acing his aunt and friends in Milltown, and explaining matters.
Even the "licking" which he determined to give Sam Archer, if he
should prove the author of the decoy letter, would be a poor
satisfaction.

"You may as well stay," said Mr. Porter. "My nephew thinks we
can find a place for you in the store."

"Will you really take me?" asked Ben.

"We will try you. My nephew thinks you will suit us."

"Thank you, sir," said Ben warmly.

"Your friend, who wrote the letter, will be rather disappointed, eh?"
said young Porter, smiling.

"Yes," said Ben, who could smile now. "I should like to see him
when he learns that his malicious letter has procured me a
situation.

"What do we pay you Robinson?"

"Six dollars a week."

"Then Benjamin shall have the same. He has no knowledge of the
business, to be sure----"

"I will have soon," said Ben confidently.

"That's right, my lad. Make yourself useful to us, and you won't have
cause to regret it."

He was set to work dusting books, and young Porter went to his own
desk; he was chief bookkeeper.

"When the store closes," he said, "come to me. I shall take you to
my room to-night."

In the evening, at his friend's room, Ben wrote the following letter to
his friend, James Watson:

"Boston, July 18, 19--.

"Dear James: Though I have been only a few hours in Boston I
have a good deal to tell you. You remember my showing you the
letter from Jones & Porter, which induced me to come to the city.
Well, it was a hoax. It didn't come from the firm at all. Somebody
wanted to play a trick on me, and wrote it. I have no doubt Sam
Archer was at the bottom of it. You know what a mean fellow he
is, and that he would like nothing better than to injure me. But I
am glad to say that he has not succeeded. By great good luck I
got acquainted with Mr. Porter's nephew on board the train. I
showed him the letter, which he pronounced probably a forgery.
But he took me to the store--he is head bookkeeper--and
introduced me to his uncle. It seems that there will be a vacancy
at the beginning of next month, and as I was on the ground, they
engaged me. So Sam's mean trick has been the means of obtaining
me a position. He will be provoked enough when he hears it.
Now I will tell you what I want you to do. Don't say a word about
the letter being a hoax. Merely tell the boys that I have got the
place I expected. If Sam wrote the letter he will certainly betray
himse