“Why, boss—not to be offensive—I—I—I—thought you were a gentleman and a scholar.” “Need a man be less a gentleman and a scholar because he takes any honest work he can get, rather than live in idleness and go in debt?” “You have got me there, boss, sure as a gun. But I should think you might do better than that—might get a salesman’s place in an uptown store. You would be sure to be popular among customers, with your figure and address.” “But why should I seek a salesman’s situation in preference to a laborer’s?” “Well, it is nicer and cleaner, and you would be in better company.” “I do not think so; and I prefer to take work that offers itself, rather than to seek it in vain.” “Very well, young boss. Here we are,” said Adler, as they turned the corner, and were at once deafened by a tremendous crash, and choked by a great enveloping grayish-white dust. “There!” exclaimed Adler, as soon as by coughing and sneezing he had in some measure cleared his air pipes, “there! that was the plastering from some failing partition wall. It was an accident, of course. They never intended a wall to come down like that; but you see they can’t always prevent it, any more than miners can always prevent a caving in or an explosion. So you see, sir, the work is not only dirty, but dangerous.” “So much the more suited to me,” muttered Harcourt under his breath. “I hope no one was hurt by the falling of that wall,” said Adler, hurrying on to the scene of destruction, closely accompanied by Harcourt. The workmen employed on the job were waiting for the cloud to clear away. To Adler’s anxious inquiries they answered that no one was hurt, no one having been near the wall when it fell. Adler inquired for his own boss, and was directed where to find him. He went, still accompanied by Harcourt. The “boss,” a tall, hard-featured, dark-skinned man, with gray hair and beard, and clothed in a business suit, received the workman with a kindly smile, but said: “You are an hour behind time, Adler. I shall have to dock you a quarter of a day.” “I know that, sir, and I am sorry, but couldn’t help it.” Then Adler presented his friend, “Williams,” and succeeded in getting him “taken on” at a dollar a day. Then their section of work was pointed out to them, and they went together toward it. “You see,” said Adler, as they hurried on, “you see, as we are an hour behind, we are docked a quarter of a day; that is, instead of getting a dollar, we shall only get seventy-five cents. Just think of it! We work ten hours for a dollar, and if we are one hour behind they dock us the wages of two and a half. ’Tisn’t the boss’s fault; it’s the contractor’s. Ross is not a bad man himself.” So Harcourt’s self-inflicted penal servitude commenced; and, indeed, it was a most severe penance to the young man.