Only an Irish Boy; Or, Andy Burke's FortunesAlger, Horatio, Jr.
General
Only an Irish Boy; Or, Andy Burke's Fortunes
Alger, Horatio, Jr.
Conduct of life -- Juvenile fiction; Inheritance and succession -- Juvenile fiction; Irish Americans -- Juvenile fiction
With high anticipation of pleasure, Andy got aboard. He had before him
a journey of close upon a hundred miles, and he wished it had been
longer. He had never been much of a traveler, and the scenes which
were to greet his eyes were all novel. He had heard a good deal of
Boston also, and he wanted to see it.
Besides the money which Miss Grant had given him to defray his
expenses, he had with him ten dollars of his own. Since his mother had
received the two donations from Colonel Preston she made Andy keep
half his wages for his own use. These were now seven dollars a week,
so he kept three and a half, and of this sum was able to lay up about
half. So he had a supply of money in his trunk, of which he had taken
with him ten dollars.
"Maybe I'll see something I want to buy in the city," he said to
himself.
I don't mean to dwell upon the journey. There is nothing very exciting
in a railway trip, even of a hundred miles, nowadays, unless, indeed,
the cars run off the track, or over the embankment, and then it is
altogether too exciting to be agreeable. For the sake of my young
hero, whom I really begin to like, though he was "only an Irish boy,"
I am glad to say that nothing of that sort took place; but in good
time--about the time when the clock on the Old South steeple indicated
noon--Andy's train drove into the Boston & Maine Railway depot,
fronting on Haymarket Square.
"Inquire your way to Washington Street."
That was the first direction that Andy had received from Miss
Priscilla, and that was what our hero did first.
The question was addressed to a very civil young man, who politely
gave Andy the necessary directions. So, in a short time, he reached
Washington Street by way of Court Street.
The next thing was to inquire the way to the Merchants' Bank, that
being the one in which the ladies owned the largest amount of stock.
"Where is the Merchants' Bank?" asked Andy of a boy, whose
blacking-box denoted his occupation.
"I'll show you, mister," said the boy. "Come along." His young guide,
instead of taking him to the bank, took him to the side door of the
court-house, and said:
"Go in there."
It was a massive stone building, and Andy, not suspecting that he was
being fooled, went in. Wandering at random, he found his way into a
room, where a trial was going on. That opened his eyes.
"He cheated me," thought Andy. "Maybe I'll get even with him."
He retraced his steps, and again found himself in the street. His
fraudulent young guide, with a grin on a face not over clean, was
awaiting his appearance.
CHAPTER XXV
THE MERCHANT FROM PORTLAND
"Look here, young chap," said Andy, "what made you tell me that was
the Merchants' Bank?"
"Isn't it?" asked the bootblack, with a grin.
"It's the bank where you'll be wanted some time. Shouldn't wonder if
they'd make a mistake and lock you up instead of your money."
"Have you got any money in the Merchants' Bank?" asked the other.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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