reet, not to mention the
miserable old tenement house on Leonard Street, which the readers of
"Rough and Ready" will easily remember.

"I say, Miss Manning, this is jolly," said Rufus, in a tone of
satisfaction.

"Isn't it a nice house, Rufie?" said little Rose.

"Yes, it is, Rosie;" and Rough and Ready, to call him for once by his
old name, felt happy in the thought that his little sister, whose life,
thus far, had been passed in a miserable quarter of the city, would now
be so much more favorably situated.

At this moment Mrs. Clayton made her appearance.

"Good-morning, Miss Manning," she said, cordially; "I am sorry the
servant left you standing in the hall. Good-morning, my dear,"
addressing Rose; "is this young man your brother?"

"He is my brother," said Rose; "but he isn't a young man. He's a boy."

Rufus smiled.

"Maybe I'll be a young man in twenty or thirty years," he said. "Miss
Manning tells me," he continued, "that you have a small room which you
will let for five dollars a week with board."

"Yes," said the landlady; "my price has always been five and a half, but
as your sister would like to have you here, I will say five to you."

"Can I look at it?"

"Yes, I will go up and show it to you at once."

They followed Mrs. Clayton up two flights of stairs. The door of the
vacant room was already open. It was a hall bedroom of ordinary size.
The head of the bed was on the same side as the door, the room being
just wide enough for it. Between the foot of the bed and the window, but
on the opposite side, was a bureau with a mirror. There were a washstand
and a couple of chairs beside it. A neat carpet covered the floor, and
the window was screened by a shade.

"You see it is pretty good size for a hall bedroom," said the landlady.
"There is no closet, but you can hang your clothes on that row of pegs.
If there are not enough, I will have some more put in."

"I think there will be enough," said Rufus, thinking, as he spoke, of
his limited wardrobe. He was not much better off than the man who
carried all his clothes on his back, and so proclaimed himself
independent of trunk-makers.

"Well, Rufus, what do you think of the room?" asked Miss Manning.

"I'll take it," said our hero, promptly. He had been on the point of
calling it _bully_, when it occurred to him that perhaps such a word
might not be the most appropriate under the circumstances.

"When will you come, Mr. ----?" here the landlady