THE PARTNERS.
It was fully five minutes before Carrots succeeded in deciphering the
letter brought by Teenie, and then he pretended to treat the matter as a
huge joke.
"Why, Skip must have spent pretty nigh the whole day gettin' up that
thing," he said, as he handed the missive to Teddy. "I wonder what he
made the moon there for?"
"Moon?" Teenie repeated. "Why, he told me it was a skull, with a dagger
underneath it and with bones on the sides, same's pirates have on their
flags; an' the two coffins was for you an' the other feller."
"Who are the two duffers down there at the bottom? A couple of pirates?"
"No; they're the committee," Teenie explained. "I s'pose one of 'em's
Skip, an' the other's Sid."
"So Sid's taken a hand in this; _he's_ gone to drivin' boys out er the
town, has he? Well, Sid's a nice plum to do anything of the kind! 'T
isn't more'n a month ago since he was gettin' right down on his knees,
coaxin' Skip to let him stay to black boots. It would be a mighty long
while before I'd ask Skip Jellison to 'low me to do anything!"
"Them two are awful thick now. Kind er stand in pardners, I reckon. Sid
says he's goin' to run Fulton Ferry on the Brooklyn side, an' Skip's to
take care of this end, as soon as they drive the feller from Saranac
away."
"Oh, they are, eh? Well, p'rhaps it'll be a good while before they
finish up the job they've got on hand, so I guess they won't hurt
theirselves workin' this season. What do you think about it, Teddy?"
The young gentleman from Saranac made no reply, but folded the paper
carefully and put it in his pocket, as if for future reference.
"What're you goin' to do 'bout it?" Teenie asked, so earnestly that
Carrots looked at him suspiciously.
"Do 'bout it?" the latter replied. "Why, let him go ahead. What else can
we do? I've seen a good many better-lookin' pictures than he made there,
an' if that's all he does he won't hurt anybody."
"But see here, Carrots: Skip says you'll have to leave this town if you
stand in with Teddy, an' he's goin' to make it awful hot."
"Well, I s'pose if he can do that he will; so what's the use talkin'
'bout it? We can't help anything, as I see."
Teenie understood that his friend was not absolutely satisfied regarding
his connection with the matter, and therefore refused to make any
explanation as to what his future course might be. This lack of
confidence troubled the messenger; for Carrots was a particular friend
of his, and he did not wish anything to impair the kindly feeling
existing between them.
So he was glad when Carrots said:
"I ain't blamin' you, Teenie; but I can tell you one thing sure: what
ain't known can't be told. If Skip Jellison should 'low he was jest
about goin' to thump the life out er you if you didn't repeat everything
I said, why, you might have to give up. So I don't think it's best for
us to have any talk. Of course I'm sure you won't tell where I'm
livin'."
"I wouldn't say a word 'bout that, Carrots, an' you know it."
"I b'lieve you, Teenie, I b'lieve you; but you understand how things are
workin'. Teddy an' me are in a pretty bad hole jest now, an' we've got
to be careful. If you could kind er tell us once in a while what Skip
was thinkin' of doin', it might help along; but I won't ask it in case
you're 'fraid, 'cause I don't want ter get any other feller in a
scrape."
"I'll do all I can, Carrots; an' now I reckon I'd better be goin'.
Mother told me I must come home to-night."
"All right, old man. Be sure, when you get on the street, that Skip
ain't watchin' so's to find out where you've been."
"He can't be 'round here, 'cause I went up to supper first, an' walked
right down from the house without seein' him."
Then Teenie took his departure, and the victims of Master Skip's wrath
were left alone to discuss the situation, which was certainly beginning
to look serious for them.
"Now what do you think 'bout it?" Carrots asked, after seeing Teenie
over the fence.
"Well, I don't see as it's any different from what it was before. We
knew he was bound to drive me away, an' it wasn't likely he'd stop after
what little he's done. Now, Carrots, there's jest this much about it:
you wouldn't be in any fuss with him if it wasn't for me, an' you can
square things up this very minute by sayin' you've shook me. Why not do
it?"
"'Cause I kind er like you, Teddy, an' then, ag'in, I wouldn't give Skip
the satisfaction of knowin' he'd made me do what he wanted."
"Better that than have to go out of the business."
"I sha'n't do anything of the kind. I reckon you an' I can fix things up
somehow, an' I'll tell you what I'd like, Teddy. It seems as if you knew
how to manage better'n I, an' why wouldn't it be a good idea to go inter
pardnership? I can earn as much money in pleasant weather blackin' boots
as you will by sellin' papers, an' I'll 'gree not to spend a cent more'n
you. You shall take care of the cash, an' say what we'll have for
grub, an' all that sort of thing."
"You want us to go inter business, eh?"
"That's jest it. 'Teddy an' Carrots.' My name don't sound very well.
Might call it Joseph; but then nobody'd know who you meant."
"It ought ter be 'Thurston an' Williams,' of course. Pardners don't use
their first names."
"Now you've struck it?" Carrots cried in delight. "Is it a whack?"
