Jr. Horatio Alger

“ I hope you’ll make up your mind to turn over a new leaf. If you do, and are ever hard up for a meal, come to me, and you shall have it without money and without price.”
“Thank you, boy,” said Rafferty. “I’ll remember it.”
He strode out of the restaurant, and disappeared in the darkness.
“Human nature’s a curious thing, Joe,” said Watson. “Who would have expected to find any redeeming quality in such a man as that?”
“I would sooner trust him than Hogan.”
“So would I. Hogan is a mean scoundrel, who is not so much of a ruffian as this man only because he is too much of a coward to be.” ”

“ HOGAN’S FATE
The sun was up an hour before Joe and Bickford awoke. When Joe opened his eyes he saw that it was later than the hour he intended to rise. He shook his companion.
“Is it mornin’?” asked Bickford drowsily.
“I should say it was. Everybody is up and eating breakfast. We must prepare to set out on our journey.”
“Then it is time—we are rich,” said Joshua, with sudden remembrance. “Do you know, Joe, I hain’t got used to the thought yet. I had actually forgotten it.”
“The sight of the nugget will bring it to mind.” ”

“ A wily scoundrel induced me to enter a gambling-den, the Bella Union, they call it. I wouldn’t play at first, but soon the fascination seized me. I saw a man win a hundred dollars, and I thought I could do the same, so I began, and won a little. Then I lost, and played on to get my money back. In just an hour I was cleaned out of all I had. Now I am penniless, and my poor family will suffer for my folly.”
He buried his face in his hands once more and, strong man as he was, he wept aloud.
“Have you had any supper, sir?” said Joe compassionately. ”

“ But Joe only felt joyful exhilaration.
“You look happy, Joe,” said young Folsom.
“I feel so,” said Joe.
“Are you hoping to make your fortune in California?”
“I am hoping to make a living,” said Joe.
“Didn’t you make a living here at home?”
“A poor living, with no prospects ahead. I didn’t mind hard work and poor clothes, if there had been a prospect of something better by and by.”
“Tell me your story. Where were you living?” Charles Folsom listened attentively.
“Major Norton didn’t appear disposed to pamper you, or bring you up in luxury, that’s a fact. ”

“ Joshua’s steed appeared pleased with the success of his little hint and lost no time in availing himself of the freedom accorded him.
“I wish I was safe at the mines,” said Joshua. “What would dad say if he knowed where I was, right out here in the wilderness? It looks as we might be the only human critters in the world. There ain’t no house in sight, nor any signs of man’s ever bein’ here.”
“So we can fancy how Adam felt when he was set down in Paradise,” said Joe. ”

“ Joe and Bickford were standing on one side, and had not yet attracted the attention of either party in this unequal race.
“Poor chap!” said Joshua. “He looks most tuckered out. Shall I shoot?”
“Wait till the bear gets a little nearer. We can’t afford to miss. He will turn on us.”
“I’m in a hurry to roll the beast over,” said Joshua. “It’s a cruel sight to see a grizzly hunting a man.”
At this moment Hogan turned his head with the terror-stricken look of a man who felt that he was lost. ”

“ Charles Folsom gazed at his friend in wonder.
“Turned drayman!” he exclaimed. “Is he reduced to that?”
“Reduced to that! My dear fellow, you don’t understand the use of language. Graves is earning fifteen dollars a day at his business, and I don’t believe he made that in New York in a month.”
“Well, it is a strange state of society. Does he mean to be a drayman all his life?”
“Of course not. A year hence he may be a capitalist, or a lawyer again. Meanwhile he is saving money.”
“He is a sensible man, after all; but, you see, Carter, it takes time to adjust my ideas to things here. ”

“ Now, it happened that Joe and his guest slept in opposite corners of the room. Rafferty discovered Joe, but was entirely ignorant of the presence of another person in the apartment.
Joe waked on being rudely shaken.
“Who is it?” he muttered drowsily.
“Never mind who it is!” growled Jack in his ear. “It’s a man that’ll kill you if you don’t give up all the money you’ve got about you!”
Joe was fully awake now, and realized the situation. He felt thankful that he was not alone, and it instantly flashed upon him that Watson had a revolver. But Watson was asleep. ”

