Boarding schools -- Juvenile fiction; Hockey -- Juvenile fiction; Teenage boys -- Juvenile fiction
When Arnold had disappeared down the aisle Toby produced a pocket-book
and gravely and a trifle anxiously examined the contents. To-morrow
he meant to go shopping for presents for the folks in Greenhaven, and
the subject of funds was an important one. The pocket-book held four
folded bills and quite a pile of silver and small coins, but when
Toby had carefully counted it all up the result was not reassuring.
He had his fare to Greenhaven to pay to-morrow, his fare to New York
on Monday, his fare back to Greenhaven the last of the week, and,
finally, his fare all the way to Wissining the following Tuesday.
He would not, he thought grimly, be riding in a parlor car on that
return trip! The funds in hand consisted of exactly twelve dollars and
forty-eight cents. Toby replaced the pocket-book, drew out a little
black memorandum and a pencil and proceeded to figure. He frowned
frequently during the procedure, and once he sighed disappointedly.
After traveling expenses had been allowed for only seven dollars and
a half remained, and seven dollars and a half wasn’t nearly as much
as he had hoped to be able to expend for Christmas presents. Why, the
shaving set he had meant to give his father would cost all of five
dollars, and that would leave but two dollars and a half with which to
purchase presents for his mother and his sister Phebe and Long Tim and
Shorty Joe and――Oh dear, he had quite forgotten Arnold!
He turned some pages in the memorandum book and read thoughtfully down
the list of items there. “Beech, .85; Framer, .30; Williams, .45; Hove,
.15; Lamson, 1.05; Hurd, .45.” He stopped, although there were more
entries, and went back to that Lamson item. Frank was on the train
somewhere and perhaps he might be persuaded to pay up. He had owed most
of that dollar-five since October and ought to be willing to settle. If
he had that it would help considerably. And perhaps he could find Beech
too. He considered a minute and then left his seat and surveyed the
car. There was quite a sprinkling of fellows he knew by sight or well
enough to speak to there, but Frank Lamson was not of them. He started
off toward the rear of the train. Near the door he spoke to a boy in a
shiny derby and a wonderful brown overcoat.
“Hello, Tucker! What say? Frank Lamson? Yes, I saw him on the platform.
He’s here somewhere, I guess. Unless he got left!” Jim Rose chuckled.
“But I don’t suppose he did. I never knew him to!”
Toby passed on to the next car and wormed his way between boys and
bags, nodding occasionally, speaking once or twice, but without success
until he sighted a tall, thin youth of eighteen who sat with his long
legs almost doubled to his chin, reading a paper. Toby leaned over the
back of his chair. “I say, Beech, would it be convenient for you to
let me have that eighty-five cents? I’m sort of short just now, or I
wouldn’t ask you for it.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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