Jr. Horatio Alger

“ Tom,” answered Silverthorn meekly. “It went to my heart to rob the boy, for he looked so much like my lost son. Forgive these tears!” and he drew out the red silk handkerchief, which the Indians had evidently not thought it worth while to take, and wiped his eyes.
“That man disgusts me, Grant,” said Tom. “He seems to have quite an affection for you.”
“It is all on his side,” returned Grant. “I don’t believe he ever had a boy.”
“Well, perhaps not. He seems a natural born liar. But it’s time we were pushing on. We have a long distance still before us.” ”

“ GRANT HAS AN ADVENTURE. “Shall we take supper at the hotel?” asked Grant. “How much do they charge?”
“Two dollars a day for meals and lodging.”
“Isn’t that considerable?” asked Grant, rather dismayed.
“Yes, if one only earns fifty cents,” answered Tom, smiling.
“Do you like sleeping in such a crowd, Tom?”
“No; but there seems no other way, unless I bought a cabin, and I should feel too lonely.”
“But now there are two of us together. Why can’t we hire a cabin, and lodge and eat independently? We can take turns in doing the cooking, and it will be a good deal cheaper.” ”

“ Crambo.
“But not tight. Why, I once asked Grant to lend me five dollars and, would you believe it, he wouldn’t do it.”
“Did he receive more pay than you?”
“I should say not. I received a good deal higher pay than he, as I ought to, being older and more experienced.”
“Then,” said Mrs. Crambo shrewdly, “I can’t understand why you should need to borrow money from him.”
“A man is sometimes hard up, no matter how large his income may be.”
“It ought not to be so,” said Mrs. Crambo dryly. “Our income isn’t large, but I never ask any one to lend me money.” ”

“ This plan seemed wise, and Grant set out with about fifteen hundred dollars’ worth of gold. He carried it in a valise, and, the better to divert suspicion, wore an old and shabby working suit.
“I am not proud of my appearance,” he said, as he took a position in front of the mirror in their chamber. “What do I look like?”
“A healthy young tramp,” answered Tom, laughing.
“I agree with you.”
“However, there is one comfort; no one will think you have anything of value with you.” ”

“ Grant succeeded in getting twenty lots for his money, half of which were entered in the name of Tom Cooper. When he had in his possession the deeds for all his property he began to feel like a capitalist.
“I wonder what Mr. Tarbox would say if he knew how I was fixed,” thought Grant. “He would want to be my guardian. I shall be glad when I can buy a nice home for my mother away from the whole Tarbox tribe. She works altogether too hard. If things go well she shall have an easier time henceforth.”
Mr. Crosmont opened a real estate office and put Grant in charge. ”

“ How is it with you?”
“I am about to lose my home, Grant,” he said sadly. “There’s a mortgage on it, held by Mrs. Bartlett, that I can’t pay.”
“And won’t she extend it?”
“No; she wants to get possession of it.”
“Can’t you get anybody to advance the money?”
“No; we have no capitalist in Woodburn that can command that sum in ready money.” ”

“ If evil wishes could have blighted him, Grant would have stood in great danger, for he had disappointed Sophia Bartlett in her cherished desire.
“It beats all how that boy has got on!” she muttered. “I wish he had never been to California.”
Prosperity makes friends. Though Rodney liked Grant no better he made friendly overtures to him now that he looked upon him as rich, but Grant, though polite, was cold. ”

“ For a month Grant and Tom Cooper worked assiduously, sometimes at one claim, sometimes at the other. The life of a miner is full of excitement. Even when he meets with poor luck, there is the prospect every day of making a rich find. ”

“ Of their good luck neither Mr. nor Mrs. Crambo had the slightest idea.
“How are you making out at the mines, Mr. Cooper?” asked Mrs. Crambo one evening.
“So, so!” answered Tom indifferently.
“You’ll never make your fortune at that there mine,” said Paul.
“Oh, well, we are not ambitious,” rejoined Grant. “If we make enough to pay our board and a little more, we shall not complain.”
“I hope you’ll do that,” said Mrs. Crambo. “I have got used to having you here, and should be sorry to have you go. If you should find yourself short at any time, just put off paying your board. ”

