Adventures of a Telegraph Boy; or, "Number 91"Alger, Horatio, Jr.
General
Adventures of a Telegraph Boy; or, "Number 91"
Alger, Horatio, Jr.
New York (N.Y.) -- Juvenile fiction; Orphans -- Juvenile fiction; Telegraph -- Employees -- Juvenile fiction
One night he received a note signed Eliot Wade, asking him to call in
the evening at the Albemarle Hotel. He presented himself promptly, and
was cordially greeted by the young man from St. Louis, to whom he had
rendered an important service.
“I am glad to see you, Paul,” said the young man.
“And I am glad you have not forgotten me, Mr. Wade.”
“There was no danger of that. Well, Paul, I have come to New York for
the purpose I mentioned to you--that of starting a branch establishment
here.”
“Have you secured a store, sir?”
“Yes, I shall be located at ---- Broadway.”
“That is a fine location.”
“I hope it will prove so. And now, Paul, are you engaged--in business,
I mean?” he added, smiling.
“I am still a telegraph boy--Number 91.”
“Will you resign your position, and enter my service?”
“Willingly, sir. In a year or two I shall be too old for a telegraph
boy, and it will be well to learn some business. I suppose you will not
want me for some time.”
“On the contrary, I need you at once. There will be a good deal of work
attendant upon getting started, and I shall find plenty of work for
you.”
“I shall be glad to begin next Monday, sir. I don’t want to leave the
telegraph office without notice.”
“Very well; let it be so. Will twelve dollars a week satisfy you at
first?”
“Do you really mean it, Mr. Wade?” asked Paul, in surprise.
“Certainly.”
“But I shan’t earn so much.”
“Leave that to me,” said the young man, smiling. “I intend to have you
earn that sum, and more next year.”
Paul expressed his gratitude, and immediately gave notice at the
telegraph office that he was about to leave.
“I expected it, Number 91,” said the superintendent, “knowing what
powerful friends you had secured. I am sorry to lose you, but I wish
you success and prosperity in your new business.”
Paul thought best to make some change in his residence. He had already
secured a separate room for himself in the old tenement house, Jerry’s
sickness making it necessary. Now he persuaded old Jerry to pay the
rent of a modest flat up town, to which he and James Barclay’s family
removed. Paul hired a room not far away.
The location was not far from Central Park, and the better air and
diet very much improved the health of the old man, who has become less
miserly, and finds comfort in the society of his son’s family.
Paul makes frequent calls on Mr. Cunningham, who receives him as a
valued friend. Whether Paul’s partiality for Jennie Cunningham will
lead to anything when he gets older, I must leave the reader to
conjecture. It must be remembered that he is no longer a telegraph boy,
but a rising young business man.
Mrs. Granville retains her partiality for him, and makes no secret
of the fact that she has remembered Paul in her will. Paul would be
surprised if he knew the legacy he is to receive; but he wisely keeps
the matter out of his thoughts, and earnestly hopes the old lady may
live many years yet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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