ays in the carriage, too--funny, ain't it,
but it's as true as I'm alive; and the boy rushes at the horses when
they are going like a cyclone, and stops 'em jest as the carriage is
going to be dashed to pieces. And then the lady cries and throws her
arms round the boy, and kisses him, and puts a hundred dollars in his
hands, and he refuses it. Then the lady and her daughter ask him to come
up to their house, and the next day her husband gets a bang up position
for him, where he can make any amount of money.

"Now I call that somethin' to be proud of, as I said before, and I don't
see no sense in your tryin' to seem ignorant about it. Why, I wouldn't
be surprised a bit ef you would try to make out that you wasn't anear
any fire today. But that wouldn't do, Vermont--I'll give you a pointer
on that now, so you won't attempt no such tomfoolery with me, for no boy
like you ever comes into a town like New York is and don't save somebody
from burning up--rescue 'em from a tall building when nobody else can
get to 'em. And of course for doing this they get pushed right ahead
into something fine, while us city fellows have to shin around lively
for a livin'.

[Illustration: THE COUNTRY BOY FINDS A WELL FILLED POCKET BOOK.]

"I don't know ef you saved anybody from drowning or not; I won't say
that you did, but ef you didn't you ain't in luck, that's all I've got
to say about it. So you see 'tain't much use for you to try to deceive
me, Vermont, for I know jest what's a fair day's work for a boy from the
country--jest what's expected of him on his first day here. Why, ef you
don't believe me (and I know you don't by the way you look), jest get
all the books that tells about country boys coming to New York, and read
what they say, that's all I ask of you, Vermont. Now come, own up and
tell it straight."

"Bob, you are altogether too funny," laughed Herbert, now that the drift
of his friend's seemingly crazy remarks was plain to him. "How can you
manage to joke so seriously, and why do you make fun of me? Because I am
from the country, I suppose."

"I hope I didn't hurt your feelings, Vermont," replied Bob, enjoying
greatly his own good natured satire.

"No, not at all, Bob Hunter, but until I saw your joke I thought surely
you were insane."

"Well, you see, I thought you needed something to kinder knock the blues
that you brought back with you tonight--'tain't much fun to have 'em, is
it? Sometimes I get 'em myself, so I kn