Rosie?" - -"Oh, ever so much." - -Rufus looked pleased. He felt that he had made the best arrangement in -his power for his sister's comfort and happiness, and that he had been -very lucky to find so suitable a person as Miss Manning to place her -with. - -While he was talking with Rose, the seamstress had been moving about -quietly, and by this time the little table was neatly spread in the -centre of the room. On it were placed knives, forks, and plates for -three. The teakettle had boiled, and, taking out her little teapot, the -seamstress put it on the stove for the tea to steep. - -"Do you like toast, Rufus?" she asked. - -"Yes, Miss Manning; but I don't want you to take too much trouble." - -"It's very little trouble. I think Rose would like toast too. I've got a -little meat too." - -She took from the cupboard about half a pound of steak, which she put on -the coals to broil. - -"I'm afraid you're giving us too good a supper," said the newsboy. -"Beefsteak costs considerable. I don't want you to lose money by Rose -and me." - -"There is no danger of that," said Miss Manning. "It doesn't cost as -much as you think for. The steak only cost me twelve cents." - -"But there's the tea and the toast," suggested Rough and Ready. - -"Toast costs no more than bread, and six cents pays for all the bread we -eat at night. Then I only need a spoonful or two of tea, and that, and -the sugar and butter altogether, don't cost more than eighteen cents." - -"Do you mean that we can live like this for thirty cents a meal?" asked -the newsboy, incredulously. "Why, I have about as much as that to pay -for my dinner at the eating-house, and the meat isn't as good as this, I -am sure." - -"Yes, they charge considerable for the cooking and the profits," said -Miss Manning. "I do the cooking myself, and save all that." - -By this time dinner, as we may call it, was ready, and the three sat -down to the table. - -It was, to be sure, an humble meal; but it looked very attractive and -inviting for all that, with the steak on a plate in the centre, the -well-browned toast on one side, and the little plate of butter on the -other, while the little teapot steamed with its fragrant beverage. It -was so different from the way in which they had lived in Leonard Street, -that it seemed very pleasant to the two children. - -"Isn't it nice, Rufie?" said Rose. - -"Yes," said the newsboy. "It's what I call reg'larly jolly. Besides, it -cost so little money, I can't get over that. I'm sure we're much obliged -to Miss Manning." - -"But," said the seamstress, "you must remember that if it's better for -you, it's better and pleasanter for me too. You mustn't think I used to -live like this before Rose came to me. I couldn't afford to. Sometimes I -had a little tea, but not often, and it was very seldom that I ate any -meat. The rent came hard for me to pay, and I had to work so steadily -that I didn't feel as if I could afford time to cook anything, even if I -had the money to buy it with." - -"What did you have for supper, Miss Manning?" inquired Rose. - -"Generally I didn't get anything but dry bread, without butter or tea." - -"But I should think you would have felt hungry for something else." - -"I didn't have much appetite. I sat so steadily at my work, without a -chance to breathe the fresh air, that I cared very little about eating. -My appetite is beginning to come now." - -"I think you and Rose had better take a walk every day," said Rufus. -"You both need to breathe the fresh air. That is, if you think you can -spare the time." - -"Oh, yes, I can spare the time, now that I get paid so well for my -boarder," said the seamstress, playfully. "An hour or two of my time is -worth very little. How much do you think I earn when I sit over my work -all day,—about fourteen hours?" - -"I don't know," said Rufus. "I think you ought to earn as much as a -dollar." - -Miss Manning shook her head, with a smile. - -"I see you know very little about the wages paid to us poor -seamstresses," she said. "If I were paid a dollar for my day's work I -should feel as if I were worth a fortune." - -"But you earn near that," said the newsboy, "don't you?" - -"When I work steadily, I earn about three shillings," said Miss Manning. - -I must here remind my New England reader, who is accustomed to consider -a shilling about seventeen cents, that in New York eight shillings are -reckoned to the dollar, and a shilling, therefore, only represents -twelve and a half cents; Miss Manning's day's work thus brought her -thirty-seven and a half cents. - -"Three shillings!" repeated Rough and Ready, in surprise. "That's very -poor pay. I think I do very poorly if I don't make as much as a dollar. -Won't they pay you any more?" - -"No, they find plenty who are ready to take their work at the price they -are willing to pay. If anybody complains, they take away their work and -employ somebody else." - -"How much do you think I made to day?" asked the newsboy. - -"A dollar and a quarter?" - -"I made a dollar and seventy-five cents," said Rough and Ready, with -satisfaction. - -"Rufie's real smart," said Rose, who was proud of her brother, in whom -she felt implicit confidence. - -"You mustn't believe all she says, Miss Manning," said the newsboy, -laughing. "Rose thinks more of me than anybody else does. But what were -we talking about? Oh, about going out for a walk every day. If you think -you can spare the time to go out with Rose, I think it will do you both -good." - -"We can come round and see you sell papers sometimes, Rufie," said his -little sister. - -"No," said the newsboy, hastily, "I don't want you to do that." - -"Why not?" said Rose, surprised. - -"Because Mr. Martin is on the lookout for Rose, and will very likely be -prowling round somewhere near me, ready to pounce on Rose if he happens -to see her. So I'd rather you'd keep on the west side with her Miss -Manning. If you go on Broadway, let it be somewhere above Chamber -Street, where you won't be seen from the Park. In that way Martin won't -be likely to meet you." - -"It is best to be prudent, no doubt," said Miss Manning. "I will -remember your wishes." - -The next evening, Rufus began to study, under the guidance and direction -of Miss Manning. He generally left the room about nine o'clock, and made -his way to the Newsboys' Lodge, where he now passed his nights -regularly. - - - - - CHAPTER IX. - MR. MARTIN'S PECUNIARY TROUBLES. - - -James Martin, after his unsatisfactory interview with Rough and Ready, -found it necessary to make some plans for the future. He had been forced -to leave the rooms in Leonard Street; he had no longer the newsboy's -earnings to depend upon, and, disagreeable as it was to work for his own -living, there really seemed no other way open to him. On the whole, as -he had no home and no money, he was not particular about resuming the -care of Rose at once. - -He was willing that her brother should retain the charge of her at -present at his own expense, but none the less was he angry with Rough -and Ready for defying his authority. - -"I'll get hold of the girl yet, in spite of him," he said to himself. -"He'll find out what I am before I get through with him." - -In the mean time, he thought of the work which had been offered him in -Brooklyn, and resolved, as a matter of necessity, to go over and see if -he could not effect an engagement. The new houses he remembered were on -Fourth Avenue, in Brooklyn. He did not know exactly where, but presumed -he could find out. - -He crossed Fulton Ferry, luckily having two cents about him. Fourth -Avenue is situated in that part of Brooklyn which is known as Gowanus, -and is at least two miles from the ferry. The fare by the horse-cars was -six cents, but James Martin had only three left after paying his -ferriage. He could not make up his mind to walk, however, and got into -the Greenwood cars, resolved to trust his luck. The cars started, and -presently the conductor came round. - -Martin put his hand into his pocket unconcernedly, and, starting in -apparent surprise, felt in the other. - -"Some rascal must have picked my pocket," he said. "My pocket-book is -gone." - -"How much money did you have in it?" asked his next neighbor. - -"Forty-five dollars and twenty-five cents," said Martin, with unblushing -falsehood. "It's pretty hard on a poor man." - -The conductor looked rather incredulous, observing his passenger's red -nose, and that his breath was mingled with fumes of whiskey. - -"I'm sorry for you if you've lost your pocket-book," he said; "but can't -you raise six cents?" - -Martin again thrust his hand into his pocket, and drew out three cents. - -"That's all I've got left," he said. "You'll have to take me for half -price." - -"Contrary to orders," said the conductor. "Couldn't do it." - -"What am I to do then?" - -"If you can't pay your fare, you'll have to get off the cars." - -"It seems to me you're rather hard," said a passenger. - -"I have to obey orders," said the conductor. "I don't make the -regulations myself." - -"If you will allow me," said a lady opposite, "I will pay your fare, -sir." - -"Thank you, ma'am," said Martin. "I'll accept your kind offer, though I -wouldn't need to be beholden to anybody, if it hadn't been for my loss. -It's pretty hard on a poor man," he added, complainingly. - -"Will you accept a trifle towards making up your loss?" said an old -gentleman, who had more benevolence than penetration. - -"Thank you, sir," said James Martin, accepting the two-dollar bill which -was tendered him, without feeling the least delicacy in so doing. - -"You're very kind. I wouldn't take it if I hadn't been so unfortunate." - -"You're quite welcome," said the old gentleman, kindly. "You'd better -report your loss to the police." - -"So I shall, as soon as I return to-night." - -James Martin looked round among the other passengers, hoping that some -one else might be induced to follow the example of the charitable old -gentle man. But he was disappointed. There was some thing about his -appearance, which was not exactly engaging or attractive, and his red -nose inspired suspicions that his habits were not quite what they ought -to have been. In fact, there was more than one passenger who had serious -doubts as to the reality of his loss. - -When the cars reached the entrance of Fourth Avenue, Martin descended, -and walked up the street. - -"Well," he said, chuckling, as he drew out the bill from his pocket, -"I'm in luck. I'd like to meet plenty as soft-headed as that old chap -that gave it to me. He swallowed down my story, as if it was gospel. -I'll try it again some time when I'm hard up." - -Martin began to consider whether, having so large a sum on hand, he had -not better give up the idea of working till the next day; but the desire -to find himself in a position in which he could regain Rose prevailed -over his sluggishness, and he decided to keep on. - -He had not far to walk. He soon came in sight of a row of wooden houses -which were being erected, and, looking about him, he saw the man he had -met in the streets of New York only a day or two before. - -"Hallo, Martin!" he called out, seeing the new arrival; "have you come -over to help us?" - -"Do you need any help?" asked Martin. - -"Badly. One of my men is sick, and I am shorthanded." - -"What do you give?" - -"Two dollars a day." - -Wages are higher now, but this was before the war. - -"Come, what do you say?" - -"Well, I might as well," said Martin. - -"Then I'll tell you what I would like to have you begin on." - -The directions were given, and James Martin set to work. He was in -reality an excellent workman, and the only thing which had reduced him -to his present low fortune was the intemperate habits which had for -years been growing upon him. Mr. Blake, the contractor, himself a master -carpenter, understood this, and was willing to engage him, because he -knew that his work would be done well as long as he was in a fit -condition to work. - -Martin kept at work till six o'clock, when all the workmen knocked off -work. He alone had no boarding-place to go to. - -"Where do you board, Tarbox?" he asked of a fellow-workman. - -"In Eighth Street," he answered. - -"Is it a good place?" - -"Fair." - -"Who keeps the house?" - -"Mrs. Waters." - -"What do you pay?" - -"Four dollars a week." - -This again was lower than the price which mechanics have to pay now. - -"Is there room for another?" - -"Yes, the old lady'll be glad to get another. Will you come?" - -"Well, I'll try it." - -So James Martin walked home with Tarbox, and was introduced to Mrs. -Waters,—a widow who looked as if it required hard work and anxious -thought to keep her head above water. Of course she was glad to get -another boarder, and her necessities were such that she could not afford -to be particular, or possibly Mr. Martin's appearance might have been an -objection. - -"I suppose," she said, "you won't have any objection to go in with Mr. -Tarbox." - -"No," said Martin, "not at present; but I may be bringing my little girl -over here before long. Do you think you can find room for her?" - -"She might sleep with my little girl," said Mrs. Waters; "that is, if -you don't object. How old is she?" - -"She is seven." - -"And my Fanny is eight. They'd be company for each other." - -"My little girl is in New York, at present," said Mr. Martin, "stopping -with—with a relative. I shall leave her there for a while." - -"You can bring her any time, Mr. Martin," said Mrs. Waters. "If you will -excuse me now, I will go and see about the supper." - -In ten minutes the bell rang, and the boarders went down to the basement -to eat their supper. - -Considering Mrs. Waters' rate of board, which has already been -mentioned, it will hardly be expected that her boarding establishment -was a very stylish one. Indeed, style would hardly have been appreciated -by the class of boarders which patronized her. A table, covered with a -partially dirty cloth, stood in the centre of the room. On this were -laid out plates and crockery of common sort, and a good supply of plain -food, including cold meat. Mrs. Waters found that her boarders were more -particular about quantity than quality, and the hearty appetite which -they brought with them after a day's work in the open air caused them to -make serious inroads even upon the most bountiful meal which she could -spread before them. - -James Martin surveyed the prospect with satisfaction. He had lived in a -slip-shod manner for some months, and the table set by Mrs. Waters, -humble as it was, seemed particularly attractive. On the whole, he could -not help feeling that it was better than Leonard Street. Indeed, he felt -in particularly good spirits. He had two dollars in his pocket, and had -worked three quarters of a day, thus earning a dollar and a half, though -he would not be paid for his labor till the end of the week. The thought -did come to him once, that after all he was well rid of Rose, as she -would be an expense to him, and this expense the newsboy had voluntarily -assumed. Now he had only himself to take care of. Why should he not give -up the thought of reclaiming her? - -But then, on the other hand, Rough and Ready's independent course had -offended him, and he felt a desire to "come up" with him. He knew that -nothing would strike the newsboy a severer blow than to deprive him of -his sister, and leave him in uncertainty as to her fate. Revenge he felt -would be sweet, and he fully determined that he would have revenge. - -"Let him look out for himself!" said James Martin. "I'll plague him yet. -He'll be sorry for his cursed impudence, or my name isn't James Martin." - -After supper Martin strolled out, and was not long in finding a -liquor-shop. Here he supplied himself with a vile draught, that had the -effect of making his red nose yet redder when he appeared at the -breakfast-table the next morning. However, he didn't drink to excess, -and was able to resume work the following day. - -We must now leave him, awhile, and turn to little Rose and her brother. - - - - - CHAPTER X. - WHAT THE NEWSBOY FOUND. - - -It has been already stated that Rough and Ready had made a careful -estimate of his expenses, and found that to meet them, including -clothing, he must average seven dollars and seventy-two cents weekly. He -might get along on less, but he was ambitious of maintaining himself and -his sister in comfort. - -This was a considerable sum for a newsboy to earn, and most boys in our -hero's position would have felt discouraged. But Rough and Ready had an -uncommon degree of energy and persistence, and he resolutely determined -that in some way the weekly sum should be obtained. In some honest way, -of course, for our hero, though not free from faults, was strictly -honest, and had never knowingly appropriated a cent that did not justly -belong to him. But he was not averse to any method by which he might -earn an honest penny. - -During the first fortnight after Rose came under the charge of Miss -Manning, the newsboy earned fifteen dollars. His expenses during that -time, including the amount paid for his sister, amounted to ten dollars -and a half. This left four dollars and a half clear. This sum Rufus put -into a savings-bank, knowing that after a time it would be necessary to -purchase clothing both for himself and his sister, and for this purpose -a reserve fund would be required. - -One day, after selling his supply of morning papers, he wandered down to -the Battery. This, as some of my readers may need to be informed, is a -small park situated at the extreme point of Manhattan Island. It was on -a delightful promenade, covered with grass, and shaded by lofty -sycamore-trees. Around it formerly lived some of the oldest and most -aristocratic families in the city. But its ancient glory, its verdure -and beauty, have departed, and it is now unsightly and neglected. None -of its old attractions remain, except the fine view which it affords of -the bay, the islands, and fortifications, and the opposite shores of New -Jersey. The old families have moved far up-town, and the neighborhood is -given to sailors' boarding-houses, warehouses, and fourth-rate hotels -and bar-rooms. - -The newsboy strayed into one of these bar-rooms, not with any idea of -drinking, for he never had been tempted to drink. The example of his -stepfather had been sufficient to disgust him with intemperance. But it -was an idle impulse that led him to enter. He sat down in a chair, and -took up a copy of the "Morning Herald," of which he had sold a -considerable number of copies, without having had a chance to read it. - -Chancing to cast his eyes on the floor, he saw a pocket-book. He stooped -down and picked it up, and slipped it into his pocket. He looked about -him to see if there was any one present that was likely to have lost it. -But, besides the bar-keeper, there was no one in the room except a -rough-looking laborer in his shirt-sleeves, and it was evident that it -did not belong to him, as he drew from his vest-pocket the money with -which he paid for his potation. - -The newsboy concluded that the pocket-book belonged to some patron of -the bar, who had dropped it, and gone away without missing it. The -question came up, what should he do with it? Was it his duty to hand it -to the bar-keeper? - -He decided that it was not. Bar-keepers are apt to have easy -consciences, and this one was not a very attractive representative of -his class. He would undoubtedly pocket the wallet and its contents, and -the true owner, if he should ever turn up, would stand very little -chance of recovering his money. - -These reflections quickly passed through the mind of our hero, and he -decided to retain the pocket-book, and consult some one, in whom he -reposed confidence, as to the proper course to pursue. He had no idea -how much the wallet contained, and did not venture to examine it while -he remained where he was. He decided to ask Mr. O'Connor, the -superintendent of the Lodging House, what he had better do under the -circumstances. - -"I will remain here awhile," thought Rough and Ready. "Maybe the owner -of the wallet will miss it, and come back for it. If he does, and I am -sure it is his, I will give it up. But I won't give it to the -bar-keeper; I don't like his looks." - -So Rufus remained in his seat reading the "Herald." He had never read -the paper so faithfully before. While he was still reading, a sailor -staggered in. He had evidently been drinking before, and showed the -effects of it. - -"A glass of rum," he said, in a thick voice. - -"All right, sir," said the bar-keeper, obsequiously. - -"I'm bound to have a jolly time," said the sailor. "I've just come back -from a voyage, and I mean to make the money fly while I have it." - -So saying, he drew out half-a-dozen bank-bills, rolled up tightly -together. - -"That's the talk," said the bar-keeper, complaisantly. "Nothing like -being jolly." - -"I say, you drink with me," said the sailor. "I don't want to drink -alone." - -"Certainly, thank you;" and the bar-keeper poured out a glass for -himself. - -"Isn't there anybody that would like a drink?" said the sailor. - -He looked around him, and his glance fell on Rough and Ready. - -"Won't that boy drink?" he asked. - -"You had better ask him." - -"I say, won't you have a drink?" said the sailor, turning to the -newsboy. - -"No, I thank you," said the newsboy. - -"Are you too proud to drink with a rough fellow like me?" - -"No," said our hero; "but I never drink. I don't like it." - -"Well, my lad, I don't know but you're right," said the sailor, more -soberly. "My mother asked me not to drink; but I couldn't hold out. -Don't do it, if you don't like it." - -The bar-keeper by this time thought fit to interfere. - -"Look here, boy," he said, angrily, "we don't want any temperance -lectures here. You've stayed as long as you're wanted. You needn't come -in here hurting our trade." - -Rough and Ready did not think it necessary to answer this tirade, but -laid down the paper and went out, carrying the pocket-book with him, of -course. He did not open it, even after he got into the street, for the -action would be noticed, and it might excite suspicion if he were seen -counting over a roll of bills, which he judged from the feeling the -wallet contained. - -It was now time to lay in his supply of afternoon papers, and he -therefore turned his steps to the offices, and was soon busily engaged -in disposing of them. Indeed, so busily was he occupied, that he quite -forgot he had the wallet in his possession. The papers sold readily, and -it was not till he was ready to go to supper with Miss Manning and Rose -that the thought of his discovery returned to him. - -"I will wait and open the pocket-book when I get to the room," he said -to himself. - -"Well, Rose," he said, gayly, on entering the room, "what do you think -I've found?" - -"I wish it was a kitten," said Rose. - -"No, it isn't that," said Rufus, laughing, "and I don't think I should -take the trouble to pick it up, if I did find one." - -"Do you like kittens, Rose?" asked Miss Manning. - -"Yes, very much," said Rose; "they are so pretty and playful." - -"Would you like to have me get one for you?" - -"Will you?" asked the child, eagerly. - -"Yes; there's a lodger on the lower floor has three. No doubt she will -give us one." - -"But won't it trouble you, Miss Manning?" asked the newsboy. "If it -will, don't get it. Rose can get along without it." - -"Oh, I like kittens myself," said Miss Manning; "I should really like -one." - -"Now I like dogs best," said Rough and Ready. - -"Most boys do, I believe," said the seamstress. - -"But kittens are much prettier, Rufie," said Rose. - -"They'll scratch, and dogs won't," said the newsboy; "but if you like a -kitten, and Miss Manning is kind enough to get you one, I shall be glad -to have her do so. But you seem to have forgotten all about my -discovery." - -"What is it, Rufie?" - -Rough and Ready drew the pocket-book from his pocket, and displayed it. - -"Where did you find it, Rufus?" asked Miss Manning. - -"Is there much money in it, Rufie?" asked his sister. - -"I don't know yet, I'll look and see, and afterwards I'll tell where I -found it." - -He opened the wallet, and drew out a roll of bills. Spreading them open, -he began to count. To his surprise they proved to be bills of a large -denomination. There was one one-hundred-dollar bill, five twenties, six -tens, and eight fives. He raised his eyes in surprise. - -"Why, here are three hundred dollars," he said. - -"Three hundred dollars!" exclaimed Rose, clapping her hands. "Why Rufie, -how rich you are!" - -"But it isn't my money, Rose," he said. "You must remember that. I may -find the owner." - -"Oh, I hope you won't," said the little girl, looking disappointed. - -"But it isn't right to wish that, Rose," said Miss Manning. "Suppose you -had lost the money, you would like to have it returned to you, would you -not?" - -"I suppose I should," said Rose; "but three hundred dollars would do us -a great deal of good. You and Rufie wouldn't have to work so hard." - -"As for me, hard work won't hurt me," said the newsboy. "I rather enjoy -it, now that I don't have to give my wages to Mr. Martin to buy rum -with." - -"Have you seen him lately?" - -"Not since the time I mentioned. But now I will tell you where I found -this money." - -Hereupon the newsboy gave the account which is already known to the -reader. It will, of course, be unnecessary to repeat it here. When he -had finished speaking, Miss Manning asked, "Well, Rufus, what do you -intend to do about the money?" - -"I am going to ask Mr. O'Connor's advice about it to-night," said our -hero. "Whatever he says I ought to do, I will do." - -"Perhaps you won't find any owner, Rufie." - -"We won't count our eggs before they are hatched," said Rufus, "and -speaking of eggs, when are you going to give us some more for supper, -Miss Manning? Those we had Monday were bully." - -"We'll have them often, if you like them, Rufus," said the seamstress. - -In five minutes they sat down to supper, in which, as usual, Rufus did -full justice. - - - - - CHAPTER XI. - THE ADVERTISEMENT IN THE HERALD. - - -About eight o'clock Rough and Ready bade goodnight to Miss Manning and -his sister, and went round to the Newsboys' Lodge to sleep. - -On entering the room he went up to the superintendent, and said, "Mr. -O'Connor, I want to ask your advice about something." - -"Very well, Rufus, I will give you the best advice in my power. Now what -is it?" - -Hereupon the newsboy told the story of his finding the pocket-book. - -"Didn't you see any one to whom you think it was likely to belong?" - -"No, sir." - -"How long did you remain after you found it?" - -"I waited about half an hour, thinking that the loser might come back -for it; but no one came." - -"Why did you not give it to the bar-keeper?" - -"Because I knew it did not belong to him, and I judged from his looks -that, if he once got hold of it, the true owner would never see it -again, even if he came back for it." - -"I have no doubt you are right. I only asked to learn your own idea -about it. Now, what do you think of doing?" - -"Wouldn't it be a good plan to advertise it in the 'Herald'?" - -"Yes, I think it might. Besides, there is the chance of its loss being -advertised there, so that we can examine the advertisements of articles -lost." - -"Yes, sir; will you write an advertisement?" - -"If you wish me to do so." - -The superintendent took pen and paper, and drew up the following -advertisement:— - - "FOUND.