“ Seth Tarbox thrust his fingers into the pocket of Grant’s vest, and drew out two silver 59half-dollars. It was better than nothing, but he felt disappointed.
“I’ll take this,” he said, “to pay for your time.”
“You are welcome to it, but don’t you think you could spare me one half-dollar?” asked Grant meekly.
“When you’ve gone and spent twenty for a suit? No, I guess not. You can think yourself pretty lucky to get as much as you did.” ”

“ GRANT SAVES THE TRAIN. “I must signal to the engineer in some way,” thought Grant. “How shall I do it?”
He felt in his pocket and found that he had a white handkerchief of large size. He wore a soft felt hat. This he took off, spread the handkerchief over it, and then lifted it in the air on the tines of the pitchfork. Then he sought a place where he might attract the attention of the engineer.
About two hundred feet from the bridge there was a small eminence on one side of the railroad. It was just in front of a curve, and this seemed to Grant the best place to station himself. ”

“ I have on hand now about twelve hundred dollars in gold-dust, which I mean to take to San Francisco myself. I shall make arrangements to receive the money in a draft on a San Francisco banker, and will pay you your share when we meet. Perhaps I might make more money by retaining the claim, but it is dull work living here alone, though I have a good home with the Crambos. You may expect to see me in a short time.
“I congratulate you, Grant,” said Mr. Crosmont. “You seem to be a favorite of fortune.” ”

“ Crambo,” said Tom. “How much board is he owing you?”
“About five dollars.”
“We will pay that; won’t we, Grant?”
270“Certainly,” answered Grant.
“I won’t accept it,” said Mrs. Crambo decidedly. “It isn’t your fault that Mr. Benton came here. As for the small sum he owes me, I can get along without it. It won’t break me. I don’t believe you and your friend have any money to spare.”
“We have been doing pretty well, Mrs. Crambo. We have no cause to complain.”
“I am very glad to hear it, for you are likely to stay here longer. You have been working hard, and you are entitled to all you have made.” ”

“ That’s better than working on a farm. When Grant is getting fifteen dollars a month and his board, as a hired man on a farm, I will ride in my carriage, and live like a gentleman.”
“I may be a rich man myself,” interrupted Grant.
“You a rich man! Ho, ho!” laughed Rodney. “You look like it.” ”

“ How old be you?”
“Sixteen.”
“A boy of sixteen ought to do a great deal of work. Why, you are ’most a man.”
“I do a good deal of work, Mr. Tarbox, but I don’t seem to get much pay for it.”
“Hey? You want pay? Why, don’t you get your victuals and clothes?”
“I get my victuals, yes. But I don’t get clothes, and that is just what I want to speak to you about.”
Mr. Tarbox began to grow uneasy. He knew what was coming.
“What have you got on, I’d like to know?” he inquired.
“Some rags and overalls,” answered Grant bluntly.
“They’re good enough to work in. You’ve got a suit to wear Sundays.” ”

“ One evening—it was about ten weeks after the start—they had encamped for the night, and Mrs. Cooper, assisted by Grant, was preparing supper, a fire having been kindled about fifty feet from the wagon, when steps were heard, and a singular looking figure emerged from the underbush. It was a man, with a long, grizzled beard, clad in a tattered garb, with an old slouch hat on his head, and a long, melancholy visage.
“I trust you are well, my friends,” he said. “Do not be alarmed. I mean you no harm.”
Tom Cooper laughed.
78“We are not alarmed,” he said. “That is, not much. Who are you?” ”