"It is," Teddy replied gravely, and thus was a very weighty matter
settled: a business connection formed which might possibly not receive
any great amount of attention from the newspaper reporters, but a solid
one in the opinion of the members composing the firm.
"Then here's the money we've got on hand," and Carrots emptied his
pockets immediately. "You keep the whole an' we can tell every night
jest how we stand."
"But you mustn't put in all your money, Carrots. You see, I haven't got
as much, an' that wouldn't be fair."
Then Teddy counted his wealth, which consisted, including the profits
made on the newspapers, of forty-three cents.
"That's the size of it. You put in jest as much, an' we'll start fair,"
said Teddy.
Carrots insisted that it would be better for him to contribute the
entire amount of his capital; but Teddy refused to listen to anything of
the kind, and, finally, the question was settled by the cashier's
putting into one particular pocket, which was to be reserved for the use
of the firm, the sum of eighty-six cents.
"Now, then, when are you goin' to work?" Teddy asked, with a
business-like air. "It won't do for us to spend this money for grub,
'cause we shall want somethin' to eat to-morrow. What do you say to
tryin' it 'round South Ferry?"
"If we do that, Skip will be sure he has driven us out. I think we'd
better go right up to City Hall, an' start in straight; but the first
thing is, where'll we live?"
"What's the matter with this place?"
"I ain't so certain but Teenie'll give the snap away. If Skip gets hold
of him he can make him tell 'most anything."
"No need of movin' till we find out that Skip really knows where we are.
I ain't so sure but it would be a good idea to stay right here, anyhow,
an' let him do whatever he can."
"But you see, he'd tell the folks in the store, an' they'd drive us
out."
"That might be," Teddy replied, thoughtfully. "But we've got plenty of
time to think it over. Now what we want is to earn a news-stand the very
first thing. Then we'll have to get a chair outside, an' you could tend
shop while I was selling papers anywhere trade happened to be the best."
"Won't that be fine!" Carrots cried in a tone of enthusiasm. "How the
fellers' eyes would stick out if we were runnin' a reg'lar shop!" But
then he added, reflectively, "I don't see how that's goin' to be done.
It's been a pretty tight squeeze for me to get enough to buy grub with,
to say nothin' of swellin'; an', if that wouldn't be swellin', I don't
know what to call it!"
"'Tend right to your work, Carrots, an' don't spend money on cigarettes,
or such things as that, an' it won't take long to get what we need. I
don't reckon one of them stands costs any more'n ten dollars."
"Ten dollars!" Carrots exclaimed. "Why don't you buy the City Hall an'
start in in great shape? Ten dollars! Why, we couldn't earn that much in
a month!"
"Well, s'posin' we couldn't? S'posin' it took two months? Wouldn't that
be better'n the way you're workin' now?"
"Yes, I reckon it would; but I don't b'lieve we'd ever get that much
together."
"You do as I want you to, an' we'll see what'll happen. Now, look at it
jest this way, Carrots: if you made twenty-three cents for me yesterday
afternoon sellin' papers, s'posin' you put in the whole day at it,
couldn't you have made more'n fifty cents?"
"I could do better'n that blackin' boots, even when business wasn't
good."
"Well, there you are! If you earn fifty cents, an' enough to buy grub,
an' I do the same, it wouldn't take us but ten days to have the money we
wanted."
Carrots rubbed his nose reflectively, thereby adding to the smudge of
blacking which now extended nearly from ear to ear; and, noticing it,
Teddy asked, earnestly:
"Say, why don't you wash your face?"
"What would be the good of that?"
"You'd look more decent, anyhow. I b'lieve folks'd rather buy things of
a feller who's clean, than of one lookin' like an Injun."
"But when a man has his boots shined, he doesn't care whether my face is
white or red, so long's he gets a polish."
"You ought ter care, Carrots. Isn't there any water 'round here?"
"Yes; there's a hydrant in the other corner of the yard."
"Take this piece of soap an' my towel, an' go over there. Try it once,
an' see how much better you'll feel."
As he spoke, Teddy unrolled his newspaper valise, took from it the
articles mentioned, and handed them to his friend, who looked at the
collection in a suspicious sort of manner, as if questioning whether it
would be exactly safe for him to make the experiment suggested.
"I'll do it! By jinks! I'll do it jest once for luck!" he said; and five
minutes later the operation had been completed.
Carrots, with every freckle showing on his face, his skin glowing from
the unwonted use of soap and water, and a broad streak of dirt left just
in front of his ears and extending under his chin, returned to the
dwelling almost shamefaced.
"There! if you feel as much better as you look, you must be jest humpin'
yourself," Teddy said, admiringly. "Only you didn't wash far enough
back."
"What's the matter now?" Carrots asked in surprise.
"It seems to me as if you'd shoved the dirt back instead of washin' it
off."
"Well, see here, Teddy: I did this thing to please you, didn't I?"
"Yes."
"Well, I've sworn off now. I don't b'lieve in puttin' on frills anyhow,
an' all this talk 'bout water makin' you feel good is all in your eye.