—A pocket-book, containing a considerable - sum of money. The owner can have the same by calling on - the Superintendent of the Newsboys' Lodging House, proving - property, and paying the expense of this advertisement." - -"How will that do?" he inquired. - -"It's just the thing," said Rough and Ready. "How many times shall I put -it in?" - -"Three times will answer, I think. I will give you enough of the money -to pay for the advertisement, and you can carry it round to-night." - -This was done. The charge was found to be four dollars and eighty cents, -as the "Herald" charges forty cents per line, and the three insertions -made twelve lines. - -"I have no doubt," said Mr. O'Connor, "I shall have some applications -from adventurers, who will pretend that they have lost a pocket-book; -but I will take care that it shall be surrendered only to the real -owner." - -The superintendent was right in this matter. Early the next morning, a -flashily attired individual mounted the long flights of stairs, and -inquired for him. - -"What is your business, sir?" inquired Mr O'Connor. - -"I called about that pocket-book which you advertise in the 'Herald.'" - -"Have you lost one?" - -"Yes, and I have no doubt that is the one. How much did you pay for -advertising? I don't mind giving you a trifle extra for your trouble." - -"Wait a moment. Where did you lose your pocket-book?" - -"Really I can't say. I was at a good many places down town." - -"Then you couldn't give any idea as to where you lost it?" - -"I think I must have dropped it somewhere in Nassau Street or Fulton -Street. Where was it found?" - -"I do not intend giving information, but to require it. It is important -that I should not give it to the wrong party." - -"Do you doubt that the pocket-book is mine?" said the other, in an -offended tone. - -"I know nothing about it. If it is yours you can describe the -pocket-book, and tell me how much money there is in it." - -"Well," said the flashy individual, hesitating, "it wasn't a very large -pocket-book." - -"Brown?" - -"Yes." - -"And how much money was there in it?" - -"Really, I couldn't tell exactly." - -"But you can give me some idea?" - -"There was somewhere from fifty to seventy-five dollars," said the -adventurer, hazarding a guess. - -"Then it doesn't belong to you," said the superintendent. - -"There might have been a little more. Now I think of it, there must have -been over eighty dollars." - -"You are wasting your time, sir; you will have to look elsewhere for -your pocket-book." - -The man went off, muttering that he had no doubt it was his; but he saw -clearly that he had failed. However, he was not yet at the end of his -resources. At the corner of Broadway and Fulton Streets he was greeted -by another young man of similar appearance. - -"Well, Jack, what luck?" - -"I came away as poor as I went." - -"Then you couldn't hit the description?" - -"No, he was too many for me." - -"Anyway, you found out something. Give me a few hints, and I'll try my -luck." - -"He asked me if the pocket-book was brown, and I said yes. That's wrong. -You'd better say it's black, or some other color." - -"All right. I'll remember. What else did he ask you?" - -"Where I lost it." - -"What did you say?" - -"In Nassau or Fulton Street, I couldn't say which." - -"Was that wrong?" - -"I don't know, he didn't say." - -"What next?" - -"He asked how much money there was. I said from fifty to seventy-five -dollars, though I afterwards said there might be over eighty." - -"That's too wide a margin. I think I'll say a hundred and fifty, more or -less." - -"That might do." - -"As soon as I've smoked out my cigar, I'll go up." - -"Good luck to you, Bob. Mind we are to divide if you get it." - -"You shall have a third." - -"No, half." - -"I'll see about it; but I haven't got it yet." - -In a few moments the superintendent received a second applicant. - -"Good-morning, sir," said the individual named "Bob." "You've found a -pocket-book, I think." - -"Yes." - -"I'm glad of it. I lost mine yesterday, with a pretty stiffish sum of -money in it. I suppose one of your newsboys picked it up." - -"Did you lose it in this street?" - -"Yes, I expect so. I was coming from the Fulton Ferry in a great hurry, -and there was a big hole in my pocket, that I didn't know of. I had just -got the money for a horse that I sold to a man over there." - -"Will you describe the pocket-book? What color was it?" - -"Black, that is to say, not perhaps exactly black, but it might be -called black," said Bob, getting over this question as well as he could. - -"Very well. Now for the amount of money in the pocket-book." - -"A hundred and fifty dollars, more or less," said Bob, boldly. - -"In three bills of fifty dollars each?" asked the superintendent. - -"Yes, precisely," said Bob, eagerly. "That was what was paid for the -horse I sold." - -"Then I regret to say that the pocket-book in my possession cannot be -yours. When I find one answering your description as to color and -contents, I will hold it at your disposal." - -"Sold!" muttered Bob to himself, as he slunk downstairs without another -word. - -He rejoined his confederate, who was waiting for him at the corner, and -informed him in expressive language that it was "no go." - -"P'r'aps, if we'd consulted a medium, we might have found out all about -the color and amount," suggested Jack. - -"Don't you believe it," said Bob. "If the mediums could tell that, -they'd be after it themselves. Where's your 'Herald'? We may get or -better at some other place." - -They found an advertisement of a diamond ring found, and started in -pursuit of the finder. As Jack? said, "We might get it, you know; and if -we don't, there's no harm done." - -Mr. O'Connor had various other applications for the pocket-book, of -which we will only describe one. - -A woman dressed in black presented herself about noon. - -"Is this the superintendent?" she asked. - -"Yes, ma'am." - -"I came to see you about that pocket-book you advertise. I am a widow -with six children, and I have hard work to get along. Yesterday I sent -out my oldest boy to pay the rent; but he is a careless boy, and I -suppose he got to playing in the street, and it fell out of his pocket. -It was a great loss to me, and a widow's blessings shall rest upon you, -sir, if you restore it. My boy's name is Henry, and I can bring you the -best recommendations that I am a respectable woman, and my word can be -relied upon." - -This speech was delivered with such volubility, and with such a steady -flow of words, that the superintendent had no opportunity of -interrupting her. - -"May I ask your name, madam?" he said at length. - -"My name is Manson, sir, Mrs. Manson. My husband was an honest man,—he -was a blacksmith,—but he was took down sudden with a fever about three -years ago, that carried him off, and left me to get along as well as I -could with my family of children. I ought to be back now; so if you'll -give it to me, you can take what you like for the advertising, and to -pay you for your trouble." - -"You are a little too fast, Mrs. Manson. How am I to know that the -pocket-book is yours?" - -"I'll bring my son Henry to prove that he lost the pocket-book when he -was going to pay the rent." - -"That will not be necessary. All you will have to do will be to describe -the pocket-book and its contents, and, if your description is correct, I -will take it for granted that it belongs to you, and give it to you at -once." - -"Describe it, sir?" - -"Yes, what was the color?" - -"I can't justly say, sir, for it was Henry's pocket-book," said Mrs. -Manson, hesitating; "but I think it was black." - -"And how much money was there in it?" - -"Thirty dollars," said the widow, with a little hesitation. - -"Then the pocket-book isn't yours. Good morning, madam." - -"It's hard upon a poor widow to lose her money, sir, and then have the -finder refuse to give it up," whined Mrs. Manson. - -"It would be, no doubt; but it would be equally hard for the real owner -of the money for me to give it to the wrong person." - -"But I think the pocket-book is mine." - -"You are mistaken, madam." - -Mrs. Manson, who, by the way, was not a widow, and didn't have six -children as represented, went away crestfallen. - -A week passed, and the money still remained in the hands of Mr. -O'Connor. Numerous applicants had been drawn by the advertisement, one -or two of whom had met with genuine losses, but the greater part were -adventurers who trusted to lucky guessing to get hold of money that did -not belong to them. The advertisements of money lost were also carefully -examined daily; but there was none that answered to the sum found by the -newsboy. - -"I am beginning to think," said Mr. O'Connor, after a week had passed, -"that you won't find an owner for this money, Rufus. What do you intend -to do with it?" - -"I'll put it in some bank, sir," said the newsboy, promptly. "I don't -need to use it at present, but I may some time. It'll be something for -me to fall back upon, if I get sick." - -"I am glad you do not mean to live upon it. I was afraid it might -encourage you to idleness." - -"No, sir, it won't do that," said Rough and Ready, promptly. "I'm not -such a fool as that. I've got a little sister to take care of, and I've -thought sometimes, 'What if I should get sick?' but with this money, I -shan't feel afraid. I think it'll make me work harder. I should like to -add something to it if I could." - -"That is the right way to talk, Rufus," said the superintendent, -approvingly. "I think you are a good boy, and I shall be glad to help -you with advice, or in any other way, whenever you need it. I wish you -could get an education; it would help you along in life hereafter." - -"I am studying every evening, sir," said the newsboy. "Miss Manning, a -friend of mine, that my sister boards with, is helping me. I hope to be -something higher than a newsboy some time." - -The superintendent warmly applauded his determination, and a week later -gave the pocket-book up to Rough and Ready, feeling that every -reasonable effort to find an owner had been tried. - - - - - CHAPTER XII. - A VISIT TO GREENWOOD CEMETERY. - - -One day Rough and Ready came to see his sister, and displayed a -bank-book on one of the city savings-banks, containing an entry of three -hundred dollars to his credit. - -"What do you think of that, Rosie?" he said. "Don't you think I am -rich?" - -"I don't see anything but a little book," said Rose, who knew nothing of -the way in which savings-banks were conducted. "There isn't any money in -it," she continued, turning over the leaves with the expectation of -finding some bills folded between them. - -"You don't understand it, Rose. That little book is worth three hundred -dollars." - -"Three hundred dollars! Why, I wouldn't give five cents for it." - -The newsboy laughed. "It shows that I have three hundred dollars in the -bank, which they will pay me whenever I want it." - -"That is nice," said Rose. "I am so glad you are rich, Rufie." - -"Then you have heard nothing of the owner of the money, Rufus?" said -Miss Manning. - -"No, I have heard nothing. Mr. O'Connor says I shall be right in keeping -the money now, as I have tried to find the owner, and cannot." - -"What do you propose to do with it?" - -"I shall keep it in the bank at present, until I need it. But there is -one thing I would like to do, Miss Manning." - -"What is that?" - -"I would like to make you a present,—a dress, or shawl, or whatever you -need most." - -"Thank you, Rufus; you are very kind," said the seamstress; "but I would -prefer that you would leave the money untouched. Since I made the -arrangement with you about Rose, I am doing much better than I did -before, and I feel much better, because I have more sustaining food. I -feel now as if I could afford to take a little time to sew for myself. I -bought a dress-pattern yesterday, and I shall make it up next week." - -"But I should like very much to make you a present, Miss Manning." - -"So you shall, Rufus, whenever you have a thousand dollars laid aside. -At present I do not need anything, and I would rather you would keep -your money." - -To this resolution Miss Manning adhered, in spite of the newsboy's -urgent persuasion. She knew very well that three hundred dollars, though -it seemed a large sum to him, would rapidly melt away if it was once -broken in upon, and she wished it to be kept as a "nest-egg," and an -encouragement for future accumulations. - -"At any rate," said Rufus, "I want to celebrate my good luck, and I want -you to help me do it. Let us go to-morrow afternoon to Greenwood -Cemetery. I think Rose will like it, and as it is a beautiful place it -will be pleasant for us all." - -"Very well," said the seamstress, "I will agree to that, if you will -wait till I have finished my dress. I think I can have it done, so that -we can go on Wednesday afternoon. Will that do?" - -"Yes, that will suit me very well. I hope it will be a pleasant day." - -"If it is not, we can defer it to the next day." - -It will need to be explained that Rufus had already five dollars in the -bank previous to his coming into possession of the contents of the -pocket-book. That had originally contained three hundred dollars, but -five dollars had been taken out to defray the expenses of advertising in -the "Herald." - -When Rose was informed of the contemplated excursion, she was filled -with delight. The poor child had had very little pleasure or variety, -and the excursion, brief as it was, she anticipated with eager -enjoyment. - -The day opened auspiciously. The early morning hours the newsboy devoted -to his business, being unwilling to lose a day's earnings. At eleven -o'clock he came to Miss Manning's lodgings. "Well, I am through with my -day's work," he said. "How much do you think I have earned?" - -"Seventy-five cents?" said the seamstress, inquiringly. - -"A dollar and twenty cents," he said. - -"You have been very smart. What a number of papers you must have sold!" - -"I didn't make it all that way. There were two boys who were hard up, -and hadn't any blacking-brushes; so I bought them some, and they are to -pay me ten cents a day, each of them, for a month, then I shall let them -keep the brushes." - -"Do the boys often make such arrangements?" - -"No, they generally go _whacks_. The boy who borrows agrees to pay half -his earnings to the boy that sets him up in business." - -"That is rather a hard bargain." - -"Yes, I didn't want to charge so much. So I only charged ten cents a -day." - -"That will pay you a good profit; but how do you know but the boys will -keep the brushes, and won't pay you anything?" - -"Oh, they won't do that. They'll keep their promises, or nobody would -help 'em next time they get hard up." - -Miss Manning had prepared an early dinner, to which they all sat down. -This was soon despatched, and they set out together for the South Ferry, -from which cars ran to the cemetery. - -They reached the ferry about noon, and at once crossed over. Rose -enjoyed the ride upon the boat, for, though New York is surrounded by -ferries, she had hardly ever ridden on a ferry-boat. - -"I wish we didn't get out so quick," she said. - -"Do you like being on the water, Rosie?" - -"Ever so much," replied the little girl. - -"Then we will take a longer excursion some day soon. We can go to Staten -Island. That will be six miles each way." - -"That will be nice. I hope we can go soon." - -They soon reached the Brooklyn side, and disembarked with the throng of -fellow-passengers. A car was waiting the boat's arrival, on which they -saw "GREENWOOD" printed. - -"Jump on board quick," said Rough and Ready, "or you won't get seats." - -Miss Manning barely got a seat. She took Rose in her lap, and the -newsboy stood out on the platform with the conductor. The ride was a -pleasant one to all three, but no incidents happened worth noting. When -Rufus settled the fare, the conductor said jocosely, "Your wife and -child, I suppose?" - -"No," said the newsboy, "all my children are grown up and out of the -way. They don't give me any trouble." - -"That's where you're lucky," said the conductor. "It's more than I can -say." - -"Have you a family?" - -"Yes, I have a wife and four children, and precious hard work I find it -to support them on my small wages. But it's no use asking any more." - -"That's my sister, the little girl I mean," said Rufus, "The other is a -friend who looks after her. I have to support her; but that's only one, -while you have five." - -"She looks like a nice little girl. She is about the size of my oldest -girl." - -"She's a dear little sister," said the newsboy, warmly. "I should feel -very lonely without her." - -He little thought as he spoke that the loneliness to which he referred -was speedily to come upon him. But we will not anticipate. - -They got out at the entrance of the cemetery, and entered the grounds. -Greenwood Cemetery, of which all my readers have probably heard, is very -extensive, the grounds comprising over three hundred acres. It is -situated about two and a half miles from the South Ferry, on what is now -known as Gowanus Heights. Its elevated position enables it to command -charming views of the bay and harbor of New York; with its islands and -forts, the twin cities of New York and Brooklyn, the New Jersey shore, -the long lines of city wharves, with their forests of masts, and an -extensive view of the ocean. The numerous and beautiful trees crowning -the elevations, the costly monuments, the winding paths, so intersecting -each other as almost to make a labyrinth, render this a charming spot, -and death assumes a less repulsive aspect amid such surroundings. - -"How beautiful it is!" said Miss Manning, gazing about her thoughtfully. -"I have never been here before." - -"I never came but once," said the newsboy, "and that was a good while -ago." - -Little Rose was charmed, and darted first into one path, then into -another, and was about to pluck some flowers, until she was told that -this was against the regulations. - -"What a lot of dead people live here!" she said, as from a little height -they saw white stones and monuments rising on every side. - -"She has used the right word, after all, Rufus," said Miss Manning; "for -death is only the introduction to another life. I sometimes think that -those whose bodies lie here are not wholly insensible to the beauty by -which they are surrounded." - -"I don't know," said the newsboy, "I never thought much about it till -mother died. I wish she had been buried here. I think it would be a -comfort to me. Poor mother! she had a hard life;" and he sighed. "I want -Rose to have a happier one." - -"Let us hope she will. Have you heard anything of Mr. Martin lately?" - -She carefully avoided using the word "stepfather" for she had observed -that even this recognition of relationship was distasteful to the boy, -who had imbibed a bitter prejudice against the man who had wrecked his -mother's happiness, and undoubtedly abridged her life by several years. - -"No, I have not seen him since the day after I took Rose away from -Leonard Street. I think he cannot be in the city, or he would have come -round to where I was selling papers. I expected he would be round before -to ask me for some money." - -"What do you think has become of him?" - -"Maybe he has gone back into the country. I hope he has, for I should -feel safer about Rose." - -Here the conversation closed for the time. They rambled on without any -particular aim, wherever fancy dictated. They came upon most of the -notable monuments, including that of the sea-captain, and that of Miss -Canda, the young heiress, who, dying by a violent accident, with no one -to inherit her wealth, it was decided that it should all be expended -upon a costly monument, which has ever since been one of the chief -ornaments of the cemetery. - -At length they began to think of returning, but had some difficulty at -first in finding their way to the gate, so perplexing is the maze of -paths. - -"I don't know but we shall have to stay here all night," said Rufus. -"How should you like that, Rose?" - -"I wouldn't care," said the little girl. "I think the grass would make a -nice soft bed." - -But to this necessity they were not reduced, as after a while they -emerged into a broad path that led down to the gateway. They passed -through it, and got on board a horse-car. - -"I think we will go to Fulton Ferry this time," said Rough and Ready. -"It will give us a little change." - -He did not realize to what misfortune this choice of his would lead, or -he would not have made it; but we cannot foresee what our most trifling -decisions may lead to. In due time they got on board the Fulton -ferry-boat, and went into the ladies' cabin. They didn't see a man who -followed their motions with an eager gaze, mingled with malice. It was -James Martin, who saw Rose now for the first time since she was taken -from Leonard Street by her brother. - -"This is lucky!" he muttered to himself. "I will find out where she -lives, and then it will be a pretty tight cage, or I shall be able to -secure the bird." - -But there was danger that, if he followed in person, the newsboy might -look back, and, perceiving his design, foil it by going in the wrong -direction. He quickly decided what to do. There was a half-grown boy -near by whom he knew slightly. - -"Here, boy," said he,"do you want to earn half a dollar?" - -"Yes," said the boy. - -"Then you must follow some people whom I will point out to you, and find -out where they live. Don't let them see that they are followed." - -"All right, sir." - -When Rough and Ready got out of the boat with his two companions, they -were followed at a little distance by this boy; but of this they were -quite unaware. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII. - ROSE AND HER ENEMY. - - -James Martin waited at the Fulton Ferry for the return of his emissary. -But he had to wait a long time, as the lodgings occupied by Miss Manning -and little Rose were rather more than a mile distant, and their progress -was somewhat delayed by their stopping to listen to a little Italian boy -and his sister, who were singing near the head of Fulton Street. Then -there was a difficulty in crossing Broadway, on account of the stream of -vehicles. Owing to these causes, it was an hour and a quarter before the -messenger returned. James Martin had about made up his mind that the boy -had given up the quest, and was starting away in vexation and -disappointment, just as he appeared in sight. - -"Well, you've been gone long enough," he said, roughly. "Why didn't you -stay all night?" - -"I came as quick as I could. It's a long ways," said the boy. "Then they -stopped two or three times." - -"Did you find out where they lived?" asked Martin, eagerly. - -"Yes, I followed 'em clear to the door." - -"Where is it?" - -"Where's the half dollar you promised me?" said the boy, with -commendable caution. - -"I'll give it to you when you've told me where it is." - -"I want it first." - -"Do you think I won't give it to you?" demanded Martin, angrily. - -"Maybe you will, and maybe you won't. I never saw you before." - -"I'll give you the money as soon as you tell me." - -"It's No. 125 Centre Street." - -"All right, my lad, I'll pay you when I get ready as long as you've made -such a fuss about it." - -"Well," said the boy, coolly, "I guess you won't make any more out of it -than I do." - -"Why not?" asked Martin suspiciously. - -"Because I've told you the wrong street and number." - -"Is that so?" - -"If you don't believe it, go to 125 Centre Street, and see if you can -find them." - -"You're a young rascal," said Martin, angry at being foiled. - -"Maybe I am; but I don't mean to be cheated by you or any other man." - -"I've a good mind to give you a thrashing." - -"You'd better if you want to sleep in the station-house to-night," -returned the boy, not in the least alarmed. - -"So you were going to tell me the wrong place, and take my money, were -you?" - -"No; if you'd given me the money, I'd have told you right afterwards." - -"Well, here's your money," said Martin, taking out fifty cents. - -"I want seventy-five cents now." - -"What for?" - -"Because you tried to cheat me." - -"Then I won't give you anything." - -"All right. Then you must find out for yourself where they live." - -"Come, boy, don't be foolish. Here's your fifty cents." - -"Keep it yourself till there's twenty-five more." - -Further effort proving unavailing, James Martin recalled the boy, who -had already started to go, and very unwillingly complied with his -demand. - -"Well," said the boy, depositing the money carefully in his pocket, "now -I'll tell you. It's No. — Franklin Street, near the North River." - -"Are you telling me the truth?" asked Martin, suspiciously, for he would -never have thought of this quarter. - -"Yes, it's the truth. If you don't believe it, you can go and see for -yourself." - -"Franklin Street!" repeated Martin to himself. "Perhaps it's true. The -boy's a deep one. He thought I wouldn't find him out there. Perhaps -he'll find himself mistaken. I'd like to see him when he finds the girl -gone." - -James Martin, not relying wholly on the boy's information, determined to -go round and find the place indicated, and see if he couldn't ascertain -definitely whether it was correct. If so, he would lay his plans -accordingly. - -Following up this determination, twenty minutes later found him standing -in front of the house. But he could not, without inquiring, obtain the -desired information, and this he hardly liked to do, lest it should be -reported to Rough and Ready, and so put him on his guard. - -He stood undecided what to do; but chance favored him. While he was -considering, he saw the newsboy himself come up the street and enter the -house, with a loaf of bread under his arm. He was just returning from a -bakery near by, and the bread was to form a part of the supper to which -all three brought excellent appetites. - -James Martin crouched back in a door-way, in order to escape -observation, at the same time pulling his hat over his eyes. The -precaution, however, proved unnecessary, for the newsboy never looked -across the street, and was far enough from suspecting the danger that -menaced the little household. He was thinking rather of the nice -supper,—a little better than usual,—which was being prepared in honor of -the holiday, and thinking how much more pleasantly they were situated -than in the room at Leonard Street, on the other side of the city. - -"It's all right!" muttered Martin to himself with satisfaction. "The boy -told me the truth, and I don't mind the seventy-five cents, as long as -I've found out where they live. They'll find I aint so easily fooled as -I might be. A day or two'll tell the story." - -He had learned all he wished to know, and walked back to Broadway, where -it is unnecessary to follow him. - -The next day Rose and Miss Manning were sitting together in the neat -little room to which both had become attached. Miss Manning was sewing -as usual. Rose was sitting on a stool at her feet, with her eyes fixed -on a small reading-book. - -"I think I know my lesson, Miss Manning," she said at last, raising her -eyes. - -"Very well, Rose, I am ready to hear you." - -The seamstress laid down her work, and Rose standing by her side, read -the lesson to her without a mistake. - -"Didn't I say it well, Miss Manning?" she asked, proudly. - -"Yes, Rose, you are doing famously; I am quite proud of my pupil." - -"I shall soon get through my book. Then Rufie will have to buy me -another." - -"I have no doubt he will be very glad to do so, Rose. He is very anxious -that you should get along fast." - -"Isn't he a good boy, Miss Manning?" - -"Yes, he is a very kind, considerate brother." - -"I like it so much better than when I lived with—Mr. Martin. Do you -think I shall ever see him again, Miss Manning?" - -"I cannot tell, Rose. I hope not; for I do not think you would be happy -with him." - -"He used to drink rum, and it made him so cross I used to be afraid of -him." - -"Rum ruins a great many people, Rose." - -"I don't see how anybody can like it," said the little girl. "Once -fath—I mean Mr. Martin, brought some home in a bottle, and when he was -out, I thought I would just taste a little—" - -"O Rose!" - -"Only a very little, a tiny spoonful, to see how it tasted. But it was -so strong, and tasted so bad, I could not swallow it. I don't see how -anybody can like it." - -"Yes, Rose, it does seem strange. But I am going to ask you to go on a -little errand for me." - -"I should like to go," said the little girl, jumping up. "What is it, -Miss Manning?" - -"I need a spool of cotton. You know the little store round the corner." - -"Lindsay's?" - -"Yes. I should like to have you go there and buy me another spool, the -same number as this. I will give you the spool, so that you can show it -to the man behind the counter." - -"Yes, Miss Manning." - -"Here are ten cents. You can bring me back the change. If you want to, -you can stop at the candy-shop, and buy a stick of candy out of what is -left." - -"Oh, thank you, Miss Manning. Shan't I buy you a stick too?" - -"No, Rose, I have got over my love for candy." - -"Didn't you use to like it when you were a little girl?" - -"Yes, Rose; but now make haste, for I have only a needleful of cotton -left, and I want to finish this work to-night, if I can." - -Rose put on her bonnet, and went downstairs, proud of the commission -with which she was intrusted. She was actually going shopping, just as -grown women do, and this gave her a feeling of dignity which made her -carry her little form with unusual erectness. She little suspected that -the danger which her brother and herself most dreaded lay in wait for -her in the street beneath; that she was about to be torn from the -pleasant home which she had begun to enjoy so much. Nor did Miss Manning -suspect to what peril she was exposing her young charge, and what grief -she was unconsciously laying up for Rufus and herself. - -James Martin was lurking near the house, and had been lounging about -there for three or four hours He had notified his employer in the -morning that he had business in New York, and should be unable to work -that day. He had also given notice to his landlady that he expected to -bring his daughter home that night, and he wanted her to prepare -accommodations for her. - -With the design of procuring her he had come over and repaired to -Franklin Street; but Rose and Miss Manning seldom stirred out in the -morning, and he had watched and waited in vain until now. He had made -several visits to a neighboring groggery and indulged in potations which -helped to while away the time, but he was getting very impatient, when, -to his great joy, he saw Rose come out upon the sidewalk, _and alone_, -which was better still. He had made up his mind to claim her, even if -she were accompanied by Miss Manning; but this might excite a -disturbance, and he knew there would be danger of interference from the -police, which he did not court. So he considered it a remarkable stroke -of good luck when he saw Rose coming out alone. - -"There she is," he said to himself. "I'll soon nab her. But I wonder -where she is going." - -He might have seized her at once, but he thought it best not to do so. -Very likely there might be somebody who might witness the seizure, who -would know that she was living with Miss Manning, and might be inclined -to interfere. He thought it would be better to follow her a little -distance, and effect the capture in another locality. - -Rose pursued her way, unconscious of the danger that menaced her. She -entered the store, made her purchase, and it wasn't till she had gone a -little away from the store that she felt a heavy hand upon her shoulder, -and, looking round, to her indescribable dismay and terror, recognized -her stepfather. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV. - ROSE KIDNAPPED. - - -"So I've found you at last," said James Martin, looking grimly at Rose, -bending over so that the fumes of his breath, tainted with liquor, -seemed to scorch her innocent cheek. - -"Let me go," said Rose, terrified and ready to cry. - -"Let you go!" repeated Martin, with a sneer. "Is that all the welcome -you've got for me, after I've taken the pains to come clear over from -Brooklyn to find you? No, I can't let you go; I'm your father, and you -must go with me." - -"I can't, indeed I can't," said Rose, in distress "I want to stay with -Rufie and Miss Manning." - -"I can't allow it. I'm your father, and I'm responsible for you. Your -brother aint fit to have charge of you. Come along." - -He seized her by the shoulder, and began to push her along. - -"I don't want to go," said Rose, crying. "I don't want to leave Rufie." - -"I don't care what you want," said Martin, roughly."You've got to come -with me, anyhow. As for your brother, I don't want him. He'd be trying -to kidnap you again. I might have put him in prison for it; but I'll let -him go this time, if you don't make any fuss." - -"What is the matter?" asked a policeman, who came up as Rose was -struggling weakly in the grasp of her stepfather. "What are you pulling -along the little girl for?" - -"Because she won't come without," said Martin. "She ran away from home -with her brother a few weeks ago, and I've just found her." - -"Is she your child?" - -"Yes." - -"Is that true?" asked the policeman, not particularly prepossessed in -Martin's favor by his personal appearance, his face being unusually -inflamed by his morning potations. His question was of course directed -to Rose. - -"No, I aint his child now," said Rose. "Rufie has the care of me." - -"And who is Rufie?" - -"He is my brother." - -"He's a young rascal," said Martin, "up to all sorts of mischief. He'll -lie and steal, and anything else that's bad. He aint fit to have charge -of Rose." - -"It isn't true," said the little girl, indignantly. "He doesn't lie nor -steal. He's the best boy that ever lived." - -"I haven't anything to do with that," said the policeman. "The question -is, is this your father?" - -"He was mother's husband," said Rose, reluctantly. - -"Then he is your stepfather." - -"Don't let him take me away," said Rose, imploringly. - -"If he's your stepfather, I can't stop him. But, hark you, my man, I -advise you to be kind to the little girl. If you are not, I hope she'll -run away from you. You look as if you'd been drinking pretty hard this -morning." - -"It's the trouble I've had about her that made me drink," said Martin, -apologetically. "I was afraid she wasn't taken good care of. Come along -now, Rose. He says you must go." - -"Let me go and speak to Miss Manning first," entreated Rose. "I've got a -spool of cotton I've just bought for her." - -"I'm not such a fool as that," said Martin. "I've looked for you long -enough, and now I've got you I mean to hold on to you." - -"But Miss Manning won't know where I am," pleaded Rose. - -"It's none of her business where you are. She aint no relation of -yours." - -"But she's been very kind to me." - -"She was kind enough to keep you away from me, she hasn't anything to do -with you, and I don't mean she shall ever see you again." - -Poor Rose! the thought that she was to be forever separated from her -kind friend, Miss Manning, smote her with a sharp sorrow, and she began -to cry bitterly. - -"Stop your whimpering," said Martin, roughly, "or I'll give you -something to cry about." - -But, even with this threat hanging over her, Rose could not check the -flow of her tears. Those persons whom they met looked with sympathy at -the pretty little girl, who was roughly pulled along by the red-faced, -rough-looking man; and more than one would have been glad to interfere -if he had felt authorized to do so. - -James Martin did not relish the public attention drawn to them by Rose's -tears, for he knew instinctively that the sympathy would be with her, -and not with himself. As soon as possible he got the child on board a -horse-car bound for the South Ferry. This was something of an -improvement, for he was no longer obliged to drag her along. But even in -the cars her tears continued to flow. - -"What's the matter with your little girl?" asked a kind, -motherly-looking woman, who had a daughter at home about Rose's age, and -whose sympathies were therefore more readily excited by the appearance -of distress in the child's face. - -"She's been behaving badly, ma'am," said Martin. - -"She doesn't look like a bad child," said the good woman, kindly. - -"You can't tell by her looks," said Martin. "Maybe you'd think, to look -at her, that she was one of the best children out; but she's very -troublesome." - -"I'm sorry to hear that. You should try to be good, my dear," said the -woman, gently. - -Rose didn't reply, but continued to shed tears. - -"She's got a brother that's a regular bad one," continued Mr. Martin. -"He's a little scamp, if there ever was one. Would you believe it, -ma'am, he induced his sister to run away from home some weeks ago, and -ever since I've been hunting all around to find her?" - -"Is it possible?" exclaimed the other, interested. "Where did you find -her, if I may be allowed to ask?" - -"In a low place, in the western part of the city," said Mr. Martin. "It -wasn't a fit place for a child like her. Her brother carried her away -from a good home, just out of spite, because he got angry with me." - -"It must have made you feel very anxious." - -"Yes," said Mr. Martin, pathetically. "It worried me so I couldn't sleep -nights. I've been hunting night and day for her ever since, but it's -only to-day that I got track of her. She's crying now because she didn't -want to leave the woman her brother placed her with." - -"I'm sorry to hear it. My dear, you will be better off at home than -among strangers. Don't you think you will?" - -"No, I shan't," said Rose. "Miss Manning was a good woman, and was very -kind to me." - -"She isn't old enough to judge," said Martin, shrugging his shoulders. - -"No, of course not. Where do you live?" - -"In Brooklyn." - -"Well, good-by; I get out here." - -"Good-by, ma'am. I hope you won't have so much trouble with your -children as I have." - -"I am sure your little girl will be better when she gets home." - -"I hope so, ma'am." - -Rose did not speak. She was too much distressed, and, child as she was, -she had an instinctive feeling that her stepfather was false and -hypocritical, and she did not feel spirit enough to contradict his -assertions about herself and Rufus. - -At length they reached the ferry, and embarked on the ferry-boat. - -Rose no longer tried to get away. In the first place, she was now so far -away from home that she would not have known her way back. Besides, she -saw that Mr. Martin was determined to carry her with him, and that -resistance would be quite useless, so in silent misery she submitted -herself to what it seemed impossible to escape. - -They got into the cars on the other side, and the trip passed without -incident. - -"We get out here," said Mr. Martin, when they had been riding about half -an hour. - -Rose meekly obeyed his summons, and followed him out of the car. - -"Now, young lady," said Mr. Martin, sternly, "I am going to give you a -piece of advice. Are you listening?" - -"Yes," said Rose, dispiritedly. - -"Then you had better give up snivelling at once. It aint going to do you -any good. Maybe, if you behave well, I'll let your brother see you after -a while, but if you kick up a fuss you'll never see him again in the -world. Do you understand?" - -"Yes." - -"I hope you do. Anyway, you'd better. I live over here now. I've took -board for you and myself in the house of a woman that's got a girl about -as big as you. If you aint foolish you'll have a good time playing with -her." - -"I want to see Rufie," moaned Rose. - -"Well, you can't, and the sooner you make up your mind to that the -better. Here we are." - -He opened the front door of the shabby boarding house, and said to the -servant whom he met in the entry, "Where's Mrs. Waters?" - -"I'll call her directly, if you'd like to see her." - -"Yes, I want to see her." - -Mrs. Waters shortly appeared, her face red with heat, from the kitchen. - -"I've brought my little girl along, as I told you," said Martin. - -"So this is your little girl, is it? She's a nice child," said Mrs. -Waters, rather surprised to find that a man of Mr. Martin's unpromising -exterior had so attractive a child. - -"No, she isn't," said Martin, shaking his head. "She's very badly -behaved. I've let her stay in New York with some relations, and she -didn't want to come back and see father. She's been making a great fuss -about it." - -"She'll feel better to-morrow," said Mrs. Waters. "How old is she?" - -"Seven years old." - -"Just the age of my Fanny." - -"You said you could let her occupy the same bed with your little girl." - -"Yes, they can sleep together. Fanny will like to have a girl of her own -age to play with. Wait a minute,—I'll call her." - -Fanny Waters was a short, dumpy little girl, of extreme plainness. Rose -looked at her, but didn't appear to feel much attracted. - -"You can go out into the back yard together and play," said Mrs. Waters; -"only mind and don't get into any mischief." - -"Wait a minute," said Mr. Martin, calling Rose aside, "I want to speak -to her a minute. If," he continued, addressing the child, "you try to -run away, I'll go over to New York, and shoot your brother through the -head with a pistol. So mind what you're about." - -Rose listened in silent terror, for she thought her stepfather might -really do as he threatened, and it had a greater effect upon her than if -he had threatened harm to herself. - -James Martin witnessed with satisfaction the effect produced in the -pale, scared face of the child, and he said to himself, "I don't think -she'll run away in a hurry." - - - - - CHAPTER XV. - INTRODUCES A DISTINGUISHED PERSONAGE. - - -"'Times,' 'Herald,' 'Tribune,' 'World'!" cried Rough and Ready, from his -old place in front of the "Times" building. "All the news that's going, -for only four cents! That's cheap enough, isn't it? Have a paper, sir?" - -"I don't know. Is there any particular news this morning?" asked the -individual addressed. - -"Yes, sir, lots of it. You will find ten cents' worth in every one of -the papers, which will give you a clear profit of six cents on your -investment. Which will you have?" - -"Let me look at a paper a minute, and I'll see." - -"I don't do business that way," said the newsboy; "not since one morning -when I let an old gentleman look at a paper just for a minute. He read -it for half an hour, and then returned it, sayin' there wasn't much in -it, and he guessed he wouldn't buy." - -"Well, here's your money. Give me the 'Times,'" said the other. - -"Here you are!" said the newsboy, pocketing the money, and placing a -"Times" in the hand of the purchaser. - -"Give me the 'Herald,'" said another. - -Unfolding the paper, he glanced his eye over it, and said, in evident -disappointment, "I heard there was a railroad accident somewhere, with -about fifty persons killed and wounded; but I don't see it anywhere." - -"I'm sorry you're disappointed," said the newsboy. "It's soothin' to the -feelings to read about a smash-up, with lots of persons killed and -wounded. Just come along to-morrow mornin', and I guess you'll find what -you want." - -"What makes you think so?" asked the customer, suspiciously. - -"If you won't mention it," said Rough and Ready, lowering his voice, "I -don't mind telling you that the 'Herald' has sent up a reporter to put a -big rock on the Erie Road, and throw off the afternoon train. As he will -be on the spot, he can give a full report, exclusive for the 'Herald'! -Then again, the 'Times' and 'Tribune' are arrangin' to get up some -'horrid murders.' Maybe they'll have 'em in to-morrow's paper. You'd -better come round, and buy 'em all. I'll make a discount to a wholesale -customer." - -"It's my belief that you're a humbug," said the disappointed customer. - -"Thank you, sir," said Rough and Ready; "I've been takin' lessons of -Barnum, only I haven't made so much money yet." - -The next customer asked for the "Tribune." - -"Here it is, sir." - -"Did you ever see Mr. Greeley?" he inquired. "I live in the country, and -I have often thought I should like to see so intrepid a champion of the -people's rights." - -"There he is now," said the newsboy, pointing to a somewhat portly man, -who had just got out of a horse-car. - -"You don't say so!" ejaculated the country reader of the "Tribune." "I -should like to go and shake hands with him, but he might take it as too -great a liberty. I didn't know he was so stout." - -"Go ahead!" said the newsboy. "He won't mind. He's used to it." - -"I think I will. I should like to tell the folks at home that I had -shaken hands with Horace Greeley." - -Now it happened that the personage who had been pointed out as Horace -Greeley was really no other than Mr. Barnum himself, the illustrious -showman. The newsboy was well aware of this, and was led to make the -statement by his desire to see a little fun. I shall not attempt to -justify him in this deception; but I have undertaken to set Rough and -Ready before the reader as he was, not as he ought to be, and, though a -good boy in the main, he was not without faults. - -Mr. Greeley's admirer walked up to Mr. Barnum, and grasped his hand -cordially. - -"Sir," he said, "I hope you will excuse the liberty I am taking, but I -couldn't help addressing you." - -"I am glad to meet you, sir," said Mr. Barnum, courteously. "Perhaps I -have met you before, but I meet so many people that I cannot always -remember faces." - -"No, sir, we have never met before, but your fame has reached our -village; indeed, I may say, it has spread all over the country, and when -I was told who you were I could not help coming up and telling you how -much we all sympathize with you in your philanthropic efforts." - -Mr. Barnum looked somewhat perplexed. He was not altogether certain -whether his temperance lectures were referred to, or his career as -manager of the Museum. He answered therefore rather vaguely, "I try to -do something to make the world happier. I am very glad my efforts are -appreciated." - -"Yes, sir, you may be certain they are appreciated throughout the length -and breadth of the land," said the other, fervently. - -"You are very kind," said Barnum; "but I am afraid you will not get all -to agree with you. There are some who do not view me so favorably." - -"Of course. Such is always the fate of the philanthropist. There are -some, no doubt, who decry you, but their calumnies are unavailable. -'Truth crashed to earth will rise again.' I need not continue the -quotation." - -"You are certainly very complimentary, Mr.