Part 2 (1/2)
At daylight Mondayhe was on the way, and when the various boys he ood luck, he felt that his stay at Tinch's had not been without benefits of some sort He had made some boy friends, and he was four dollars richer, Archie was sensible enough, too, to realise that his experience would be a valuable one to him in the future He knehat hard as, at any rate
The htful The Septe the road were fruit-trees laden with every sort of good thing to eat a boy could wish for And as the trees were on the public thoroughfare, Archie did net hesitate to help hi, so that he didn't require any an to wonder what he would do for a bed, and the question became more important with every hour He had co, and knew that he couldn't expect to reach one of any size until the next day, anyhow There were farmhouses, of course, but after his experience of the past week the lad felt that he would rather re thrown in with another Hirah of farmers to know that few of theht was best in keeping away from far, and Archie was beginning to feel very tired and hungry, when he came to the ruins of an old colonial mansion, which lay far back from the road, surrounded by trees, and alht to himself ”It looks just like the pictures of old ruins we see in geographies I think I e” And, fired with a spirit of adventure, andbelieve that he was an explorer in an ancient country, the boy h the trees and shrubbery The ruins lookedas he advanced
This had evidently been a nificent estate at one time There were massive pillars which had once supported a stately portico at the front of the house, and above all there rose a ly well preserved As Archie came nearer, he was surprised to notice a thin colu from the top of the chiht What could thisa fire in the midst of these ruins It was alht
For some time he could not decide what to do, whether he had better keep on, or whether the wisest policy would be to get back to the road as quickly as possible Finally, his curiosity and thirst for adventure persuaded hih the shrubbery until he stood before the ruins He then cliht of steps, and stood in what had once been the main entrance to this massive palace Before him he saw a scene which was almost weird in its unusualness A fire of pine-knots was blazing in the ruins of the great fireplace, and seated in a semicircle around the fire were several rily when they were disturbed
CHAPTER VI
STEALING A RIDE--KICKED OUT BY THE BRAKEMAN
ARCHIE was du such a motley crowd, and his first iht he decided that it would be best to put on a bold face and walk up to the men This he did, and when he reached the fire the men jumped up and asked him who he was In a feords he told theain about the fire,a place for hiang
”We're all soldiers of fortune, all dependent upon the generous public for our livelihood But we're not goin' to the city There's nothin'
there for us, and our advice to you is for you to steer clear of the place, too Them police takes ye and throws ye into jail as quick as a wink, and there's no chance of gettin' anythink to eat at basement doors, neither They're all on to us, there, laddie, and ye'd better stick to the country”
This bit of advice was endorsed by the entire company, and it was in vain that Archie tried toabout the country in search of an easy ti to the city to work, not to beg; but the leader, a big, dirty felloeighing two hundred pounds or over, said, ”Never et away from the folks, and we appreciates yer position If yer a mind to stand by us, we'll stand by you, and see thet ye cos over, Archie decided that it was perhaps the wisest thing for hireeable while with theabonds, and there was no way of getting away fro their suspicions So he partook of their slender hter when the leader, ”Fattie Foy,”The meal was one to be remembered The coffee had been heated in an empty tomato can over the fire, and from its taste was evidently a combination of various collections made from the farmhouses round about Besides the coffee there was a various collection of sandwiches and bread and butter, and two pieces of cake
One ood house, and came back laden with pickles and crackers and cheese, which were probably the reht some pieces of cold bacon, and these armed on sticks over the fire until they looked really appetising Fros, and these were quickly boiled in a can of hot water, and ranite which served as a table
When everything was ready the provisions were equally divided a the crowd, and every one shared alike It made no difference how much more one man collected than another, it was always shared with the entire crowd Poor Archie found it almost i, so he did e to s a few sips of coffee and eat a slice of bread and butter But as he looked about hiarain while with them
When theof water, and as it was now quite dark, they all sat close to the fire, in order to see Soame of some kind Archie was asked to join, but he told the The poor lad was beginning to wish he had never left home, and felt more miserable than at any other period of the journey He walked over to a corner of the ruins where the light from the fire did not penetrate, and, once there, he sat down and sobbed bitterly for a ti it seemed impossible for him to sleep The scene about the fire fascinated him The men were seated in every sort of picturesque attitude, and as the flickering light fell upon their dark faces it wasn't hard for the poor lad to iands He watched theer, and then he fell into a sound sleep
