Jr. Horatio Alger

“ Mr. and Mrs. Fogson slept directly underneath, and after awhile, the door leading to the attic being open, the sound of the snoring attracted the attention of Mrs. Fogson.
"Simeon!" she said, shaking her recumbent husband.
"What is it, Mrs. F.?" inquired her lord and master drowsily.
"Did you hear that?"
"Did I hear what?"
"That terrific snoring. It is loud enough to wake the dead."
By this time Fogson was fairly awake.
"So it is," he assented. "Who is it?"
"Jed, of course. What possesses the boy to snore so?"
"Can't say, I'm sure. I never heard a boy of his age make such a noise." ”

“ Jed's curiosity was excited, and he accepted the invitation.
He found his roommate to be a good-looking young man of perhaps thirty, and with a pleasant expression.
"So you are Jed?" he asked.
"Yes, sir."
"And you live in the poorhouse?"
"Yes," answered Jed, half-ashamed to admit it, "but I don't mean to stay here."
"Good! A smart boy like you ought not to be a pauper. You are able to earn your own living outside. But perhaps you are attached to the queer people who made me a visit last night." ”

“ Jed Gilman got a yacht!" exclaimed Fogson, his eyes almost protruding from their sockets.
"Well, I don't say it's his, but he acts as if it were. He hired a boat to take me out to the Juno—that's the name of the yacht, and it's a regular beauty—and took me on board and treated me to some lunch. He ordered the men about just as if he were a gentleman." ”

“ Jed smiled. He felt that he could afford to disregard Percy's impertinence.
"My dear friend Percy," he said. "How well you remember me!"
"Yes, I remember you, and so does Mr. Fogson of the Scranton poorhouse."
"Remember me to the kind old man!" said Jed comically.
"How soon are you going back?"
"Not very soon. Of course it would be pleasant to me to be able to see you every day, Percy, but——"
"You needn't flatter yourself that I would take any notice of you. What are you doing for a living?" ”

“ Early on Monday morning Jed and his friend Bertram took the cars for Sea Spray. As they neared the coast, the ocean breeze entered cool and refreshing through the open windows. Presently the cars stopped, only two hundred feet from the bluff, and Jed for the first time gazed with delight at the Atlantic billows rolling in on the beach.
"This is beautiful!" he exclaimed. "I hope I can stay here all summer."
"Have you never seen the sea before?"
"No; I have never travelled before. All my life has been spent at Scranton." ”

“ I wish I knew whether Jed had stolen anything or not."
"I cannot say a word! My lips are sealed!" said the detective in a solemn tone.
Percy was impressed. The man in drab quite came up to his idea of a detective.
"By the way," said his companion, "I want to call on Mr. and Mrs. Avery, who, I understand, know something of the boy's early life."
"They live there—in that small house. I'll go with you."
"No, I prefer to go alone. One can't be too careful."
"All right," said Percy. "I wonder what under the canopy Jed's been doing? It's likely he'll have to go to jail." ”

“ Let me look at this boy's hand. Do you want me to tell your fortune, my pretty?"
Chester laughed.
"Yes," he said. "Perhaps you can tell me if I will ever be a soldier. I would like to be a General."
"No; you will never be a soldier, but you will have a fight before you."
"A fight? What kind of a fight?"
The fortune-teller turned to Jed and said rapidly, "This boy is threatened with a serious danger. He has an enemy."
"How can a young boy have an enemy?"
"There are few who do not have enemies," said the woman sententiously. ”

“ Jed slept on, unconscious of his loss, till the sun flooded the room with golden light. Then he opened his eyes and wondered for a moment where he was. But recollection came to his aid, and he recalled the incidents of his meeting with Graham and sharing the latter's room.
He looked over to the other side of the bed, but his roommate was not to be seen.
"I suppose it is late and he has gone to his business," thought Jed tranquilly. "Probably he didn't want to wake me up." ”

“ There is nothing that makes one feel so helpless as to be without a penny in a strange city. If Jed had had even a dollar he would have felt better.
The fact of his poverty was emphasized when a boy came up to him and asked him to buy a morning paper. Jed instinctively felt in his pocket for a penny, but not even a cent was forthcoming. ”

“ Percy admitted.
"Probably this Jed is a very ordinary boy?"
"I should say so. Ordinary is no name for it. He is stupid."
"Then you will see for yourself that it is not very likely that he should become an accomplished actor all at once. If it were you it might be different. You are evidently a young man of social position, while this Jed is a poor boy, and I presume without education." ”

“ Squire Dixon was conversing with Mr. Fogson, and didn't hear this little conversation.
"I am just digging my potatoes," said Fogson deferentially. "I have some excellent Jackson whites. I will send you round a bushel to try."
"You are very kind, Mr. Fogson," said the squire, smiling urbanely. "I shall appreciate them, you may be sure. Mr. Avery never would have made me such an offer. It is clear to me that you are the right man in the right place."
"I am proud to hear you say so, Squire Dixon. With such an Overseer of the Poor as you are, I am sure the interests of the town will be safe." ”

