AFTER A YEAR.
Twelve months passed without any special incident. With Carl it was a
period of steady and intelligent labor and progress. He had excellent
mechanical talent, and made remarkable advancement. He was not content
with attention to his own work, but was a careful observer of the work
of others, so that in one year he learned as much of the business as
most boys would have done in three.
When the year was up, Mr. Jennings detained him after supper.
“Do you remember what anniversary this is, Carl?” he asked, pleasantly.
“Yes, sir; it is the anniversary of my going into the factory.”
“Exactly. How are you satisfied with the year and its work?”
“I have been contented and happy, Mr. Jennings; and I feel that I owe my
happiness and content to you.”
Mr. Jennings looked pleased.
“I am glad you say so,” he said, “but it is only fair to add that your
own industry and intelligence have much to do with the satisfactory
results of the year.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“The superintendent tells me that outside of your own work you have
a general knowledge of the business which would make you a valuable
assistant to himself in case he needed one.”
Carl’s face glowed with pleasure.
“I believe in being thorough,” he said, “and I am interested in every
department of the business.”
“Before you went into the factory you had not done any work.”
“No, sir; I had attended school.”
“It was not a bad preparation for business, but in some cases it gives a
boy disinclination for manual labor.”
“Yes; I wouldn’t care to work with my hands all my life.”
“I don’t blame you for that. You have qualified yourself for something
better. How much do I pay you?”
“I began on two dollars a week and my board. At the end of six months
you kindly advanced me to four dollars.”
“I dare say you have found it none too much for your wants.”
Carl smiled.
“I have saved forty dollars out of it,” he answered.
Mr. Jennings looked pleased.
“You have done admirably,” he said, warmly. “Forty dollars is not a
large sum, but in laying it by you have formed a habit that will be
of great service to you in after years. I propose to raise you to ten
dollars a week.”
“But, sir, shall I earn so much? You are very kind, but I am afraid you
will be a loser by your liberality.”
Mr. Jennings smiled.
“You are partly right,” he said. “Your services at present are hardly
worth the sum I have agreed to pay, that is, in the factory, but I shall
probably impose upon you other duties of an important nature soon.”
“If you do, sir, I will endeavor to meet your expectations.”
“How would you like to take a journey Carl?”
“Very much, sir.”
“I think of sending you--to Chicago.”
Carl, who had thought perhaps of a fifty-mile trip, looked amazed, but
his delight was equal to his surprise. He had always wished to see the
West, though Chicago can hardly be called a Western city now, since
between it and the Pacific there is a broad belt of land two thousand
miles in extent.
“Do you think I am competent?” he asked, modestly.
“I cannot say positively, but I think so,” answered Mr. Jennings.
“Then I shall be delighted to go. Will it be very soon?”
“Yes, very soon. I shall want you to start next Monday.”
“I will be ready, sir.”
“And I may as well explain what are to be your duties. I am, as you
know, manufacturing a special line of chairs which I am desirous of
introducing to the trade. I shall give you the names of men in my line
in Albany, Buffalo, Cleveland and Chicago, and it will be your duty to
call upon them, explain the merits of the chair, and solicit orders. In
other words, you will be a traveling salesman or drummer. I shall pay
your traveling expenses, ten dollars a week, and, if your orders exceed
a certain limit, I shall give you a commission on the surplus.”
“Suppose I don’t reach that limit?”
“I shall at all events feel that you have done your best. I will
instruct you a little in your duties between now and the time of your
departure. I should myself like to go in your stead, but I am needed
here. There are, of course, others in my employ, older than yourself,
whom I might send, but I have an idea that you will prove to be a good
salesman.”
“I will try to be, sir.”
On Monday morning Carl left Milford, reached New York in two hours and
a half and, in accordance with the directions of Mr. Jennings, engaged
passage and a stateroom on one of the palatial night lines of Hudson
River steamers to Albany. The boat was well filled with passengers, and
a few persons were unable to procure staterooms.
Carl, however, applied in time, and obtained an excellent room. He
deposited his gripsack therein, and then took a seat on deck, meaning to
enjoy as long as possible the delightful scenery for which the Hudson
is celebrated. It was his first long journey, and for this reason Carl
enjoyed it all the more. He could not but contrast his present position
and prospects with those of a year ago, when, helpless and penniless, he
left an unhappy home to make his own way.
“What a delightful evening!” said a voice at his side.
Turning, Carl saw sitting by him a young man of about thirty, dressed in
somewhat pretentious style and wearing eyeglasses. He was tall and thin,
and had sandy side whiskers.
“Yes, it is a beautiful evening,” replied Carl, politely.
“And the scenery is quite charming. Have you ever been all the way up
the river?”
“No, but I hope some day to take a day trip.”
“Just so. I am not sure but I prefer the Rhine, with its romantic
castles and vineclad hills.”
“Have you visited Europe, then?” asked Carl.
“Oh, yes, several times. I have a passion for traveling. Our family is
wealthy, and I have been able to go where I pleased.”
“That must be very pleasant.”
“It is. My name is Stuyvesant--one of the old Dutch families.”
Carl was not so much impressed, perhaps, as he should have been by this
announcement, for he knew very little of fashionable life in New York.
“You don’t look like a Dutchman,” he said, smiling.
“I suppose you expected a figure like a beer keg,” rejoined Stuyvesant,
laughing. “Some of my forefathers may have answered that description,
but I am not built that way. Are you traveling far?”
“I may go as far as Chicago.”
“Is anyone with you?”
“No.”
“Perhaps you have friends in Chicago?”
“Not that I am aware of. I am traveling on business.”
“Indeed; you are rather young for a business man.”
“I am sixteen.”
“Well, that cannot exactly be called venerable.”
“No, I suppose not.”
“By the way, did you succeed in getting a stateroom?”
“Yes, I have a very good one.”
“You’re in luck, on my word. I was just too late. The man ahead of me
took the last room.”
“You can get a berth, I suppose.”
“But that is so common. Really, I should not know how to travel without
a stateroom. Have you anyone with you?”
“No.”
“If you will take me in I will pay the entire expense.”
Carl hesitated. He preferred to be alone, but he was of an obliging
disposition, and he knew that there were two berths in the stateroom.
“If it will be an accommodation,” he said, “I will let you occupy the
room with me, Mr. Stuyvesant.”
“Will you, indeed! I shall esteem it a very great favor. Where is your
room?”
“I will show you.”
Carl led the way to No. 17, followed by his new acquaintance. Mr.
Stuyvesant seemed very much pleased, and insisted on paying for the room
at once. Carl accepted half the regular charges, and so the bargain was
made.
At ten o’clock the two travelers retired to bed. Carl was tired and
went to sleep at once. He slept through the night. When he awoke in
the morning the boat was in dock. He heard voices in the cabin, and the
noise of the transfer of baggage and freight to the wharf.
“I have overslept myself,” he said, and jumped up, hurriedly. He looked
into the upper berth, but his roommate was gone. Something else was
gone, too--his valise, and a wallet which he had carried in the pocket
of his trousers.