“ Bickford. “There’s more than one girl in the world.”
“I see you are a philosopher, Mr. Bickford,” said his old schoolmaster.
“I don’t know about that, but I don’t intend to make a fool of myself for any gal. I shall say, ’Sukey, here I am; I’ve got a little money, and I’m your’n till death if you say so. If you don’t want me, I won’t commit susan-cide.”
“That’s a capital joke, Joshua,” said Joe. “Her name is Susan, isn’t it?”
“Have I made a joke? Waal, I didn’t go to do it.”
“It is unconscious wit, Mr. Bickford,” said Kellogg.
“Pooty good joke, ain’t it?” said Joshua complacently. ”

“ Joe, who was a general favorite on account of his good looks and gentlemanly manners, and in spite of his shabby attire, was walking home with Annie Raymond, the daughter of the village physician, when Oscar came up.
He was himself secretly an admirer of the young lady, but had never received the least encouragement from her. It made him angry to see his father’s drudge walking on equal terms with his own favorite, and his coarse nature prompted him to insult his enemy. ”

“ When Hogan left Joe’s presence he was far from feeling as grateful as he ought for the kindness with which our hero had treated him. Instead of feeling thankful for the bountiful supper, he was angry because Joe had not permitted him to remain through the night. Had he obtained this favor, he would have resented the refusal to take him into partnership. There are some men who are always soliciting favors, and demanding them as a right, and Hogan was one of them. ”

“ It cost me thirty-four dollars, and you spoiled it by your carelessness.”
“Suppose you give that to Joe?” suggested Oscar.
“He’s a good deal larger than you. It wouldn’t fit him; and, besides, it’s stained.”
“What right has a hired boy to object to a stain? No matter if it is too small, he has no right to be particular.”
“You are right, Oscar,” said the major, who was glad to be saved the expense of a new suit for Joe. Even he had been unpleasantly conscious that Joe’s appearance had become discreditable to him. “You may bring it down, Oscar,” he said. ”

“ How much does he pay you?”
“Board and clothes.”
“And them are the clothes?” said Seth, surveying Joe’s appearance critically.
“Yes.”
“I guess the major’s tailor’s bill won’t ruin him, then. Are they the best you’ve got?”
“No; I’ve got a better suit for Sunday.”
“Well, that’s something. You deserve to do better, Joe.”
“I wish I could,” said Joe wistfully. “Is there any chance for a boy in California, Mr. Larkin?”
“Call me Seth. It’s what I’m used to. I don’t often use the handle to my name. Well, there’s a chance for a boy, if he’s smart; but he’s got to work.” ”

“ I say that man is mistaken. I never saw him before in my life.”
“Well, that’s cheeky,” said Joshua, aghast at the man’s impudence. “Why, I know you as well as if we’d been to school together. You are the Rip-tail Roarer. You are from Pike County, Missouri, you are. You can whip your weight in wildcats. That’s he, gentlemen. I leave it to you.”
In giving the description, Joshua imitated the boastful accents of his old comrade with such success that the assembled miners laughed and applauded.
“That’s he! You’ve got him!” they cried.
“Just hear that, old Rip-tail,” said Mr. Bickford. ”

“ Seth was speaking as Joe entered.
“Is there gold in California?” repeated Seth, apparently in answer to a question. “I should say there was. Why, it’s chock full of it. People haven’t begun to find out the richness of the country. It’s the place for a poor man to go if he wants to become rich. What’s the prospects here? I ask any one of you. A man may go working and plodding from one year’s end to another and not have ten dollars at the end of it. There’s some here that know that I speak the truth.”
“How much better can a man do in California?” ”

“ I came on like the rest of the passengers.”
“Why haven’t I seen you before?”
“I am not a steerage passenger. I am traveling first-class.”
“You don’t mean it!” ejaculated the fellow, thoroughly astonished. “You told me you hadn’t any more money.”
“So I did, and that shows that you were the man that sold me the bogus ticket.”
“Nothing of the kind,” said the other, but he seemed taken aback by Joe’s charge. “Well, all I can say is, that you know how to get round. When a man or boy can travel first-class without a cent of money, he’ll do.” ”

