THE PLOT.
Shortly after the boys arrived at City Hall Park, and before the
business of the day had fairly begun, Teenie Massey approached to
inquire if they had lately heard anything regarding Skip.
"Haven't seen nor heard of him," Carrots replied. "What makes you ask?"
"Nothin', only I heard he was tearin' round dreadful yesterday, tellin'
what he was goin' to do to you fellers."
"I guess he'll keep under cover for a while," Carrots replied,
confidently; and Teenie said, as he shook his head warningly:
"Now don't be too sure of that, old man. I guess you want to keep your
eyes open all the time, an' if you get to thinkin' he can't do any harm,
you'll find him jumpin' right down on you some day."
"I'll risk all the harm he can do," Carrots replied, with a laugh. "He's
too much 'fraid the police will 'rest him for stealin', to come 'round
where we are."
"Well, I happen to know, from what Reddy Jackson said, that he hasn't
given up hopes of drivin' you off yet."
Carrots did not think this warning worthy his attention; but yet he
repeated the same to Teddy when he found an opportunity.
"I reckon Teenie's not far wrong," Master Thurston said, greatly to the
surprise of his partner. "It didn't stand to reason that we was goin' to
scare Skip so quick, an' I think he'll make one more try to git rid of
us."
"I don't see what he can do," Carrots said, musingly; and Teddy chimed
in:
"Neither do I, an' that's just why we're bound to be pretty careful. You
see, if we could know what he was up to, it would be different."
There was no further opportunity to discuss the matter, owing to the
sudden demand for the bootblack's services, and by noon both the
partners had almost forgotten the warning given by Teenie.
This day's business brought them more money than the previous one, but
not so much as on the occasion when Skip last made his threats.
On counting up the cash immediately after their return home, it showed
an addition of a dollar and seventy-one cents to the fund, and when this
had been ascertained, Carrots found time to inquire as to the condition
of their invalid friend.
"I'm feelin' first-class," Ikey said, "an' reckon my leg'll be all right
to-morrow. Say, who do you s'pose has been sneakin' 'round here to-day?"
"It can't be Skip Jellison?" Carrots replied, quickly.
"That's jest who it was, an' Reddy Jackson come with him. Course they
didn't know I was in here, an' I lay low and I heard every word they
said."
"What did they talk 'bout?"
"You see, I was thinkin' how nice it felt to be out er pain, when there
was a rattlin' among the boxes, as if somebody was a-walkin' on 'em.
First, I thought one of the men from the store had come out, an' I kept
mighty quiet. Then two fellers began to talk, an' I knew who it was the
minute they spoke; so I listened. Reddy he said to Skip, 'Here's where
them fellers live.' Skip he 'lowed he couldn't see any place, an' Reddy
said he knowed it was, 'cause he followed you home last night. Then he
figured out that you slept in one of the boxes, an' that satisfied
Skip."
"Did they hunt to see if they could find where we stopped?"
"No; I reckon they didn't dare, for fear somebody'd catch 'em. They was
settin' up there on the fence, an' if one of the clerks had showed his
nose they could have jumped over on the other side mighty quick. I tell
you them fellers are up to some mischief."
"What do you mean?" Teddy asked, quickly.
"I heard Skip say he was goin' to burn you out, an' Reddy asked if he
counted on doin' it to-night. He 'lowed he wouldn't, 'cause he'd got to
go over to Jersey City; but he's bound to, the very first evenin' he can
get away without anybody's knowin' what he's up to. He says he could put
a lot of papers an' shavin's in these boxes, an' you'd be scorched some
before you got out."
Carrots was on the point of laughing at this revelation of Skip's plot,
much as if he questioned the latter's courage to do such a thing, when
he observed Teddy, who was silent and looking very grave.
"Why, you don't b'lieve they'd dare to burn us out?" he asked in
surprise.
"I ain't so sure 'bout that. Skip Jellison's a feller that dares to do
'most anything, if he thinks he can get through with it an' not be
caught. It would be a mighty serious scrape for us if the boxes should
get on fire while we were here. If any one saw us comin' out they'd say
sure we did it. You might talk till you were blue in the face, if they
knew that we had had candles here, an' not make 'em think we didn't do
the mischief."
"By jiminy! you're right!" Carrots exclaimed, as he began to realize
what their position would be under such circumstances. "Don't you think
we'd better tell the folks in the store what Skip's countin' on doin'?"
"That wouldn't do any good. He'd swear it wasn't so, an' all we'd make
out of it would be our havin' to leave."
