lished this morning, _only five dollars_!" Everybody
in the room looked up, for I managed, as newsboys generally do, to speak
loud enough to drown every other sound; but no one uttered a word. It
was evident that they thought I was crazy, or something worse; and so I
just cried out again, "Have the morning paper, sir?" at the same time
thrusting a copy of "The Advertiser" into his hand. He looked like an
"Advertiser" kind of man,--well dressed and highly respectable.

Involuntarily his eye glanced at the date,--"Tuesday, Feb. 16, 1867";
and then, in an excited, quivering tone, he said, "Let me look at your
other papers." There was a long table in the centre of the room, which I
approached; and, slowly unfolding my bundle, I laid a few of the papers
wide open in front of the gentlemen, who crowded around in the highest
state of excitement. Still there was dead silence; when one of them
suddenly burst out with the exclamation, "Good heavens! Here is a notice
of the arrival of 'The Golconda' at New York, with a full account of the
cargo, and every thing else correct. Why, this must be genuine!"

One after another followed with a cry of surprise at some news which
they had found; until, in a few minutes, every gentleman in the room was
absorbed in reading the papers, appearing to have entirely forgotten all
about me, and not caring to ask how it was that I had brought them to
China in less than twenty-four hours. After I had stood there whistling
carelessly as long as I thought worth while, I spoke up in a loud
voice, and said, "Well, gentlemen, you seem to be enjoying the news
pretty well. I hope you don't mean to forget to pay for the
papers,--_only five dollars a copy_!"

At this speech every one of them looked at me with a strange expression,
as if they hardly knew whether I was a real human boy or something else;
when the Boston gentleman said, "How on earth did you get these papers
here?" To which I answered very carelessly, "I didn't get them here _on_
earth."

"What do you mean?"

"I will tell you what I mean, and answer your questions, after you have
paid me _five dollars each; and cheap at that, considering_."

"Indeed it is, for me at least," said one of the gentlemen. "What I have
learned from this paper is worth to me, in a business way, thousands of
dollars"; and with that he came forward and put a hundred into my hand,
in the good, solid form of gold-pieces. His example had its effect upon
the others. I