——; perhaps you will oblige me -with your name." - -"Nathan Bedloe. I keep a seminary in the country. I have read the -'Tribune' for years, Mr. Greeley, and have found in your luminous -editorials the most satisfactory exposition of the principles which I -profess." - -Mr. Barnum's eyes distended with astonishment as he caught the name -Greeley, and his facial muscles twitched a little. - -"How did you know me?" he asked. - -"That newsboy pointed you out to me," said the other, indicating Rough -and Ready, who was watching with interest the conversation between the -two. - -"Yes, the newsboys know me," said Barnum. "So you like the 'Tribune'?" - -"Yes, sir, it is an admirable paper. I would as soon do without my -dinner as without it." - -"I am very glad you like it," said Barnum; "but I fear my own -contributions to it (referring to the advertisement of the Museum) are -not worthy of such kind compliments. I must bid you good-morning, at -present, as my engagements are numerous." - -"I can easily believe it, Mr. Greeley. Good-by, sir. Thank you for your -kind reception of an humble stranger." - -There was another shaking of hands, and Mr. Bedloe departed under the -firm conviction that he had seen and talked with Horace Greeley. - -Three minutes later, Rough and Ready felt a hand upon his shoulder. -Lifting up his eyes, he recognized Mr. Barnum. - -"Do you know me?" asked the latter. - -"Yes, sir, you are Mr. Barnum." - -"Were you the boy who pointed me out as Horace Greeley?" - -"Yes, sir," said Rufus, laughing; "but I didn't think the man would -believe it." - -"He thinks so still," said Barnum. "I don't think there's much personal -resemblance between me and the editor of the 'Tribune,'" he continued, -meditatively. - -"No, sir, not much." - -"Don't do it again, my lad. It's wrong to hum-bug people, you know. By -the way, do you ever come to the Museum?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Well, your joke is worth something. Here is a season ticket for three -months." - -He handed the newsboy, as he spoke, a slip of paper on which was -written:— - - "Admit the bearer to any performance in the Museum - during the next three months. - - P. T. BARNUM." - -"I got off better than I expected," thought Rough and Ready. "I didn't -know but both of 'em would get mad, and be down upon me. I wish he'd -given me a ticket for three, and I'd have taken Miss Manning and Rose -along with me." - -As he thought of Rose, it was with a feeling of satisfaction that she -was so well provided for. He had the utmost confidence in Miss Manning, -and he saw that a mutual affection had sprung up between her and his -little sister. - -"It'll be jolly when Rose grows up, and can keep house for me," he said -to himself. "I hope I'll be in some good business then. Selling papers -will do very well now, but I want to do something else after a while. I -wonder whether that three hundred dollars I've got in the bank wouldn't -set me up in some kind of business." - -While these thoughts were passing through his mind, he still kept crying -his papers, and presently he had sold the last one. It was still -comparatively early, and he thought he would look about a little to see -if there was no chance of earning a little extra money by running on an -errand. - -After a while he was commissioned to carry a message to Twenty-Second -Street, for which he was to receive twenty-five cents, and his car -fares. - -"I'll walk back," he thought, "and in that way I'll save six cents out -of the fares." - -The walk being a long one, he was absent a considerable time, especially -as he stopped for a while at an auction on Broadway. At last he reached -his old stand, and was thinking of buying some evening papers, when he -heard his name called in a tone of anxiety. - -Turning suddenly, he recognized Miss Manning. - -"Miss Manning!" he exclaimed, in surprise. "How do you happen to be -here?" - -"I came to see you, Rufus." - -"Has anything happened?" he asked anxiously, seeing the troubled -expression of her countenance. "Nothing is the matter with Rose, is -there?" - -"She has gone." - -"Gone!" - -"Yes, she has disappeared." - -"Don't say that, Miss Manning. Tell me quick all about it." - -"I sent her out on an errand this morning, just around the corner, for a -spool of cotton, and she has not got back." - -"Do you think she lost her way?" - -"She couldn't very well do that, it was so near by. No, Rufus, I am -afraid she has been carried off by your stepfather." - -"What makes you think so, Miss Manning?" demanded Rufus, in excitement. - -"I waited half an hour after she went out, wondering what could keep her -so long. Then I began to feel anxious, and put on my bonnet, and slipped -downstairs into the street. I went round to the store, and found she had -gone there and made the purchase, and gone away directly. I was -wondering what to do next, when one of the neighbors came up, and said -she saw Rose dragged away by a tall man. She gave me a description of -him, and it corresponds exactly to the description of Mr. Martin. I am -afraid, Rufus, that he has carried our dear little Rose away. What shall -we do?" - -"I'll have her back," said Rufus, energetically. "He's got her now; but -he shan't keep her. But I'm afraid," he added, sorrowfully, "she'll be -ill-treated before I can recover her, poor Rose!" - - - - - CHAPTER XVI. - HOW ROSE FARED. - - -We return to Rose, who found herself very unwillingly once more in the -custody of her stepfather. - -"Go out and play in the back yard with Fanny," said Mrs. Waters. "You'll -have a nice time together, and be good friends in less than no time." - -Rose followed Fanny slowly into the back yard; but she had very little -hope of a good time. She was too full of sorrowful thoughts for that. As -she looked back, a moment after going into the yard, she saw Mr. Martin -shaking his fist at her from the back window, and this she understood -very well was a sign of the treatment which she had to expect. - -The back yard was not a very pleasant place. It was very small to begin -with, and the little space was littered with broken bottles and rubbish -of various kinds. In one corner was a cistern nearly full of water, -which had been standing long enough to become turbid. - -"What shall we do?" asked Fanny. - -"I don't know," said Rose, without much interest. - -"I'll tell you," said Fanny, "we'll take a piece of wood, and sail it in -the cistern. We can make believe it's a ship." - -"You can do it," said Rose. - -"Won't you play too?" - -"I don't feel much like playing." - -"Why don't you?" asked Fanny, curiously. - -"I wish I was back in New York." - -"Who were you with?" - -"With Rufie." - -"Who's he?" - -"My brother." - -"Is he a nice boy?" - -"Yes, he's the nicest boy that ever lived," said Rose, positively. - -"Your father says he's a bad boy." - -"He isn't my father." - -"Isn't your father?" - -"No, he's only my stepfather." - -Rose was about to say something against Mr. Martin; but it occurred to -her that if it came to the ears of the latter, she might fare the worse -for it, and accordingly she stopped short. - -Fanny picked up a stick, and began to sail it about in the cistern. -After a while Rose went up, and looked on rather listlessly. At length -Fanny got tired of this amusement, and began to look around for -something better to do. In the corner of the yard she spied the cat, who -was lying down in a lazy attitude, purring contentedly as she dozed. - -"I know what I'll do," she said; "I'll have some fun with puss." - -She lifted the sleepy cat, and conveyed her straightway to the cistern. -This attracted the attention of Rose, who exclaimed, "What are you going -to do?" - -"I am going to see puss swim," said the mischievous girl. - -Now Rose had a tender heart, and could not bear to see an animal abused. -It always aroused all the chivalry in her nature, and her indignation in -the present case overcame not only her timidity, but the depression she -had felt at the separation from her friends. - -"You shan't do it," she said, energetically. - -"Mind your business!" said Fanny, defiantly. "It's my cat, and I'm going -to put her into the water." - -True to her declaration, she dropped the cat into the cistern. - -Rose waited for no more, but ran to the cistern, and, pushing Fanny -forcibly away, seized the cat by her neck, and pulled her out. Puss, on -being rescued, immediately took to her heels, and soon was out of harm's -way. - -"What did you do that for?" exclaimed Fanny, flaming with rage. - -"You had no right to put the cat in the water," retorted Rose, -intrepidly. - -"I'll put you in the water," said Fanny. "I wish you were drowned." - -"You're a bad girl," said Rose. - -"I won't play with you." - -"I don't want you to. I don't care about playing with a girl that -behaves so." - -"I behave as well as you do, anyway." - -"I don't want to talk to you any more." - -This seemed to exasperate Fanny, who, overcome by her feelings, flew at -Rose, and scratched her in the face. Rose was very peaceably inclined, -but she did not care about submitting to such treatment. She therefore -seized Fanny by the hands and held them. Unable to get away, Fanny -screamed at the top of her voice. This brought her mother to the door. - -"What's going on here?" she asked, in a voice of authority. - -"She's fighting me," said Fanny. "Take her away." - -"Let go my child at once, you wicked girl!" said Mrs. Waters, whose -sympathies were at once enlisted on the side of her child. - -"Then she mustn't scratch me," said Rose. - -"What did you scratch her for, Fanny?" - -"She's been plaguing me." - -"How did she plague you?" - -"I was playing with puss, and she came and took the cat away, and pushed -me." - -"You are a bad, quarrelsome girl," said Mrs. Waters, addressing Rose, -"and I'm sorry I told your father you might come here. He told me you -were bad; but I didn't think you would show out so quick. If you were my -girl, I'd give you a good whipping. As it is, I shall inform your father -of your conduct, as soon as he gets home, and I have no doubt he will -punish you." - -"I only tried to prevent Fanny from drowning the cat," said Rose. "She -threw her into the water, and I took her out." - -"That's a likely story. I don't believe it. Is it true, Fanny?" - -"No, it isn't," said Fanny, whose regard for truth was not very strong. - -"So I supposed. You have not only ill-treated my girl, but you have told -a wrong story besides. Fanny, come in, and I will give you a piece of -cake." - -"You won't give her any, will you, ma?" - -"No, she don't deserve any." - -With a look of triumph Fanny went into the house, leaving poor Rose to -meditate in sorrow upon this new phase of injustice and unhappiness. It -seemed as if everybody was conspiring to injure and ill-treat her. - -"I wish Rufie were here," she said, "so that he might take me away." - -Then came to her mind the threat of her stepfather, and she shuddered at -the idea of Rufus being killed. From what she knew of Mr. Martin, she -didn't think it very improbable that he would carry out his threat. - -After a while she was called to dinner, but she had very little -appetite. - -"So you're sullen, are you, miss?" said Mrs. Waters. "You're a bad girl, -and if I were your father, I'd give you a lesson. So you won't eat!" - -"I am not hungry," said Rose. - -"I understand very well what that means. However, if you don't want to -eat, I won't make you. You'll be hungry enough by and by, I guess." - -The afternoon passed very dismally to poor Rose. Fanny was forbidden by -her mother to play with her, though this Rose didn't feel at all as a -privation. She was glad to be free from the company of the little girl -whom she had begun to dislike, and spent her time in brooding over her -sorrowful fate. She sat by the window, and looked at the people passing -by, but she took little interest in the sight, and was in that unhappy -state when the future seems to contain nothing pleasant. - -At length Mr. Martin came home. His nose was as radiant as ever, and -there was little doubt that he had celebrated his capture in the manner -most agreeable to him. - -"So you're here, are you?" he said. "I thought you wouldn't run away -after what I told you. It'll be a bad day for you and your rascal of a -brother if you do. What have you been doing?" - -"Sitting by the window." - -"Where's the other little girl? Why don't you go and play with her, -instead of moping here?" - -"I don't like her," said Rose. - -"'Pears to me you're mighty particular about your company," said Martin. -"Maybe she don't like you any better." - -To this Rose didn't reply; but Mrs. Waters, who just then chanced to -enter the room, did. - -"Your little girl abused my Fanny," she said; "and I had to forbid them -playing together. I found them fighting together out in the back yard." - -"It wasn't my fault," said Rose. - -"Don't tell me that," said Martin. "I know you of old, miss. You're a -troublesome lot, you and your brother; but now I've got you back again, -I mean to tame you; see if I don't." - -"I hope you will," said Mrs. Waters; "my Fanny is a very -sweet-dispositioned child, just like what I was at her age; and she -never gets into no trouble with nobody, unless they begin to pick on -her, and then she can't be expected to stand still, and be abused." - -"Of course not," said Martin. - -"Your little girl attacked her, and tried to stop her playing with the -cat." - -"What did you do that for, miss?" said Mr. Martin, menacingly. - -"She threw the cat into the cistern," said Rose; "and I was afraid she -would drown." - -"What business was it of yours? It wasn't your cat, was it?" - -"No." - -"It was my daughter's cat," said Mrs. Waters; "but she tells me she -didn't throw her into the cistern. It's my belief that your little girl -did it herself." - -"Just as likely as not," said Martin, with a hiccough. "Hark you, miss," -he continued, steadying himself by the table on which he rested his -hand, for his head was not altogether steady, "I've got something to say -to you, and you'd better mind what I say? Do you hear?" - -Rose didn't answer. - -"Do you hear, I say?" he demanded, in a louder tone, frowning at the -child. - -"Yes." - -"You'd better, then, just attend to your own business, for you'll find -it best for yourself. You've begun to cut up your shines pretty early. -But you don't do it while I'm here. What are you snivelling about?"—for -Rose, unable to repress her sorrow, began to sob. "What are you -snivelling about, I say?" - -"I want to go back, and live with Rufie and Miss Manning," said Rose. -"Oh, do let me go!" - -"That's a pretty cool request," said Martin. "After I've been so long -hunting you up, you expect me to let you go as soon as I've got you. I -don't mean to let you go back to Rufie," he said, mimicking the little -girl's tone,—"not if I know it. Besides," he added, with a sudden -thought, "I couldn't do it very well if I wanted to. Do you know where -your precious brother is?" - -"Where?" asked Rose, in alarm. - -"Over to Blackwell's Island. He was took up this morning for stealing." - -"I don't believe it," said Rose, indignantly. "I know he wouldn't -steal." - -"Oh, well, have it your own way, then. Perhaps you know better than I -do. Only I'm glad I'm not where he is." - -Of course this story was all a fabrication, invented to tease poor Rose. -Though the little girl didn't believe it, she feared that Rufus might -have got into some trouble,—some innocent persons are sometimes unjustly -suspected,—and the bare possibility of such a thing was sufficient to -make her feel unhappy. Poor child! But yesterday she had been full of -innocent joy and happiness, and now everything seemed dark and -sorrowful. When should she see Rufie again? That was the anxious thought -that kept her awake half the night. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - SEARCHING FOR ROSE. - - -If Rose passed an unhappy afternoon and evening at the new home in -Brooklyn, her brother was scarcely less unhappy in his old home in New -York. He loved his little sister devotedly, and the thought that she -might be receiving ill-treatment troubled him exceedingly. But there was -this difference between them: Rose was timid, and saw no other way but -to endure whatever hardships her lot imposed upon her. Rough and Ready, -on the other hand, was bold and enterprising, and not easily -discouraged. His first thought, therefore, was to get his sister back -again. He had never been afraid of his stepfather for himself, only for -his mother, while she lived, and afterwards for his little sister. In -the present case, he knew that Martin was irritated at his withdrawing -the little girl from him, and feared that she would fare the worse now -on this account. - -He spent the evening with Miss Manning, who was scarcely less troubled -than himself at the loss of Rose. The lonely seamstress had found a -great solace and comfort in the society of the little girl, and her -heart had been drawn to her. She missed her sweet face, and the thousand -questions which Rose was in the habit of asking as they sat together -through the long day, which didn't seem half so long now as formerly, -when she was alone. - -When Rufus entered the little room, the first object his eyes rested -upon was the little reading-book from which Rose had been in the habit -of getting her daily lessons. "When will she read in it again?" he -thought, with a pang. - -"She was getting along so well in her reading," said Miss Manning, who -divined his thoughts. "It's such a pity she should be taken away just at -this time." - -"I'll have her back, Miss Manning, you may depend upon it," said Rufus, -energetically. "If she's anywhere in the city I'll find her." - -"The city is a large place, Rufus," said the seamstress, a little -despondently. - -"That's true, but I shan't have to look all over it. Mr. Martin isn't -very likely to be found in Fifth Avenue, unless he's better off than he -used to be. He's somewhere in the lower part of the city, on the east -side, and that's where I'll look. 'Twouldn't be much use lookin' over -the arrivals at the Astor House, or St. Nicholas." - -"That's true," said Miss Manning, smiling faintly. - -There was reason in what the newsboy said; but, as we know, he was -mistaken in one point,—Mr. Martin was not in the lower part of the city, -on the east side, but in Brooklyn, but it was only the accident of his -having found work there, which had caused him to remove across the -river. - -"Where shall you look first?" asked Miss Manning. - -"I shall go to Leonard Street, where we used to live." - -"Do you think your stepfather lives there now?" - -"No; but perhaps I can find out there where he does live." - -Rufus went round to the Lodging House at the usual time. On getting up -in the morning, instead of going to the paper offices as usual, he went -round to Leonard Street. His anxiety to gain, if possible, some tidings -about Rose would not permit him to delay unnecessarily. - -Just in front of his old home he saw a slatternly looking woman, one of -the inmates of the tenement house. She recognized the newsboy at once. - -"Where did you come from?" she asked. "I haven't seen you for a long -time." - -"No, I'm living in another place now. Have you seen anything of Mr. -Martin, lately?" - -"Aint you living with him now?" - -"No, I've left him. I suppose he isn't in the old room." - -"No, he went away some weeks ago. The agent was awful mad because he -lost his rent." - -"Then he hasn't been back since?" - -"I haven't seen him. Maybe some of the rest in the house may know where -he is. Are you going to live with him again?" - -"No," said the newsboy; "I'd rather take care of myself." - -"And how's that little sister of yours?" - -"He's carried her off. That's why I'm tryin' to find him. If it wasn't -for that I wouldn't trouble myself." - -"You don't say so? Well, that's a pity. He isn't fit to take care of -her. I hope you'll find her." - -"Thank you, Mrs. Simpson. I guess I'll go upstairs and ask some of the -rest." - -Rough and Ready ascended the stairs, and called upon some of his old -acquaintances, with inquiries of a similar character. But he got no -information likely to be of service to him. Martin had not been seen -near his old lodgings since the day when he had disappeared, leaving his -rent unpaid. - -"Where shall I go next?" thought the newsboy, irresolutely. - -This was a question more easily asked than answered. He realized that to -seek for Rose in the great city, among many thousands of houses, was -something like seeking a needle in a haystack. - -"I'll go and get my papers," he decided, "and while I am selling them, -perhaps I may think of where to go next. It'll be a hard job; but I'm -bound to find Rose if she's in the city." - -That she was in the city he did not entertain a doubt. Otherwise, he -might have felt less sanguine of ultimate success. - -He obtained his usual supply of papers, and going to his wonted stand -began to ply his trade. - -"You're late this morning, aint you?" asked Ben Gibson, a boot-black, -who generally stood at the corner of Nassau Street and Printing-House -Square. "Overslept yourself, didn't you?" - -"No," said the newsboy; "but I had an errand to do before I began." - -"Get paid for it?" - -"Not unless I pay myself. It was an errand of my own." - -"I can't afford to work for myself," said Ben. "A chap asked me, -yesterday, why I didn't black my own shoes. I axed him who was to pay me -for doin' it. Blackin' costs money, and I can't afford to work for -nothin'." - -Ben's shoes certainly looked as if no blacking had ever been permitted -to soil their virgin purity. Indeed, it is rather a remarkable -circumstance that though the boot-blacks generally have at least -three-fourths of their time unoccupied, and sometimes remain idle for -hours at a time, it never occurs to them (so far, at least, as the -writer's observation extends) to use a little of their time and blacking -in improving the condition of their own shoes or boots, when they happen -to have any. Whether this is owing to a spirit of economy, or to the -same cause which hinders a physician from swallowing his own pills, it -is not easy to say. The newsboys, on the contrary, occasionally indulge -in the luxury of clean shoes. - -"Your shoes don't look as if they'd been blacked lately," said Rough and -Ready. - -"No more they haven't. They can't stand such rough treatment. It would -be too much for their