“ He resolutely refused to borrow from Harry Bertram, though the actor pressed a loan upon him.
"No, Harry," he said, "I have almost forty dollars, and I am sure that will last me till I can earn some more."
"Well, perhaps so," replied the actor, "but you have no idea how fast money melts away. What are your plans?"
"I am afraid I haven't any," answered Jed, looking perplexed. "I want to make a living, but I don't know what I am fit for." ”

“ Miss Jane Gilman:
Your letter requesting me to send you a hundred pounds is received. Your request is certainly an audacious one. Why I should send you a hundred pounds, or even ten pounds, I am at a loss to imagine. The boy Robert, whose existence you think would be dangerous to me, is dead by your own admission, and my right to the Fenwick title and estates is undisputed and indisputable. If you expect me to support you for the balance of your life, your [Pg 340] expectations are doomed to disappointment. ”

“ If I am in New York I shall be glad to do so."
"I begin to think I am getting into society," thought Jed. "It is not over three months since I left the Scranton poorhouse, and here I am adopted by one rich man and welcomed at the house of another."
It was natural that Jed should feel elated by his good luck. But he was not allowed to forget his early adversity, for on the fourth day after entering the service of Mr. Roper he met on Broadway, just above Chambers Street, his old enemy, Percy Dixon. ”

“ Fogson. I do believe the boy is snoring out of spite."
Even Fogson laughed at this idea.
"He couldn't do that unless he snored when he was awake," he replied. "It isn't easy to snore when you are not asleep. If you don't believe it, try it."
"I am ashamed of you, Simeon. Do you think I would demean myself by any such low action? If that snoring isn't stopped right off I shall go into a fit."
"I wouldn't like to have you do that," said Fogson, rather amused. "It would be rather worse than hearing Jed snore." ”

“ Jed was intrusted at times with considerable sums for disbursements, and was proud of the confidence reposed in him. Of Mr. Roper, except that he appeared to be a rich young man, he knew next to nothing, till one day he fell in with his watering-place friend, Howell Foster.
"You are still with Schuyler?" he asked.
"Oh yes, sir. I am going with him to Bar Harbor."
"And then?"
"I believe he means to keep me with him."
"You are in luck. Schuyler is a generous, open-hearted young man, liberal to a fault, and ready to do anything for one he takes to. I suppose you know that he is rich?" ”

“ It hurts his boyish pride to have a woman accompanying him everywhere. It appears to me that a boy old enough to look after him will suit him much better. But perhaps you would not like being encumbered with a small boy?"
"I should like it very much, sir," said Jed. "I like young boys, and I am sure I should like your son."
"Come up stairs, then. I will see how he likes you."
Jed followed his new acquaintance up to a suite of two rooms on the second floor. A young boy was at the window. He looked inquiringly at his father and Jed.
"Come here, Chester," said the former. ”

“ There seemed a fascination about the woman, and almost involuntarily he suffered her to take his hand.
"You look prosperous," she began abruptly, "but your life has been full of poverty and privation. Is this true?"
"Yes," answered Jed, impressed in spite of himself by the woman's words.
"Shall I tell you where your early years were passed?"
"No," answered Jed, with a quick look at Chester. He did not care to have the boy [Pg 141] hear that his life had been passed in the Scranton poorhouse.
"You are right. The knowledge could do no good and might embarrass you. ”

“ It seems to me that the boy's own character is much more to the point. I have found Jed faithful and reliable, without bad habits, and I feel that Chester is safe in his hands."
"Oh you men, you men!" exclaimed Miss Holbrook. "You don't seem to have any judgment."
"I suppose," said Mr. Holbrook with good-natured sarcasm, "that all the good judgment is monopolized by the old maids. What a pity they have no children to bring up."
"Brother!" said Miss Holbrook in a freezing tone. ”

“ As Jed walked to the gate his face became grave and almost melancholy.
"I can't stand this kind of life long!" he said to himself. "Mrs. Fogson is about the ugliest-tempered woman I ever knew, and her husband isn't much better. What a contrast to Mr. Avery and his good wife! When they kept the poorhouse we were all happy and contented. They had a kind word for all. But when Squire Dixon became overseer he put in the Fogsons, and since then we haven't heard a kind word or had a happy day."
Just then Squire Dixon's top buggy neared the gate. ”

