IN THE SPIDER’S WEB.
JOSHUA and his friend, Sam Crawford, having selected Niblo’s Theatre as
the one which on the whole seemed most attractive, left their boarding
house at a quarter past seven o’clock.
“Shall we walk?” asked Joshua.
“No,” said Sam; “it’s too far. We should get there late.”
“How much do they charge in the horse cars?”
“Only five cents,” answered Sam, thinking that Joshua must be mean to
trouble himself about such a trifle, and that he might find it a harder
job than he anticipated to get money out of him. “That’s cheap enough.”
“Yes,” said Joshua, doubtfully.
They stopped the next car and got in. They were lucky enough to find
just two seats unoccupied, which they at once took.
When the conductor came round, Joshua put his hand into his pocket, but
Sam said, in an offhand manner: “Never mind, Joshua; I’ve got the
change. I’ll pay for both.”
“Thank you,” said Joshua, his face brightening, as he withdrew his hand
from his pocket, with alacrity. He did not know that Sam meant to get
twenty times as much out of him before the evening was over.
They reached the theatre some minutes before the performance commenced.
There was a popular play to be performed, and there was a line of men
waiting their turns before the ticket office.
“Join the line, Joshua,” said Sam, “and get two reserved seats in the
parquet.”
“Two?”
“Yes, one for me. I’ll pay you afterward.”
“How much will they be?”
“Two dollars.”
“Isn’t that high?” asked Joshua, alarmed. “They only charge fifteen
cents for concerts at home.”
“This is much better than a concert. Take your place, quick.”
Thus exhorted, Joshua took his place in the line, and in due time
purchased the tickets.
“Now, come along,” said Sam, seizing him by the arm. “It’s about time
for the performance to commence.”
So they passed the wicket, giving up their tickets, and were speedily
ushered to their seats. Joshua looked around him with curiosity, for to
him it was a novel scene; but even this did not lead him to forget that
Sam was indebted to him.
“You owe me a dollar,” he whispered.
“All right,” said Sam; “I’ll pay you afterward. I don’t want to take out
my pocketbook here.”
Joshua would have preferred to be paid on the spot, but no suspicion had
yet entered his mind that Sam intended to cheat him, and he made no
objection to the delay.
“Who are those men playing?” he inquired of his more experienced friend.
“That’s the orchestra.”
“When does the show begin?”
“You mustn’t call it a show, Joshua,” said Sam, “or people will think
you green. Say the play, or the performance.”
“Then, when does the play begin?”
“In about five minutes.”
At the time specified, the curtain rose, and Joshua’s eager attention
was soon absorbed by the play. It interested him so much that he
temporarily forgot how much it had cost him. He asked various questions
of Sam, which led the latter to smile, though but a year before he had
been quite as unsophisticated. It is not my intention, however, to
follow the course of the performance. Suffice it to say that at a
quarter to eleven o’clock the curtain fell, and the audience rose and
made their way out of the theatre.
“How did you like it, Joshua?” asked Sam.
“First-rate,” said Joshua. “It cost a good deal, though.”
“It’s worth the money. Everything is much higher in the city than in the
country.”
“In Stapleton they never charge more than twenty-five cents admittance
to anything.”
“There’s some difference between Stapleton and New York.”
“I know it, but----”
“You must enlarge your ideas, Joshua. People make money here fast, and
they spend it fast. Country people are mean. They count every cent, and
are more afraid to spend a cent than city people are to spend a dollar.”
“My father’s mean,” said Joshua. “What do you think he used to allow me
a week for spending money?”
“A dollar?”
“Only twenty-five cents.”
“The old man was tight, that’s a fact. A young man of your age ought to
have had five dollars. However, you’re in the city now, and are better
off. I feel hungry. Shall we go in and get some oysters? I know a tiptop
place.”
“How much will it cost?”
“Oh, I’ll treat!” said Sam, nonchalantly. “Come along.”
As Joshua had no objection to the oysters, but only to the expense, he
readily accepted the invitation, which he would hardly have done had he
known that his companion had but ten cents in his pocket.
