Joe the Hotel Boy; Or, Winning out by Pluck by Pluck by Jr. Horatio Alger (novels to read .txt) ๐
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- Author: Pluck by Jr. Horatio Alger
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The water was brought and he took a gulp. Then he tried to speak again, but the effort was in vain. The doctor and Joe raised him up.
โUncle Hiram! Speak to me!โ cried the boy.
But Hiram Bodley was past speaking. He had passed to the Great Beyond.
CHAPTER IV.
THE SEARCH FOR THE BLUE BOX.
Three days after his tragic death Hiram Bodley was buried. Although he was fairly well known in the lake region only a handful of people came to his funeral. Joe was the chief mourner, and it can honestly be said that he was much downcast when he followed the hermit to his last resting place.
After the funeral several asked Joe what he intended to do. He could not answer the question.
โHave you found that blue box?โ questioned Doctor Gardner.
โNo, sir, I have not thought of it.โ
โProbably it contains money and papers of value, Joe.โ
โI am going to look for it to-day,โ said the boy. โIโI couldn't look for it whileโwhileโโ
โI understand. Well, I trust you locate the box and that it contains all you hope for,โ added the physician.
As luck would have it, Ned Talmadge's family had just gone away on a trip to the West, so Mr. Talmadge could offer the boy no assistance. But Ned was on hand and did what he could.
โYou don't know what you'll do next, do you, Joe?โ asked Ned, as he and Joe returned to the wreck of the cabin.
โNo.โ
โWell, if you haven't any money I'll do what I can for you.โ
โThank you, Ned; you are very kind.โ
โIt must be hard to be thrown out on the world in this fashion,โ went on the rich boy, sympathetically.
โIt is hard. After all, I thought a good deal of Uncle Hiram. He was strange in his ways, but he had a good heart.โ
โWasn't he shot in the head once by accident in the woods?โ
โYes.โ
โMaybe that made him queer at times.โ
โPerhaps so.โ
โI've got six dollars and a half of my spending money saved up. You may have that if you wish,โ continued Ned, generously.
โI'd rather not take it, Ned.โ
โWhy not?โ
โIf I can, I want to be independent. Besides, I think there is money around somewhere,โ and Joe mentioned the missing blue box.
โYou must hunt for that blue box by all means!โ cried the rich boy. โI'll help you.โ
After the death of Hiram Bodley, Joe and two of the lake guides had managed to repair one room of the broken-down cabin, and from this the funeral had taken place.
The room contained a bed, a table, two benches and a few dishes and cooking utensils The floor was bare and the window was broken out. It was truly a most uninviting home.
โOf course you are not going to stay here, now you are alone?โ said Ned, after a look around.
โI don't know where else to go, Ned.โ
โWhy not move into town!โ
โPerhaps I will. But I want to find that blue box before I decide on anything.โ
Without delay the two boys set to work among the ruins, looking into every hole and corner they could think of and locate. They pulled away heavy boards and logs, and Joe even got a spade and dug up the ground at certain points.
โIt doesn't seem to be here,โ said Ned, after an hour had passed.
โIt must be here,โ cried Joe.
โPerhaps it was buried under a tree.โ
โThat may be true. Anyway, I am certain it is somewhere around this cabin.โ
After that the hunt was continued for another hour, and they visited several spots in that locality where Joe thought the blue box might have been placed. But it was all to no purpose, the box failed to come to light.
At last the two boys sat down on a bench in front of the cabin. Both were tired out, Ned especially so. Joe was much downcast and his friend did what he could to cheer him up.
โThe box is bound to come to light some day,โ said Ned. โThat is, unless some of those men carried it off.โ
โWhat men, Ned?โ
โThe fellows who helped to mend the cabin just before the funeral.โ
โOh, I don't think they would steal the box. Bart Andrews and Jack Thompson are as honest as the day is long.โ
โWell, it's mighty queer you can't find some trace of the blue box.โ
The boys talked the matter over for some time, and then Ned announced that he must go home.
โYou can go with me if you wish,โ he said. โIt will be better than staying here all alone.โ
But Joe declined the offer.
โI'll stay here, and begin the hunt again the first thing in the morning,โ he said.
โWell, if you want anything, come and see me, Joe; won't you?โ
โI will, Ned.โ
Ned had come over in his own boat and now Joe walked down to the lake with him. His friend gone, the hermit's boy returned to the dilapidated cabin.
He was hungry but he had no heart to eat. He munched some bread and cheese which a neighbor had brought over. He felt utterly alone in the great worlds and when he thought of this a strange feeling came over him.
It was a bitter night for the poor boy, but when morning came his mind was made up. He would make his own way in the world, asking aid from no one, not even Ned.
โAnd if I can't find the blue box I'll get along without it,โ he told himself.
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