AT MR. GOLDWIN'S OFFICE.
On the following morning both boys rose early and breakfasted together.
Then Bob hurried away to his paper trade, and Herbert applied himself
diligently to reading the "wants." The following advertisement
especially attracted his attention:
WANTED, a bright, smart American boy of about
sixteen years of age; must have good education,
good character, and be willing to work. Salary small,
but faithful services will be rewarded with advancement.
RICHARD GOLDWIN,
Banker and Broker, Wall Street.
"I think I can fill those requirements," said young Randolph to himself,
thoughtfully. "For all I can see, I am as likely to be accepted by a
banker as a baker or any one else in want of help. There will doubtless
be a lot of applicants for the position, and so there would if the
demand was for street cleaning, therefore I think I may as well take my
chances with the bank as at anything else."
Having come to this conclusion, he talked the matter over with Bob
Hunter, upon whose practical sense Herbert was beginning to place a high
value. The shrewd young newsboy approved of the plan, so our country lad
started early for Wall Street, where the great money kings are popularly
supposed to hold high carnival, and do all sorts of extraordinary
things. When he arrived, however, at Richard Goldwin's banking house,
his hopes sank very low, for before him was a long line of perhaps forty
or fifty boys, each of whom had come there hoping to secure the
advertised position.
This crowd of young Americans comprised various grades of boys. Some
were stupid, others intelligent; a few were quiet and orderly, but the
majority were boisterous and rough. Squabbling was active, and taunts
and jeers were so numerous, that a strange boy from a quiet country home
would have hardly dared to join this motley crowd, unless he was
possessed of rare courage and determination.
[Illustration: A GLIMPSE OF WALL STREET.]
Herbert Randolph paused for a moment when he had passed through the
outer door, and beheld the spectacle before him. He wondered if he had
made a mistake and entered the wrong place; but before he had time to
settle this question in his own mind, one of the boys before him, who
was taller and more uncivil than those about him, and seemed to be a
leader among them, shouted, derisively:
"Here's a new candidate--right from the barnyard too!"
All turned their attention at once to the object of the speaker's
ridicule, and joined him in such remarks as "potato bug," "country,"
"corn fed," "greeny," "boots," and all the time they howled and jeered
at the boy from the farm most unmercifully.
"You think you'll carry off this position, maybe," said the leader,
sarcastically. "You'd better go home and raise cabbage or punkins!"
Again the crowd exploded with laughter, and as many mean things as could
be thought of were said. Herbert made no reply, but instead of turning
back and running away from such a crowd, as most boys would have done,
he stepped forward boldly, and took his place in the line with others to
await the arrival of the banker.
His face was flushed, and he showed plainly his indignation at the
insolent remarks made to him. Nevertheless, this very abuse stimulated
his determination to such a degree, that he was now the last boy in the
world to be driven away by the insults and bullying of those about him.
His defiance was so bold, and his manner was so firm and independent,
that he at once commanded the respect of the majority of the long line
of applicants, though all wished he were out of the way; for they saw in
him a dangerous rival for the position they sought.
A notable exception, however, to those who shared this better feeling,
was the boy whom I have spoken of as the "leader," for such he seemed to
be. He was no ordinary boy, this bright, keen, New York lad, with a form
of rare build, tall and straight as a young Indian. He showed in every
movement, and in the manner of his speech, that his character was a
positive one, and that nature had endowed him with the qualities of a
leader.
[Illustration: HERBERT RANDOLPH FINDS HIMSELF AMONG A MOB OF RIVAL
APPLICANTS.]
These gifts he now exercised with remarkable effect upon the raw
material about him, if by such a term I may characterize the peculiarly
mixed crowd of boys in line.
When, however, Herbert Randolph advanced to his position with such
unmistakable determination in his manner, and with firmness so
distinctly showing in every muscle of his face, our young leader
trembled visibly for an instant, and then the hot blood mantling his
cheeks betrayed his anger.
He had endeavored to drive away the young Vermonter by jeers and
bullying, but he failed in this attempt. In him he found his match--a
boy quite equal to himself in determination, in the elegance of his
figure and the superiority of his intellect.
The country boy lacked, however, the polish and grace of the city, and
that ease and assurance that comes from association with people in large
towns. But the purity of his character, a character as solid as the
granite hills of his native State, was of infinitely more value to him
than was all the freedom of city manner to the New York lad.
These two boys were no ordinary youths. Each of them possessed a
positive and determined character. The one was bold as the other, and in
intellect and the commanding qualities of their minds they were giants
among boys.
The others felt this now in the case of both, as they had but a few
moments before felt it regarding the one. They realized their own
inferiority. The jeering and bullying ceased, and all was quiet, save
the slam of the door, as new applicants now and then dropped in and
joined the line. The silence became painful as the two prominent figures
eyed each other. Herbert knew better than to make the first move. He
waited the action of his rival, ready to defend his position.
The strange and sudden quiet of all the boys, who had but a few moments
before been so noisy and insulting, gave him renewed courage. He saw,
to his great relief, that he had but one mind to contend with--but one
enemy to overcome. In this one's face, however, was pictured a degree of
cunning and anger that he had never seen before in all his simple life.
The evil designs in the face of the city boy momentarily became more
noticeable. Why had he so suddenly stopped his derisive remarks? And why
should he show his evident hatred toward our hero? Is it possible that
he dare not attack him, and that he is afraid to continue the bullying
further? That he feels that Herbert is his equal, and perhaps more than
a match for him, seems evident; and yet he will not acknowledge himself
inferior to any one, much less to this country lad.
"No, he _shall not_ get this situation away from me," he said
determinedly to himself; and then his mind seemed bent upon some deep
plot or wicked scheme.