delicate constitutions." - -This was not improbable, since the shoes in question appeared to be on -their last legs, if such an expression may be allowed. - -"I like to have my shoes look neat," said Rufus. - -"Don't you want a shine?" asked Ben, with a professional air. - -"Can't afford it. Maybe I will, though, if you'll trade." - -"As how?" - -"Shine my shoes, and I'll give you a 'Sun.'" - -"That aint but two cents," said Ben, dubiously. - -"I know that; but you oughtn't to charge me more than the wholesale -price." - -"Anything in the 'Sun' this mornin'?" - -"Full account of a great murder out in Buffalo," said the newsboy, in -his professional tone. - -"Well, I don't know but I'll do it," said Ben. "Only if a gent comes -along what wants a shine, you must let me off long enough to do the job. -I'll finish yours afterwards." - -"All right." - -Ben got out his brush, and, getting on his knees, began operations. - -"'Herald,' 'Times,' 'Tribune,' 'World!'" the newsboy continued to cry. - -"Seems to me, young man, you're rather particular about your appearance -for a newsboy," said a gentleman, who came up just as Ben was giving the -finishing touch to the first shoe. - -"Oh," said Ben, speaking for his customer, "he only sells papers for -amoosement. He's a young chap of fortune, and is first cousin to the -King of Mulberry Street." - -"Indeed! I think I must purchase a paper then. You may give me the -'Herald.'" - -"Here it is, sir." - -"Do you also black boots for amusement?" addressing Ben. - -"Well," said Ben, "it may be a very amoosin' occupation for some, but I -find it rather wearin' to the knees of my pantaloons. It sort of unfits -me for genteel society." - -"Then why don't you select some other business?" - -"'Cause I can't make up my mind whether I'd rather be a lawyer or a -banker. While I'm decidin' I may as well black boots." - -"You're an original, I see." - -"Thank you for the compliment;" and Ben rose from his knees, having made -the newsboy's second shoe shine like a mirror. "Now, mister, if you'd -like to have your boots shined up by a gentleman in reduced -circumstances, I'm ready for the job." - -"Well, perhaps I may as well. So you're in reduced circumstances, my -lad?" - -"Yes, sir; my aristocratic relatives have disowned me since I took to -blackin' boots, just like they did Ferdinand Montressor, in the great -play at the Old Bowery, when he lost his fortun' and went to tending bar -for a livin'." - -"I suppose Ferdinand came out right in the end, didn't he?" - -"Yes, sir; owing to the death of fifteen of his nearest relations, who -got blown up in a steamboat explosion, he became the owner of Montressor -Castle, and a big pile of money besides, and lived happy forever after." - -"Well, my lad, perhaps you'll be lucky too." - -"Maybe you're meanin' to give me a quarter for blackin' your boots," -said Ben, shrewdly. - -"No, I wasn't intending to do it; but, as you're a gentleman in reduced -circumstances, I don't know but I will." - -"Thank you, sir," said Ben, pocketing the money with satisfaction. "Any -time you want your boots blacked, just call on me, and I'll give you the -bulliest shine you ever saw." - -"All right, good-morning! When you get into your castle, I'll come and -see you." - -"Thank you, sir. I hope you'll live long enough to do it." - -"That's wishing me a long life, I take it," said the gentleman, smiling. - -"You're in luck, Ben," said the newsboy. - -"That's so. He's what I call a gentleman." - -"Lucky for you he isn't in reduced circumstances like me. Here's your -'Sun.' When I get rich I'll pay you better." - -Ben began to spell out the news in the 'Sun,' with some difficulty, for -his education was limited, and Rufus continued to cry his papers. - -At the end of half an hour, happening to have his face turned towards -the corner of Nassau Street, he made a sudden start as he saw the -familiar figure of Martin, his stepfather, just turning into the Square. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII. - A PARLEY WITH THE ENEMY. - - -It has already been stated that James Martin's motive in recovering Rose -was not a feeling of affection for her, for this he had never had, but -rather a desire to thwart Rufus in his plans. The newsboy's refusal to -work for his support had incensed his stepfather, and Martin was a man -who was willing to take considerable trouble to gratify his spite. - -It was quite in accordance with this disposition of his, that, after -recovering Rose in the manner we have seen, he was not content, until he -had seen her brother, and exulted over him. On the day succeeding, -therefore, instead of going to work, he came over to New York, for the -express purpose of witnessing our hero's grief and chagrin at the loss -of his sister. He knew very well where to find him. - -Rough and Ready surveyed the approach of his stepfather with mingled -anger and anxiety. He it was that held in his power the one whom the -newsboy loved best. Rufus guessed his motive in seeking him now, and, -knowing that he intended to speak to him, awaited his address in -silence. - -"Well, Rufus," said Mr. Martin, with a malicious grin, "how are you this -morning?" - -"I am well," said the newsboy, shortly. - -"I am glad to hear it," said Martin; "I'd ought to feel glad of it, -you've been such a dootiful son." - -"I am not your son," said Rough and Ready, in a tone which indicated -that he was very glad that no such relationship existed between them. - -"That's lucky for me," said Martin; "I wouldn't own such a young cub. -When I have a son, I hope he'll be more dootiful, and treat me with more -gratitude." - -"What should I be grateful for?" demanded the newsboy, quickly. - -"Didn't I take care of you, and give you victuals and clothes for -years?" - -"Not that I know of," said Rufus, coolly. "I've had to support myself, -and help support you, ever since we came to New York." - -"So you complain of having to work, do you? 'Cause I was a poor man, and -couldn't support you in idleness, you think you're ill used." - -"I never complained of having to work. I am willing to work hard for -myself—and Rose." - -"How is Rose now? I hope she is well," said Martin, with a smile of -triumph. - -"That's what I'd like to have you tell me," said Rufus, looking steadily -at Martin. "Where have you carried my sister?" - -"What should I know of your sister?" said Martin. "The last I knew, you -kidnapped her from my care and protection." - -"Your care and protection!" repeated Rough and Ready, disdainfully. -"What care did you ever take of her? You did nothing for her support, -but came home drunk about every day. You couldn't take care of yourself, -much less any one else." - -"Do you want a licking?" asked Martin, angrily, approaching a little -nearer. - -Rough and Ready didn't budge an inch, for he was not in the least afraid -of his stepfather. - -"I wouldn't advise you to try it, Mr. Martin," he said, composedly. "I -am able to take care of myself." - -"Are you? I am happy to hear it," sneered Martin, repressing his anger, -as he thought that, after all, he had it in his power to punish Rufus -more effectually and safely through his sister than by any attempt at -present violence. "I'm happy to hear it, for I've relieved you of any -other care. I will take care of Rose now." - -"Where is she?" asked Rufus, anxiously. - -"She's safe," said Martin. - -"Is that all you are going to tell me?" - -"It's all you need to know. Only, if you're very anxious to contribute -to your sister's support, you can hand me the money, and it shall go for -her board." - -As he looked at Martin with his air of insolent triumph, the newsboy -felt that he hated him. It was not a Christian feeling, but it was a -very natural one. This was the man who had made his mother's life a -wretched one, and hastened her death; who in this and other ways had -brought grief and trouble upon Rose and himself, and who now seemed -determined to continue his persecutions, out of a spirit of miserable -spite and hatred. He would hardly have been able to control his temper, -but he knew that Martin would probably wreak vengeance upon his sister -for anything he might do to provoke him, and he resolved, poor as the -chance was, to try and see if he could not conciliate him, and induce -him, if possible, to give up Rose again to his own care. - -"Mr. Martin," he said, "Rose will only be a trouble and expense to you. -Why won't you bring her back? You don't care for her; but she is my -sister, and I will willingly work for her support." "Rose must stay with -me," said Martin. "If you're so anxious to pay her expenses, you can pay -me." - -"I want her to live with me." - -"Sorry I couldn't accommodate you," said Martin, "but your influence was -bad on her. I can't allow you to be together. She's been growing a great -deal wus since she was with me. I carried her yesterday to a nice, -respectable boarding-place, and the fust thing she did was to get to -fighting with another little gal in the house." - -"Where was that?" - -"Maybe you'd like to have me tell you." - -"Rose is a very sweet, peaceable little girl, and if she got into -trouble, the other girl was to blame." - -"The other girl's a little angel, so her mother says, and she ought to -know. Rose has got a sullen, bad temper; but I'll break her of it, see -if I don't." - -"If you ill-treat my sister, it'll be the worse for you," said Rough and -Ready, hotly. - -"Hoity-toity, I guess I can punish my child, if I see fit, without -asking your leave." - -"She isn't your child." - -"I've got her in my charge, and I mean to keep her." - -This was unfortunately true, and Rufus chafed inwardly that it was so. -To think that his darling little Rose should be in the power of such a -coarse brute was enough to fill him with anger and despair. But what -could he do? Was there any way in which he could get her back? If he -only knew where she was! But of this he was entirely ignorant. Indignant -as he was, he must use conciliating means as long as there was any -chance that these would avail anything. He thought of the money he had -laid aside, and it occurred to him that Mr. Martin might be accessible -to a bribe. He knew that his stepfather was very poorly provided with -money, unless he had greatly improved in his habits upon his former mode -of life. At all events, he could but fail, and he determined to make the -attempt. - -"Mr. Martin," he said, "if you'll bring my sister back, and agree not to -take her away from me again, I'll give you ten dollars." - -"Have you got so much money?" asked Martin, doubtfully. - -"Yes." - -"Where did you get it?" - -"I earned it." - -"Have you got any more?" - -"A little." - -The newsboy did not think it expedient to let his stepfather know -precisely how much he had, for he knew his demands would rise with the -knowledge. - -"How much more?" persisted Martin. - -"I can't exactly say." - -"Have you got fifteen dollars?" - -"I will try to raise it, if you will bring back my sister." - -Martin hesitated. Fifteen dollars was not to be despised. This sum would -enable him to live in idleness for a time. Besides he would be relieved -of the expenses of Rose, and this would amount in time to considerable. -As he did not pretend to feel any attachment to his stepdaughter, and -didn't expect to receive any pleasure or comfort from her society, it -certainly seemed to be a desirable arrangement. But, on the other hand, -it was pleasant to a man like Martin to feel that he had some one in his -power over whom he could exercise control, and upon whom he might expend -his anger. Besides, he would keep Rufus in a constant state of trouble -and anxiety, and this, too, was something. Still he did not like to give -up wholly the chance of gaining the fifteen dollars. After a little -hesitation, he said, "Have you got the money with you?" - -"No." - -"Have you any of it with you?" - -"Only a dollar or two." - -"That won't do." - -"Why do you ask?" - -"Because I should want part or the whole of it in advance." - -"I shouldn't be willing to pay you in advance," said the newsboy, whose -confidence in his stepfather's integrity was by no means large. - -"Why not?" - -"I'll pay you when you bring Rose. That's fair enough." - -"Perhaps you wouldn't have the money." - -"Then you could carry her back again." - -"And have all my trouble for nothing!" - -"You won't have all your trouble for nothing. I want Rose back, and I -shall be sure to have the money with me." - -Mr. Martin reflected a moment. He knew that he could trust the newsboy's -word. Much as he disliked him, he knew that if he made a promise he -would keep it, if there was a possibility of his doing so. Fifteen -dollars was quite a sum to him, for it was a long time since he had had -so much, and such were his shiftless habits, that it would probably be a -long time before he would have it, especially if he had to pay for the -board of Rose. Again, it occurred to him that if he should surrender -Rose, and receive the money, he might steal her again, and thus lose -nothing But then it was probable that Rufus would guard against this by -removing to a different quarter of the city, and not permitting Rose to -go out unaccompanied. - -So there was a little conflict in his mind, and finally he came to this -decision. He would not surrender Rose quite yet. He wanted to torment -both her and her brother a little longer. There was time enough to make -the arrangement a week hence. Perhaps by that time the newsboy would be -ready to increase his offer. - -"Well," said Rough and Ready, "what do you say?" - -"I'll think about it." - -"You'd better decide now." - -"No, I don't feel like it. Do you think I'm ready to give up my little -daughter's society, after having her with me only a day?" and he smiled -in a way that provoked Rufus, as he knew it would. - -"Will you bring her to-morrow?" asked the news boy, who felt that he -must hold his anger in check. - -"Maybe I'll bring her in the course of a week; that is, if she behaves -herself. I must break her of some of her faults. She needs trainin'." - -"She's a good little girl." - -"She's got to be better before I give her back. Hope you won't fret -about her;" and Martin walked away, with a half laugh, as he saw the -trouble which the newsboy couldn't help showing in his face. - -A sudden idea came to Rufus. - -"Ben," he said, beckoning to Ben Gibson, who had just got through with a -job, "do you see that man?" - -"The one you've been talking with?" - -"Yes." - -"Well, what about him?" - -"I'll give you a dollar if you'll follow him, and find out where he -lives. Of course he mustn't know that you are following him." - -"Maybe he isn't going home." - -"Never mind. Follow him if it takes you all day, and you shall have the -dollar." - -"Maybe I'll get off the track." - -"You're too sharp for that. You see, Ben, he's carried off my little -sister, and I want to find out where he has put her. Just find out for -me where she is, and we'll carry her off from him." - -"That'll be bully fun," said Ben. "I'm your man. Just take care of my -box, and I'll see what I can do." - -Mr. Martin had turned down Spruce Street. He kept on his way, not -suspecting that there was some one on his track. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX. - ROSE AGAIN IN TROUBLE. - - -Leaving Ben Gibson on the track of Mr. Martin, we must return to Rose, -and inquire how she fared in her new home at Brooklyn. Mrs. Waters had -already taken a strong prejudice against her, on account of the -misrepresentations of her daughter Fanny. If Fanny was an angel, as her -mother represented, then angels must be very disagreeable people to live -with. The little girl was rude, selfish, and had a violent temper. Had -Mr. Martin stood by Rose, her treatment would have been much better, for -policy would have led Mrs. Waters to treat her with distinguished -consideration; but as parental fondness was not a weakness of her -stepfather, the boarding-house keeper felt under no restraint. - -"What shall I do if your little girl behaves badly, Mr. Martin?" said -Mrs. Waters, as he was about to leave the house in the morning. - -"Punish her, ma'am. You needn't feel no delicacy about it. I'll stand by -you. She's a bad, troublesome girl, and a good whipping every day is -just what she needs. Do you hear that, miss?" - -Rose did not answer, but her lip quivered a little. It seemed hard to -the little girl, fresh from the atmosphere of love by which she had been -surrounded in her recent home, to be treated with such injustice and -unfairness. - -"Why don't you answer, miss?" roared James Martin, savagely. "Didn't you -hear what I said?" - -"Yes," said Rose. - -"Mind you remember it, then. If you don't behave yourself, Mrs. Waters -has my full permission to punish you, and if she don't punish you -enough, I'll give you a little extra when I get home. I shall ask her to -report to me about you. Do you hear?" - -"Yes." - -"Yes! Where's your manners? Say 'Yes, sir.'" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Mind you remember then. And there's one thing more. Don't you go to run -away. If you do, it'll be the worse for your brother." - -With this parting threat he went out of the house. - -"Now, children," said Mrs. Waters, "go out and play. I'm up to my elbows -in work, and I can't have you in the way." - -"Where shall we go?" asked Rose. - -"Out in the back yard." - -"I don't want to go out in the back yard," said Fanny; "there aint -anything to do there." - -"Well, go out into the street then, if you want to." - -"Yes, I'd rather go there." - -Rose followed Fanny into the street in rather a listless manner, for she -did not expect much enjoyment. - -"Now, what shall we do?" asked Fanny. - -"I don't know, I'm sure," said Rose. - -"I know where there's a candy-shop." - -"Do you?" - -"Yes, just at the corner. Do you like candy?" - -"Yes, pretty well." - -"You haven't got any money, have you?" said Fanny, insinuatingly. - -"No, I haven't," answered Rose. - -"I wish you had. I like candy, but mother won't give me any money to buy -any. She's real mean." - -"Do you call your mother mean?" said Rose, rather shocked. - -"Yes, she might give me a penny. Oh, there's a hand-organ. Come, let's -go and hear it." - -An Italian, with a hand-organ, had taken his station before a house in -the next block. There was a half-grown girl with a tambourine in his -company, and, best of all, a monkey was perched on the performer's -shoulder, with his tail curled up in a ring, and his head covered with a -red cap, and his sharp little eyes roving from one to another of the -motley group drawn around the organ, keenly watching for the stray -pennies which were bestowed as much for the sake of seeing the monkey -pick them up, as a compensation for the music, which was of rather an -inferior order, even for a hand-organ. - -"Let's go and hear the organ," repeated Fanny. - -To this proposal Rose made no objection. Children are not critical in -music, and the tunes which issued from the wheezy organ had their -attraction for her. The monkey was equally attractive, with his queer, -brown face, and Rose was very willing to go nearer with her companion. - -[Illustration: "AINT HE A FUNNY MONKEY?"] - -"Aint he a funny monkey?" said Fanny. "He took off his hat to me. I wish -I had a penny to throw to him, though I don't think I'd give it to him. -I'd rather spend it for candy," she added, after a little reflection. - -Here the organ struck up "Old Dog Tray," that veteran melody, which -celebrates, in rather doleful measure, the fidelity and kindness of its -canine hero. But the small crowd of listeners were not appreciative, as -in response to the strains only a solitary penny was forthcoming, and -this was thrown by a butcher's boy, who chanced to be passing. The -Italian, concluding probably that he was not likely to realize a fortune -in that locality, shouldered his hand-organ, and moved up the street. - -"Let's go after him," said Fanny. - -"Shall you know the way back?" said Rose. - -"Yes, I know well enough," said Fanny, carelessly. - -Rose accordingly followed her without hesitation, and when the Italian -again stopped, the two little girls made a part of his audience. After -going through his series of tunes, and gathering a small stock of -pennies, the organ-grinder again started on his travels. Rose and Fanny, -having no better amusement before them, still kept his company, and this -continued for an hour or two. - -By this time they had unconsciously got a considerable distance from -home. There is no knowing how far they would have gone, had not the -tambourine player detected Fanny in picking up a penny which had been -thrown for the musicians. Fanny, supposing that she was not observed, -slipped it into her pocket slily, intending to spend it for candy on her -way home. But she was considerably alarmed when the girl, her dark face -full of indignation, ran forward, and, seizing her by the arm, shook -her, uttering the while an incoherent medley of Italian and English. - -"What's the row? What has the little girl done?" asked a man in the -group. - -"She one tief. She took penny, and put in her pocket," said the Italian -girl, continuing to shake her. - -Fanny protested with tears that she had not done it, but a boy near by -testified that he had seen her do it. With shame and mortification, -Fanny was obliged to produce the purloined penny, and give it to the -monkey, who, in spite of her intended dishonesty, had the politeness to -remove his hat, and make her a very ceremonious bow. - -"I should think you'd be ashamed of yourselves," said a stout woman, -addressing both little girls. - -"I didn't take the penny," said Rose, resenting the imputation; "I -wouldn't steal for anything." - -"She wanted me to take it," said Fanny, maliciously, "so that I could -buy some candy for her." - -"That's a story," said Rose, indignantly; "I didn't know you meant to do -it, till I saw you slip it into your pocket." - -"I've no doubt one's as bad as the other," said the woman, with -commendable impartiality. - -"Go 'way," said the tambourine girl; "you steal some more penny." - -"Come away, Fanny," said Rose; "I'm ashamed to stay here any longer, and -I should think you would be." - -As circumstances made the neighborhood of the musicians rather -unpleasant, Fanny condescended to adopt the suggestion of her companion. - -"I guess I'll go home," she said. "I'm hungry, and ma'll give me some -gingerbread. She won't give you any, for you're a bad girl." - -"What are you?" retorted Rose. - -"I'm a good girl." - -"I never heard of a good girl's stealing," said Rose. - -"If you say that again, I'll strike you," said Fanny, who was rather -sensitive about the charge, particularly as it happened to be true. - -Rose was not fond of disputing, and made no reply, but waited for Fanny -to show her the way home. But this Fanny was unable to do. She had -followed the organ-grinder round so many corners that she had quite lost -her reckoning, and had no idea where she was. She stood undecided and -looked helplessly around her. - -"I don't know where to go," she said. - -"Don't you know the way home?" asked Rose. - -"No," answered Fanny, almost ready to cry. - -Rose hardly knew whether to be glad or to be sorry. If she should be -lost, and not find her way back to the boarding-house, there would be -this comfort at least, that she would be separated from Mr. Martin. -Still she was not quite prepared to live in the streets, and didn't know -how to go to work to find her brother. Besides, Mr. Martin had -threatened to harm him in case she ran away. So, on the whole, she was -rather in hopes that Fanny would remember the way. - -"We'd better go straight along," suggested Rose, "and perhaps we shall -find your house." - -As Fanny had no better plan to propose, they determined to adopt this -plan. Neither had taken any particular notice of the way by which they -had come, and were therefore unable to recognize any land marks. So, -instead of nearing home, they were actually getting farther and farther -away from it, and there is no knowing where they would finally have -brought up, if in turning a corner they had not found themselves all at -once face to face