"It seems as if that was what we'd got to do anyhow, if he's goin' to
set this place on fire."
"Of course."
Carrots was surprised that his partner should agree with him so readily,
and asked:
"Do you really think we ought ter go away from here?"
"That's jest the size of it. 'Cordin' to my way of figurin', we're apt
to get ourselves into a fuss by stayin'; an', although it'll be hard
work to find as snug a place, I reckon it's safer to go."
Carrots was instantly plunged into the lowest depths of sorrow.
Never before had the packing-case home seemed so beautiful as now, when
it appeared necessary to leave it.
"I'd like to see somebody thrash that Skip! He's hardly fit to live!"
"The best way's to let him alone. He'll bring himself up with a short
turn before long," Teddy replied, confidently, and then relapsed into
thoughtful silence.
"Well, when are we goin' to move?" Carrots asked, after a pause, during
which he gazed intently at the flame of the candle, trying very hard to
see there the picture of the establishment which he fondly hoped would
soon belong to the thriving young firm of Thurston and Williams.
"We'd better look 'round the first thing to-morrow. I began to think
Skip was up to somethin', 'cause we didn't see him. If he hadn't had an
idea in his head 'bout how to serve us out, he'd been up 'round City
Hall to-day."
Then it was Carrots's turn to remain silent, and not a word was spoken
until Ikey timidly ventured to ask if they had decided not to eat supper
on this night.
This caused them to remember that they were hungry; but neither felt
disposed to linger long over the meal, and at an unusually early hour
the candle was put out as the inmates of the box laid themselves down
to rest for what all three believed would be the last time in that
locality.
It was Teddy who awakened the others next morning, and, as Carrots
opened his eyes, he exclaimed petulantly:
"What's the use of turnin' a feller out now? The sun ain't up yet."
"But it will be pretty soon, an' we've got a good deal on hand to-day,"
Teddy replied. "Ikey must go with us, for he mightn't get a chance to
get away in the daytime, an' it won't do to stay here another night."
It was a sad-visaged party that filed out of the narrow passage leading
to the street, in the growing light of the early dawn, and made its way,
without special aim or purpose, toward the customary place of business.
It was decided Ikey should be left upon one of the settees in the park,
while the others went on a tour of investigation for the purpose of
finding new lodgings, and then the party separated with the
understanding that they would meet an hour later to partake of
breakfast.
Carrots was the first to keep this appointment, and he looked
exceedingly low-spirited when he seated himself by the side of the
invalid, who had not yet sufficiently recovered to be able to take very
much exercise in the way of walking.
"Find anything?" Ikey asked.
"Not a thing! I reckon it'll be many a long day before we'll get another
place sich as we had down there;" and then Master Carrots indulged once
more in harsh words against his enemies.
His tirade was interrupted by the arrival of Teddy, who looked as joyous
as his partner looked despondent, causing the latter to say, in a
querulous tone:
"It doesn't seem as if you cared very much 'bout what them fellers are
makin' us do!"
"Well, I reckon you're right, Carrots. P'rhaps it's the best thing ever
happened, that we had to clear out this mornin'."
"What do you mean?"
"What do you s'pose I've found?"
"Do you mean a place to sleep?"
"Yes."
"Ain't been buyin' the Astor House, or anything like that?"
"Comes pretty nigh it, Carrots. I've found a stand!"
"I can find dozens of 'em; but that's all the good it'll do."
"But I mean one we can buy."
"Yes, when we've got the money," Carrots replied, impatiently. "Where we
goin' to stay till we earn as much as we'll need?"
"I can make a trade for this one, with what we've got, by 'greein' to
come up with fifty cents every day."
"What!" and Carrots sprang to his feet, his face expressive of mingled
joy and astonishment. "Do you mean to say you know of a feller that'll
trust us for the money?"
"That's jest it!"
"Let's get right to him before he has time to back out! A feller what
can make sich a chump of hisself as that might get sneaked off to the
'sylum before we'd have time to finish up the trade."
"There's no need of hurryin' so awful fast, 'cause this bargain'll wait
for us an hour anyhow. In the first place, old man, p'rhaps it ain't
what you're countin' on. It's a good stand enough, an' seems to me is in
a pretty fair neighbourhood; but the feller what it b'longs to couldn't
make a go out er it, so had to give it up to the man who owns the
buildin'."
"Where is it?"
