per cent."2
"That is good. What is the market value of the stock?"
"It is selling this morning at one hundred and twenty."
"Twenty shares then will amount to twenty-four hundred dollars."
"Precisely."
"Well, perhaps we had better take them. What do you say, Mr. Fosdick?"
"If you advise it, sir, I shall be very glad to do so."
"Then the business can be accomplished at once, as the party left us his signature, authorizing the transfer."
The transfer was rapidly effected. The broker's commission of twenty-five cents per share amounted to five dollars. It was found on paying this, added to the purchase money, that one hundred and nineteen dollars remained, – the cheque being for two thousand five hundred and twenty-four dollars.
The broker took the cheque, and returned this sum, which Mr. Bates handed to Fosdick.
"You may need this for a reserve fund," he said, "to draw upon if needful until your dividend comes due. The bank shares will pay you probably one hundred and sixty dollars per year."
"One hundred and sixty dollars!" repeated Fosdick, in surprise. "That is a little more than three dollars a week."
"Yes."
"It will be very acceptable, as my salary at the store is not enough to pay my expenses."
"I would advise you not to break in upon your capital if you can avoid it," said Mr. Bates. "By and by, if your salary increases, you may be able to add the interest yearly to the principal, so that it may be accumulating till you are a man, when you may find it of use in setting you up in business."
"Yes, sir; I will remember that. But I can hardly realize that I am really the owner of twenty bank shares."
"No doubt it seems sudden to you. Don't let it make you extravagant. Most boys of your age would need a guardian, but you have had so much experience in taking care of yourself, that I think you can get along without one."
"I have my friend Dick to advise me," said Fosdick.
"Mr. Hunter seems quite a remarkable young man," said Mr. Bates. "I can hardly believe that his past history has been as he gave it."
"It is strictly true, sir. Three years ago he could not read or write."
"If he continues to display the same energy, I can predict for him a prominent position in the future."
"I am glad to hear you say so, sir. Dick is a very dear friend of mine."
"Now, Mr. Fosdick, it is time you were thinking of dinner. I believe this is your dinner hour?"
"Yes, sir."
"And it is nearly over. You must be my guest to-day. I know of a quiet little lunch room near by, which I used to frequent some years ago when I was in business on this street. We will drop in there and I think you will be able to get through in time."
Fosdick could not well decline the invitation, but accompanied Mr. Bates to the place referred to, where he had a better meal than he was accustomed to. It was finished in time, for as the clock on the city hall struck one, he reached the door of Henderson's store.
Fosdick could not very well banish from his mind the thoughts of his extraordinary change of fortune, and I am obliged to confess that he did not discharge his duties quite as faithfully as usual that afternoon. I will mention one rather amusing instance of his preoccupation of mind.
A lady entered the store, leading by the hand her son Edwin, a little boy of seven.
"Have you any hats that will fit my little boy?" she said.
"Yes, ma'am," said Fosdick, absently, and brought forward a large-sized man's hat, of the kind popularly known as "stove-pipe."
"How will this do?" asked Fosdick.
"I don't want to wear such an ugly hat as that," said Edwin, in dismay.
The lady looked at Fosdick as if she had very strong doubts of his sanity. He saw his mistake, and, coloring deeply, said, in a hurried tone, "Excuse me; I was thinking of something else."
The next selection proved more satisfactory, and Edwin went out of the store feeling quite proud of his new hat.
Towards the close of the afternoon, Fosdick was surprised at the entrance of Mr. Bates. He came up to the counter where he was standing, and said, "I am glad I have found you in. I was not quite sure if this was the place where you were employed."
"I am glad to see you, sir," said Fosdick.
"I have just received a telegram from Milwaukie," said Mr. Bates, "summoning me home immediately on matters connected with business. I shall not therefore be able to remain here to follow up the search upon which I had entered. As you and your friend have kindly offered your assistance, I am going to leave the matter in your hands, and will authorize you to incur any expenses you may deem advisable, and I will gladly reimburse you whether you succeed or not."
Fosdick assured him that they would spare no efforts, and Mr. Bates, after briefly thanking him, and giving him his address, hurried away, as he had determined to start on his return home that very night.
Footnotes
CHAPTER V
INTRODUCES MARK, THE MATCH BOY
It was growing dark, though yet scarcely six o'clock, for the day was one of the shortest in the year, when a small boy, thinly clad, turned down Frankfort Street on the corner opposite French's Hotel. He had come up Nassau Street, passing the "Tribune" Office and the old Tammany Hall, now superseded by the substantial new "Sun" building.
He had a box of matches under his arm, of which very few seemed to have been sold. He had a weary, spiritless air, and walked as if quite tired. He had been on his feet all day, and was faint with hunger, having eaten nothing but an apple to sustain his strength. The thought that he was near his journey's end did not seem to cheer him much. Why this should be so will speedily appear.
He crossed William Street, passed Gold Street, and turned down Vandewater Street, leading out of Frankfort's Street on the left. It is in the form of a short curve, connecting with that most crooked of all New York avenues, Pearl Street. He paused in front of a shabby house, and went upstairs. The door of a room on the third floor was standing ajar. He pushed it open, and entered, not without a kind of shrinking.
A coarse-looking woman was seated before a scanty fire. She had just thrust a bottle into her pocket after taking a copious draught therefrom, and her flushed face showed that this had long been a habit with her.
"Well, Mark, what luck to-night?" she said, in a husky voice.
"I didn't sell much," said the boy.
"Didn't sell much? Come here," said the woman, sharply.
Mark came up to her side, and she snatched the box from him, angrily.
"Only three boxes gone?" she repeated. "What have you been doing all day?"
She
This was before the war. Now most of the National Banks in New York pay ten per cent., and some even higher.
