Do and Dare β a Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune by Jr. Horatio Alger (good books for 8th graders .TXT) π
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- Author: Jr. Horatio Alger
Read book online Β«Do and Dare β a Brave Boy's Fight for Fortune by Jr. Horatio Alger (good books for 8th graders .TXT) πΒ». Author - Jr. Horatio Alger
βHow are you, father?β he said, nonchalantly, taking a cigar from his mouth. βDidn't expect to see me, did you?β
βWhat brings you here, Eben?β asked Mr. Graham, uneasily.
βWell, the cars brought me to Stockton, and I've walked the rest of the way.β
βI've heard of you,β said his father, frowning. βI got a letter last night from Mrs. Jones.β
βShe said she was going to write,β said Eben, shrugging his shoulders.
βHow came it,β said his father, his voice trembling with anger, βthat you haven't paid your board bill for six weeks?β
βI didn't have the money,β said Eben, with a composure which was positively aggravating to his father.
βAnd why didn't you have the money? Your wages are ample to pay all your expenses.β
βIt costs more money to live in Boston than you think for, father.β
βDon't you get ten dollars a week, sir? At your age I got only seven, and saved two dollars a week.β
βYou didn't live in Boston, father.β
βI didn't smoke cigars,β said his father, angrily, as he fixed his eye on the one his son was smoking. βHow much did you pay for that miserable weed?β
βYou're mistaken, father. It's a very good article. I paid eight dollars a hundred.β
βEight dollars a hundred!β gasped Mr. Graham. βNo wonder you can't pay your board billβI can't afford to spend my money on cigars.β
βOh, yes, you can, father, if you choose. Why, you're a rich man.β
βA rich man!β repeated Mr. Graham, nervously. βIt would take a rich man to pay your bills. But you haven't told me why you have come home.β
βI lost my situation, fatherβsome meddlesome fellow told my employer that I occasionally played a game of pool, and my tailor came to the store and dunned me; so old Boggs gave me a long lecture and my walking papers, and here I am.β
Ebenezer Graham was sorely troubled, and, though he isn't a favorite of mine, I confess, that in this matter he has my sincere sympathy.
CHAPTER IV. HERBERT LOSES HIS PLACE.
Ebenezer Graham with some difficulty ascertained from Eben that he had other bills, amounting in the aggregate to forty-seven dollars. This added to the board bill, made a total of seventy-seven dollars. Mr. Graham's face elongated perceptibly.
βThat is bad enough,β he said; βbut you have lost your income also, and that makes matters worse. Isn't there a chance of the firm taking you back?β
βNo, sir,β replied the prodigal. βYou see, we had a flare up, and I expressed my opinion of them pretty plainly. They wouldn't take me back if I'd come for nothing.β
βAnd they won't give you a recommendation, either?β said Ebenezer, with a half groan.
βNo, sir; I should say not.β
βSo you have ruined your prospects so far as Boston is concerned,β said his father, bitterly. βMay I ask how you expect to get along?β
βI have a plan,β said Eben, with cheerful confidence.
βWhat is it?β
βI would like to go to California. If I can't get any situation in San Francisco, I can go to the mines.β
βVery fine, upon my word!β said his father, sarcastically. βAnd how do you propose to get to California?β
βI can go either by steamer, across the isthmus, or over the Union Pacific road.β
βThat isn't what I mean. Where are you to get the money to pay your fare with?β
βI suppose you will supply that,β said Eben.
βYou do? Well, it strikes me you have some assurance,β ejaculated Mr. Graham. βYou expect me to advance hundreds of dollars, made by working early and late, to support a spendthrift son!β
βI'll pay you back as soon as I am able,β said Eben, a little abashed.
βNo doubt! You'd pay me in the same way you pay your board bills,β said Ebenezer, who may be excused for the sneer. βI can invest my money to better advantage than upon you.β
βThen, if you will not do that,β said Eben, sullenly, βI will leave you to suggest a plan.β
βThere is only one plan I can think of, Eben. Go back to your old place in the store. I will dismiss the Carr boy, and you can attend to the post office, and do the store work.β
βWhat, go back to tending a country grocery, after being a salesman in a city store!β exclaimed Eben, disdainfully.
βYes, it seems the only thing you have left. It's your own fault that you are not still a salesman in the city.β
Eben took the cigar from his mouth, and thought rapidly.
βWell,β he said, after a pause, βif I agree to do this, what will you pay me?β
βWhat will I pay you?β
βYes, will you pay me ten dollars a weekβthe same as I got at Hanbury & Deane's?β
βTen dollars a week!β ejaculated Ebenezer, βI don't get any more than that myself.β
βI guess there's a little mistake in your calculations, father,β said Eben, significantly. βIf you don't make at least forty dollars a week, including the post office, then I am mistaken.β
βSo you areβridiculously mistaken!β said his father, sharply. βWhat you presume is entirely out of the question. You forget that you will be getting your board, and Tom Tripp only received a dollar and a half a week without board.β
βIs that all you pay to Herbert Carr?β
βI pay him a leetle more,β admitted Ebenezer.
βWhat will you give me?β
βI'll give you your board and clothes,β said Ebenezer, βand that seems to be more than you made in Boston.β
βAre you in earnest?β asked Eben, in genuine dismay.
βCertainly. It isn't a bad offer, either.β
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