"On Mulberry Street, jest off er Grand. You see, some feller built it
against the corner store, an' 'greed to pay a dollar a week for the
trouble of havin' it there. He couldn't raise the rent, an' after he'd
stayed three months, the shopkeeper took it. Now, I happened to see the
place, an' went in an' talked with the man. He said it cost twenty
dollars, an' he'd sell it for ten if we'd 'gree to pay a dollar every
week for rent, an' fifty cents a day on what we owe him."
"How much you got to put down cash?" Carrots asked, his face clouded
somewhat as he learned that the establishment was not as desirable as he
had hoped their future place of residence would be.
"All we can raise."
"What'll that 'mount to?"
"Pretty nigh five dollars; but one of those dollars goes for rent, you
know."
"Is it big enough to sleep in?"
"Yes; we three could get under the counter without much trouble, an'
there's a stove b'longs to it, that goes in with the trade."
"But if we open up there won't be anything to sell."
"I've 'lowed that we'll keep back 'bout a dollar to buy papers with, an'
then, if both of us work mighty hard, it won't be more'n three or four
days before we can have a pretty good lot of stuff. You'll keep right on
shinin', an' I'll do my level best with papers, while Ikey 'tends to the
stand till he gets well. 'Cordin' to my way of thinkin', we can build up
a good trade there if we hustle; an' that's what we've got to do
wherever we go. Now, what do you say to it?"
"Let's go an' see the place," Carrots said, after a moment's pause, and
Ikey slid down from the settee, as if to intimate that he intended to
accompany the party.
Teddy started off at once, for it was his belief there should be no time
lost, in case they concluded to make the trade, because of the fact that
the hour for regular business was close at hand.
On arriving at the stand, Carrots's first impression was very favourable
toward the purchase.
It was painted green, not as bright as if the colour had just been laid
on, but sufficiently so to satisfy him regarding the supposed "luck,"
and quite as roomy inside as Teddy had stated.
The only apparent drawback was regarding the business location, for it
was a short distance off the regular line of travel, and this fact
Master Carrots noted at once.
"That's so," Teddy replied, when the objections were stated; "and I
thought about all that while I was comin' down to tell you. It seems to
me as if we might get up a good trade 'round among these stores, by
'greein' to bring the papers just as soon as they was out, an', with
three of us to pitch in, we could live right up to all our promises. As
I said before, we've got to work a good deal harder than we've been
doin'."
"It doesn't seem to me as if we could do that. I've been humpin' myself
the best I knew how the last two days."
"That's so, Carrots; but you could run 'round a little more, I reckon,
if by doin' it we was to own a stand right away."
"Oh, I'm willin' to go in, an' you shall be the boss."
"Then we'll buy it," Teddy said, decidedly. "I've got to rush down after
the money."
"Did you leave it under the boxes?"
"Yes, I didn't want to lug it 'round all day."
"But I thought we'd 'greed not to go back."
"I 'lowed to go down the first thing after we knocked off. It's all safe
enough, anyhow. You stay here till I get back."
Teddy was off like a flash, and, impatient though Carrots was to have
the business arrangements completed, his partner returned before he
thought there had been sufficient time for Teddy to make the journey.
The preliminaries were quickly arranged, once they were ready to pay
over the money, and, leaving Ikey in charge of the empty stand, the
proud proprietors went hurriedly down-town, Teddy saying, as he parted
with the clerk: "I'll come back soon's I can, with the mornin' papers,
and we'll open right up."
"I'll get things fixed before then, if I can borrow a broom, 'cause the
inside of the place must be cleaned up," the new clerk replied, thus
showing that he was attentive to the interests of his employers.
If Carrots had done as he wished, every newsboy and bootblack in the
lower portion of the city would have known that he and Teddy had gone
regularly into business; but the latter was adverse to proclaiming the
news so soon.
"Better hold on a day or two, an' see how it pans out," the cautious
merchant advised. "You see, if it should bust up the first thing, the
fellers would laugh at us. We're bound to stay a week, now the money's
paid; but how long a time is that to brag 'bout? I want ter know if
we're goin' to stick, before I say anything."
"When will you 'gree to tell the fellers?"
"If we can pay our bills an' have enough left to keep the stock up, by a
week from to-day you shall go 'round to spread the news, an' I won't
open my mouth till you've seen every feller you know."
This was satisfactory to the junior partner, and he promised to attend
to his work in the lower portion of the city as if nothing out of the
usual course of events had happened, even though the firm of Thurston
and Williams had actually sprung into existence in a proper and a
business-like manner.