“ Jed's new acquaintance was a stout man of middle age, with a prompt, alert manner, and looked like a business man. He had a quick, impulsive way with him.
[Pg 94]
"Are you travelling?" he asked, noticing Jed's valise.
"Yes, sir."
"Going to see the world, eh?"
"I'm going in search of a living, sir," answered Jed.
"Got parents?"
"No, sir. I'm alone in the world."
"Well, you've got a tough job before you."
"Yes, sir, I don't doubt it; but I am young and healthy, and I think I ought to be able to earn my living. Are you a business man?" ”

“ He paid his check and left the restaurant.
Jed knew very little of New York, even [Pg 204] for a country boy. Some Scranton people doubtless had visited the great city, but, as an inmate of a poorhouse, he had not been thrown in their way. Accordingly he was like a mariner without a compass. He could only follow where impulse led.
He turned into Broadway, and with his gripsack in his hand walked up the great thoroughfare, looking in at shop windows as he strolled along. Travelling in this leisurely manner, it was perhaps four o'clock when he reached Union Square. ”

“ Fogson," said Fletcher with a smile. "I am sure, now that I have seen you both, that the change was for the worse."
"I fear that the poor people are very shabbily treated," said Mrs. Avery gravely. "It makes me feel very badly, but what can I do? Squire Dixon sustains them, and he has everything to say. But you say you want some information. I shall be glad to tell you what I can."
"I want information touching a boy, now perhaps sixteen years of age, bearing the name of Jed Gilman."
Mr. and Mrs. Avery immediately showed signs of interest.
"He has left the poorhouse," said Mr. Avery. ”

“ He still lodged with Harry Bertram, but he shared the expense of the room.
But a change was coming, and an unwelcome one.
"Chester," said his father one evening, "I am going away for a week or ten days."
"Take me with you, papa!"
"No, I cannot. I am called to Chicago on business, and you will be much better off here at the beach."
"Jed will stay with me?"
"Yes, and I have sent for your Aunt Maria to come and look after you while I am gone."
"But I don't like Aunt Maria," objected the little boy. "She's always scolding me. She doesn't like boys."
"Perhaps not," said Mr. Holbrook with a smile. ”

“ He is thin."
"I met such a man on the beach," said Jed, surprised. "I met him only this morning. Is he the one you mean?"
"When you meet such a man beware of him!" said the woman, and without waiting for a reply she rose from her seat and walked away rapidly.
"What a funny old woman!" said Chester. "I am hungry. Let us go up to the hotel. It is time for lunch." ”

“ Bertram?" asked Jed smilingly.
"Who could, with such a change of dress? You must have met some good fairy. And how did you fall in with Mr. Mordaunt?"
"He kindly offered me a ride."
"Then you have left Scranton for good?"
"For good, I hope. If I can help you in any way I will do my best."
"Try him, Bertram," said the manager. "He is very presentable. Take him in hand, and see if you can't get him ready to take Ralph Clinton's place."
"Then no time is to be lost. Come up to my room, Jed, and I will tell you what you are expected to do—that is, if you have had supper." ”

“ He spends freely, but does not squander his money. He is paying for the college education of a poor boy in whom he feels an interest—the son of an old bookkeeper of his father's—as I happen to know. He is a favorite in society, but has never shown an inclination to marry."
[Pg 274]
"Is his mother living?" asked Jed.
"No; she died before his father. He is very much alone in the world."
"That is why he is so generous to me, I think."
"Perhaps so, but it is his nature to be kind. By the way, Jed, when my family comes back from Sea Spray I would like to have you call upon us. ”

“ There was a knock at the door, and a bell boy appeared with a card.
Sir Guy took it from his hand, and regarded it with surprise.
"Mr. James Peake!" he repeated. "What does he want?"
"I don't know, Sir Guy."
[Pg 350]
"Let him come up, but the interview must be brief, for I am expecting another party."
Directly afterward Detective Peake entered the presence of the baronet.
"You wish to see me, Mr.—ahem!—Mr. Peake?"
"Yes. Mr. Fenwick?"
"Mr. Fenwick!" repeated the Englishman, frowning. "I am Sir Guy Fenwick."
"I am aware that you call yourself so," said the detective quietly. ”

“ Three-quarters of an hour later Simeon Fogson was admitted into the august presence of the Overseer of the Poor.
"I hear you have news of Jed Gilman," he said. "That is what your son Percy tells me."
"It is true, Mr. Fogson. The young scapegrace has joined a company of actors. What is he coming to?" ”

“ You have no strength. What you need is nourishment. Do you have tea three times a day, Mrs. Connolly?"
"Only once a week, doctor," wailed the poor old woman, bursting into tears.
"Only once a week!" repeated the doctor shocked. "What does this mean, Mrs. Fogson?"
[Pg 45]
"It means, Dr. Redmond," answered the mistress of the poorhouse, "that this is not a first-class hotel."
"I should say not," commented the doctor. "How often did you have tea, Mrs. Connolly, when Mr. and Mrs. Avery were here?"
"At breakfast and supper, and on Sundays three times a day." ”