“ Crambo?”
“I have only five dollars!” he pleaded.
“Let the board go!” said Mrs. Crambo, who was on the stairs. “All I ask is that he shall go himself, and never come back.”
Benton crept upstairs, and, getting his small satchel, left the house. Where he went Tom and Grant did not learn, nor did they care.
“That fellow will never thrive,” said Tom. “He has made a bad beginning. Any man who wants to get rich by appropriating the property of another is sure to come to a bad end.”
“I guess you are right, Tom,” said Grant. “I am relieved to have Benton out of the house.” ”

“ When he left the table, he said to himself, “It seems pretty certain that Grant and Cooper haven’t parted with any of their gold-dust. The question is, where do they keep it?”
That day Benton strayed into a restaurant and boarding-house in the village, kept by a man named Hardy, and learned incidentally that he wanted to sell out.
“What do you want to sell out for?” asked Benton.
“I have got tired of the place. It is too quiet for me. I want to go to San Francisco. There’s more life there, and more money can always be made in a city like that.” ”

“ Crosmont.”
“I give it because I feel an interest in you, Grant. I can’t explain why, for I have met a good many young persons in my travels, and never was drawn to any one as I am drawn to you.”
“I am glad to have so good a friend, Mr. Crosmont,” said Grant earnestly.
“And I am glad to have found some one in whom I can feel an interest. I begin to feel that there is some object in living.”
152“Are you going to remain in Sacramento, Mr. Crosmont?”
“No, I start this afternoon for San Francisco.” ”

“ Shick about it.”
Seth Tarbox entered the shop, looking flurried.
“Is it true, Mr. Shick,” he said abruptly, “that Grant has ordered a twenty-dollar suit of you?”
“Yes, Mr. Tarbox.”
“If you expect me to pay for it, you’ll be disappointed. Did Grant tell you to charge it to me?”
“No; he said he would pay for it himself.”
“I suppose he expects to get the money out of his mother,” continued Mr. Tarbox, feeling somewhat relieved. “It will be a shame to make her pay so much. Why, I don’t pay that for my own suits.”
“Why don’t you?” asked the tailor bluntly. “You can afford it.” ”

“ I won’t pretend that it hurts my feelings, but I don’t like to be treated as a servant in the house of which I ought to be the mistress. Mrs. Bartlett treats me with very little respect, and I have reason to think that she means to influence Mr. Tarbox to leave all his property to her. This would be a very poor return for all I have done since I married him. As you know, it was chiefly on your account that I did so. If you were doing well, I would not mind so much, but I can hardly hope that a boy like you can earn much among strangers.
Grant showed this letter to Mr. Crosmont. ”

“ Crosmont!” he exclaimed eagerly.
Giles Crosmont looked up quickly, and his face brightened as he recognized Grant.
“Grant Colburn!” he cried joyfully, seizing 300the boy by the hand. “I am, indeed, glad to see you. When did you arrive?”
“Just now, by stage from Sacramento.”
“And you are well? But I see you are. You don’t look prosperous; but that doesn’t matter. With me you will want for nothing.”
“Mr. Crosmont,” said Grant smiling, “you shouldn’t judge a man, or boy, by his clothes. Do you see this valise?”
“Well?”
“It contains fifteen hundred dollars’ worth of gold-dust.” ”

“ Crosmont.”
“That isn’t business-like. The laborer is worthy of his hire.”
“Would ten dollars a week be too much? Then I could pay you my board.”
Mr. Crosmont smiled.
“I see, Grant,” he said, “you have no idea of the value of your services. You will have nothing to pay for board, for I consider your society sufficient compensation. I will, besides that, pay you a fixed salary of one hundred and fifty dollars a month.” ”

“ In reply Grant tried to tear himself away, but he could not release the strong grip the man had on his coat-sleeve.
“Come along, boy; it’s no use. Do you want to insult me?”
“No, I don’t,” said Grant; “but I never drink.”
“Are you a temperance sneak?” was the next question. “Don’t make no difference. When Bill Turner wants you to drink, you must drink—or fight. Want to fight?”
“No.”
“Then come in.”
Against his will Grant was dragged into the saloon, where half a dozen fellows were leaning against the bar. ”