Sam led the way into a recess, and, in a tone of authority, ordered
“stews for two.”
They were soon brought, and speedily disposed of.
“How did you like them?” asked Sam.
“Splendid!” said Joshua.
“Suppose we order a fry?” suggested Sam; “I think I can eat a little
more.”
“I don’t know,” hesitated Joshua.
“I’ll treat. Here (to the waiter), bring us two fries, and be quick
about it.”
Joshua likewise ate his plate of fried oysters with relish.
When the repast was concluded, Sam felt for his pocketbook. First he
felt in one pocket, then in the other.
“How stupid I am!” he muttered.
“What’s the matter?” inquired Joshua.
“It’s a good joke. I came from home and forgot my pocketbook. I must
have left it in my other pants.”
“You paid in the cars.”
“Yes; it was a little change I had in my vest pocket. See, I’ve got ten
cents more, enough to pay for our fare home.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Joshua, uncomfortably.
“I shall have to borrow a little money of you to pay for the oysters.
Let me see; it’ll be a dollar and ten cents.”
“Won’t they trust you? You can come in to-morrow and pay them,”
suggested Joshua.
“No they won’t trust. They don’t know me.”
“They’ll have to, if you haven’t got the money.”
“No; they’ll hold you responsible.”
“That isn’t fair. I didn’t order the oysters.”
“You ate part of them. There won’t be any trouble. I’ll pay you as soon
as we get back to the room.”
“I wish we hadn’t come in,” said Joshua, uncomfortably.
“Why? It won’t do you any harm to lend me the money for an hour.”
“You owe me a dollar already for your ticket.”
“I can pay you for both together. You ain’t afraid to trust me, are
you?”
“No-o,” said Joshua, slowly; and very reluctantly he drew out a dollar
and ten cents, and placed it in the hands of his friend.
“That’s all right,” said Sam, and he stepped up to the counter and
settled the bill.
It was now half-past eleven o’clock.
“It is time we were setting home, Joshua,” said Sam. “We’ll cross
Broadway, and take the University place cars. We’ll get home by twelve,
or before. That would be pretty late hours for the country.”
“Yes,” answered Joshua. “At home I always was in bed by ten o’clock.”
“Oh, well; no wonder! There was nothing going on in Stapleton. It’s an
awfully slow place. Not much like the city.”
“That’s so.”
“You don’t want to go back, do you?”
“No, I never want to go back,” answered Joshua, thinking of the money
and bond he had stolen, and rightly reflecting that the reception he
would get from his father would be a disagreeably warm one.
“So I thought. Everybody likes the city. Why, in ten years you’ll be
richer than the old man!”
“Will I, do you think?” asked Joshua, eagerly.
“Yes, I think so. There’s Ned Evans, a young man not thirty, who came to
the city ten years ago, who is worth now--how much do you think?”
“How much?”
“Fifty thousand dollars!”
“You don’t say so!” exclaimed the gratified Joshua. “Did he have to work
very hard?”
“Oh, pretty hard; but, then, it’s a good deal easier to work hard when
you are well paid for it.”
“Yes, that’s so. Do you expect to get rich soon?”
“You won’t repeat it if I tell you something, will you?”
“No.”
“You mustn’t breathe a word of it, for it’s a secret. When I am
twenty-one, old Craven is going to take me into partnership.”
“Is he?” said Joshua, looking at his companion with new respect. “Does
he make much money?”
“Made fifteen thousand dollars last year. Half of that’ll be pretty nice
for me, won’t it?”
I need not remark that Sam Crawford had told two most unblushing
falsehoods. He had grossly exaggerated the profits of the establishment,
and, moreover, Mr. Craven was no more likely to take him into
partnership than I am to be appointed prime minister to the Emperor of
Japan. But he had a purpose to serve in imposing upon his companion’s
credulity.
“You’re in luck, Sam,” said Joshua. “Do you think I’ll ever get such a
chance?”
“I think you can, with my influence,” said Sam, loftily. “I’ll do my
best for you.”
Here a car came along, and the two jumped on board.
------------------------------------------------------------------------