If we've got to earn ten dollars in ten days, I reckon it'll take all my
time shinin', 'stead of tryin' to look so mighty fine that a man'd think
I wouldn't dare to pull the stopper out er a blackin'-bottle for fear of
smuttin' my fingers. I s'pose if I lived on a farm, same's you did, I'd
wash when I saw the others, an' then it wouldn't come so unhandy. That's
where I wish I was now--in the country," he added, as he clasped his
hands around one knee and rocked himself to and fro on the impromptu
bed.
"You wouldn't wish that very long if you had one taste of it."
"I ain't so sure of that. I tell you, when a feller's got a bed to get
inter, an' plenty of stuff to eat, it's a pretty soft snap. I'd like to
try it 'bout a month."
"That would be long enough," Teddy said; and then, by way of putting an
end to the conversation, he nestled into the straw as if to go to sleep.
Carrots moved about very gingerly, as if his whole nature had been
changed by the washing of his face.
At last he blew out the candle, snuffed the glowing end with his thumb
and finger, and followed his friend's example.
Next morning Carrots was aroused by the sun shining upon his face, and,
after awakening his friend, he explained why it was necessary for them
to leave the packing-case home at such an early hour.
From the Company's funds was spent sufficient to buy two bowls of soup;
and then, advised by Carrots, Teddy agreed to remain in the vicinity of
South Ferry, rather than to make an attempt to do business around City
Hall Park, until Master Jellison's anger should have had time to
subside.
"I'll see you when you come up for the afternoon papers," Carrots said
as they parted. "But you can count on my hustlin' the best I know how
toward gettin' to-day's share of the ten dollars."
"Be sure you don't have any trouble with Skip," Teddy cautioned his
friend, and then the two separated, each intent on swelling the
Company's funds to the greatest possible extent before night.
When noon came, and it was necessary for Teddy to replenish his stock,
he failed to find his partner around the newspaper offices.
This absence of Carrots did not trouble him particularly, since Teddy
was quite confident the boy was attending to his own business; and he
felt positive it would not be safe for him to search very long after the
missing partner, lest he should encounter the enemy.
Therefore it was that he returned to his labors without consultation
with his business associate; and when it was so late that there could be
no danger the occupants of the store would see him entering the dwelling
in the corner of the yard, he again clambered over the fence.
Master Carrots was at home, and, as could be told from his face,
labouring under the most intense excitement.
"I've done it!" he cried to Teddy before the latter had time to speak.
"I've done it, an' we'll have to give up the pardnership business,
'cause this is the best chance I'll get."
"Done what?" Teddy asked in surprise.
"Got a place to work on a farm."
"Are you goin' to leave the city?" Teddy asked, anxiously.
"I'll have to, of course, if I do that. You see, it happened this way:
Every feller I met this mornin' told me what Skip had threatened to do,
an' I reckon he means business. He says we've both got to leave this
town before he goes to work ag'in, an' what's more, he an' Sid Barker
wouldn't let me stay 'round Printin' House Square at all. I had to take
a sneak, or else stand the chance of gettin' 'rested for fightin', so I
went down to Vesey Street Market. Trade wasn't so awful good there, an'
I was kind er loafin' 'round when a farmer come up an' says, 'Hello,
son. Don't know of any boy 'round here what wants to go out in the
country, do you?' Well, you know, that struck me jest right. I said of
course I knew a boy, an' I showed him right up, 'cause it was me, an' I
hadn't far to go to find myself. Well, the farmer acted as if he was
tickled 'most to death, an' he said as how I was the very kind of a
feller he was lookin' for; that he'd give me a good home an' make it
cheerful; besides, I'd have lots of fun runnin' in the fields."
"How much is he goin' to pay you?" Teddy asked.
"Well, you see, we ain't settled on that yet. He thought I'd better come
out and try it for a while, so's he could tell how much I was worth, an'
then we'd talk 'bout wages afterward."
"An' are you willin' to go on them promises?"
"Willin'? Why, it's a reg'lar snap! I'd like to stay here an' try to buy
that stand with you; but what's the use if Skip's goin' to raise sich a
row? Besides, if we've got to sneak 'round all the poorest places to
work, we sha'n't make enough to pay for our grub, an' out there I'll
have all I can eat."
"Well, Carrots, I'm sorry to have you go jest when we've got acquainted,
an' it seemed as though we'd get along well together; but if you're set
on farmin', you'll have to try it, I reckon. I'll stay here an' keep on
workin', so's when you get ready to come back there'll be somethin' to
eat, 'less Skip Jellison succeeds in doin' what he counts on."
"I may drop 'round in a month or two, jest to see how you're gettin'
along," Carrots replied, with an air of condescension; "but of course
I'm bound to stay out there a year anyhow, when I start in once."
"When are you goin'?"
"To-morrow noon."
"Come down to South Ferry before you go, an' when you get back, Carrots,
I guess you'll find me at the same place, 'cause trade was pretty fair
to-day."
[Illustration: "I SAID I KNEW A BOY, AN' I SHOWED HIM RIGHT UP."]
"Oh, you'll be up 'round City Hall by that time."
"It'll take me longer'n a week to get things straightened out, an' you
won't stay there six days, 'less you're a different feller from what I
think you are," Teddy replied, with an air of conviction that surprised
his friend.