with Mrs. Waters herself. It may be explained that the -latter, after an hour, not hearing the voices of the children outside, -had become alarmed, and started in pursuit. She had already had a long -and weary walk, and it was only by the merest chance that she caught -sight of them. This long walk, with the anxiety which she had felt, had -not improved her temper, but made her angry, so that she was eager to -vent her indignation upon the two children. - -"What do you mean, you little plagues, by running away?" she asked, -seizing each child roughly by the arm. "Here I've been rushing round the -streets after you, neglecting my work, for a good hour." - -"She wanted to go," said Fanny, pointing to Rose. - -"So she led you away, did she?" asked Mrs. Waters, giving Rose a rough -shake. - -"Yes, she wanted me to go after an organ," said Fanny, seeing a way to -screen herself at the expense of her companion, and like a mean little -coward availing herself of it. - -"So this is another one of your tricks, miss, is it?" demanded Mrs. -Waters, angrily. - -"It isn't true," said Rose. "She asked me to go." - -"Oh, no doubt; you can lie as fast as you can talk," said Mrs. Waters. -"I thought all the while that Fanny was too good a girl to give her -mother so much trouble. It was only to oblige you that she went off. -That comes of having such a bad girl in the family. I shan't keep you -long, for you'll be sure to spoil my Fanny, who was one of the best -little girls in the neighborhood till you came to lead her into -mischief. But I'll come up with you, miss, you may depend upon that. -Your father told me I might punish you, and I mean to do it; just wait -till we get home, that's all." - -Here Mrs. Waters paused more from lack of breath, than because she had -given full expression to her feelings. She relaxed her hold upon Fanny, -but continued to grasp Rose roughly by the shoulder, dragging her -rapidly along. - -Rose saw that it was of no use to defend herself. Mrs. Waters was -determined to find her guilty, and would not believe any statement she -might make. So she ran along to adapt herself to the pace of the angry -woman beside her. - -They soon reached the house, and entered, Mrs. Waters pushing Rose -before. - -"Now for your punishment," said Mrs. Waters, grimly, "I'm going to lock -you up down cellar." - -"Oh, don't," said Rose, terrified. "I don't want to go down in the dark -cellar;" for, like most children, she had a dread of darkness. - -But Mrs. Waters was inexorable. She opened the door of the cellar, and -compelled the little girl to descend the dark staircase. Then she -slammed the door, and left her sobbing on the lowest step. - -Poor Rose! She felt that she had indeed fallen among enemies. - - - - - CHAPTER XX. - HOW BEN SUCCEEDED. - - -Ben Gibson was very willing to suspend blacking boots and follow in the -track of James Martin, partly because he considered it easier work, but -partly also, because he was glad to be of service to the newsboy. The -fact was that Rough and Ready was popular among the street boys. He was -brave and manly, rough with those who tried to impose upon him, but -always ready to do a favor to a boy who needed it. Ben had not forgotten -how two winters before, when he had been laid up with a sickness brought -on by exposure, Rufus had himself contributed liberally to help him, and -led other boys to follow his example, thus defraying his expenses until -he got about again. A kind heart will make its possessor popular sooner -than anything else, and it was this, together with his well-known -prowess, which made Rough and Ready not only popular, but admired in the -circle to which he belonged. - -Ben followed James Martin down Spruce Street, keeping sufficiently in -the background, so as not to excite the suspicions of the latter. - -"I wonder where he's goin'," thought Ben; "I don't think I could follow -him more'n a hundred miles without wantin' to rest. Anyhow I guess I can -stand it as well as he can." - -Martin walked along in a leisurely manner. The fact was that he had made -up his mind not to work that day, and therefore he felt in no particular -hurry. This was rather improvident on his part, since he had voluntarily -assumed the extra expense of supporting Rose; but then prudence and -foresight were not his distinguishing traits. He had a vague idea that -the world owed him a living, and that he would rub along somehow or -other. This is a mischievous doctrine, and men who deserve to succeed -never hold it. It is true, however, that the world is pretty sure to -provide a living for those who are willing to work for it, but makes no -promises to those who expect to be taken care of without any exertions -of their own. The difference between the rich merchant and the ragged -fellow who solicits his charity as he is stepping into his carriage, -consists, frequently, not in natural ability, but in the fact that the -one has used his ability as a stepping-stone to success, and the other -has suffered his to become stagnant, through indolence, or dissipation. - -But we must come back to Mr. Martin. - -He walked down towards the East River till he reached Water Street, then -turning to the left, he brought up at a drinking-saloon, which he had -visited more than once on a similar errand. He found an old acquaintance -who invited him to drink,—an invitation which he accepted promptly. - -Ben remained outside. - -"I thought he did business at some such place by the looks of his nose," -soliloquized Ben. "What shall I do while I'm waitin' for him?" - -Looking around him, Ben saw two boys of about his own age pitching -pennies. As this was a game with which long practice had made him -familiar, he made overtures towards joining them. - -"Let a feller in, will you?" he said. - -"How much you got?" asked one of the boys, in a business-like way. - -"Ten cents," said Ben. "I lent old Vanderbilt most of my money day afore -yesterday, to buy up a new railroad, and he haint forked over." - -Ben need not have apologized for his comparative poverty, as he proved -to be the richest of the three. The game commenced, and continued for -some time with various mutations of fortune; but at the end of half an -hour Ben found himself richer by two cents than when he had commenced. -From time to time he cast a watchful glance at the saloon opposite, for -he had no intention of suffering the interest of the game to divert him -from the object of his expedition. At length he saw James Martin issue -from the saloon, and prepared to follow him. - -"Are you going?" asked one of the boys with whom he had been playing. - -"Yes, I've got some important business on hand. Here's your money;" and -he threw down the two cents he had won. - -"You won it?" - -"What if I did? I only played for amoosement. What's two cents to a -gentleman of fortune, with a big manshun up town?" - -"It's the Tombs, he manes," said one of his late opponents, laughing. - -"He can blow, he can," remarked the other. - -But Ben couldn't stop to continue the conversation, as James Martin had -already turned the corner of the street. It was observable that his gait -already showed a slight unsteadiness, which he tried to remedy by -walking with unusual erectness. The consequence of this was that he -didn't keep fairly in view the occupants of the sidewalk, which led to -his deliberately walking into rather a stout female, who was approaching -in the opposite direction. - -"Is it goin' to murther me ye are, you spalpeen?" she exclaimed, -wrathfully, as soon as she could collect her breath. "Don't you know -better than to run into a dacent woman in that way?" - -"It was you run into me," said Martin, steadying himself with some -difficulty after the collision. - -"Hear him now," said the woman, looking about her to call attention to -the calumny. - -"I see how it is," said Martin; "you're drunk, ma'am, you can't walk -straight." - -This led to a voluble outburst from the irate woman, to which Ben -listened with evident enjoyment. - -"Am I drunk, boy?" asked Martin, appealing to Ben, whom he for the first -time noticed. - -"Of course you aint, gov'nor," said Ben. "You never did sich a thing in -your life." - -"What do you know about it?" demanded the woman. "It's my belief you're -drunk yourself." - -"Do you know who this gentleman is?" asked Ben, passing over the -personal charge. - -"No, I don't." - -"He's President of the Fifth Avenue Temperance Society," said Ben, -impressively. "He's just been drinking the health of his feller-officers -in a glass of something stiff, round in Water Street, that's all." - -The woman sniffed contemptuously, but, not deigning a reply, passed on. - -"Who are you?" asked Martin, turning to Ben. "You're a good feller." - -"That's so," said Ben. "That's what everybody says." - -"So'm I a good feller," said Martin, whose recent potations must have -been of considerable strength, to judge from their effects. "You know -me." - -"Of course I do," said Ben. "I've knowed you from infancy." - -"Take a drink?" said Martin. - -"Not at present," said Ben. "My health don't require it this mornin'." - -"Where are you going?" - -"Well," said Ben, "I aint very particular. I'm a wealthy orphan, with -nothin' to do. I'll walk along with you, if it's agreeable." - -"I wish you would," said Martin; "I aint feeling quite well this -morning. I've got the headache." - -"I don't wonder at that," thought Ben. "I'll accompany you to your -residence, if it aint too far off." - -"I live in Brooklyn," said Martin. - -"Oho!" thought Ben. "Well, that information is worth something. Shall we -go over Fulton Ferry?" he asked, aloud. - -"Yes," said Martin. - -"Take hold of my arm, and I'll support your totterin' steps," said Ben. - -Mr. Martin, who found locomotion in a straight line rather difficult on -account of his headache, willingly availed himself of this obliging -offer, and the two proceeded on their way to Fulton Ferry. - -"Have you got much of a family?" inquired Ben, by way of being sociable. - -"I've got a little girl," said Martin, "and a boy, but he's an impudent -young rascal." - -"What's his name?" - -"Rufus. He sells newspapers in front of the 'Times' office." - -"The boys call him Rough and Ready, don't they?" - -"Yes. Do you know him?" asked Martin, a little suspiciously. "He aint a -friend of yours, is he?" - -"I owe him a lickin'," said Ben, with a show of indignation. - -"So do I," said Martin. "He's an impudent young rascal." - -"So he is," chimed in Ben. "I'll tell you what I'd do, if I were you." - -"What?" - -"I'd disinherit him. Cut him off with a shilling'." - -"I mean to," said Martin, pleased to find sympathy in his dislike to his -stepson. - -Probably the newsboy would not have suffered acute anguish, had he -learned his stepfather's intention to disinherit him, as the well-known -lines, "Who steals my purse, steals trash," might at almost any time -have been appropriately applied to Mr. Martin's purse, when he happened -to carry one. - -Ben paid the toll at the ferry, and the two entered the boat together. -He conducted Mr. Martin to the Gentleman's Cabin, where he found him a -seat in the corner. James Martin sank down, and closed his eyes in a -drowsy fit, produced by the liquor he had drunk. - -Ben took a seat opposite him. - -"You're an interestin' object," soliloquized Ben, as he looked across -the cabin at his companion "It's a great blessin' to be an orphan, if a -feller can't own a better father than that. However, I'll stick to him -till I get him home. I wonder what he'd say if he knowed what I was -goin' with him for. If things don't go contrary, I guess I'll get the -little girl away from him afore long." - -When the boat struck the Brooklyn pier, James Martin was asleep. - -"There aint no hurry," thought Ben; "I'll let him sleep a little while." - -After the boat had made three or four trips, Ben went across and shook -Martin gently. - -The latter opened his eyes, and looked at him vacantly. - -"What's the matter?" he said, thickly. - -"We've got to Brooklyn," said Ben. "If you want to go home, we'll have -to go off the boat." - -James Martin rose mechanically, and, walking through the cabin, passed -out upon the pier, and then through the gates. - -"Where'll we go now?" asked Ben. "Is it far off?" - -"Yes," said Martin. "We'll take a horse-car." - -"All right, gov'nor; just tell us what one we want, and we'll jump -aboard." - -Martin was sufficiently in his senses to be able to impart this -information correctly. He made no objection to Ben's paying the fare for -both, which the latter did, as a matter of policy, thinking that in his -present friendly relations with Mr. Martin he was likely to obtain the -information he desired, with considerably less difficulty than he -anticipated. On the whole, Ben plumed himself on his success, and felt -that as a detective he had done very well. - -Martin got out at the proper place, and Ben of course got out with him. - -"That's where I live," said Martin, pointing to the house. "Won't you go -in?" - -"Thank you for the compliment," said Ben; "but I've got some important -business to attend to, and shall have to be goin'. How's your headache?" - -"It's better," said Martin. - -"Glad to hear it," said Ben. - -Martin, on entering the house, was informed of the ill-conduct of Rose, -as Mrs. Waters chose to represent it, and that in consequence she had -been shut up in the cellar. - -"Keep her there as long as you like," said Martin. "She's a bad girl, -and it won't do her any harm." - -If Rose had known that an agent of her brother's was just outside the -house, and was about to carry back to Rufus tidings of her whereabouts, -she would have felt considerably better. There is an old saying that the -hour which is darkest is just before day. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI. - IN AN OYSTER SALOON. - - -Rough and Ready had just laid in a supply of afternoon papers, and -resumed his usual position in front of the "Times" office, when Ben -Gibson came round the corner, just returned from his expedition to -Brooklyn, the particulars of which are given in the last chapter. - -"What luck, Ben?" asked the newsboy, anxiously. - -"Tip-top," said Ben. - -"You don't mean to say you've found her?" said Rough and Ready, eagerly. - -"Yes, I have,—leastways I've found where she's kept." - -"Tell me about it. How did you manage?" - -"I followed your respected father down Spruce Street," said Ben. "He -stopped to take a little something strong in Water Street, which made -him rather top-heavy. I offered him my protection, which he thankfully -accepted; so we went home together as intimate as brothers." - -"Did he suspect anything?" - -"Not a bit; I told him I know'd you, and owed you a lickin', which -impressed his affectionate heart very favorably. When'll you take it?" - -"What?" - -"The lickin'." - -"Not at present," said Rough and Ready, laughing. "I guess it'll keep." - -"All right. Any time you want it, just let me know." - -"Go ahead. Where does he live?" - -"In Brooklyn. We went over Fulton Ferry, and then took the horse-cars a -couple of miles. I paid the old chap's fare." - -"I'll make it right with you. Did you see Rose?" - -"No; but I'll remember the house." - -"Ben, you're a trump. I was afraid you wouldn't succeed. Now tell me -when I had better go for her? Shall it be to-night?" - -"No," said Ben; "he'll be at home to-night. Besides, she won't be -allowed to come out. If we go over to-morrow, we may meet her walkin' -out somewhere. Then we can carry her off without any fuss." - -"I don't know but you're right," said the newsboy, thoughtfully; "but it -is hard to wait. I'm afraid she won't be treated well, poor little -Rose!" - -Rufus proposed to go over in the evening and reconnoitre, but it -occurred to him that if he were seen and recognized by Mr. Martin, the -latter would be on his guard, and perhaps remove her elsewhere, or keep -her so strictly guarded that there would be no opportunity of reclaiming -her. He was forced, therefore, to wait with what patience he might till -the next morning. He went round to tell Miss Manning of his success. She -sympathized heartily with him, for she had felt an anxiety nearly as -great as his own as to the fate of the little girl whose presence had -lighted up her now lonely room with sunshine. - -After spending a portion of the evening with her, he came out again into -the streets. It was his usual time for going to the Lodging House; but -he felt restless and wakeful, and preferred instead to wander about the -streets. - -At ten o'clock he felt the promptings of appetite, and, passing an -oyster saloon, determined to go in and order a stew. - -It was not a very fashionable place. There was a general air of -dinginess and lack of neatness pervading the place. The apartment was -small, and low-studded. On one side was a bar, on the other, two or -three small compartments provided with tables, with curtains screening -them from the main room. - -It was not a very inviting place, but the newsboy, though more -particular than most of his class, reflected that the oysters might -nevertheless be good. - -"Give us a stew," he said to a young man behind the counter, whose -countenance was ornamented with pimples. - -"All right. Anything to drink?" - -"No sir," said our hero. - -Rufus entered the only one of the alcoves which was unoccupied. The -curtains of the other two were drawn. The one which he selected was the -middle one of three, so that what was going on in both was audible to -him. The one in front appeared to have a solitary occupant, and nothing -was heard from it but the clatter of a knife and fork. - -But there were evidently two persons in the other, for Rufus was able to -make out a low conversation which was going on between them. The first -words were heard with difficulty, but afterwards, either because they -spoke louder or because his ear got more accustomed to the sounds, he -made out everything. - -"You are sure about the money, Jim," said one. - -"Yes." - -"How do you know it?" - -"Never mind how I know it. It makes no odds as long as he's got it, and -we are going to take it." - -"That's the main thing. Now tell me your plans." - -"He'll be going home about half-past eleven, somewhere from there to -twelve, and we must lie in wait for him. It's a cool thousand, that'll -be five hundred apiece." - -"I need it bad enough, for I'm dead broke." - -"So am I. Got down to my last dollar, and no chance of another, unless -this little plan of ours works." - -"It's dangerous." - -"Of course there's a risk. There won't be any time to lose. The -policeman's got a long beat. We must make the attack when he's out of -the way. There'll be no time to parley." - -"If he resist—" - -"Knock him on the head. A minute'll be enough." - -There was some further conversation carried on in a low voice, from -which the newsboy, who listened with attention, gathered full -particulars of the meditated attack. It appears that the intended victim -of the plot was a Wall Street broker, who was likely to be out late in -the evening with a considerable sum of money about him. How the two -desperadoes concerned in the plot had obtained this information did not -appear. This, however, is not necessary to the comprehension of the -story. Enough that they had intended to make criminal use of that -knowledge. - -"What shall I do?" thought the newsboy, when by careful listening he -arrived at a full comprehension of the plot in all its details. -"There'll be robbery, and perhaps murder done unless I interfere." - -It required some courage to do anything. The men were not only his -superiors in physical strength, but they were doubtless armed, and -ready, if interfered with, to proceed to extremities. But the newsboy -had one of those strong and hardy natures to which fear is a -stranger,—at least so far as his own safety was concerned. This -proceeded from his strength and physical vigor, and entire freedom from -that nervousness which often accompanies a more fragile organization. - -"I'll stop it if I can," he decided, promptly, without a thought of the -risk he might incur. - -One circumstance might interfere: they might leave the saloon before he -was ready to do so, and thus he would lose track of them. Unfortunately, -the place where the attack was to be made had not yet been mentioned. -But he was relieved of this apprehension when he heard the curtain drawn -aside, and a fresh order given to the waiter. At that moment his own -stew was brought, and placed on the table before him. - -"I shall get through as soon as they do," thought Rufus. "There will be -nothing to hinder my following them." - -After finishing his own oysters, he waited until his neighbors, who were -more deliberate, were ready to go out. When he heard their departure, he -also drew the curtain, and stepped into the room. He took care not to -look too closely at them, but one quick glance daguerreotyped their -features in his memory. One was a short, stout man, with a heavy face -and lowering expression; the other was taller and slighter, with a face -less repulsive. The former, in rushing into crime, appeared to be -following the instincts of a brutal nature. The other looked as if he -might have been capable of better things, had circumstances been -different. - -The two exchanged a look when they saw the newsboy coming out of the -compartment adjoining their own, as if to inquire whether he was likely -to have heard any of their conversation. But Rufus assumed such an -indifferent and unconcerned an expression, that their suspicions, if -they had any, were dispelled, and they took no further notice of him. - -They settled for what they had eaten, and the newsboy, hastily throwing -down the exact change for his oysters, followed them out. - -They turned up a side street, conversing still in a low tone. Rufus, -though appearing indifferent, listened intently. At length he heard what -he had been anxious to hear,—the scene of the intended attack. - -The information gave him this important advantage: He was no longer -under the necessity of dogging the steps of the two men, which, if -persisted in, would have been likely to attract their attention and -arouse their suspicions. He was able now to leave them. All that would -be necessary was to be on the spot at the time mentioned, or a little -earlier. But what preparations should he make? For a boy to think of -engaging single-handed with two ruffians was of course foolhardy. Yet it -was desirable that he should have a weapon of some kind. Here, however, -there was a difficulty, as there were no shops probably open at that -hour, where he could provide himself with what he desired. - -While considering with some perplexity what he should do, he came across -Tim Graves, a fellow newsboy, carrying in his hand a bat. - -"How are you, Tim?" he said. - -"I'm so's to be round. Where are you going?" - -"Up-town on an errand. Where'd you get that bat?" - -"I was up to the Park to see a base-ball match, and picked it up." - -"What'll you take for it?" - -"Want to buy?" - -"Yes." - -"I don't know," said Tim, hesitating. "It's worth a quarter." - -"All right. Give it here." - -"What do you want it for?" - -"Somebody might attack me for my money," said Rufus. "If they do, I'll -give 'em a rap with this." - -The money was paid over, and the bat changed owners. It was heavy, and -of hard wood, and in the hands even of a boy might prove a formidable -weapon. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII. - A RESCUE. - - -Armed with the bat, Rufus took his way up-town. As the distance was -considerable, he jumped on board a horse-car. The conductor, noticing -the bat, asked him whether he was going to play a game by moonlight. - -"Yes," said the newsboy. "I belong to a club called 'The Owls.' We can -play best in the dark." - -He got out of the car at the point nearest to the place which he had -heard mentioned as the probable scene of attack, and walked cautiously -towards it. He had no doubt of being in full time, for it was not yet -half-past eleven. But circumstances had hastened the attack; so that, as -he turned the corner of a quiet side street, he was startled by seeing a -gentleman struggling desperately in the hands of two ruffians. He saw at -a glance that they were the same he had overheard in the oyster saloon. - -The gentleman appeared to be overpowered, for he was on the ground, with -one man clutching his throat to prevent his giving the alarm, while the -other was rifling his pockets. - -There was no time to lose. - -The newsboy darted forward, and before the villains were aware that -their plans were menaced by defeat, he brought down the bat with force -upon the back of the one who had his victim by the throat. The bat, -wielded by the vigorous hand of Rough and Ready, fell with terrible -emphasis upon the form of the bending ruffian. He released his hold with -a sharp cry of pain, and fell back on the sidewalk. His companion looked -up, but only in time to receive an equally forcible blow on his -shoulder, which compelled him also to desist from his purpose. - -At the same time the voice of the newsboy rang out clear and loud on the -night air: "Help! Police!" - -He sprang to the side of the prostrate gentleman, saying, "Get up at -once, sir. We'll defeat these villains yet." - -The gentleman sprang to his feet, and prepared to do his part in -resisting an attack; but none was apparently intended. The man, who had -been struck in the back, was not in a position to do anything, but lay -groaning with pain, while the other did not think it expedient to -continue the attack under the changed aspect of affairs. Besides, the -newsboy's cry for help was likely to bring the police, so that the only -thing left was to effect an immediate escape. - -He paused but an instant before making his decision; but that instant -nearly destroyed his chance. The policeman, who had heard the cry for -help, turned the corner hastily, and at once made chase. But by exerting -all his strength the fellow managed to escape. The policeman returned, -and began to inquire into the circumstances of the attack. - -"How did this happen, Mr. Turner?" he inquired of the gentleman, whom he -recognized. - -"Those two villains attacked me," said the gentleman, "just as I turned -the corner. They must have learned that I was likely to have a -considerable sum of money about me, and were planning to secure it. -Their attack was so sudden and unexpected that they would have -accomplished their object but for this brave boy." - -"Curse him!" said the prostrate burglar, who was the shorter of the -two."I saw him in the oyster saloon. He must have heard what I and my -pal were saying, and followed us." - -"Did you know anything of this intended robbery?" asked the policeman. - -"Yes," said Rough and Ready, "the man is right. I did overhear him and -the other man planning it. We were in an oyster saloon in the lower part -of the city. I was in one of the little rooms, and they in the other. -They were talking it over in a low voice; but I overheard the whole. As -soon as I heard it, I determined to stop it if I could. I had no weapon -with me, but was lucky enough to buy this bat of a boy I met, and came -up at once. I came near not being in time." - -"Let me see the bat," said the policeman. - -"It's a tough customer," he said, weighing it in his hand; "you settled -one of the parties, at any rate." - -"Curse him!" muttered the burglar once more. - -"Come, my man," said the policeman, "you must go with me. The city -provides accommodations for such as you." - -"I can't get up," he groaned. - -"I guess you can if you try. You can't lie here, you know." - -After some delay the man rose sullenly, groaning meanwhile. - -"My back is broken," he said. - -"I hope not," said the newsboy, who was moved with pity for the burglar, -bad as he was. - -"Don't pity him too much," said the policeman; "he deserves what he's -got." - -"I'll pay you off some time, boy, curse you!" said the injured man, with -a vindictive glance at Rufus. "I'll give you as good as you gave." - -"It'll be some time before you get a chance," said the policeman. -"You'll get a five years in Sing Sing for this job." - -He marched off with the culprit, and Rough and Ready was left alone with -Mr. Turner. - -"I don't know how to thank you, my brave boy, for your timely -assistance," he said, grasping the hand of the newsboy. - -"I don't need any thanks, sir," said Rufus. - -"You may not need any, but you deserve them richly. Are you far from -home?" - -"Yes, sir; but I can take the horse-cars." - -"Where do you live?" - -"At the Newsboys' Lodging House." - -"Are you a newsboy?" asked Mr. Turner, with interest. - -"Yes, sir." - -"Have you parents living?" - -"No, sir, except a stepfather; but he's a drunkard, and I don't live -with him." - -"Have you any brothers or sisters?" - -"A little sister, about seven years old." - -"Does she live with your stepfather?" - -"I took her away, but Mr. Martin found out where I had placed her, and -he managed to get hold of her. I found out to-day where he carried her, -and to-morrow I shall try to get her back. He isn't a fit man to have -the charge of her." - -"And can you support your little sister, and yourself too?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"You are a good brother, and I believe you are a good boy. I want to -know more of you. It is too late to go to the Newsboys' Lodging House -to-night. I live close by, and will take you home with me." - -"Thank you, sir," said Rough and Ready, bashfully, "but I don't want to -trouble you so much." - -"There will be no trouble, and I owe something to a boy who has rendered -me such a service. Besides, Mrs. Turner will want to see you." - -The newsboy knew not what further objections to make, and, indeed, Mr. -Turner gave him no time to think of any, for, placing his arm in his, he -drew him along. His home was in the next block. - -As Rufus ascended the steps, he saw that it was of fine appearance, and -a new fit of bashfulness seized him. He wished himself in his accustomed -bed at the Newsboys' Lodging House. There he would be under no -constraint. Now he was about to enter a home where customs prevailed of -which he knew nothing. But, whatever his feelings were, there was no -chance to draw back. Besides, the alternative was between accepting Mr. -Turner's invitation, and sleeping in the streets, for punctually at -twelve o'clock the Lodging House closes, and it would be later than this -before he could reach there. - -Mr. Turner drew out a night-key, and opened the front door. - -The hall was dimly lighted, for the gas was partially shut off. Still -the newsboy could see that it was handsomely furnished. How it compared -with other houses up-town he could not tell, for this was the first he -had entered. - -"The servants have gone to bed," said Mr. Turner; "I never require them -to sit up after eleven. I will myself show you the room where you are to -sleep. Your hat you may leave here." - -According to directions, Rufus hung up his hat on the hat-stand. He -congratulated himself, as he did so, that he had only bought it the week -before, so that its appearance would do him no discredit Indeed his -whole suit, though coarse, was whole, and not soiled, for he paid -greater attention to dress than most boys in his line of business. This -was due partly to a natural instinct of neatness, but partly also to the -training he had received from his mother, who had been a neat woman. - -"Now come upstairs with me, Rufus," said Mr. Turner, who had made -himself acquainted with our hero's name. "I will ask you to step softly, -that we may wake no one." - -The thick carpet which covered the stairs rendered it easy to follow -this direction. - -"One more flight," said Mr. Turner, at the first landing. - -He paused before a door on the third floor, and opened it. - -Rufus followed him into a large and handsomely furnished bedchamber, -containing a bed large enough for three, as the newsboy thought. - -"I think you will find everything you need," said the master of the -house, casting a rapid glance around. "I hope you will have a -comfortable night's rest. We have breakfast at half-past seven o'clock. -The bell will ring to awake you half an hour earlier." - -"I think I won't stop to breakfast," said Rough and Ready, bashfully; -"thank you, sir, for the invitation." - -"You mustn't think of going away before breakfast," said Mr. Turner; "I -wish to talk with you, and my wife will wish to see you." - -"But," said the newsboy, still anxious to get away, "I ought to be -down-town early to get my papers." - -"Let them go one morning. I will take care that you lose nothing by it. -You will find a brush and comb on the bureau. And now, good-night. I am -tired, and I have no doubt you are also." - -"Good-night, sir." - -The door closed, and the newsboy was left alone. It had come so rapidly -upon him, that he could hardly realize the novel circumstances in which -he was placed. He, who had been accustomed to the humble lodgings -appropriated to his class, found himself a welcome guest in a handsome -mansion up-town. He undressed himself quickly, and, shutting off the -gas, jumped into bed. He found it very soft and comfortable, and, being -already fatigued, did not long remain awake, as he glided unconsciously -into slumber, wondering vaguely what Ben Gibson would say if he knew -where he was spending the night. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII. - NEW FRIENDS. - - -Rufus slept so soundly, that his slumber was only ended by the sound of -the warning bell, at seven in the morning. - -"Where am I?" he thought in bewilderment, as, opening his eyes, his -first glance took in the appointments of the bedchamber. - -Recollections quickly came to his aid, and, springing out of bed, he -began to dress. - -His feelings were rather mixed. He wished that he could glide softly -downstairs, and out of the house, without stopping to breakfast. But -this would not do, since Mr. Turner had expressly requested him to stay. -But he dreaded meeting the rest of the family at the breakfast-table. He -was afraid that he wouldn't know how to act in such unwonted -circumstances, for, though bold enough, and ready enough in the company -of boys and out in the street, he felt bashful in his present position. - -He dressed himself slowly, and, finding a clothes-brush, brushed his -clothes carefully. He arranged his hair neatly at the glass, which, -though the news boy was not vain enough to suspect it, reflected the -face and figure of a very attractive and handsome boy. - -When his preparations were all completed, he sat down in some -perplexity. Should he go downstairs? He decided not to do so, for he did -not know his way to the room where the family ate breakfast. - -"I will wait till I hear the bell," he thought. - -He had to wait ten or fifteen minutes, feeling somewhat nervous the -while. - -At length the bell rang, and Rufus knew that it was time to go -downstairs. He looked upon it as rather a trying ordeal, considering -that he knew only the head of the family. Just as he was preparing to -leave the room, the door was thrown open, and a boy of ten entered -impetuously. - -"Breakfast's ready," he said; "Pa-pa sent me up to show you the way." - -"Thank you," said Rufus. - -"What's your name?" - -"Rufus." - -"There's a boy in my class at school named Rufus, but he don't look much -like you. Where's the bat you knocked the robber down with?" - -"Here," said the newsboy, smiling. - -"I guess you gave him a crack, didn't you? I wouldn't like to get hit -with it. Do you play base-ball?" - -"Not much." - -"What do you want a bat for, then?" - -"To knock robbers down," said Rufus, smiling. - -"I belong to a base-ball club at school. We call it the "Sea-Birds." We -go up to the Park once a week and play." - -By this time they had reached the breakfast-room. Mr. Turner, who was -already down, advanced to meet our hero, and took him by the hand. - -"Did you sleep well, Rufus?" he said. - -"Yes, sir. I only waked up when the bell rang." - -"It was late when we retired. Louisa, my dear, this is the young lad who -bravely came to my rescue when I was assaulted by two robbers." - -Mrs. Turner, who was a pleasant-looking lady, took his hand cordially. -"I am very glad my husband brought you home," she said. "I shudder to -think what would have happened, if you had not come up. I shouldn't have -minded the money; but he might have been killed. I don't see how you -could have had the courage to attack them." - -"I had a stout club," said Rufus; "if it hadn't been for that, I -couldn't have done any good." - -"Nor would the club have done any good, if it hadn't been in the hands -of a brave boy," said Mr. Turner. "But the breakfast is getting cold. -Let us sit down." - -Rufus took his seat in a chair indicated to him. He was glad to find -that he was seated next to the boy, who had shown him the way -downstairs, for with a boy he felt more at home than with an older -person. - -"What is your name?" he asked. - -"Walter," was the reply. "I'm named after my Uncle Walter. He's -travelling in Europe. Are you in a store?" - -"No." - -"Do you go to school?" - -"No, I sell papers. I'm a newsboy." - -"Do you make much money?" - -"About eight dollars a week." - -"That's a good deal. I only get fifty cents a week for spending money." - -"Which is twice as much as you ought to have," said his father. "I'm -afraid you spend most of it for candy." - -"I didn't know newsboys made so much money," said Walter. - -"Rufus has a sister to support," said Mr. Turner. "You wouldn't think -eight dollars much, if you had to pay all your expenses out of it, and -support a sister besides." - -"What is your sister's name?" asked Mrs. Turner. - -"Rose." - -"A very pretty name. How old is she?" - -"Seven years old." - -"That's just as old as my sister Carrie," said Walter; "here she comes. -She's so lazy she always gets up late in the morning." - -"No, I don't either," said the young lady referred to; "I'm not so lazy -as you are, Master Walter." - -"Well, then, why didn't you come down earlier?" - -"Because I had to have my hair braided," said Carrie. - -"Didn't I have to brush my hair?" said Walter. - -"Your hair doesn't look as if you had spent much time on it," said his -father. - -"Pa-pa," said Walter, as he helped himself to a second piece of toast, -"I wish you'd let me stop going to school, and sell papers." - -"Do you think that would be a good plan?" asked his father, smiling. - -"Yes, I could earn money, you know." - -"Not much, I think. I suppose, if I agree to that arrangement, you will -promise to pay all your expenses out of your earnings." - -"Yes, I guess I could," said Walter, hesitating, "I can learn the -business of Rufus." - -"I don't think you'd like it very well," said our hero, amused. - -"Don't you like it?" - -"I don't think I should like to sell papers all my life." - -"What are you going to do when you are a man?" - -"I can't tell yet." - -"By the way, Rufus, I should be glad to have you call at my -counting-room, No. —— Wall Street, this morning." - -"Thank you, sir," said Rufus; "but I should prefer to call to-morrow. -This morning, I am going over to Brooklyn to see if I can recover my -sister." - -"To-morrow will answer just as well. Don't fail to come, however, I wish -to have a talk with you about your prospects." - -"I will not fail to come," answered the newsboy. - -Rufus did not find it so embarrassing as he anticipated at the breakfast -table. His young neighbor, Walter, plied him with questions, many of -which amused him, and occasionally his sister Carrie, on the opposite -side of the table, joined in. Mrs. Turner asked him questions about his -little sister, and sympathized with him when he described the plot by -which she had been taken from him. - -"Do you know Latin?" inquired Walter. - -"No," said Rufus. - -"I don't see what's the use of studying it, for my part. I never expect -to talk Latin." - -"I don't think you ever will," said his father; "judging from your -school report, your success has not been very brilliant in that study, -so far." - -"I know one Latin sentence, anyway," said Walter, complacently. - -"What is it?" - -"_Sum stultus._" - -"I regret to hear it," said his father, in a tone of amusement. - -"Why?" asked Walter, surprised. - -"Do you understand the meaning of the words you have just used?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"Well, what is it?" - -"They mean, 'I am good.'" - -"Indeed,—I had an idea that their meaning was quite different. Suppose -you look out _stultus_ in your dictionary." - -"I am sure I am right," said Walter, confidently. "I will prove it to -you." - -He got his dictionary, and looked for the word. He looked a little -abashed when he found it. - -"Well," said his father, "what does it mean?" - -"I am a fool," returned Walter. - -At this there was a laugh at Walter's expense. Breakfast was now over, -and they rose from the table. - -"I hope you will come and see us again," said Mrs. Turner. - -"Thank you," said our hero. - -"Come again, Rufus," said Walter; "I'm making a boat, and perhaps you -can help me. I'd show it to you, only I've got to get ready to go to -school. I'm going to sail it in the bath-tub." - -"I shall expect to see you at my office, to-morrow," said Mr. Turner, as -Rufus took his leave. "Don't forget the number, —— Wall Street." - -The door closed behind him, and Rufus descended the steps. On the whole, -he was glad now that he had remained to breakfast. It had not proved so -trying an ordeal as he anticipated, and he felt that he had acquitted -himself pretty well under the circumstances. It occurred to him that it -would be very pleasant to live in the same way if he could afford it; -not that he cared so much for himself, but he would like it if Rose -could have the same advantages, and live in as pleasant a home as Carrie -Turner. - -This recalled to his mind that Rose was still in the power of his -stepfather, and if he wished to secure her it would be well to lose no -time. He jumped on a horse-car, and rode down-town. As he got out, Ben -Gibson, who had just finished a job, caught sight of him. - -"Why wasn't you at the Lodge last night?" he asked. - -"A gentleman invited me to stop at his house up-town." - -"Oh, yes, of course," said Ben, incredulously. - -"It's true. But I want you to go over to Brooklyn with me, and show me -just where Mr. Martin lives. You shan't lose anything by it. I'll tell -you about my adventure last night, as we are walking along." - -"All right," said Ben; "my health's getting delicate, and a trip to -Brooklyn will be good for it." - -Ben shouldered his box, and the two boys bent their steps towards Fulton -Ferry. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV. - MR. MARTIN HAS AN IDEA. - - -We must now return to Rose, whom we left confined in the cellar. Now, a -cellar is not a very pleasant place, and Rose had a dismal time of it. -She was considerably frightened also, when, as she sat on the lower step -of the cellar stairs she saw a large rat running rapidly past. It is not -to be wondered at that Rose was alarmed. I know many persons much older -who would have done precisely what she did under the circumstances, -namely, scream with all their might. - -The little girl's scream brought Mrs. Waters to the door at the head of -the stairs. - -"What are you howling at?" she demanded, roughly. - -"I just saw a big rat," said Rose. "Do let me come up; I'm afraid he'll -bite me." - -"Most likely he will," said Mrs. Waters. "But I can't let you come up. -You've acted too bad. Next time you'll find it best to behave. And, mind -you don't yell again! If you do, I'll come down and give you something -to yell for." - -Saying this, she slammed the door, and returned to her work, leaving -Rose in a very unhappy state of mind. She sat in momentary expectation -of the reappearance of the rat, thinking it very likely it would bite -her, as Mrs. Waters had told her. She began to cry quietly, not daring -to scream, lest Mrs. Waters should carry out her threat and give her a -whipping. - -At the end of an hour—it seemed more like a day to Rose—Mrs. Waters came -to the door, and said, "You can come up now, if you can make up your -mind to behave yourself." - -Rose needed no second invitation. She ran upstairs hastily, under the -impression that the rat might pursue her, and breathed a sigh of relief -when she was fairly out of danger. - -Fanny was sitting at the table, eating a piece of apple-pie. - -"Did the rats bite you?" she asked, laughing maliciously. - -"No," answered Rose. - -"I wish they had. It would have been such fun to hear you holler." - -"You're a mean girl," said Rose, indignantly. - -"Hoity-toity! What's all this?" demanded Mrs. Waters. "Have you begun to -call Fanny names already?" - -"She said she wished the rats had bitten me," said Rose. - -"Well, so do I. It would have been a good lesson to you. Now, miss, I've -got one word to say. If you abuse and quarrel with Fanny, I'll just put -you down cellar again, and this time I'll keep you there all night. Do -you hear?" - -"Yes," said Rose, shuddering. She privately made up her mind that she -should die if this threat were carried out, and the very thought of it -made her turn pale. - -"Don't you want some pie, Rose?" asked Fanny, with her mouth full. - -"Yes," said Rose, "I should like some." - -"Well, you can't have any," said Fanny, maliciously. "Can she, ma?" - -"Of course not. She don't deserve any," said the mother. "Pie is too -good for wicked girls. Here, you Rose, here's something for you to do, -to keep you out of mischief. Sit down to the table here, and shell these -beans. Don't you want to help, Fanny?" - -"No, I don't," said Fanny, decidedly. "She can do 'em alone." - -A tin-pan half full of bean-pods was placed on the table, and Rose was -ordered to be "spry," and not to waste her time. Fanny, having finished -her pie, began to tease the cat, which employment she found much more -satisfactory than helping Rose. - -That night Mrs. Waters presented her bill to Mr. Martin for a week's -board in advance for himself and Rose. The fact that he had apparently -given up working made her a little doubtful whether he would prove good -pay. She determined to ask payment in advance, and thus guard against -all risk of loss. - -"Mr. Martin," she said, "here's my bill for your board, and the little -girl's. I'm rather short of money, and have got some bills to pay, and I -should feel particularly obliged if you could pay me now." - -Mr. Martin took the bill, and looked at it. - -"It's seven dollars," said Mrs. Waters. "I can't afford to take any -less. Beef's two cents a pound higher, and potatoes is rising every day. -You can't say it's unreasonable." - -"It's all right, Mrs. Waters," said Martin, slipping it into his -vest-pocket. "It's all right. I'll attend to it in a day or two." - -"Can't you pay me to-day?" persisted the landlady. "I've got my rent to -pay to-morrow, and it'll take all I can get to pay it." - -"Can you change a fifty-dollar bill?" asked Martin. - -"I can get it changed." - -"I guess I'll get it changed myself," said Martin. "I'm goin' out on -business." - -"I don't believe he's got so much money," thought Mrs. Waters, -suspiciously, and it is needless to say that she was quite right in her -suspicions. The exact amount of Mr. Martin's cash in hand was a dollar -and thirty-seven cents, and his entire wardrobe and the sum of his -earthly possessions would not probably have brought over fifteen -dollars. - -Strong as Mrs. Waters' suspicions were, however, she could not very well -press the matter then. She resolved to wait till Mr. Martin returned, -and then renew the subject. She would be guided in her action by what -happened then. - -Martin, meanwhile, began to consider that possibly he had made a mistake -in kidnapping Rose. The necessary outlay for her board and clothes would -be a serious drain upon him, especially as for years he had barely -earned enough to pay his own personal expenses. On the whole, he thought -he might as well restore her to her brother; but he would take care that -the newsboy paid for the concession. He thought he might by good -management get twenty dollars out of him, or, if he had not so much, -part down, and the rest in a week or fortnight. He resolved to see Rough -and Ready about it the very next morning. - -There are some who say that money earned is enjoyed the most. James -Martin did not believe this. Earning money was very disagreeable to him, -and he considered any other mode of getting it preferable. - -He was lounging along the street, with his hands in his pockets, -meditating as above, when a little girl came up to him, and, holding out -her hand, whined out, "Won't you give me a few pennies for my poor sick -mother?" - -Suddenly a brilliant idea came to Mr. Martin. He determined to question -the little girl. - -"How long have you been out beggin'?" he asked. - -"Ever since morning." - -"How much money have you made?" - -The little girl hesitated. - -"Come, little girl, if you'll tell me true, I'll give you five cents." - -"I'll show you," she answered, regaining confidence. - -She drew from her pocket a miscellaneous collection of pennies and -silver pieces, which Martin counted, and found to amount to sixty-eight -cents. - -"Do you make as much every day, little gal?" he asked. - -"Sometimes more," she answered. - -"Pretty good business, isn't it? How long's your mother been sick?" - -"Most a year," said the little girl, hesitating. - -"What's the matter with her?" - -"I don't know. She can't set up," said the girl, again hesitating, for -she was a professional mendicant, and the sick mother was a sham, being -represented in reality by a lazy, able-bodied woman, who spent most of -the charitable contributions collected by her daughter on drink. - -"Oh, yes, I understand," said Martin, with a wink. "Good-by, little gal. -Give my love to your poor sick mother, and tell her I'd come round and -inquire after her health if I had time." - -As he said this he turned to go away. - -"You promised me five cents," said the little girl, running after him. - -"Did I? Well, you'll have to wait till next time, unless you can change -a fifty-dollar bill." - -"I aint got money enough." - -"Then you must wait till you see me again." - -Mr. Martin's questions had not been without an object. The idea which -had occurred to him was this. Why might he not make Rose, in like -manner, a source of income? Perhaps he might in that way more than pay -expenses, and then he would still be able to keep her, and so continue -to spite Rough and Ready, which would be very agreeable to his feelings. - -"I'll send her out to-morrow morning," he said to himself. "If she's -smart, she can make a dollar a day, and that'll help along considerable. -I'll be her poor sick mother. It'll save my workin' so hard, and -injurin' my health in my old age." - -The more Mr. Martin thought of this plan, the better he liked it, and -the more he wondered that he had never before thought of making Rose a -source of income. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV. - ROSE IS RESTORED TO HER BROTHER. - - -When Mr. Martin re-entered his boarding-house late in the afternoon, -Mrs. Waters looked as if she expected her bill to be paid. - -"I couldn't change my fifty dollars," said Martin; "but it's all right, -Mrs. Waters. You shall have the money to-morrow." - -Notwithstanding the confidence with which he spoke, Mrs. Waters felt -rather troubled in mind. She doubted very much whether it was all right, -and would have felt very much relieved if she could have seen the -bank-note which Martin talked about changing. However, there was no good -excuse for questioning his statement, and she could only wait as -patiently as she might. But she resolved that if the money were not -forthcoming the next day, she would advise Mr. Martin to seek another -boarding-place, and that without delay. - -When breakfast was over the next morning, Martin said to Rose, "Put on -your bonnet. I want you to go out with me." - -Rose looked at him in surprise. - -"I'm goin' to get her some new clothes, ma'am," he said to Mrs. Waters. -"She needs 'em, and it will give me a good chance to change my bill." - -This might be so. Mrs. Waters hoped it was. Rose, however, listened with -amazement. Her stepfather had not bought her any clothes for -years,—indeed, she could not remember when,—and it was not long since he -had taken away and sold those which her brother bought her. The idea -struck her with alarm that perhaps he had the same intention now. - -"Come, don't be all day," said Martin, roughly. "Maybe I'll change my -mind, and not buy you any if you're so long gettin' ready." - -It took little time for Rose to make necessary preparations. After -leaving the house, Mr. Martin led the way to Third Avenue, where they -got on board the horse-cars. It struck Mr. Martin that a good place for -Rose to commence her new profession would be in front of Fulton Ferry, -where crowds of people were passing and repassing continually. - -Rose did not venture to ask any questions till they reached their -destination. - -Then seeing the ferry, which she remembered, she asked hopefully, "Are -we going to New York?" - -"No, we aint. Don't you think of such a thing," said Martin, roughly. - -"Are you going to buy me some clothes here? I don't see any stores." - -"You've got clothes enough. You've got better clothes than I have." - -"I thought," said Rose, "you told Mrs. Waters you were going to buy me -some." - -"Maybe I'll buy you some, if you do just as I tell you. I've got -something for you to do." - -They had now left the cars, and were crossing the street to the ferry. - -"Now," said Martin, "I'll tell you what you must do. You must stand just -there where people come out, and hold out your hand, and say, 'Give me a -few pennies for my poor sick mother.'" - -"But," said Rose, in dismay, "that will be begging." - -"S'pose it is," retorted her stepfather, doggedly. "Are you too proud to -beg? Do you expect me to support you without you doin' anything?" - -"I'm willing to work," said Rose, "but I don't want to beg." - -"None of your impudence!" said Martin, angrily. "You must do just as I -told you. Say, 'Give me a few pennies for my poor sick mother.'" - -These last words he brought out in a doleful whine, such as he thought -might excite compassion. - -"There, see if you can say it as I did." - -"I haven't got any sick mother," pleaded Rose. - -"What's the odds? Half of them aint. Only you must say so, or they won't -give you anything. Come, are you ready?" - -"I don't want to beg," said Rose, desperately. - -"I tell you what, little gal," said Martin, fiercely; "if you don't do -as I tell you, I'll give you the wust lickin' you ever had. Say what I -told you." - -"Give me a few pennies for my poor sick mother," repeated Rose, -unwillingly. - -"You don't say it feelin' enough," said Martin, critically. "Anybody -would think you didn't care nothin' for your poor sick mother. Say it -so;" and he repeated the whine. - -Rose said it after him, and though her performance was not quite -satisfactory to her stepfather, he decided that it would do. - -"There, stand there," he said, "and begin. I'm goin' just across the -street, and if you don't do it right, look out for a lickin'." - -Rose took her position, feeling very much ashamed, and almost ready to -cry. She wished she could escape the necessity; but looking across the -street she saw Martin furtively shaking his fist at her, and turned -desperately to follow his directions. - -The boat was just in, and a throng of passengers was passing through the -gate. - -"Give me a few pennies for my poor sick mother," said Rose, to a -good-natured-looking man who passed her. - -He looked at her anxious face, and something in it excited his pity. He -took out ten cents, and gave it to her. Rose took it, feeling very much -ashamed, and turned to the next passer. - -"Give me a few pennies for my poor sick mother," she said. - -"Out of the way there, you young beggar!" said he, roughly. "Such -nuisances as you are ought to be sent to the Island." - -Rose drew back alarmed at this rough language, and for a moment kept -silent, hardly daring to renew her appeal. But a look at James Martin's -threatening face compelled her to continue, and again she made the -appeal. - -This time it was a lady she addressed,—mild and pleasant,—who paused a -moment, and spoke gently. - -"Is your mother quite sick, my dear?" she asked, in a voice of -compassion. - -"Yes, ma'am," answered Rose, faintly, ashamed of the falsehood she was -uttering. - -"Have you any brothers and sisters?" - -"One brother," answered Rose, glad that here at least she could tell the -truth. - -"Here's something for you," said the lady, placing twenty-five cents in -the child's outstretched palm. - -All the passengers had now passed through the portal, and she had some -respite. - -James Martin crossed the street, and, coming up to her, asked, "How much -did you get?" - -Rose opened her hand. - -"Thirty-five cents in five minutes," he said, elated. "Come, little gal, -you're gettin' on finely. I shouldn't wonder if you'd take three or four -dollars by two o'clock. We'll go home then." - -"But I don't like to beg," said Rose. - -"Don't let me hear none of that," said Martin, angrily. "You're lazy, -that's what's the matter. You've got to earn your livin', there's no two -ways about that, and this is the easiest way to do it. There aint no -work about beggin'." - -Since Martin was mean enough to live on the money begged by a little -girl, it isn't likely that he would understand the delicate -scrupulousness which made Rose ashamed of soliciting charity. - -"I'll take the money," said her stepfather, "and you can get some more -when the next boat comes in. I'm goin' away a few minutes," he -proceeded; "but you must stay here just where you are, and keep on just -as if I was here. I won't be gone long. If I find you haven't done -nothing when I come back, look out for yourself." - -James Martin had reflected that the thirty-five cents would be -sufficient to get him a drink and a couple of cigars, and it was to -obtain these that he went away. He found it rather dull work, standing -on the sidewalk and watching Rose, and he thought that by inspiring her -with a little wholesome fear, she would go on just as well in his -absence. Still it might be as well to encourage her a little. - -"If you're a good gal," he proceeded, in a changed tone, "and get a lot -of money, I'll buy you some candy when we go home." - -This, however, did not cheer Rose much. She would much prefer to go -without the candy, if she might be relieved from her present -disagreeable employment. - -If Mr. Martin had been aware that among the passengers on the next boat -were Rough and Ready and Ben Gibson, he would scarcely have felt so safe -in leaving Rose behind. Such, however, was the case. While Rose was -plunged in sorrowful thought, filled with shame at the thought of her -employment, deliverance was near at hand. - -The boat came in, and she felt compelled to resume her appeal. - -"Give me a few pennies for my poor sick mother," she said, holding out -her hand. - -"Where is your poor sick mother?" asked the person addressed. - -"She's dead," said Rose, forgetting herself. - -"That's what I thought," he answered, laughing, and passed on, of course -without giving anything. - -Rather mortified at the mistake she had made, Rose turned to address the -next passenger, when she uttered a joyful cry. - -"O Rufie!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. - -"Rose, is it you?" he exclaimed, surprised and delighted. "How came you -here? I came over to Brooklyn on purpose to find you; but I had no idea -you were so near." - -"Mr. Martin sent me here to beg." - -"To beg!" repeated Rufus, indignantly. "And where is he now?" - -"He's gone away," said Rose, "but he's coming right back." - -"Then he won't find you, that's all. Come, Ben, we'll go right back by -the next boat, and carry Rose with us. I didn't expect to be so lucky." - -"Won't Martin be mad?" said Ben. "I'd like to see him when he finds your -sister gone." - -"He shan't see her again very soon," said Rufus, "not if I can help it. -Come along, Rose." - -He paid their fare by the boat, and hurried Rose on board. It started in -the course of two or three minutes on its return trip. On the way he -made Rose tell him how she had been treated, and was very angry when -told of the persecutions to which she had been subjected. - -"But it's all over now, Rosy," he said, putting his arm caressingly -round his little sister's neck, "you're safe now, and nobody shall -trouble you. Miss Manning will be rejoiced to see you again." - -"I shall be _so_ glad to get home again, Rufie," said Rose, earnestly; -"Miss Manning's so much nicer than Mrs. Waters." - -"And am I as nice as Mr. Martin?" asked Rufus, laughing. - -"Ten thousand million times," said Rose, emphatically. "He isn't nice at -all." - -Meanwhile we return to Mr. Martin. - -When he got back, he looked in vain for Rose. - -"Where's she gone?" he asked himself, angrily. - -He looked about him on all sides, but no Rose was to be seen. It -occurred to him that perhaps she might have taken some of the money -obtained by begging, and gone over to New York in the boat, in the hope -of finding her brother. If so, he would follow her. - -To make sure, he asked the fare-taker. - -"Did you see a little girl begging just outside the gate a few minutes -ago?" - -"Yes." - -"She's gone away. Did you see where she went?" - -"She went over to New York in the boat, about twenty minutes ago." - -"Did she go alone?" - -"No; there were two boys went with her." - -Martin asked for a description of the boys, and realized to his intense -disappointment that his plans were foiled, and that Rough and Ready had -recovered his sister. He was provoked with himself for leaving her, and -his vexation was the greater that he had not only lost Rose and the -money she might have made for him, but also the sum which the newsboy -stood ready to pay for the return of his sister. - -"Confound the luck!" he muttered. "It's always against me." - - - - - CHAPTER XXVI. - CONCLUSION. - - -"Now," said Rufus, "we'll surprise Miss Manning. She won't be expecting -you." - -"Do you think Mr. Martin will come after me, Rufie?" asked Rose, -anxiously. - -"If he does he won't get you." - -"I shan't dare to go out in the street." - -"You had better not go out alone. I'll tell Miss Manning about it. I -think it will be best to move to some other street, as long as Mr. -Martin knows the old place." - -"Maybe he'd like to adopt me instead of Rose," suggested Ben, -humorously. "I'd make an interestin'-lookin' girl if I could only borrer -a dress that would fit me." - -"You'd have to give up smoking, Ben. Girls don't smoke." - -"I'm afraid that wouldn't agree with me," said Ben. - -"I guess Mrs. Waters would find you a tough customer, if she undertook -to shut you up in the cellar." - -"Yes," said Ben, "she'd find me as tough as a ten-year-old turkey." - -At Printing House Square, Ben left the party, and resumed his -professional occupation. As he will not again be mentioned in this -story, I will mention that an account of his subsequent career may be -found in "Mark, the Match Boy," the third volume of this series. - -Miss Manning was sitting in her humble room sewing diligently. She was -thinking sadly how cheerless and lonely it was since Rose had -disappeared. She was not very sanguine about recovering her, since it -was much easier to hide a little girl than to find her among such a -wilderness of houses as the great city contains. But, as she sat at her -work, a sound of footsteps was heard upon the stairs, and directly -afterwards the door flew open, and little Rose, rushing forward, threw -her arms around her neck. - -"Have you come back again, Rose?" exclaimed the seamstress, joyfully. - -"Yes, Miss Manning, I'm so glad to see you again;" and Rose kissed her -again and again. - -"How did you find her, Rufus?" asked Miss Manning, returning the -embrace. - -The newsboy related the story briefly. - -Then Rose was called upon to give an account of all that had happened to -her. - -"What a wicked woman Mrs. Waters must be!" said the mild seamstress, -with a display of indignation unusual for her. "She ought to be ashamed -of herself to shut you up in a dark cellar." - -"I was so afraid of the rats," said Rose, shuddering. "I was afraid they -would eat me up." - -"You'd make a pretty large mouthful for a common-sized rat," said Rufus, -smiling. - -"They might have bitten me, though," said Rose. - -"Well, they shan't trouble you any more, little sister," said Rufus. -"Mr. Martin will be a smart man if he gets hold of you again." - -"He might carry _you_ off, Rufie," said Rose, in momentary alarm. - -"I'd like to see him do it," said Rough and Ready, drawing up his -youthful form. "He'd wish he hadn't, that's all," he added, with a -laugh. - -"I think, Miss Manning," he proceeded, "we'd better move, so as to put -Martin off the track. As long as Rose lives here, he'll be prowling -round, and some time he might get hold of her again." - -"I am perfectly willing," said the seamstress. "My week's up to-morrow, -and I can move at once. Suppose we go out and find a place this -afternoon." - -"All right," said Rufus. "But I've got to leave you now. I've a business -engagement down in Wall Street." - -"Among the bulls and bears," said Miss Manning, smiling. - -"Are there bulls and bears in Wall Street?" said Rose, alarmed. "Oh, -don't go down there, Rufie. You'll get killed." - -"They won't hurt me, Rose. I haven't got money enough," said the -newsboy, smiling. "Don't be afraid. I'll come back early in the -afternoon." - -The newsboy took the nearest route to Wall Street, It is a short street; -but an immense volume of business is transacted there every day. It is -lined with banks and business offices, especially those of brokers, -lawyers, insurance companies, and moneyed institutions. There were -plenty of bulls and bears upon the street; but they looked very much -alike, and Rufus could not tell them apart. - -As these terms may seem mysterious to some of my young readers, it may -be as well to say that "bulls" are those who are striving to carry up -the price of stocks, and "bears" are those who are making an effort to -depress them. - -Our hero was not long in finding the office of Mr. Turner. - -He had to go up a short flight of steps, at the head of which a door -opened into a hall or entry-way. On one side of this was the office of -Mr. Turner. Opening the office-door, he found himself in a large room -fitted up with a counter, behind which were two or three young men, who -were, no doubt, clerks. - -"Is Mr. Turner in?" asked the newsboy, going up to the counter. - -"Not just now; he's at the Board,"—meaning the Stock Board, where stocks -are bought and sold. "Can I do your business?" - -"No; Mr. Turner asked me to call." - -"You can wait for him, if you like." - -Rough and Ready sat down in an arm-chair, and took up the morning paper. -He had been thus engaged about twenty minutes, when he heard the door -open, and, looking up, saw Mr. Turner. - -"Good-morning, Mr. Turner," said our hero, laying aside the paper, and -rising. - -"Oh, good-morning, Rufus. I am glad to see you. Wait a few minutes, and -I will be at leisure." - -He went behind the counter, and gave a few quick business directions to -his clerks. - -"James, go to the Park Bank, and get these shares transferred to John -Wade," he said to the youngest clerk, who thereupon seized his hat and -left the office. - -It was not long before Mr. Turner was disengaged. Coming out from behind -the counter, he drew up an arm-chair, and sat down opposite Rufus. - -"So you are a newsboy?" he said. - -"Yes, sir." - -"But you don't want to be a newsboy always?" - -"No, sir," said Rufus, promptly. "Only there isn't much chance for me to -get anything better to do." - -"How much do you earn by selling papers?" - -"About eight dollars a week." - -"And out of that you support your sister and yourself?" - -"Yes, sir." - -"I suppose you have not been able to lay up any money." - -"Yes, sir." - -"How much?" - -"Three hundred dollars." - -"Three hundred dollars!" repeated Mr. Turner, in surprise. "Surely you -could not save up so much as that?" - -"No, sir, I found it." - -"Tell me about it." - -Our hero told of his adventure in the bar-room. - -"So you have not spent any of this money?" - -"No, sir; I put it in the savings-bank." - -"That is well," said the broker, approvingly. "It shows that you have -more good sense than most boys of your class. Now I have a proposition -to make to you. How should you like to enter this office?" - -"I should like it very much, sir." - -"Better than being a newsboy?" - -"Yes, sir; there aint any chance to rise in the paper business." - -"And here, if you do your duty, there will be a chance to rise." - -"Yes, sir, that's what I mean." - -"Very well, I will tell you what I will do. You did me a signal service -last night. You saved me from losing a large sum of money, and, what is -worse, from serious personal injury. I want to do some thing for you in -return. I think you are a smart boy, and, what is better, an honest and -trustworthy boy. It so happens that my youngest clerk is in poor health, -and is about to leave my employment. I will give you his place." - -"Thank you, sir," said Rufus. - -"As to salary I shall for the present give you the same you have been -earning by selling papers,—that is, eight dollars a week. It is nearly -double what I have been accustomed to pay, but that is of no -consequence. Besides this, I will give you two hundred dollars to add to -your fund in the savings-bank, increasing it to five hundred." - -"You are very, very kind," said Rufus. - -"I owe you some kindness," said Mr. Turner. "There are other ways in -which I shall find an opportunity to serve you. But of that we will -speak here-after. When do you want to come?" - -"Whenever you think best, sir." - -"Then let it be next Monday morning, at nine o'clock. James will remain -a week or two, till you get a little familiar with your duties. And now, -my young friend, this is all the time I can spare you this morning. -Good-by till Monday." - -Mr. Turner shook hands with Rufus, and the latter left the office with -the strange feeling which we always have when a great change is going to -take place in our course of life. He was about to bid farewell to the -life of a newsboy, and enter upon a business career in Wall Street. He -could not help feeling a thrill of new importance as he thought of this, -and his ambition was roused. Why should he not rise to a position of -importance like the men whom he had heard of and seen, whose beginnings -had been as humble as his own? He determined to try, at all events. - -He returned to Miss Manning to acquaint her and Rose with his good -fortune. The seamstress seemed quite impressed with the news. - -"Who knows what may come of it, Rufus?" she said. "Some day you may be a -rich man,—perhaps president of a bank." - -"Which shall I be, Rose, a bull or a bear?" inquired Rufus, playfully. - -"You can't be a bull," said Rose, positively, "for you haven't got any -horns." - -"Then I suppose I must be a bear," said the newsboy, laughing. - - * * * * * - -So Rufus ceased to be a newsboy, and here appropriately closes the story -of "ROUGH AND READY; or, Life among the New York Newsboys." But a new -career dawns upon our hero, brighter than the past, but not without its -trials and difficulties. Those who are interested to hear of his new -life, and are curious to learn what became of Mr. Martin, will find the -account given in a subsequent volume, for next Christmas, to be called a -"RUFUS AND ROSE; or, _The Adventures of Rough and Ready_." Before -writing this, however, I propose to publish, as the next volume of this -series, the experiences of one of the newsboy's friends, under the title -of - - BEN, THE LUGGAGE BOY; - - or, - - AMONG THE WHARVES. - - - - - * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - -The original spelling and punctuation have been retained. - -Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROUGH AND READY*** - - -******* This file should be named 55142-0.txt or 55142-0.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/5/5/1/4/55142 - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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