Adventures of a Boy Reporter

by Alfred Elwes

  CHAPTER VIII.

  LOOKING FOR WORK--WASHING DISHES IN A BOWERY RESTAURANT.

  AFTER a couple of hours spent in going about the streets, Archie wentinto a place where he bought some coffee and rolls for his supper. Hepaid only five cents for three sweet rolls and a large cup of coffeewhich was not at all bad to taste, and he returned to the lodging-houseon the Bowery feeling better than he had expected to feel when hestarted out from the homestead where he spent the previous night, Ifhe could get a good meal for five or ten cents, and could sleep for tencents more, he would have enough to keep him going for some time.

  The Bowery at night presented a wonderful appearance to Archie's mind.The brilliantly lighted shops, the cheap theatres with their bands ofmusicians on the sidewalk in front of the entrance, were all attractiveto his boyish eyes, but he was wise enough to pass them all by, andto make his way as quickly as possible to the cheap lodging-house. Thestreet was jammed with persons of every description. He was surprisedparticularly at the number of Chinamen he met, for he didn't know that ablock or two away was the centre of the Chinese population of New York,where the Celestials have their theatre, their hotels, their greatstores, and their joss-house. There were many Italians in the street,too, and Polish Jews, to say nothing of Frenchmen and Germans. Thenthere was the typical Bowery "tough," who swaggered up and down, lookingfor trouble, which he usually finds before an evening passes. Archie wasnot afraid in this cosmopolitan crowd. No one seemed to notice him, and,anyhow, there were a great many policemen about, who seemed to keep asharp lookout all the time. And as Archie shared his mother's faith inthe city policeman, he felt no fear.

  In the lodging-house everything looked very much as before. The chairswere still occupied with filthy-looking men, who smoked and spat andtalked in undertones among themselves. The boy paid no attention to anyof them, but, walking up to the seedy individual behind the counter,asked him if he could go to bed now. The man answered, "Certainly," andsent a fellow with Archie to show him his bed. It was in a long, narrowroom, which was poorly lighted with a few gas-jets here and there, andwhich was filled with about thirty beds, all narrow, and all dirty. Oneof these was pointed out to Archie, and then the man left him. The poorlad felt more homesick than ever, and had it not been that he had aglorious to-morrow to look forward to, he would have been very miserableindeed. As it was, he undressed and got between the chilly sheets, whenhe remembered that he hadn't looked after his little roll of bills for along time, and that some of them might be missing. He crawled out ofbed again, and felt inside the lining of his coat for the purse. He hadsewed it there for safe-keeping until he reached the city, for he hadsome little change in his pocket, which he knew would last him forseveral days.

  The poor boy's hand felt nothing but a cut in the lining, where the rollof bills had been, and all at once he realised that the money must havebeen stolen from him. And he at once thought of the night in the ruins,when he fell asleep among the tramps, and there was no doubt in his mindbut that they had taken his money from him. This was a terrible blow.Here he was, with just a few cents in his pocket, and no one to whom hecould appeal for aid. It was the worst predicament Archie had everbeen in, and he hardly knew what to do. He sat on the side of his dirtylittle bed for awhile, and then he snuggled under the covers and wassoon asleep again. For a boy who has been walking all day seldom staysawake from worry.

  But when he awoke in the morning, it was to realise the fact that hemust get some money this very day or go to the police station. The fewcents he had remaining were only enough to buy some coffee and bread forbreakfast, and the poor lad didn't know where his next meal wouldcome from. As he went out, the clerk in the filthy office of thelodging-house told him that he needn't come back any more.

  "Why did you tell him that?" asked the fat man with a sly face.

  "Because I went through his clothes last night when he was asleep, andhe had only six cents in his pocket. We don't want no starvin' bratsaround here, to bring the Gerry Society down upon us."

  It was well that Archie didn't know his pockets had been searched whilehe was asleep, or his faith in human nature would have been moreshaken than ever before. He had not suspected that the men in thislodging-house might be dishonest.

  "They are poor," he said to himself when he saw them first, "but theymay be good men for all that."

  After a slender meal, Archie found a library where he looked over theadvertising columns of the morning papers, trying to find some positionopen which he thought he might fill. There were several advertisementscalling for office boys, and all these he made note of, and then as helooked down the page he noticed that a boy was wanted in a restaurant towash dishes. He decided that if he didn't succeed in getting a placeas office boy, he might get the restaurant place. He knew that in arestaurant he would be likely at least to get enough to eat.

  For two hours he called at addresses of men who wanted office boys, butat every place he was turned away. "We have already hired one," someof them said, and others told him that they never took any boys inthe office who were living away from home. Some asked him forrecommendations, and when he had none, they looked at him and told him"good morning." It was all terribly discouraging, and with every minuteArchie was wishing more and more that he were back home again. Somehowthe city seemed different now from what it had been when Uncle Henrywas with him. Everything was less bright, and the things he had beendelighted with before were less interesting now.

  Finally, he entered a large, handsome suite of rooms, in one of thegreat sky-scrapers, and was shown into a very elegant private office.There he found an old gentleman seated in a great easy chair, lookingover papers, and keeping one eye upon a buzzing instrument at his sidewhich seemed to be spitting out long strips of paper, like a magicianin a side-show. The man looked up as he entered, and cleared his throat."Ahem," he said, "you look as if you were from the country. I wonder,now, if you have came to the city to seek your fortune."

  Archie was embarrassed. "Yes, sir, I suppose you might put it that way,"he replied.

  "Well," continued the old gentleman, "my advice to you is to go backwhere you came from as quickly as you can. Not one boy in a thousandwill gain either fame or fortune in New York, and you stand a wonderfulchance of sinking lower every year. And even if you do succeed, you willmiss many beautiful things in your life which may come to you in thecountry. You can have a pleasant home there, and live an easy, naturallife, while here it will be years before you can expect to accomplishmuch, and you will spend your life in a nervous strain. Think well,young man, before choosing the great city as your sphere of usefulness."

  "I've made up my mind, sir," said Archie. "I have quite decided toremain in the city."

  "Very well," said the old gentleman, "I hope you may never regret it.But we have already hired an office boy. Good morning."

  Archie walked out, more discouraged than ever. Perhaps, after all, acountry life was not to be so much despised. This man ought to know whathe was talking about. But once outside, in the Broadway crowd, Archieforgot everything about the country, and was lost in the delight ofbeing one of four million.

  He now decided to accept the place in the restaurant, if it werenot taken, and, fortunately for him, it was not. So he rolled up hissleeves, and began to wash dishes as if he had done nothing else in allhis life before.