“ He was too lazy to work, but just loafed around, complaining of his luck. One night I caught him in my tent, just going to rob me. I warned him to leave the camp next day or I’d report him, and the boys would have strung him up. That’s the way they treat thieves out there.”
“It doesn’t surprise me to hear it,” said Joe. “He robbed me of fifty dollars in New York.”
“He did? How was that?”
Joe told the story.
“The mean skunk!” ejaculated Watson—for this Joe found to be the miner’s name. “It’s mean enough to rob a man, but to cheat a poor boy out of all he has is a good deal meaner. ”

“ Jack Rafferty laughed shortly.
“I ain’t used to compliments,” he said, “and I expect I’m bad enough, but I ain’t all bad. I won’t turn on my pal, unless he does it first, and I ain’t mean enough to rob a man that’s done me a good turn.”
“No, you ain’t all bad,” said Watson. “It’s a pity you won’t make up your mind to earn an honest living.”
“Too late for that, I reckon. What do you think they’ll do with me?”
In those days punishments were summary and severe. Watson knew it and Joe had seen something of it. Our hero began to feel compassion for the foiled burglar. He whispered in Watson’s ear. ”

“ He was lying at full length on the greensward, looking awkward and ungainly enough, but his countenance, homely as it was, looked honest and trustworthy, and Joe preferred his company to that of many possessed of more outward polish. He could not help smiling at Mr. Bickford’s remark.
“Probably Eve was not as robust as you are,” he replied, “I doubt if she were as tall, either. But as to loneliness, it is better to be lonely than to have some company.”
“There ain’t no suspicious characters round, are there?” inquired Joshua anxiously. ”

“ Kellogg,” continued Joshua, with a grin, “you’d find it a harder job to give me a lickin’ now than you did then.”
“I wouldn’t undertake it now. I am afraid you could handle me.”
“It seems cur’us, don’t it, Joe?” said Joshua. “When Mr. Kellogg used to haul me round the schoolroom, it didn’t seem as if I could ever be a match for him.”
“We change with the passing years,” said Kellogg, in a moralizing tone, which recalled his former vocation. “Now you are a man, and we meet here on the other side of the continent, on the banks of the Yuba River. I hope we are destined to be successful.” ”

“ Bickford, hunger making him bloodthirsty.
“We may overtake him, Mr. Bickford.”
“You may, Joe, but I can’t. He’s left me his horse, which is clean tuckered out, and never was any great shakes to begin with. I don’t believe I can get ten miles out of him from now till sunset.”
“We must keep together, no matter how slow we go. It won’t do for us to be parted.”
“We shall starve together likely enough,” said Joshua mournfully.
“I’ve heard that the French eat horse-flesh. If it comes to the worst, we can kill your horse and try a horse-steak.” ”

“ He won’t trouble you any more.”
“I wish I felt as sure about Hogan,” said Joe.
“Hogan is a coward. I advise you to keep a revolver constantly on hand. He won’t dare to break in by himself.”
The next morning, after breakfast, Watson prepared to go out in search of work.
“I must begin at the bottom of the ladder once more,” he said to Joe. “It’s my own fault, and I won’t complain. But what a fool I have been! I might have gone home by the next steamer if I hadn’t gambled away all my hard earnings.” ”

“ On a rude table was an earthen platter full of boiled rice and a stale loaf beside it.
“Pitch in, Joe,” said Joshua. “I’m as hungry as a wolf.”
“This food belongs to somebody. I suppose we have no right to it.”
“Right be hanged. A starving man has a right to eat whatever he can find.”
“Suppose it belongs to a fire-eater, or a man from Pike County?”
“We’ll eat first and fight afterward.”
Joe did not feel like arguing the matter. There was an advocate within him which forcibly emphasized Joshua’s arguments, and he joined in the banquet.
“This bread is dry as a chip,” said Mr. Bickford. ”