When Archie woke it was still dark, but theas light as day He rubbed his eyes and sat up, and it was some time before he could realise where he was Then, as he saw the traround, he reht before, and, horrified that he had allowed hiet away from the ruins as quickly as possible The tra soundly, and the only noises to be heard were the sound of their breathing and the blood-curdling hoot of some owl perched on the pillars of the old portico The boy picked his way carefully between the bodies of the sleeping ht of steps outside He was tre, and when a bat brushed hiht he almost screamed with terror Far out beyond the trees and the shrubby he could see the road glistening in the ht, and he rounds, and was once more on his way to the city
It was lonesoht, and Archie re of ho within hilorious autumn sun rose over the eastern horizon he wasfor mother and for ho back He must reach the city at all hazards, homesick or not
Archie did not think of breakfast this ht before seemed to have taken away his appetite entirely, and his only thought was to walk as fast as possible, so that he could reach the city soon About nine o'clock he entered the outskirts of a busy town, and while there he observed that the railroad going to the city passed through the place All at once a new idea occurred to him He had so often heard men and boys tell of how they had stolen a ride froet a ride on a freight train to the city Would it be wrong? Archie thought not, since soto cheat the railroad He had heard people say that the coht to be cheated whenever possible, since it cheated soso tired and so anxious to reach New York, Archie decided to try and steal a ride He entered the yards, where a train was being made up for the south, and there he saw a cattle-car with an open door He i hi that he wouldn't be discovered He soon found that he wasn't alone, for a couple of tramps were in the opposite corner, and they whispered to him not to make any noise ”The brakie,” they said, ”will soon be 'round, and if he finds ye he'll put us all in jail”
Poor Archie grew pale at the thought of being put in jail, and huddled himself closer in the corner After a time the train started, and the tramps, he noticed, climbed up into some sort of compartment under the roof of the car, where they wouldn't be observed, leaving Archie alone down-stairs Things went s, and Archie counted every ht him nearer to the city Finally the train pulled up at a crossing, and a brake and threw open the door of the car He was not long in discovering the cowering figure in the corner, and his wrath was dreadful to look upon ”So, ye cussed vagabond,” he growled, ”ye thought ye'd steal a ride, did ye? Get out o' this now Quick, out with ye” Archie could have fainted, and, as it was, he almost fell out of the car, propelled by the brakeman's boot For awhile he stood dazed beside the track, and finally moved on ”I'll keep a 'stiff upper lip,'” he said, ”whatever happens” But this was by far theadventure yet
CHAPTER VII
ARRIVAL IN NEW YORK--A NIGHT IN A LODGING-HOUSE
ON and on for the rest of the day walked Archie His feet were sore, he eak fro homesick
People who met him on the road turned around to look at the slender lad with the pale face and the weary step, but he kept walking on, stopping for nothing, and noticing no one At noon he picked soer When evening drew near, however, he felt that he could go without food no longer, so he didn't hesitate to stop at a house and ask for food ”I know ive a boy food if one should come to our door,” he said to hi for h to strike a pleasant housewife, who took him in and made hiood things to eat There was cold roast beef, soood fresh ave him some apple pie, so that when he had finished Archie felt better than for oing to New York, and her sympathy was enlisted at once ”Why, you poor lad,” she exclai in the city all alone And ill your ine what histhe last few days, and was anxious to write her, so he decided to ask the woiven him, and he sat down and told his mother that he was al a splendid ti about his experience with Farht he spent with the tras would only make her unhappy, and it was just as well that she should think everything was s for him His letter was filled with his enthusiasood Mrs Dunn received it she was overjoyed, and hurried over to show it to the Widow Sullivan, who enjoyed it thoroughly and said ”I told you so” Poor Mrs Dunn had been having a verywhen she awoke and found Archie gone, but she was naturally much worried for fear some accident would happen to him before he reached New York Once there, she felt that she needn't worry e to say, Mrs Dunn had a firm belief in the ability of city policemen to take care of every one, and she knew that Archie would not be allowed to suffer for want of food and a place to sleep And when she received this letter, saying that Archie was nearly to New York, and had even been so successful as to earn some money, she felt more comfortable than for some ti She was positive that he wouldn't be able to get any work in the city, and knew that as soon as his ave out he would return ”It's all for the best,” she said to Mrs Sullivan ”The habit of running away from home was born in the boy His father left home when he was no older than Archie, and no har to worry, Mrs Sullivan” And then Mrs Dunn would go back to her hoht of Archie's old hat or some of his football paraphernalia, would burst into tears
The good woain on the road that night She told him that he must remain with them, for they had an extra bed up over the kitchen which was never needed, and that he ht just as well sleep there as not So for the first time in nearly a week Archie slept comfortably, and, as he heard the fa, it was hard for him to make up his mind that he was not at ho the coffee in the kitchen below He heard the ha in the skillet, and the rattle of the dishes as his hostess set the table, and then he dressed hiood day's walking